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Nerds Without Pants   

Nerds Without Pants Episode 64: NINTENDO SIXTY FOUR

More powerful than two Atari Jaguars taped together!

Welcome to the 64th episode of Nerds Without Pants! As you may have guessed (because Julian is a lazy dude that loves easy topics), this episode is all about the Nintendo 64. Come join the Pantsless Ones as we discuss the mouthwatering anticipation for Project Reality, some of our favorite and obscure games for the platform, and where it sits in video game history. It’s a fun and free-flowing conversation that may  be a little different than the usual retrospective type podcasts. Stay tuned after the final song for Julian's mini rant about the Royal Rumble. Enjoy!

FEATURED MUSIC:

Super Mario 64- Main Theme

The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time- Title Screen

Buck Bumble- Title Screen


 

Comments

transmet2033

02/09/2015 at 11:08 AM

I actually just picked up a copy of bothe Jet Force Gemini and Body Harvest a week or so ago.  Now I just need to set up the N64.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/09/2015 at 01:46 PM

Jet Force Gemini was great back in the day!  I dunno how it's aged though.  

Julian Titus Senior Editor

02/09/2015 at 11:22 PM

I would be very interested in hearing what your thoughts on Body Harvest end up being.

F1r3inth3H0L3

02/09/2015 at 10:55 PM

I never owned a N64, I went from NES to Sega Genesis to Playstation. I do remember going into Blockbuster and playing the demo for Starfox 64 all the time and I loved playing that game.

I also remember my N64 owning friends talking about Ocarina of Time like it was the best thing since sliced bread. And then of course the GoldenEye crowd. I had gone over to their house to play it with them and me (a first timer) against 3 seasoned players; I didn't even get one kill the whole afternoon I played with them! I then refused to play that game from that point on and never played again to this day, lol.

So maybe I am not the best one to talk about the N64, I just was sharing my memories.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

02/09/2015 at 11:23 PM

We love it when people share their memories!

One that I sadly forgot to mention on the show was the hours upon hours playing Worms Armageddon with my coworkers after we would close the store, as well at my best friend's house. Holy Hand Grenade for the win!

Michael117

02/10/2015 at 05:53 PM

Over the lifespan of the N64 I mostly rented games and owned a very small selection of the ones I ended up loving most (after renting them and realizing I needed them for good). Loved both Zeldas that came out, Body Harvest, Goldeneye, Turok 2, and a lot of others.

Battle Tanx 1 and 2 were games I loved that nobody talks about. I really preferred playing those games to Twisted Metal or any other driving combat games. I was a Nintendo kid and I didn't own a PS1, but I played a lot of playstation games on machines that friends or cousins had. I loved the big maps in Battle Tanx, the player guided missles, the tower defense style turrets you could place and upgrade, and the variety of tanks. Each level in the game was almost 100% destructible, and you could prove it by finding the Nuke and setting it off, then watching the whole map blast into pieces.

I also liked Starfox 64 alot. My cousins and I tried for a long time to get perfect scores on all the levels and we have a home video on VHS of us beating the game and getting everything perfect, and celebrating like crazy. 

Julian Titus Senior Editor

02/10/2015 at 11:08 PM

The Battle Tanx games were awesome. I managed to sell a decent amount of those just based on in store demos.

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/11/2015 at 03:12 AM

Long comment with not much to add except "ooh I played that too!"

I tend to side with Julian. Even growing up on my older brother's NES and SNES, I wouldn't say the N64 was a surprise, given the EGM and Nintendo Power hype for it in print magazines. Same with PS2 era. The mind blow wasn't a system coming out, it was wondering how they could top the last system graphically. I just don't see the new Internet-savvy generation of kids being all that surprised by new consoles coming out.

I love the N64 gift-getting stories. Getting N64 with Star Fox 64 and N64 is my favorite Christmas memory. I remember that new console smell and everything. I got mine in 1997 and thought Super Mario 64 came out after Star Fox 64 and that Star Fox 64 was the system seller. I guess it was for me anyway. In similar fashion, I never played Final Fantasy VII and associate Metal Gear Solid the most heavily with the Playstation.

Yeah, the games were too damn expensive. Pretty sure Shadows of the Empire was $70 when I got it. Oh dear. Those first few levels were fun, but going back to play it now and even then, you wonder how we ever survived not having a right analog stick to control the camera. Soooo awkward to play.

I remember when Goldeneye was the #1 game on the Nintendo Power sales list for MONTHS. I actually relate to Julian here, I remember renting it, enjoying it somewhat, thinking it was ok, and sending it back. I played the multiplayer well after it came out as well and ... wasn't a HUGE fan of it even then, but understood it better I guess? Playing with the Golden Gun was fun. I've only recently come around on FPS games to be honest.

I remember my friend Abdulatif had Jet Force Gemini. Seemed like a cool game. If Super Mario 3D was the first 3D platformer though, Tekken was the first 3D fighter I ever personally played or saw. 

Yeah, DK64 had lots of crap in it. Very fun game, but difficult to know where the hell you are later on. I never did get into Banjo games, though my neighbors loved 'em. I mostly remember the level in the sewer with the metal shark and thinking it was tedious. Did love me some DK64 at the time though. So maybe owning these games was the difference; appreciating the amount of crap as you said. 

