With the release of the Nintendo 64 on the Switch's Online Service I thought now would be as good a time as any to ramble about my favourite console of all-time.

To set the scene, the wait for the Ultra 64 as it was originally known was so long. Nintendo had been toying with 3D graphics basically since the release of the Super Nintendo with Mode 7 and games like Star Fox and Donkey Kong Country really pushed the concept of 3D and 3D models. SEGA being SEGA beat Nintendo to the punch by releasing the Saturn in November of '94 and while that console was really half-baked it did set the timer on Nintendo. So when Sony entered the console industry with the PlayStation in mid-95 and had some of the best looking 3D games for it's time players were already looking to jump ship in order to experience that next-gen goodness.

In the end it took until the Summer of 1996 around the time of the Atlanta games for the N64 to launch and it made an amazing first impression with Mario 64. There had been other 3D platformers, but Mario 64 set the foundation for every 3D platformer of that generation and beyond. It's a game filled with creativity but at it's core Mario is just really enjoyable to control. I find it's one of those games that's really enjoyable to come back to because I get better at controlling Mario and being able to collect with stars as efficiently as possible is just so smooth. It's one of the main reasons why it's one of the most popular speedruns of all-time because the tech involved from the players is just so incredible and following the leaderboard is thrilling. I think the 120 star record was just broken again recently.

When I think back on Mario 64 the biggest thing I remember is the music. I like how at first it just starts off with ambience, that was really rare in video games at the time just to have this naturalistic sound. It was like a Wizard of Oz 'we're no longer in Kansas' type of moment. Then as soon you enter Peach's castle you get that signature theme that I can instantly turn on in my head and I feel anyone who's played it can load it up in theirs. The only track I never really liked was that bluegrass theme that unfortunately gets repeated all the time. It's OK and works fine for the game but I much prefer Bob-Omb Batterfield and Jolly Roger Battlefield. In fact the latter maybe one of my favourite tracks in the game, it feels like Nintendo's answer to Stickerbrush Symphony which has really taken a life of it's own and become one of the definitive video game songs.

Suffice to say, Mario 64 knocked it out of the park but it really had to because the N64 had no other games. While the PS1 and Saturn were really piling up especially over in Japan where I believe the Saturn had around 229 releases by the time the N64 was launching. For the first three or so months your choices were Mario 64, Pilotwings and a Shogi game which Yakuza players would be well and truly familiar with...and maybe the Good Doctor.

Speaking of Pilotwings, like the SNES edition the N64 game was a really effective way of showcasing what the console was capable of with all sorts of simulation courses that required you to hit certain targets before completing the object. I always found the toughest part of the game was sticking the landing and if you didn't get it just right you'd either fall short or break both your legs on the fall. It's one of those games that takes awhile to get into but the better you get the more rewarding it becomes and it's one of the more chill games on the console. The one mission I remember was having to bounce this ball while piloting a jet-pack and making sure it avoids touching the ground while leading it to the goal. You really have to maneuver as cleanly as possible to make sure you don't head the ball in some crazy direction and completely ruin it. I also think there is a Pokemon Snap type mission where you have to take a bunch of pictures including one of the Loch Ness monster before landing inside a time of 30 seconds. Like Snap, I never really understood how they critiqued that exactly.

It's always interesting to look at the launch of the N64 from different perspectives. In Japan it launched on June 23rd 1996, in US it was September 26th 1996 and in PAL regions it was March 1st 1997. As early as Japan had the game, it made the 3 month wait until Wave Race 64 pretty unbearable whereas in the US it wasn't as pronounced as it came out in November which would have been the perfect late launch window release.

FYI I'm butt cheeks at Wave Race 64. It's a game I can appreciate and it really does feel like a souped up arcade game at home but I just never really learned the tech for the game. It's something I've been meaning to work on but I don't mind playing through on the lower difficulties just to unwind. The water physics that you can exploit to take short-cuts is really novel and nothing has really replaced that yet. I also like how on higher difficulties you get to unlock more tracks which incentivies you as the player to get better so you can experience more of the game.

But going back to my experience with the console, the PAL launch actually came with six games so I never related to the lack of games perspective. Our launch also included Turok Dinosaur Hunter and Star Wars Shadow of the Empire which were both big releases for the console. Turok especially was the first FPS to come out for the console and while it's a game that's remembered for it's fog, at the time it was all about the frenetic Doom like gameplay where you had to collect keys while battling dinosaurs and having to platform around. There was nothing of that quality on other consoles at that time and I still find the game to be pretty enjoyable in it's own right as you constantly have to be moving. I think the only downside is that for a fairly expansive game it's easy to get lost or miss key items causing you to back-track. It's one of those games that requires some familiarity to be enjoyed because the technical prowess has well and truly lost it's shine. Meanwhile Shadows of the Empire was a fun grab bag of vehicle combat, third person shooter and then there's a racing level that's supposed to be awful but I never got up to it. I just remember the presentation and how it had that orchestral Star Wars music going as well as all the legitimate sound effects.

