Xeogred wrote:Rush ruined (non-cart) racers for me. I have never been able to get into them ever since. Where's the insane ramps that send me across entire maps? Where's the hidden keys and mountain dew cans in the huge levels that you end up exploring around for like you're playing an adventure game?
Those games kick so much ass it's not even funny. I love all three of them.
I wish I were joking, lol. I have tried so many times over the years to get into newer racing games and it just never happens. I can't even fathom how much time I sunk into the Rush series, let alone the stunt track from Rush 2 with my friends and all.
Before then I was really into the early Need for Speed's, but yeah. Haven't been able to get into since. lol
I really can't get behind the N64 being better than the saturn for arcade racers, but the N64 was the action game and platform game king that generation. The way I look at the main 3's libraries:
Playstation:
-Best for RPGs
-Best western developed games
Saturn:
-Best for Fighting games
-Best for Shmups (both 2D and 3D)
-Best for Arcade games
N64:
-Best for action games
-best for platformers
which isn't to say that, for example, the N64 is void of 3D shmups (it has Starfox 64, Rogue Squadron, and Sin & Punishment, for example) but I think the above systems would call the above genres their general strengths. Each console really complimented each other that generation. If you missed out on any of those 3 consoles, you really missed out on a lot of great gaming.
I think that this generation was the last generation where the consoles, and the games they played, were actually different.
If you wanted to play RPGs and other giant/FMV heavy games, you bought a Playstation.
If you wanted to play 2D games and Sega arcade games, you bought a Saturn.
If you wanted to play 3D platformers/first-person shooters, you bought a Nintendo 64.
And on that note, a few of my favorite N64 games (because I don't have enough of the other two to really compete with each other):
Super Mario 64: Behind its extremely aged camera controls lies a masterpiece of a platformer.
F-Zero X: Not exactly pretty, but it really gets your adrenaline pumping. And, in spite of the poor sound quality, I really like the soundtrack for some reason.
Sin and Punishment: A balls-hard rail shooter from treasure. 'Nuff said.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask: These should need no introduction. One of the best games of all time, and its side-story. Both focus on different things, but when taken together, they make an orgasm of deep and fun gaming.
Battletanx: Global Assault: The only game I can think of (other than the original Battletanx) where you control exclusively a tank. One of the best multiplayers of all time comes as a result. Also has a pretty fun single player.
Blast Corps: You destroy everything. 'Nuff said. Play this if you liked Mass Destruction for the Saturn.
Goldeneye 007/Perfect Dark: The big two Rare shooters. Fun, but I think they haven't really aged well, another might think differently.
Doom 64: The N64 version of Doom, possibly the best one. Basically a combination of Doom and Doom 2, with the lights turned far down. I do wish it had a more Doom-esque soundtrack, though.
Mischief Makers: A 2D (on the N64!) puzzle platformer, which actually looks pretty damn good; it's a shame there weren't more 2D games on the 64. It's from Treasure; again, 'Nuff said.
Conker's Bad Fur Day: One of the funniest games I ever played; a good 3D platformer that looks like it could be on the Dreamcast.
Consoles: N64, Wii, Dreamcast, PS2, SNES, Saturn, Genesis, PS3, NES, Wii U, 2600, PS4
Handhelds: Game Boy Advance, 3DS, PSP, New 3DS
o.pwuaioc wrote:
Diddy Kong Racing > Mario Kart 64 > Any cart racing on PS1/Sat
FTFY.
Anyway, the N64 has a lot of great unique games. Pretty much anything Rare touched in that generation was solid gold. I'd start with Rare and first-party games if I were you, then move out from there.
TheBrick wrote:I think that this generation was the last generation where the consoles, and the games they played, were actually different.
Uh...
Dreamcast/Ps2/Gamecube/Xbox were pretty different.
I disagree; a good chunk of the best third-party games of that generation were cross-platform, where as cross-platform games were close to nonexistent in the 32-bit era.
The first thing that jumps to mind when we talk about the Nintendo 64 is Multi-Player. I have always been a social game player. With two older brothers and a handful of friends who played videogames, I have had a long history of competition and co-operation in games.
What made the Nintendo 64 so great was that it could allow everyone to play together and wasn't limited by having to rely on peripherals and finding games that supported those peripherals. Many of my memories are reliant on the sheer unadulterated fun it was playing games like Cruis'n USA, Duke Nukem 64, Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Perfect Dark, San Francisco Rush....the list goes on and on and on and on.
It capitalized on the idea of experiencing something together as a group. You can communicate with each other, share experiences and most importantly, Collaborate. You went beyond the normal rules of the game and delved into the meta-game, messing around and experimenting with what you could get away with.
For example, my cousin and I were able to launch a person into the bat spewing box in mario kart 64, getting them stuck for an extended period of time before getting pulled out. Why did we do this? Simply because we wanted to. We had the idea and spent all night trying it until we completed it.
There was this magic in all of the multi-player games. When you incorporated co-op in games like Perfect Dark and Duke Nukem, you could really mess around with the enemy ai and each other.
You just couldn't do that with the Saturn and PS1. The games were limited to 2 players most of the time and those games weren't really the most memorable when experienced together. They had strong single player experiences, but it was the multi-player where it lacked.
The Nintendo 64 brought people together and continues to do so with its systems, all the more reason as to why I enjoy the company and its products.
Ack wrote:I don't know, chief, the haunting feeling of lust I feel whenever I look at your avatar makes me think it's real.
-I am the idiot that likes to have fun and be happy.
TheBrick wrote:I think that this generation was the last generation where the consoles, and the games they played, were actually different.
Uh...
Dreamcast/Ps2/Gamecube/Xbox were pretty different.
I disagree; a good chunk of the best third-party games of that generation were cross-platform, where as cross-platform games were close to nonexistent in the 32-bit era.
Eh, cross-platform was far from outright nonexistent. I could name a lot of games that were on both Playstation and Saturn for example. Sure you can argue that those ports were better on one console or the other, but well... that was the case on the Dreamcast/Gamecube/Ps2/Xbox as well.
All of the 6th gen systems had their share of worthy exclusives that gave them an identity if you ask me.
