Nintendo 64 15th anniversary -- What are your N64 memories?

[Verisimilitude1984]

Great to see so many people have happy memories of the N64.

I grew up with a SNES, so I did actually buy a PSONE next (largely because my Uncle bought one and seeing Formula One and Die Hard Trilogy on it with 3D graphics and CDs was mind-blowing to me).

Then the hype for Super Mario 64 came around, with lots of articles in game magazines and then people playing it on TV on launch day. I'm a MASSIVE Mario fan and the game just looked REVOLUTIONARY. I really wanted to get an N64 then but just couldn't. I remember a game shop supposedly charging £5 to play Super Mario 64 and I was so tempted. In the end, my parents bought me an N64 from MVC - the limited edition gold controller bundled with Goldeneye (a favourite film of mine and people were RAVING about that game).

I lost so many hours on Goldeneye, the game was just amazing and so addictive. I remember playing it on hard and getting really good at it. One of my favourite memories was spending days trying to beat the Facility level under a time limit to get the invincibility cheat.

I then looked forward to Castlevania 64 (I'm a massive fan of that too) and remember enjoying it a lot, but thinking it wasn't quite as good as I had hoped it would be. I then bought Curse of Darkness later, which was fun but seemed just a retread.

More games came out on PSONE and third party support on N64 dwindled. I think CDs vs. cartridges was decided by Final Fantasy VII, which was amazing. I also think the anti-aliasing element of the N64 wasn't quite as good in the end (all a bit blurry - I remember a show on TV comparing the jaggies in Tomb Raider on PSONE to the N64's Super Mario 64).

In the end YEARS later, I did sell the console and my games. However, the memories remain and I did download Mario 64 for my Wii

[Slim Jim]

Playing WWF NO MERCY for hours and other great games.

[Mavrick]

twin stick controller for the N64 Can't believe I've only just seen this

EL QUADINAROS STAR WARS EPISODE 1 RACER N64 CONTROLLER - CLARKY CREATIONS - YouTube

[Cobolisdead]

I didn't have a N64 during its heyday. I was a PS1 fan due to Resident Evil and FF7. I bought my N64 in 2005 from EB Games for $20, I got a green one with a green controller. I got it because back in Spring Break 2002, I played Mario Kart 64 and and Conker's Bad Fur Day at a College Buddy's condo. It was pretty awesome, and I wanted to have those games. I ended up just picking up a few games for it, Mario Kart, Golden Eye, Crusin USA, and Smash Bros. (I picked up the Xbox version of Conker)

It is a neat little system, but like most of my retro games, it is now in storage.

[Derb]

Remember having nothing but issues with my Sony PlayStation (before they numbered them) taking it in for service only to get one that lasted a month.

The N64 was a blessing.

[Jamescush]

Playing Goldeneye matches with my brother.

So much fun.

[dyne]

A really good looking 370 page book was successfully Kickstarted if anybody is interested.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/201...ource_for_fans

[AllHallowsEve]

Playing a ton of Donkey Kong 64 with my old high school girlfriend. We also had some epic battles playing Mario Party 1 with my sister.

[BillyTeddy]

Watching a friend play Ocarina of Time back in the late 90's or early 2000's and being terrified of seeing Redeads for the first time.
Playing Super Mario 64 and Star Fox 64 for the first time, I'll never forget it.

[deltatauhobbit]

I remember thinking I had no interest in getting a Nintendo 64. That was until I picked up the controller and started playing Mario 64. Blockbuster had a game system hooked up in their store with Mario in it free to play for as long as you wanted. Being able to run around in 3D like that, it was mesmerizing.

Of course, Goldeneye remains one of the best 64 memories. After 8th grade graduation, one of my friends threw a huge party and had about 30 people over. Goldeneye was hooked up so we'd take turns playing 4 player multi-player from pretty much dusk 'til dawn in between hanging out in the pool and drinking Mountain Dew to stay awake.

[Jodi]

GoldenEye 64. I never had so much fun blowing up so much s**t!!! Remember how you could blow up computers, bookshelves, desks, tables, chairs, glass -- GE64 had completely destructible environments, so you could do much more than just waste bad guys.

Speaking of bad guys, I did like the sniper rifle -- ever so often, if you shot a dude in the head with your sniper rifle, you'll notice the guy holding his neck (apparently unable to breathe) before he'd croak. That's what a bullet to the brain stem will do.

[BizCat]

This thread has inspired me to dig out my N64 and hook it up.

When I first had my N64 I was pretty young, like late elementary. My parents never wanted to spend much on games and I never had my own money then to go after them. If I wanted to play Mario Kart or Goldeneye, it was always down the road at a friend's house.

