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 On 02/26/2014 at 11:33 AM by KnightDriver See More From This User » |
First off, during these years my friend Mark and I started going to FuncoLand and the flea markets and we picked up all the older systems like the Atari 2600, Intellivison, Colecovision, NES, SNES, and Genesis. I replayed some old games I loved and found some new ones.
Then I somehow got a N64. I played such games as: Hexen, Duke Nukem 64, Turok Series, Diddy Kong Racing, Bio F.R.E.A.K.S., Quake, Clay Fighter 63 1/3: Sculptor’s Cut, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, BattleTanx Series, Pokemon Snap, Destruction Derby 64, and Pokemon Stadium.
Hexen stands out as a favorite because it’s a FPS fantasy game, the sequel to Heretic. I can still hear the frog sounds they used in the background of one of the levels. I’ve heard that same sample in some recent games as well. The game had great atmosphere.
I played a ton of Duke Nukem 64 on split screen multiplayer. I still remember the exploding shotgun shells that my friend and I both ran for at the beginning of each match and the hordes of bots we put into the game to blast the heck out of. I liked bots because they were pretty stupid and easy to kill. It never got old seeing them explode.
Diddy Kong Racing somehow captured my imagination. I loved the hub world music with its funky rhythm and the races were a lot of fun. I liked that the races were tied to a kind of adventure game. As you beat a certain number of races, new doors would open to a different part of the world.
Clay Fighter 63 1/3: Sculptor’s Cut had a great theme song and hilarious voice work by the people who did the Animaniacs TV show. The fighting wasn’t very good but it was fun to try and use all the possible moves for a character to see their funny animations and hear their exclamations. I still quote the one-liners from that game regularly such as Sumo Santa saying, “My elves hit harder than you”. The Sculptor’s Cut version of Clay Fighter 63 1/3 was a Blockbuster only version of the game that had some extra characters and tweaks to the gameplay.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was and still is the best Star Wars flight combat game. Why can’t they repeat this game on today’s systems? I had high hopes for Lair on PS3 when I found out Rogue Squadron devs Factor 5 were doing it, but they were dashed when I discovered the dragon’s flew like double semi-trailer trucks, slow and cumbersome.
I was always looking for games that let two people play co-op through the campaign and Battle Tanx: Global Assault was one of them. It was huge fun to blast away everything in sight with a friend.
Pokemon Snap was a gem. I love photography and this game uses it in an amazing way. You had to compose your snaps in a certain way to please Professor Oak. The game is an on-rails shooter and I often joke when on a real photo shoot that “it’s Pokemon Snap time”. My one issue with Pokemon Snap though was that the grading system favored the subject being in the center of the image. I like subjects that imply movement towards or around the center. I had to think a little more simply about photography to get the shots that pleased Prof. Oak.
Destruction Derby 64 was awesome. I still remember playing with a friend, racing along a course in opposite directions to finally end in a head on collision. There have been lots of destruction derby games since then, but I think the Burnout series has best carried on what was great about Destruction Derby 64. It was more than just an arena where you crashed into other cars, you also had to race a track as well.
I recently saw a band with the name of the coolest weapon ever created, the Cerebral Bore used in Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. Watching a buddy or bot get bored through the skull with this thing made me laugh every time.
For PSX games I’ll have to do a separate blog. So stay tuned.
Ooh I remember when N64 came out, but I went Playstation. My one regret during this time was not buying the Pikachu N64 when Toys R Us was blowing them out for $50. I blame the lack of funds being a typical broke college student.
I really do need to hook up my N64 and get back into Rogue Squadron. Such a good game.
I got a PSX and a N64 around that time. I forget which one I got first. I know I got neither of them on day-one. Everything I got then was used stuff.
Rogue Squadron still hasn't been beaten, but i'd like to revisit Rogue Squadron II because I got a GameCube for that game and didn't get into it much. I forget why.
I found an N64 at Goodwill for $10 and I bought some games for it, but I've never got around to hooking it up. One of the games I did grab is a copy of Pokemon Snap because I, too, love games with photography in them.
I want to go back to that game because I forget if I finished it or not.
I had The Sculpture's Cut but it's sold now. I played many of the same games. The N64 got a lot of use at our house.
My friend sold one of his copies. I think he has one left, as do I.
I think I was bouncing back a forth between PSX and N64, but I loved Hexen on N64 best of all.
Played or remember most of these. Good times.
I actually prefer Rogue Squadron II for GCN though, it wasn't as hard for me.
I've heard a lot of people rave about RSII. I got a GameCube to play it, only, I don't think I played it much. I forget why. I want to revisit it to find out.
I played a hell of a lot of N64, but what really got me were the final fantasy games in those years. VIII and IX really made me happy.
At the time I had no interest in JRPGs. I did get Chrono Cross though and play some of it. I remember that one.
The only one I'd played from this list Diddy Kong Racing (which I never owned). I remember having a good time with it and also liking the DS remake.
The Lobby Theme is permanently burned into my brain. So funky!
I gotta try that DS version sometime.
I used to bug my older brother all the time to play his N64. The only games I really remember playing for it were Mario 64 and Duke Nukem 64.
I played Duke Nukem on both PSX and N64. For some reason the multiplayer ended up being totally different. I remember playing special arenas in the N64 version and across all the story mission maps in the PSX version.
The N64 was a great system, but it was also the first console that caused me to buy a competitor's game machine: the PlayStation. While the games in this era look ugly by today's standards, it was an exciting time in gaming because the possibilities seemed endless. Plus this is when I started reviewing games professionally.
Remember putting one of these memory expansion paks in the N64?
Pokemon Snap was my jam. That game was so innovative. Camera Sim/ Rail Shooter. What how is that awesome. But it is. I miss Funcoland.
I really want to play Pokemon Snap again.
Diddy Kong Racing is awesome.
I want to go back and revisit it.
The thing that ruined Diddy Kong Racing for me was that you couldn't really beat it unless you collected everything. I finally got to Wiz Pig and beat him, which was really hard, and then afterwards he just showed back up and chased us all away because I hadn't collected all the doodads. Left a sour taste in my mouth. Technically, though, it's a very solid racer.
I still quote Clayfighter 63 1/3 too. Tons of great one liners 
I never finished Diddy Kong Racing. Would love to go back and do that though.
The Clay Fighter 63 1/3 Sculptor's Cut theme is one of my favorites. "pounding clay is all the rage"
I have plenty of memories with the N64. My buddy and I would get together at least once a month and play through the night. We did make our way through Battle Tanx: Global Assault one time. Otherwise we spent the majority of our time with Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.
For some reason, and I was an FPS fan at the time, I didn't play Goldeneye or Perfect Dark. I own them now and have sampled both. It was all Duke Nukem, Quake, Turok, and Hexen in that genre for me.
I still loved my augmented N64 I have right now. I need to work on a collection for that system though. I even have a funny story myself on how I tried to get my first N64 back in the day that involved a marriage proposal. Perhaps one day I'll post that blog.
I just heard the patent licence for the N64 hardware is up soon, meaning people can sell knock offs. I imagine the Retron will include a N64 slot now. Speaking of which, have you seen this Retron 5 that's coming out soon? The more I hear about it, the more I like it.
Ive seen that beast and I'm debating about getting it. If it can truely deliver in playing every game it can as it were the original hardware, I'd be hard pressed not to buy it. I held off in getting prior units given how they couldn't play Castlevania III, a must title for any NES owner.
I do have room on game rig three for that unit but perhaps now maybe I should old off in case the make a retron 6 with the N64 capablities.
This new one does something to the graphics to make the games look better on modern tvs. I think that's pretty cool.
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