Reading back through the early impressions of the N64, it's funny how quickly Nintendo were prepared to walk back the system. They were so quick to push the 64DD as something of a make-good with developers where they'd give them CD support so they could manufacture games easier and add more memory to their games to make it easier for them to develop. I also find it funny how they were really trying to push some of the upcoming JRPGs like Mother 3, Fire Emblem and Pokemon. Actually Pokemon is a fun chapter in of itself because you can tell Nintendo weren't prepared for that game and were trying to develop as many games as possible which is why Japan got Pokemon Stadium 0.5 like it was the Gran Turismo series or that Ground Zero MGSV game. It was also interesting how much they were pushing Kirby's Air Ride at that time and Body Harvest as this state of the art game.

Time to do a rapid fire session of game releases.

Ready? Go.

Mario Kart 64 - Like Mario 64 the presentation of this game is flawless and I could just leave the main menu music running all afternoon. I remember the previews when it was called Mario Kart R and had Kamek from Yoshi's Island as a playable character and being bummed that he wasn't in the game. This felt like a really souped up version of the SNES games with more themes, souped up weapons and loud-mouth characters you loved beating...especially if they played Toad. I still play this all the time and to this day I fear Bowser's Castle. Coming back to it, the only complaints is that certain tracks really make the console chug (DK Island) and some stages are really long. I get it for the time and there are some cool short-cuts to exploit but playing the game as intended it can get cumbersome playing through a 4 minute track. This became a staple of every multiplayer 4-way session and it would always end in tears.

Star Fox/Lylat Wars 64 - The one game most people bought for the big box rumble pack buy in. Ordinarily I don't like watching others play games but this was an exception since you could see a full playthrough at a reasonable pace. It's a really cinematic game and I like how if you completed certain tasks you could access harder levels - there were actually a few I'd never seen before playing it as an adult because for starters I didn't own the game when I was younger and would have to rely on my cousins. It's a really fun game to pick up and play although like Wave Race I feel like I should work on my skills so I can get better.

Mortal Kombat Trilogy - I feel like nobody talks about Midway on the N64 despite how prolific they were during the console's life cycle. They didn't release as many classics as Rare but games like this, Wayne Gretzky's Hockey, NBA Hang Time, Cruis'N, NFL Blitz etc. Trilogy was the definitive version of MK3 that was released exclusively on consoles and while the N64 version skimped on some characters and on production the actual gameplay was better thanks largely to Midway developing the game instead of licensing it out like the other entries. This was one of my earliest experiences and having skipped Ultimate MK3 seeing a cast that big was mind-blowing at the time. The AI is still unforgiving so I just try to spam with Sektor or do the teleport trick with Ermac.

Killer Instinct Gold - For whatever reason this didn't seem to have the same hype as the original game. I know for me they got rid of my two guys from KI in Riptor and Cinder but I never really understood why this one gets so over-looked in comparison. Was it the forgettable new characters?

Goldeneye 007 - THE system seller and while I largely only bought new releases during the system's life cycle this was one of those games I had to get. Everyone remembers the multiplayer mode which if you could get four players playing at the same time was unreal but I don't think single gets enough love. The OST for the game was fantastic and it was such a different game for it's time. Usually FPS games consisted of collecting keys to unlock doors and progress through and it was all run and gun. Here there was actually some stealth and you had to be strategic about your engagements. If you went all guns blarring you'd get shot down pretty easily or ruin your objectives. The cheat code system added a lot of depth to this game and to this day I've yet to unlock invincibility.

There's other games too that deserve some love like Bomberman 64, Mischief Makers, Doom 64, International Superstar Soccer, Blast Corps etc.and I may go into them later on but I wanted to wrap it up there since Diddy Kong Racing marks my origins with the console and I'll go into it from there.

What are your memories of the N64 launch? Do you remember being blown away or were you content with your PlayStations? Were you a Day One buyer or did you have to wait? I've still got plenty of rambling to go so buckle up buckaroos.

I got it in April 1997. And I got hooked almost immediately.

Mario, Ocarina, Majora, Smash, Turok, Bomberman, Resident Evil 2, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Banjo, Beetle Adventure Racing, F-Zero X, etc. I've played them all.

And I'm gonna get this out of the way. But... Perfect Dark > Goldeneye

Nice! I had relatives who had an N64 on launch so every school holidays was basically a Let's Play of Mario 64, Lylat Wars, Mario Kart 64, Cruis'N USA, Goldeneye, Bomberman etc. I was still satisfied with my Super Nintendo since I had only got it in 1996 but watching games like Mario 64 was mind-blowing.

Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long. It was Christmas of 1997 and I thought I had opened all my presents when my folks pulled that deal where they make you go do something only to find Santa had left one last present and sure enough it was a Nintendo 64 with a coppy of Diddy Kong Racing and an additional red controller. I was besides myself, DKC2 was one of my favourite games and I had only just tried DKR64 at the local Harvey Norman and was blown away by how 'alive' it was. I think the first thing I did was look up cheat codes and mess around with all the extra stuff you could do, namely getting access to the credits sequence with that really cool Dark Moon Caverns song.

My main memory of Diddy Kong Racing is the difficulty creep. It's by no means a hard game, but the regular races are really easy while the boss encounters actually require some concentration and mastery of certain mechanics. The Wizpig races especially require you to memorise where each boost is and taking your thumb off the accellerator so you can get the maximum boost. To this day it still requires a few attempts for me to clear it. Otherwise I really enjoyed the game and how it took the Mario Kart games, added a meaty solo campaign with a hub world to drive around it and some of the worlds were really cool. I wrote about this in the cartoon thread but I feel my generation was brought up around Dinosaurs being awesome so that was a great way to kick the game off and I really enjoyed the Christmassy snow world - that really takes me back.

It was around this time I started collecting N64 magazines. In Australia our big video game magazine was called Hyper and it would cover all the major systems like PlayStation, Saturn, PC etc. Around January of 1998 they had a spin-off called N64 gamer where a bunch of 20-somethings previewed upcoming games, wrote reviews, shared cheat codes and provided walkthroughs. A couple of memories from the magazine is how much they adored Goldeneye and it seemed like when they weren't covering those topics that's what they'd play to kill the time. They'd constantly talk about their triumps during their monthly 'what we've been up to' section UNTIL Perfect Dark came out and they gave that a 101/100. I also used to enjoy their rating systems where they'd use NES sprites of Mega-Man, Link and Mario to highlight out of 5 how good the graphics, gameplay and sound were. Just little touches like that made the magazine stand out.

The big one though was N64 Magazine from the UK which I started collecting in 1999. These magazines were awesome with custom art-work, exclusive previews of RARE games, a lot of give-aways and of course that classic British wit. I find reviews pretty tedious to read but even if I didn't agree with how much they loved or hated the game there was so much personality and they didn't beat around the bush. One section I liked is how they'd set certain challenges for games - almost like proto achievements. If you can do this within a certain time or without losing x number of lives etc. Some of them were really clever and just made replaying games that more enjoyable. They actually had an early speedrun leaderboard and the like. They were cool magazines to collect for and I feel they had a big influence in my taste of N64 games. They were pretty generous for the most part, although they were really cold on WCW/nWo Revenge for some reason. It was odd as well because they LOVED Wrestlemania 2000 but WCW got the short stick for whatever reason. They LOVED anything South Park so those games did well, I feel like they were the one magazine trying to make Hybrid Heaven a 'thing' and willed it into being great. They were also really high on Shadowman too and put it right up there with the Mario 64s and Goldeneyes of the console.

Back to the games and coming off DKR64, the N64 was building a steady collection of games. Games like Snowboard Kids, Fighters Destiny, Bomberman Hero, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and Charmeleon Twist fleshed the library out and were the perfect titles to rent for a few sessions. I'd say the next big release would be Yoshi's Story which I feel has aged really well over the years. At the time it was something of a disappointment because it was coming off of Yoshi's Island but I think now that people are aware it's more of a score attack game and the challenge is to collect melons and unlock the harder levels gamers tend to appreciate what it was going for. It's not a linear 2D game, instead your collecting these fruits that usually require you to complete some challenge in the game. Aesthetically I love the diarama look it's going for and it's one game I'm really looking forward to playing on the Switch.

That was followed up with by 1080 Snowboarding and F-Zero X two racing games that were technical marvels for their time. The animations in 1080 are so smooth while the 60 FPS makes F-Zero such a fun game to play and I feel the N64 is where F-Zero really made it's mark. The Mode 7 on SNES was cool for it's time but I feel Super Mario Kart eventually stole it's thunder whereas on the N64 with the huge cast of characters and break-neck racing with these crazy courses it really made it's mark. Like Wave Race, I've only played these well after the fact but I understand the hype of F-Zero and find myself coming back to it regularly. I just started off 1080 and was surprised at the learning curve the game has. It's not one of those games you can load up and dominate with ease, you actually have to look up the manual to understand the controls and get a feel for the racing.