I should get on ebay or whatever and buy some of those games, along with controllers and memory pack.

[shinobipopcorn]

I think one of my best N64 memories was correctly guessing that (I suppose this is a spoiler...?)

[Show spoiler]Sheik was Zelda

as soon as I saw him. We were at a friend's house playing the game when it first came out, and they had the camera zoomed right up on him trying to figure out who he was, and I said "I bet he's

[Show spoiler]Zelda

. They didn't believe me at all. Well guess who turned out to be right?

Then the hype for Majora's Mask... And the Mario 64 rumors, lots of fun. That was back when you had to get your info from EGM or other magazines instead of the internet shooting everyone down. I kind of miss those days.

[Firefoxie]

I played the hell out of Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. In fact, it was Ocarina of Time that made me want a N64 so bad! I loved Zelda: Link to the Past on the SNES so when I read the article and saw the screen shots from Ocarina in Nintendo Power magazine, I was beyond hyped. I'm really hoping that Nintendo ports over the 3DS remakes of both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask over to the Switch.

I also played Resident Evil 2 a lot, but I remember Capcom messed up some of the music and cut scenes for the N64 version. Still, Resident Evil 2 was such a classic and I played the N64 port of RE2 just as much as the PS1 version. I always like changing the blood to blue or green especially since you didn't have the option on the PlayStation.

[TheSpruceMoose]

Top memory, nothing may ever top this.

It's New Years Eve 1999, all of my cousins are sleeping over to watch the ball drop and celebrate and then comes my aunt. She was away for Christmas so she came by to give me a belated gift. It was a big shoe box filled with stuff, socks and what not, but then buried underneath it all was Goldeneye! From that point we all played Goldeneye throughout the night, watched the new millennium and then continued playing even after we filled with the living room with party string and champagne.

[Zwiebelfuss]

I had an N64 directly at relaese and my first memory was the very new unusual controller. I needed some time to handle it.
The first game i played with my friends was of course Mario 64 and it blew us away.
Still today sometimes i play this game because its just so good.

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by Jodi

GoldenEye 64. I never had so much fun blowing up so much s**t!!! Remember how you could blow up computers, bookshelves, desks, tables, chairs, glass -- GE64 had completely destructible environments, so you could do much more than just waste bad guys.

Speaking of bad guys, I did like the sniper rifle -- ever so often, if you shot a dude in the head with your sniper rifle, you'll notice the guy holding his neck (apparently unable to breathe) before he'd croak. That's what a bullet to the brain stem will do.

Sniper Rifle please.... lets talk about the real gun the Magnum where you could kill ppl through bulletproof glass and doors. Then there was the ultimate cheat playing as ****ing oddjob. God so much fun playing Goldeneye to me its still the best multiplayer FPS ever invented.

Mario 64 with the buttslide was fun as hell to

Ocarina of Time was just wow.

Killer Instinct 64 was fun

Mario Kart 64

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was fun to

[Luke Dodge748]

What a great thread. Shame to see it getting so little use though. I was always a Sega guy growing up but enjoyed Nintendo. But somehow the Nintendo 64 would become my favorite system looking back. Games were so incredibly fluid (see Wave Race 64 but pardon the pun). That analog controller was incredible.

I've never really been great at games, even my all-time favorite MKII. But somehow I found my game with Golden Eye. I remember beating the living Daylights out of every one of my friends. I was Lebron-levels of dominant with Golden Eye. Slaps, Golden Gun, whatever - I would find you and (video game) kill you.

Mario Kart was another incredibly fun and addictive multi-player game as was Star Fox for a limited time. I was so happy to be able to play San Francisco Rush at home! I even got into Mario Party, which was never my wheel house. I really really hope the mini game continues and Nintendo gives us a mini N64. I'll buy two: one for display and one to open and play... Okay, probably not, but I love this console.

[Bri97]

Hello! The Nintendo 64 marked an incredible era in gaming. Titles like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and GoldenEye 007 defined 3D and remain unforgettable. What are your favorite memories with the console? By the way, thank you so much for these articles, they are always very useful! I like slot games, my favorites are Fire’n Diamonds and Midas Dynasty by Tom Horn Gaming. I also follow DiceGirl Egle on Twitch, a slot expert who shares interesting strategies. Good day everyone!

[ePiL3PTiCPoNy]

My fondest N64 memory (aside from the obvious GoldenEye ones) has to be playing it when it first came out at the kiosks in Toys R Us. We would bike to the store and spend hours there!