NINTENDO 64
nintendo’s n game Manufacturer: Nintendo | Year: 1996
The Nintendo 64 marked the beginning of the end of Nintendo as the dominant player in gaming, but it nevertheless leaves behind a legacy of truly exceptional games. the influence of Super Mario 64, Ocarina Of Time and Goldeneye can still be felt in games today while its bespoke controller also set a trend that would be repeated in its later systems.
mark r Jones, Former 8-bit graphic artist and N64 collector You’re a big collector of the system, what do you like about it?
the big thing for me was that I felt games had actually entered the next phase with the introduction of proper 3D. With the Snes we were still really getting soupedup versions of games I’d played on the Spectrum, just with better graphics, smoother scrolling and more memory. With the n64 and the 3D it was capable of
that next phase had finally been reached. the instant loading afforded to us by the games being stored on cartridge was also a welcome luxury. I was also quite ill for a period I owned my n64 and was holed up in my house, not being able to go out much, so having a machine kept me as sane as I could under the circumstances and my day would consist of the copious cups of coffee, 20 Marlboro Lights (I did give up the evil tobacco eventually) and my n64. I worked through most of Donkey Kong 64 during this period, though I still have never managed to finish it.
What legacy will the N64 leave behind?
It has a comparatively small library of titles compared to other consoles but that collection contains some of the best games ever produced. I do see the machine getting slagged off quite a bit due to its blurry graphics and some titles short draw distances but none of that bothered me, back then or now. admittedly, some graphics [on certain games] look a bit dated but there’s a core of games there that can still amaze and are still a joy to play even 20 years later.
Ah, so it was the games. So how impactful do you think games like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina Of Time are to the industry?
Hugely. they showed everyone what was needed to make a perfect game and what was possible. Both those games are still amazing to load up and play and still will be in a hundred years’ time. nintendo got it so right. not only did everything look jaw-droppingly gorgeous, they got the playability, difficulty levels, sound and music spot on. at the time of their release there really was nothing like them. nothing came close. We were witnessing the second coming and I was getting the same amount of wonderment I’d experienced over ten years ago when I was witnessing all the firsts of 8-bit gaming with my ZX Spectrum!