The biggest release though was Banjo Kazooie which started life as an Action Adventure called Project Dream before being completely over-hauled once they introduced the companion character. There were high expectations going into this game since Rare were on a hot streak with games like Blast Corps, Diddy Kong Racing and Goldeneye hitting it out of the park and Banjo still blew people away. It's a game that managed to mirror Mario 64's elaborate world design but have it's own spin on things like the player not being spat out after collecting a Jiggy. The game has a ton to collect so it hits all these dopamine spots and Rare were clearly having fun with some of the characters and themes. A lot of the characters have an attitude which was really refreshing for 3D games and that whole Furnace Fun section was such a cool twist. That game was everywhere back in the day and the amount of colourful game guides just re-enforced how great the game looked for it's time. Also like DKR the bosses were a huge step-up and I didn't actually beat Gruntilda as a kid. In fairness I didn't own the game until I was in my teens but I missed the few shots I had at her. That flying section where you have to line her up would always take up way too much health.

The library received some more good video shop options like Space Station Silicon Valley, Body Harvest, Wetrix and Glover. I'd say around this period the big release was Turok 2 which was actually one of the first 32MB releases for the console with HUGE 3D maps to explore and some bad-ass weaponry that would decimate the dinosaurs. It was a really violent game and it's funny how things have changed because violence used to be such a big selling point but ever since Columbine I feel like they really had to tone that aspect down. It's really crazy going back and looking at fan-art for games with decimated heads and characters like Mario gunning down all the PlayStation mascots. I feel like Turok epitomised that era but it's an interesting shooter in it's own right with the huge levels and crazy animations.

Of course there's WCW/nWo Revenge which was a massive release and the most successful AKI game on the console. I adore Revenge and while it has some short-comings (the AI is pretty bad and that tug-of-war grapple animation gets triggered way too often) it captures the best period of WCW and AKI did an awesome job of incorporating that into their engine. I still love that opening cinematic, it's still one of the best in video-games period and the music is awesome too. In fact that's one big advantage it and Wrestlemania 2000 have over No Mercy - the music is way better. The roster is fantastic too and I feel it really weeded out a lot of the talent that were taking up space in WCW and gave you all the essentials. I'm even fine with The Flock since their company made Raven seem like a much bigger deal than he was on television.

That brings me to Ocarina of Time which I'll cover in the next post.

FUCK ME FOR NOT MENTIONING NO MERCY!!!

When Nintendo announced the launch of the N64, the original plan was for Zelda 64 to release during the 1996 holiday season. Development for the project began in 1994 and the game was first unveiled at SpaceWorld 1995 with a really muddy and blocky aesthetic.

The developers couldn't figure out how they were going to translate the game into 3D and there was even discussion about turning the game into a first-person adventure until the Young-Adult Link concepts were considered. Ultimately once development for Mario 64 had completed, Nintendo focused their attention on Zelda 64 with the idea that they would delay the game and launch it alongside the 64DD which would be the second wind for the console. However since the development of the DD was delayed Nintendo pushed through with their development of Ocarina of Time and after one final delay from early 1998 to the holiday season of 1998 where they polished the game Nintendo released Ocarina of Time.

Ocarina of Time would launch in Japan on November 21st 1998 with the North American release only two days later and the game came out to rave reviews. Over the pond, the game was really difficult to come by with retailers selling out of their first shipment extremely quickly. There were all sorts of horror stories over in the UK about fans having to wait months to play one of the most anticipated games of all-time. Down under and while information is difficult to come by from my experience the game wasn't as difficult to come by. It actually launched a week before Christmas and after having my mind made up that I wanted South Park merch I had to put in one last urgent request for Ocarina of Time.

The game was a smash hit for Nintendo selling seven million copies and going down as one of the greatest games of all-time. What makes Ocarina of Time work for me is that it has one of the best worlds in a Zelda game, challenging Link's Awakening for the title. The game didn't have the same level of exploration as the original or A Link to the Past but the world comprised of Kokiri, Gorons, Zoras, Gerudos and Sheikah's was far more fascinating and memorable. Nintendo also made very good use of their development time and made a lot of thoughtful decisions starting with Z-targetting. Admittedly combat in OoT isn't anything special but the Z-targeting prevents it from being a massive head-ache and makes combat more manageable.

Another is how they use 3D and how quickly they were prepared to explore that axis. In order to open up the second half of the Deku Tree dungeon, Nintendo has the player take a massive leap up faith from the tallest point of the dungeon to break a giant spider web covering the lower ground.

Nintendo wanted to give fans a unique Zelda experience and it was moments like this that made a big impression of fans. One thing Miyamoto talked about was how he wanted to make the first visit to Hyrule Field seem like a big deal. The game builds the moment up with the other Kokiri children warning Link about leaving the forest and how he would be banished from the village forever. When you're forced to go on your adventure and make your trek through there's that infamous scene where you're stopped by Saria and she gives you the Ocarina. Not only from a gameplay stand-point is this huge as the Ocarina acts as a master key that allows you to go on your adventure but from a story-telling perspective it's so relatable. This is you going off to college saying goodbye to that one friend you know you'll likely see again but your friendship will never be the same. The way Saria stares on longinly and Link just guns through the exit has always stuck with.