I remember being devastated when mom shut Star Fox 64 off after I'd gotten farther than ever in that short game. Can't imagine how awful not being able to save in a JRPG would be. I did get to a part in Pokemon Blue where I thought I'd lost all my progress and cried like a bitch about it. World of Warcraft kid from that old Tosh.O episode levels of being a whiny bitch about that one. No remote up my ass though. 

I ... honestly never liked Rogue Squadron. Always found it too hard. Ya lost me a bit with the reverse engineering, but it does sound cool. 

I remember the box art for Body Harvest much better than the actual game; Blast Corps I loved renting. I don't think I was too quick with the TNT puzzles either, but blowing stuff up was very fun. Never even heard of Space Station Silicon Valley, or so I thought before looking up YouTube footage and realizing I totally rented it ... but hot damn I loved Beetle Racing! Still remember the EGM ad and how fun a rental that was. Speaking of racing games and loading everything at once. I really loved Cruisin' USA for N64.

I remember Turok being a HUGE deal back in the day and coveting the hell out of it. My friend Chris had Turok II. I loved dinosaurs, so that was a part of it. Then the new one came out for Gamecube and I thought it was a terrible, foggy mess when I played it at a Game Stop kiosk.

Definitely rented Quest 64. It may have influenced my distaste for JRPGs further, except I remember actually kind of enjoying it? 

Never heard of Winback until now, but looking it up it looks A LOT like MGS. Might have to look for that next time I go N64 shoppin'. I also liked the N64 Raymans. 

Killer Instinct Gold was very fun ... I think my older brother actually broke my other N64 controller due to a cheap battle in single-player. I like both that and the SNES original, but I loved the ring out animations on N64. Never really got into MK Trilogy. I thought the TMNT movie was ok from what I saw. Kevin Smith was in that I know; saw that scene.

I still enjoy whipping out the ol' N64. The games are fun, the graphics are just really dingy. In fact, that might be part of why I prefer Mario Sunshine to Mario 64. I know I've said this a lot, but I have zero nostalgia for Mario 64 and never regarded it as highly as everyone else. Do not agree that it holds up incredibly well today, though it is fine. I did like the DS version with different characters, but the 3DS joystick could be beneficial. Never played Conker either, but it was a big topic around the playground when it released. Going back to the dinginess of N64 color schemes, I think it's fitting there were so many garbage and crap monsters. 

I love Star Fox in general, so to hell with you Julian. Tongue Out Kiddin'. The N64 was my older brother's turn from Nintendo, but it had nothing to do with FFVII for him either it didn't seem. Speaking of sound, I was always jealous PSX could play music CDs. Oh how far we've come.

Unfortunately, I think the joyous ocassion of gaming left me when I left childhood. Maybe if I get a new console, I can get some of that magic back. I love Majora's Mask except that time thing ... the changes they made there make me want a 3DS, because the rest of that game is brilliant. 

I'll rate and review on iTunes when I reinstall iTunes ... need to upload all my CDs still in fact. Buck Bumble was another one I loved renting. Appreciate the music. 

When is CM Punk gonna get a UFC match? And yeah, Battle Tanx was awesome. Still loved Twisted Metal II and its funny endings though. #Hoodslam

Julian Titus Senior Editor

02/12/2015 at 01:40 AM

What is this?! Someone outdid Michael117's Wall 'o Text (tm)?! Egad!

To be fair, I played Mario 64 for the first time since the game's launch in 2009 when I bought an N64 off of a coworker and played it for about half an hour. I still feel like I didn't have any problems with the camera or getting Mario to do what I want to do, but playing Sunshine or Galaxy I always feel like I'm fighting him a little bit. It might be a control thing for me...not sure.

You proved you listened to the outtake thingy! You are my favorite listener. I don't know when Punk's first match is, but if he ever actually fights Jason David Frank I am totally there. CM Punk vs. the Green Ranger? Hell yeah!

daftman

02/17/2015 at 10:27 AM

Ah, the N64. Good times, good times. We got one as soon as we could find one and didn't have any games at first. Then we got Mario Kart 64 and played that sooooo much. We eventually got a PlayStation as well but to be honest we played more on the 64.

You guys mentioned Hybrid Heaven and I thought that was a really cool game. I remember the story was really good, all about alien abductions and clones and an attempt to take over the US. It was a real thriller, exciting up till the end.

I also loved Jet Force Gemini. I never finished it because of Rare's stupid insistence on collectathons, but it was tons of fun up till then and it had great multiplayer.

I can't believe you guys didn't mention Mario Party or Smash Bros.! Man, the N64 just killed the PS1 when it came to multiplayer games. Bomberman had great multiplayer too. Speaking of which, I loved Bomberman 64. I thought that game was great and I know a lot of people didn't...which is because they don't know how to appreciate good games

I'm glad Space Station Silicon Valley got a shout out. I loved that game but man, it was hard. The N64 was also the first system I imported a game for (I only did that one other time): Sin and Punishment! That was an awesome game you could play through in an hour, kind of like Star Fox 64. I've played through that game dozens of times.

Anyway, I'll get going now. A lot of N64 games haven't aged well, I'm sure, but I sure enjoyed the heck out of a lot of those games back in the day. This episode was a nice reminder of those good times.

Julian Titus Senior Editor

02/19/2015 at 07:29 PM

Yay, I'm glad someone out there played Hybrid Heaven! I didn't play a ton of it, but I remember really enjoying what I did play.

I think we would have mentioned Smash Bros. for sure if we were talking more of the mainstream games, but Patrick took us in an interesting direction that I wasn't expecting. Hope you enjoy our PlayStation episode in September.

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