Why do people hate on the N64?

[dreama1]

Since there as been a lot of comments about the N64's graphics I'd thought I'd chime in on the topic.


Early 3D no matter what console is was on (N64, PS1, Saturn, 3DO, Jaguar) has not aged well. Some games like Super Mario 64 (or pretty much most games published by Nintendo on the N64) and some by RARE still look pretty good given the talent that went into the polygon detail and decreased need for detail since most of these games were more cartoonish in nature. I feel like games that tried going for a more realistic look have ironically aged the worst in terms of graphics, again for any early system capable of 3D graphics.


With that said, I think there is a certain charm to the rugged 3D textures and polygons, and sometimes laughable attempts at realism. It's almost like how pixels on the Atari and Intellivision were often so bad to where you had to use some imagination to see that the blob of 10 huge pixels was actually a dragon. In sort of the same way, the sometimes ugly 3D graphics of the mid to late 90s really enhance the enjoyment of knowing I am playing a game from that time period and that that was as good as it got, at least for console gaming. It's definitely more of a nostalgic appreciation, but I wouldn't have the graphics on those systems be any other way

For me, this is always the case. The games we regard as the peak of graphical achievement and realism WHEN THEY ARE RELEASED are usually the games you go back to years later and say "man this looks like shit." Because at that point, someone has come through and improved on what was done years ago. Yet the games that try for a more artistic look usually hold up quite well. Good art direction/interesting character designs will always trump graphical prowess in my book.


And like you said, this was the case with ALL early 3D consoles. I just feel PS1/Saturn did better at throwing some more traditional 2D style games that look/play fantastic. Mostly fighting/platforming games but even with stuff like Wild Arms, which used 3D models in the battle sections but the overall feel of that game was just an updated take on the classic 3 quarter view 2D rpg the SNES made so popular. And it looked/looks great. This is why I usually consider the PS1 a truer successor to the SNES than the 64.

I don't think I agree all 3d games aged like shit. Most of them have. But good games are timeless. Conkers bad fur day has held up well I think most would agree. What doesn't age well is gimmicks.

[zenimus]

Mario Kart 64 doesn't seem to have aged too well. I recently brought it for my co-workers who had been enjoying Mario Kart 8. These guys love Mario Kart 8 and are good at it, but they're not really into video games too much outside of that.

At first they were excited to see what the N64 version would be like, but it ended up going over like a can of surströmming. After three courses of impossibly blurry split screens, they were begging to go back to the modern age. Even an old school veteran like myself had a hard time seeing what was going on.

[davifus]

N64 didn't aged well.

[dreama1]

Mario Kart 64 doesn't seem to have aged too well. I recently brought it for my co-workers who had been enjoying Mario Kart 8. These guys love Mario Kart 8 and are good at it, but they're not really into video games too much outside of that.

At first they were excited to see what the N64 version would be like, but it ended up going over like a can of surströmming. After three courses of impossibly blurry split screens, they were begging to go back to the modern age. Even an old school veteran like myself had a hard time seeing what was going on.

Ouch. What about the gamecube version?

[MJMaranan]

When I was younger, I still remember my hand cramping because of how bulky the controller was when I wielded it and fiddling around that annoying thumbstick.  The worst controller experience category definitely surpassed it's predecessor, in my opinion.

The games weren't that bad...  Although, the only games I really stuck to trying out, despite the hand-cramping, were Mario Kart 64, Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Caliber, Star Fox 64, and Wave Race 64.

The only reason I keep mine was because it was given to me by a classmate nearly a decade ago.

However, there are some games, mainly first party, that are the best that gaming has to offer.  The system is worth owning just for the two Zelda games alone.

Glad they were ported to the Gamecube.

[betelgeuse]

I never really cared for the N64 either.

I remember buying a Playstation and my friend bought the N64. The games were around $70 if you wanted the N64 version and they couldn't do the full motion video or voices like on CD based games (Mortal Kombat Mythologies comes to mind).

That was during the everything had to be in 3D era also. As an old school arcade gamer, I was still looking to play games like Mortal Kombat 3, WWF the Arcade Game (countless hours spent on this one and I never even watched wrestling before ), Raiden, In the Hunt etc. Like most have said here already, I too hated the N64 controller.

I have a few games that I received as gifts and a couple I bought on clearance, but no actual system...

[maximo310]

I  somewhat like the N64 mostly just because of many of Nintendo and Rare's offerings on the system, as well as some other exclusive games for the system. Besides that, there's a lot of cons of the system, especially with the controller and just less of a variety of genres in game offerings compared to it's counterparts, especially with the fact that it did not have many 2-D games. So the PS1 and Saturn beat out the N64 when it comes to games, and that puts them higher on my list of consoles for the 5th generation.

The interesting thing is that the mainstream idea is that many people really like the N64. There's a lot of praise for the system, with no regard in checking out the actual pros and cons of the console.

[gf78]

I certainly don't "hate" the N64, but it was most assuredly my least favorite Nintendo console having owned them all to date.  I think a lot of the dislike/hate has to do with drawing comparisons to the PlayStation which was it's direct competitor.  Nintendo stuck with the tried & true cartridge format which restricted what could be done with games.  On the other hand, the PlayStation opened the floodgates.  We were treated to these huge, sprawling worlds.  Real music.  Real voiceovers.  FMV which at the time was a really big deal.  Adult themes that we had never experienced.  Think about it:  Before PlayStation, there were no Resident Evil's or Tomb Raider's.  Final Fantasy exploded with FFVII and Castlevania had arguably it's best entry ever in Symphony of the Night.  Square, Titus, Enix, Atlus and just about every other RPG developer under the sun pumped out game after game after game.  How about Working Design's JRPG's?  The Lunar collections, Arc the Lad, Alundra....fantastic games.  And while PlayStation was getting all these great games, N64 was pretty much relegated to Nintendo-made games, some 2nd party stuff and very few 3rd party titles.  And for whatever reason-call my kooky if you want-I didn't like Ocarine of Time or Mario 64 at all.  And while people were going gaga for GoldenEye 007, I was playing Quake, Unreal and Doom on my PC and just couldn't get into a FPS on a console.