There's that bittersweet feeling and then right away you're met with the triumphant Hyrule Fields theme and the game opens up. You have access to all these new locales and you're into the meat of the game. I like how the game treats the adventure in this section where nobody takes you seriously and it's like you're just a glorified exterminator. There's a giant lizard that's causing havoc in the mine and there's a giant boulder blocking the entrance - yeah sure kid if you want to take care of that no problem. Hmmm I can't seem to find my daughter and our giant pet fish seems to be acting strange. Oh you want to help with the rescue mission and see what's going on with Jabu? Sure thing kid. Even the side-quests where you're selling masks, rounding up chickens, badgering the undertaker to dig up gravesites feels really childish.

It's kind of frustrating especially since you can't access certain areas but it's so much more comfortable than what happens in the future.

That initial trip into the future is one of my favourite experiences in the video game. It's like It's A Wonderful Life and the entire town has become like Pottersville and you're never safe anywhere. You're surrounded by redeads who are really terrifying creatures and even Kokiri Forest is crawling with giant versions of Deku Babas. That initial period where you look at all these changes is so fun and really captures the anxieties of adulthood. You wait so long to be taken seriously only to find it never works out as expected and some of the people you thought would be in your life forever get taken from you. This is evident with the sages and how little access Link has to them as an adult. You see them for a brief second and moments later they ascend into the heavens to fulfil their destiny. It's that bittersweet moment where you wish you could hang like the good ol days but at the same time you're happy that they're doing well for themselves.

I like how well the game is paced and how you get access to the hook shot and hover boots in the late game arguably the two best items in the game that make traversal more interesting. The game never feels like it's dragging and the Spirit Temple was the right note to go out on before the big Gannon dungeon which was a fun revision exam before the final boss.

I've only got two issues with the game. Firstly the Skulltula scavenger hunt felt lazy and should have had better incentives. Also Epona was featured heavily in marketing and as cool as it is to rescue her there isn't a lot to do outside of it. It just grants you access to one more side-quest that nets you an extra bottle which you don't really need.

Otherwise for a game made in 1998 Ocarina really knocked it out of the park in terms of what it wanted to achieve. It's a game that wanted it's player-base to treasure it's child-hood and for players of my generation it's a game that made an indelible foot-print in ours.

Ocarina of Time is one of those games I could write a thesis on and I'm sure when the N64 service launches I'll go through the game once again. I feel like the game capped off the first half of the N64's life cycle and the system would go into a new direction from here with a lot of Mario spin-offs, fresh IPs and sequels that really pushed the system to the limit.

Following the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time a shift was taking place in video games and the N64 was no longer the most powerful home console on the market. The SEGA Dreamcast had just launched in Japan with games like Virtua Fighter 3 and Sonic Adventures that visually blew anything Nintendo had out of the water. In an effort to remain competitive Nintendo released the Expansion Pack that doubled the amount of RAM enabling the system to display at higher resolutions and use more detailed graphics.

Turok 2 and Star Wars Rogue Squadron were among two of the games to utilise this. Rogue Squadron is considered one of the better games on the console and a more focused effort from LucasArts after they made the game purely a vehicular combat game. Other games to come out around this time including Castlevania 64 - the series first attempt at 3D and South Park 64. South Park was built off the Turok engine and was largely seen as a poor clone with a fairly forgettable campaign mode. I don't really remember a lot about it beyond levels being filled with killer turkeys and aliens. As a fan of the series I thought was pretty neat to walk around the town in a full 3D environment with most of the cast stumbling around. The aesthetic lent itself to the limitations of the hardware and it was pretty easy to get immersed. However after that I remember it was largely made up of snowy terrain that was easy to get lost in and the gobbles of turkeys who wouldn't stop spawning.

The first big piece of news is that there were going to be not one but two new Mario games and they were going to be released within weeks. The first was a Hudson Soft co-developed game called Mario Party which was going to take the board game genre, combine it with the mini-game genre and create a Nintendo-themed board game. The board game genre had become something of a niche in Japan with games like Tamagotchi World and Getter Love being released on the console but they had their own goals like raising a tamagotchi or finding a girlfriend. Those games were merely an extension of niche-genre games, whereas Mario Party had more widespread appeal.

The other was Super Smash Bros which really didn't have a lot of fanfare behind it. Supposedly Sakurai worked on the game in secret and when it was near completion revealed it to executives at Nintendo who green-lit the project. That's why the game looks relatively low budget for a Nintendo game, it was rushed that quickly they didn't have time to pack in as many characters and features they would have liked. Still, the game handled smoothly thanks to the stable 60 FPS and would go onto become the launching point for the series moving forward.

