Nintendo 64 Turns 20 – a Look Back at What Made the Console a Classic
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Even after turning 20, the Nintendo 64 is still the life of the party for the underground gaming community. Arguably the most iconic gaming system ever to be sold in the US, the Nintendo 64 was sign of transition in gaming with its 3D 64-bit graphics that offered more textures and colors seen in other systems.
N64 games also offered more freedom for players in exploration with games like Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo Kazooie, Jet Force Gemini, and even racing games like Diddy Kong Racing offered players a world outside the racetracks to discover.
Supporting up to four players at once, Nintendo 64 has set precedence for future gaming systems. One of the most groundbreaking games, especially shooters, was Goldeneye 64. Not only did Goldeneye have an immersive campaign that rewarded players a special treat if they beat it at the hardest play setting, it had set a template for addictive future LAN-party shooter games like Halo. Remnants of Goldeneye’s simplistic FPS controls are still seen in games like Battlefield and Call of Duty.
Splitting the screens in four ways worried the gaming industry if it would hinder the N64 enjoyability, but it turned out to be just angst. Games like Goldeneye 64 never suffered from the four-way split and never hurt games on future systems with higher resolution thanks to technological advancements in the TV industry.
The Nintendo 64 was also able to cater games for four players without splitting the screen, in games like Super Smash Brothers and Mario Party, where all gamers played on the same screen. Both games also happen to be huge favorites for gamers still to play at parties and competitions. Super Smash Brothers arguably is the catalyst to meme internet culture with Captain Falcon’s catchphrase “Falcon Punch!”
But Super Smash Brothers wasn’t the only game that became embedded into gaming lingo and internet memes. One game, that happened to be so groundbreaking and legendary, that not only is present in internet memes, provides players with large areas to explore, and is idolized in gaming communities, that it is also considered the best game ever to be made for any gaming system in existence even today. That game is Zelda: Ocarina of Time and by all gaming metrics is considered a masterpiece.
Easily, Zelda: Ocarina of Time showed the capabilities of what future games can do in terms of exploration, creating immersive worlds, a page-turning (or in this case, temple-turning) storyline, and simple game-playing mechanics. The development of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is analogous to Einstein’s Theory on Special and General Relativity. Thanks to Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the gaming industry was able to be seen as more than just a mindless activity for people to pass the time but also as an art.
It doesn’t feel like the Nintendo 64 is 20, but maybe that’s just because it’s timeless. The machine continues to entertain players and its influence can be seen in newer systems by an older generation of gamers.
