"Good system killed by low storage."

Intro :

This console was Nintendo's first true forage into the world of all-out 3D gaming. Sure, they had the 3DFX games on the SNES but they were a novelty more than anything (with a few big successes aka Starfox). Now they were leaving 2D games behind and following the next big thing. At first, Nintendo wanted to make a CD system but after the failures of a variety of prior consoles by other companies, they were reluctant to do so.

So, they decided to stick to Cartridges. This was both a good AND bad idea.
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Graphics : 8/10

Being a 64-bit console certainly helped but not in the way we think. The main advantage over the Playstation was non-existent polygon distortion and an all-around smoother look to textures and 3D models alike. It could've had even better graphics if not for other problems.

Basically, Nintendo 64 graphics were like the Playstation's except the "quality toggle" was put higher.

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Sound : 7/10

The sound effects were plenty good so things didn't sound out of place and were immersing as needed. However, the console's other problems prevented any memorable music from being produced so the hardware never was pushed to its limit.

The same problem applies to voices. It's not that the system couldn't do it. It most certainly could. Other hardware in the console prevented it from happening.

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Controls : 9/10

Nintendo's controller design is unorthodox but not inefficient. It has the mandatory buttons on the right, a D-pad on the left and a Control Stick down the middle. It also has the trademark shoulder buttons. There was also the addition of a new trigger-like one under the control stick generally used as the left shoulder button (or a gun trigger) for games with the stick.

The slot at the end of the controller was used for a variety of things but the most popular uses were for memory cards or the rumble feature. The memory cards were not always used because games could still provide cartridge-based battery saves. For what it's worth, being able to stay on the couch and hook up the cards in our controllers was quite fun. IF the game let us use them.

Unfortunately, the rumble feature was closer to a rich kid's novelty because the adapter required its own power source (in the way of AAA batteries if I remember well) so most people simply didn't bother with it.

With all that, the controller was well-made and none of the vital buttons are difficult to reach during intense gameplay. The only real downsides were the slot add-ons for being 50+% novelty.

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Storage medium : 6/10

The N64 used cartridges. Like I said, this was good AND bad. Cartridges, unlike CDs, provide near-instant loading times and quicker boot-ups when you turn on the console. Unfortunately, this is done at the crippling cost of storage capacity.

For example, a CD holds about 650 MB of data. N64's cartridges held a paltry 32 MB in comparison. Understandably, this drove off most game producers because it required too much programming skill for minor companies and the big shots like Squaresoft wouldn't be able to make epic games like Final Fantasy with only 32 MB.

for example, Gran Turismo 2 represents the capacity limit of the CDs while Perfect Dark and/or WWF: No Mercy represent the capacity of the cartridges.

While there were a few companies who took up the challenge (and succeeded), Nintendo had to make most of the games for the N64. The games were good too. However, Nintendo didn't know how to provide for every single genre which made the library biased in certain genres.

The lack of storage space also prevented the addition of Full motion videos, high quality voice-overs and maybe even high quality textures. In my opinion however, the importance of these is up to the player.

In shorter words, the cartridge format provided good performance but it was held back by its crippled capacity.

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Games : 5/10

Like every console, it had its share of good and bad games. Only, the N64 had both a lower total of games and had a biased library for reasons previously mentioned.

The Adventure genre was populated by Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64 and the still-popular Zelda : Ocarina of Time (also it's sequel, Majora's Mask which is just as good if you can get past the "younger" aspect). It also had a bunch of other titles that weren't nearly as memorable. Still, it beats the PS1's endless onslaught of mediocre games (my opinion of course). Mario 64 at the time was THE standard to which adventure games were compared.

The Action genre had its gems like Starfox 64, which was basically a remake of the original with the addition of a VERY basic multiplayer. Besides that, there was Mario Party which is a board game that features simple but frantic mini-games in-between turns. As for first-person shooters, we had Goldeneye and Perfect Dark which featured objective-based missions (for a change) and some of the greatest multiplayer that genre had seen. The Turok series was the closest competition and it wasn't even that good. Like all other consoles, it has its utterly forgettable games.

The Fighting genre was its weaker aspect. Unlike the PS1, which had all the big names like Street Fighter, Nintendo had to get by with one Mortal Kombat game, Super Smash Brothers and a bunch of titles nobody cares about. On the other hand, it also spawned the incredibly popular AKI wrestling series, which is still popular even today among wrestling fans.

The Racing genre was almost exclusively filled with arcade racers (with one or two mediocre simulations). The memorable ones were all made by Nintendo and Rare with the exception of Midway's Rush series (in my opinion). Though there WAS one game which was a poor man's Test Drive game. It was called Roadster Trophy and also featured simplistic tuning along with weird car physics (but no racing in town with traffic or cop chases).

The Traditional Role-playing genre might as well not be there because only Paper Mario is worth mentioning at all. Every other game was poorer than an RPG-Maker beginner's project. Unfortunately, ALL the good ones were on PS1.

The Puzzle genre is not one I'm familiar with but this genre's quality is generally independent of the console's capabilities.

The Sports genre, like every other console, had the "roster update" sports games but it also has Nintendo's home games with their characters. There was also a port of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which had shorter music and no bonus FMVs but provided better in-game graphics and performance.

And, believe it or not, it had two ports of PC Strategy games. There was Starcraft along with Command & Conquer. Not that the games themselves were bad but they simply weren't meant to be played with a controller. Or on a console for that matter, not to mention you have no access to the map editor or any 3rd party mods.

In the end, the library was too biased to attract enough buyers for a decisive victory. It was only saved because Nintendo made the few genres it had as good as they could.

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End : 7/10

If you have a critical eye for good games, you'll find excellent N64 title to populate your library with. In the fewer games that they have, there are those worth keeping.

however, don't expect to have the sheer variety of the PS1. Sony got all the 3rd party producers. Both big and small. However, Not to bash Sony (they DEFINITELY have their good games) but I believe the 650 MB limit made the producers lazy. I say this because for all the different games they have, I can't name any more good titles on the PS1 than on the N64.

A worthwhile system if you research which games to buy.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/05/07

Game Release: Nintendo 64 Hardware (US, 09/29/96)