The other big release over in Japan was Hey You Pikachu, an adventure game where you had to speak Japanese to get Pikachu to complete a series of tasks and complete his adventure. The game never came out in PAL territories but was notoriously janky.

Around this time, Pokemon was starting to take over the world and fans were desperate to get their hands on the latest games. Nintendo clearly weren't ready for the demand and instead opted to release these experimental titles that may have started as something else before getting the Pokemon branding slapped onto it. A good example of this is Pokemon Snap which came out mid-year in 1999 and was an on-rails shooter except with a photography system where you were graded for each photo. It was a relatively short game, but it was the perfect video game rental and Nintendo knew this which is why they partnered with Blockbuster and allowed players to use a kiosk that could print out photos they took from the game.

The Summer of 1999 was dominated by The Phantom Menace and LucasArts got into the mix with Episode 1: Pod-Racing which was a cross-platform game that also came bundled with the N64. The game was basically F-Zero in the desert and had really good production values and it has more longevity and good-will among fans. Sadly I never really played it but from what I understand it was a pretty difficult game for what was marketed towards kids.

If I was to summarise the year in general, it's how underrated the line-up was. When people reminisce about the console's library they'll often speak glowingly about 1996's Mario 64, 1997's Goldeneye, 1998's Ocarina of Time, 2000's Majora's Mask or even 2001's Conker's Bad Fur Day. However a lot of 1999 games get looked over, especially in the face of Super Smash Bros. Melee which stole the N64's thunder. For me it's a year where games like Snowboard Kids 2, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 2, Beetle Adventure Racing, Shadowman, Hybrid Heaven, Resident Evil 2, Jet Force Gemini, Rocket: Robot On Wheels, Rayman 2, Mario Golf, Castlevania Legacy of Darkness, Harvest Moon 64, Earthworm Jim 3D, WWF Wrestlemania 2000 etc. helped define the year. Good games but outside of Wrestlemania 2000 and Jet Force I never dug that deeply into them.

That leaves the big Christmas 1999 release of Donkey Kong 64. Rare once again found themselves at the helm and were intent on making the biggest 3D platformer to date. They went a little over-board as they set a World Record for the amount of collectables you could and was dubbed a collect-a-thon a derogative term for a game about collecting for the sake of collecting. To be honest I loved the game on release but I'm struggling to remember a lot about it. I largely just remember having to play through old retro games to unlock essential items and the final boss with King K Rool that takes place in a boxing ring and requires you to use all five monkeys in another elaborate boss fight. Otherwise I remember it as this really high budget game with huge worlds and a stack of mini-games including one that was supposedly broken involving beavers? Oh and the game was incredibly easy, they gave you 12 hit-points with the only real threat being the aforementioned final boss fight.

Also around this time the Nintendo 64DD finally released in Japan. However the system was basically DOA with no plans to release it outside of Japan. The add-on was launched alongside Mario Artist - a new take on the Mario Paint genre and Doshin the Giant a simulation game where you have to help villagers build their town and the more they worship you the more capable you become. The add-on would only receive 9 games - 4 Mario Artist titles, 2 Doshin the Giants, 1 F-Zero Track Editor, SimCity and a Golf game - as well as an internet expansion with very primitive features. Nintendo saw the writing on the wall with the DD and released the final DD game in August before discontinuing the online service in February of 2001.

The add-on just appeared too late in the system's life-cycle but a lot of the games would eventually make their way to other platforms. Doshin The Giant would receive a GameCube port alongside another planned game called Cubivore. Animal Forest aka Animal Crossing was released exclusively in Japan late in the system's life cycle before going over to the GameCube. Dragon Quest VII made it onto the PS1 (another win for Sony) while the Fire Emblem (simply known as Fire Emblem in the west) and Mother 3 games would be re-worked and released for the GBA. Supposedly the system also innovated the whole Mii concept and inspired some WarioWare mini-games so it wasn't a total wash for Nintendo.

That brings us to the swansong of the N64. With the SEGA Dreamcast hitting western shores on the 9/9/99 and Sony's PlayStation 2 set for a March 2000 release in Japan all eyes were beginning to shift to the Nintendo Dolphin, the project name for the Nintendo GameCube. Still, as that was transpiring, Nintendo still had a few late cycle games to roll out.

Following off the success of the original, the second installment of Mario Party sought to improve on everything the original set-up. The game included more mini-games, more elaborate boards, an item system which gave players more strategy and on the whole was considered a more polished effort. I didn't have as much experience with this as the original, but one of my favourite aspects of the game was how the characters would dress up for each theme - it was something we wouldn't really see until Odyssey launched on the Switch.

