Nintendo 64

"Still a good system"

The Nintendo 64 was Nintendo's last to use the cartridge format, following the original NES and the SNES.

This had some major advantages and disadvantages when compared to its competitors, the Sony Playstation and the Sega Saturn. Obviously durability is one major advantage. Carts don't get scratched and are much more child-friendly in that sense.

But this also led to higher prices for both the consumers and Nintendo and also carts weren't able to run FMVs (Full motion videos) like the CD based games. Also, no CD quality sound.

The system itself is a neat looking little system that isn't too big to make it annoying. It has proven, like other Nintendo systems, to be durable over the years as there aren't a lot of moving parts to go wrong on it.

The controllers for the system are great for first person shooter games and while they make look awkward and funny, they get the job done. The first party controllers had one big issue and that is the control stick that is liable to wear out after some use. It can still be used once becoming loose but you will notice much harder control when it does become loose.

The controllers allowed for a rumble pak and a memory card to be used. The memory card is a way to move your saved games around to a friend's house and system and also because not all games allowed for saving on the cart itself.

Some games (Resident Evil 2, Ocarina of Time, etc. ) also used the dreaded save batteries which in time will die and thus have to be replaced.

Now let's get to the most important part, the games!

It's a Nintendo system, so of course, you have the standard Nintendo games on any system like Mario, Zelda, F-Zero and Starfox. Most first party games can be trusted to be at least playable and usually very good if not great.

Two of the most common genres on the system are the first person shooters and racing/driving games. FPS fans will obviously enjoy gems like Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, the Turok series, Quake, Doom and Duke Nukem.

Driving/racing fans will enjoy games such as Mario Kart, Cruisin' series, Top Gear series and several others such as San Francisco Rush.

There are good platform and adventure games as well including an amazing port of Resident Evil 2 along with Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, the Banjo games and Rayman for starters.

Then you have other games that stand out like Battletanx, Ogre Battle (a strategy RPG type game) and Harvest Moon 64.

Overall the game selection was far less than it was on Playstation but none the less, the games that are available for the system are worth having and playing. Many of the top of the line games are still being enjoyed today and are worth checking out.

The Nintendo 64 has gotten a bad rap for its use of cartridges and lack of titles when compared to Playstation, but the system was by no means a failure and shouldn't be overlooked. While not as popular or historical as earlier Nintendo systems, the 64 is one that can be enjoyed even today and has held up pretty well over the years.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/11/09

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