Developed by the American branch of Nintendo, this was a port of Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution from the PlayStation. The game was a definitive version with a few exclusive features and tracks that weren't in their Sony counter-part and was one of the better racers on the N64.

After being out in Japan for nearly a year, Pokemon Stadium finally made it's way out to the west. Released in a big box, the game came with the Transfer Pack which gave players the ability to link their N64 games with their GB and GBC counter-parts. Pokemon Stadium was a battle simulator that took the combat of the GameBoy games and rendered it in 3D with exclusive animations and an announcer calling all the action. As a bonus, the game also came with a mini-game section that was a fun distraction if you had enough of Mario Party. The game was crammed with a ton of content, not only did you have four cups you had to beat, but you also had to face off against all the gym leaders, elite 4, battle Mewtwo and then do it again on hard mode. It was the perfect follow-up for fans who had played the GameBoy games front and backwards and wanted a new challenge.

Rare's much anticipated follow-up to Goldeneye, Perfect Dark was an incredible follow-up packed to the brim with content and a campaign that managed to live up to every expectation. Rare's mastery of the N64 really brought the CyberPunk world of Perfect Dark to light with some of the best lighting on the N64 and large expansive stages. It seemed like Rare used Goldeneye as a blueprint and wondered how they could improve on each feature. Not only did they have elabote gun designs like the FarsSight that could shoot through walls or the Laptop Gun that could be installed as a turret but even multiplayer now was it's own seperate game with it's own solo player missions and the introduction of bots which I believe came after they were a defining feature of Turok Rage Wars.

The only complaint with Perfect Dark is that it really did push the N64 to it's limit so at times the game can run really sluggishly on the console. Which is why it's actually better to play it on X Box where the game runs a lot smoother and on the whole just looks better. Still the game was a fantastic achievement and for many the best game on the console.

After years of anticipation, Kirby finally made his way to the N64 and the game was completely fine. In a fun twist on the transformation mechanic, you could combine two transformations for even more combinations. Like Yoshi's Island it had a tough act to follow in Superstar so my memories aren't too fond but looking back it was a welcome addition and just a really pleasant game to play.

Camelot's follow-up to Mario Golf, Tennis was one of my favourite games on the console and an instant multiplayer classic with it's doubles mode. The game is remembered for the introduction of Waluigi, Luigi's evil counter-part but at it's core it's just a really strong arcade tennis game with a fun roster of the characters with different playstyles. The game also had connectivity with the GBC game which is meant to be fantastic in it's own right since it's a tennis rpg and you could unlock additional characters for the N64 games. The game also had other modes where you could get access to items to disrupt your opponent or contend with stage hazards while playing. The series would continue to go in that direction and become even zanier but I enjoyed how balanced the original was. Also it has one of my favourite menu themes on the N64.

A western exclusive Pokemon game, the game was a Pokemon licensed Panel De Pon (aka Tetris Attack) game. Impressively the game included a FMV in the intro which for an N64 cartridge was an impressive feat. Like how Tetris Attack was themed on Yoshi's Island, Puzzle League was themed on the 4Kids anime and included remix' of tracks and the dubbed voices of all the characters. Just like Stadium, you go through and battle all the gym leaders as well as a few anime exclusive characters like Team Rocket, Tracey and Richie. The game can be pretty grating as monsters will constantly shout their names whenever you put together a good combo but it's also incredibly nostalgic to go back and revisit.

After waiting 7 years for a home console follow-up to ALttP, fans only had to wait two years for the release of Majora's Mask. The game borrows a lot of assets from OoT but manages to be it's own game as the three day event cycle makes the game feel even more alive. Every NPC has their own set schedule and it varies through out the day and evening and interacting with them at certain times can open up side-quests or reveal more about the world. The game isn't as grand as Ocarina and the titular princess only appears in a flashback but the game is more detailed and builds on a lot of design elements from OoT. On top of that there is the mask system that transforms Link into a Deku, Goron or Zora with their own unique attributes. Traversal is a lot more interesting in these forms and you'll have to master all of them in order to beat the world.

I think OoT is still the bigger achievement from Nintendo, but the world of Termina in Majora's Mask is more interesting and the quest feels just as memorable.

Banjo and Kazooie also returned around the same time in a much darker and larger adventure than ever before. The game starts off on a really dark note, Gruntilda's sisters make their first appearance and bring Gruntilda back from the dead and in order to restore her life force she kills Bottles the Mole from the first game. Before you set out on your adventure you actually find out that Bottles had a family and have to break the news to them before making your way through a new set of worlds all to try and get your hands on Grunty and retrieve that life force. The worlds in this game are massive and just like in DK there's a checklist of things you have to do in each world to make progress. On paper the game should leave Banjo Kazooie in the dust but the game is a little too ambitious. The game has bigger highs than BK but it also has bigger lows too with the FPS sections and Mumbo sections being a pain to play through. BK was paced really well too and you could beat most worlds in one sitting. Whereas Tooie you'll be banging your head against the wall trying to figure out what you're supposed to do only to find out you have to wait two worlds before you can make progress with certain missions. The game also doesn't have that fun Teddy Bears Picnic motif of the original instead it's this generic and darker theme. 

Still at the time it was crazy to see a game of that scope on the N64 and all the different gameplay elements gave the game a ton of variety. It was everything we wanted from a BK sequel and more.

Dig Diggity, Dig Diggity Dog. I'd be remissed to neglect No Mercy, the final AKI release and the most definitive of their western releases. Outside of Create A Belt, the game featured every mode from Wrestlemania 2000 with even sharper models, backstage areas, a fleshed out CAW mode, more match types and a deeper roster that included deep cuts like Kaientai. On top of that you could easily make characters like Mideon, B.B., Gangrel and the Mean Street Posse who didn't make the cut. Single player was an interesting take with players going through branching paths for each title. It was an interesting twist on previous campaigns with more focused storylines and varied match-types. By far the most difficult were the handicap matches which the game would often feed you. This would have to be one of the most popular N64 games to this day. I still play it with my latest project being 1999-2000 themed scenarios for guys like Kurt Angle, Triple H, Rikishi etc.

Woah guys, the mad men at Nintendo did it and released Mario...in Paper form! This was actually one of the most anticipated games for the N64 and was set to be released on the 64DD only to be pushed back. Paper Mario borrows a lot of ideas from the SquareSoft Mario RPG game but they leaned further into the straight forward button press gameplay. They also told a more traditional Mario story where it's Mario rescuing Peach from Bowser (instead of all three teaming up to take down a SquareSoft style villain). It's one of the most charming games on the N64 and the Paper aesthetic works wonderfully since it's not too dissimilar from Yoshi's Island. On top of that, the game makes a lot of references to other Mario games and features a lot of villains that would be considered deep cuts. On top of that, the game also plays around with character designs to help give classic Mario characters even more personality and make the Mushroom Kingdom feel more lived in.

One risk the game had is that at times it'll make you play as Princess Peach but these moments actually tend to be some of the best narratively since Bowser and his minions are among the best characters in the game. For Nintendo fans, this was a blast to play through and I still think it stands on it's own despite how good it's sequel (which included an entire chapter based on Pro Wrestling) is.

This game was also exceedingly rare in Australia. I never saw it on store shelves and wouldn't get my copy until 2007 when my mate just gave me his copy. It's the one game I'm most looking forward to playing on the Switch.

There were released like Pokemon Stadium 2 which included an additional 100 monsters and more modes as well as Mario Party 3 which had even more strategy but I feel BFD sums up the end of an era well. The N64 launched with Mario 64 a cutesy 3D platformer that introduced a lot of us to the genre and it ended with a cynical take starring an alcoholic squirrel. Originally the game was meant to come out in 1999 and be more like Banjo Kazooie but with more historical themed levels like a gladiator world among others. Rare decided to take it in a different direction and ended up coming up with this Monty Python lampoon of the genre filled with movie references and adult themes like that getting a big tittied sun flower to flash so a bee could pollinate it. The N64 had taken the 3D platform genre and made these huge elaborate worlds with thousands of things to collect and it was ready to move on for more mature pursuits.

Of course there's a few other releases I'm skipping over. Ogre Battle 64, Animal Crossing 64, Excitebike 64, Starcraft 64, Worm's Armaggeddon, Tony Hawk Pro Skateboarder, Turok 3, The World Is Not Enough, Aidyn's Chronicles, Daikatana, Indiana Jones, Sin and Punishment etc. but I haven't played a lot of those. When I think of this era, I think of really ambitious games that were too big for the hardware to handle or highly anticipated sequels that managed to exceed expectations.

I also think of SpaceWorld 2000 and the showcase of the GameCube with games like Luigi's Mansion, Metroid, Zelda, Perfect Dark, Wave Race, Meowth's Party etc. as well as future announcements for Eternal Darkness, Too Human, Pirates, Donkey Kong Racing etc. Also the release of the Game Boy Advance, the first true successor to the original 1989 GameBoy and being able to play 16-bit on the go. It was an exciting time, but all the expectations were set on the N64, the console that introduced millions to 3D gaming.

There's a paper version of Mario!?

Also the N64 is the best looking console ever. I also have a soft spot for the carts. I wish they had proper boxes like Sega did.

I was on Youtube, and I saw a huge block of N64 ads. Some iconic, others full of duds. But countless memories.