OOT always has been and always will be better than Majora's mask. Majora's is great just because it tackled the 'impossible task' of following on from OOT with great aplomb but OOT was the blueprint for all the craziness of MM to add onto. If i had to lose one - it would be MM.
Please don't ever make me have to lose one, though.
1. Zelda OoT 2. Super Mario 64 3. Jet Force Gemini 4. Perfect Dark 5. Donkey Kong 64 6. Mario Tennis 7. Conkers Bad Fur Day 8. Banjo Tooie 9. Zelda MM 10. Robot Rocket on Wheels 11. Mario Kart 64 12. Space Station Silicon Valley 13. Body Harvest 14. Star Wars Rogue Squadron 15. Super Smash Bros. 16. Banjo Kazooie 17. 1080 Snowboarding
That's as far as I can remember what I owned; and yes some notable absences such as Goldeneye, Blast Corp, KI, DKR, Lylat Wars, but that's because I never actually owned them, sad I know
1) Ocarina of Time 2) Perfect Dark 3) Super Smash Bros 4) Mario Kart 64 5) Goldeneye 6) Majoras Mask 7) Lylat Wars 8) No Mercy 9) Excitebike 64 10) Super Mario 64 11) Diddy Kong Racing 12) F-Zero X 13) Banjo Kazooie 14) 1080 15) Mario Golf 16) Mario Party 2 17) Wrestlemania 18) TWINE 19) Snowboard Kids 20) Donkey Kong 64
1. Ocarina of Time 2. Mario Kart 64 3. Paper Mario 4. Banjo-Kazooie 5. Majora's Mask 6. Goldeneye 7. Super Mario 64 8. Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon 9. Jet Force Gemini 10. Super Smash Bros. 11. Diddy Kong Racing 12. F-Zero X 13. Snowboard Kids 14. Rocket: Robot on Wheels 15. Blast Corps 16. Mario Tennis 17. Spacestation Silicon Valley 18. Pokemon Snap 19. Ridge Racer 64 20. Yoshi's Story
Generating Real Conversations About Digital Entertainment
1. Perfect Dark 2. Goldeneye 3. Jet Force Gemini 4. Conker's Bad Fur Day 5. Donkey Kong 64 6. F Zero X 7. Shadows of the Empire 8. Snowboard Kids 9. Mario Kart 10. Ocarina of Time 11. Micro Machines 12. Turok 2
Where is the bloody Shadows of the Empire love you massive scoundrels?
1. mario 64 2. Goldeneye 3. ocarina of time 4. WWF no mercy 5. excitebike 64 6. 1080 snowboarding 7. conker's bad fur day 8. majora's mask 9. ISS 98 10. waverace 64 11. banjo-kazooie 12. mario tennis 13. mario golf 14 F-Zero X 16. Perfect Dark 17. Blast Corps 18. Rogue Squadron 19. Fighters Destiny 20. mario party 21. shadows of the empire (for smurphy)
I composed this in the space of a few evenings and have performed no spelling corrections, but here is my heterodox Nintendo 64 list--where the rankings of the games are based on the brightness of my earliest memories of the game rather than overall impression!
1. Wave Race 64 Notable memory: I was very young when seeing it for the first time, but my abiding memory will always be of Drake Lake. Consequence of possessing some atrocious game-playing skills in those days, the furthest I could ever get in the game was Drake Lake before I was forced to retire from the league due to a lack of points. Drake Lake became a finishing line, but it was a fey one; the eerie fog effect plus the serene music made the whole track feel otherworldly--but, at the same time, it felt rooted in the sensory reality of a crisp, wintery day. This stage allows for sensory overload--and it's for that reason that so early a memory is so vivid and impressive in my mind.
2. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Notable memory: Traversing the fields of Hyrule as child Link with my dad. He had the strategy guide to lead me to the right areas, while I took control of Link. It's not a grand memory, but it's one that isn't distorted by all the times I've revisited Hyrule by myself--and it's for the purity of that memory that I have to list it here.
3.= Lylat Wars Notable memory: Reaching Sector Z for the first time. It was in December, and my family was about to head out to do some shopping for Christmas decorations. I had to go with them, and rather than risk never being able to return to Sector Z by turning the console off, I left it on and spent my entire journey to the shops and back worrying that the console had caught fire from being left on too long. When I returned, I was able to experience both relief and intrigue, the latter from being able to continue on to Area 6--which I'd also never seen before--and the former because the machine was still O.K..
3.= Super Mario 64 Notable memory: My parents bought the game for me on the day of my aunt's graduation from university, and the celebrations were held at a classy hotel. I remember spending most of my time sitting on a glass staircase there, poring obsessively over the instruction booklet and being utterly, utterly astounded by all the renders of Mario and his manoeuvres. The plot of the game sounded mysterious to me--the empty castle; the spooky voice as Mario entered--and the way Mario looked back then--I maintain he looked somewhat darker and less saccharine--augmented that impression of mystery. Entering the castle courtyard when I loaded the game up upon arriving home from the hotel, where no music played and only the sounds of birds pervaded the grounds of a desolate castle surrounded by ocean, made me shiver with trepidation as I worried that something was going to emerge to get me.
5. Paper Mario Notable memory: The day I got the game, I was scheduled to meet up with my best friend. Due to a lack of communication, it looked like he was never going to be able to make it over to my house. I was actually really upset about this, and was moping about the house alone when the telephone rang. Ten years old, normally I would never have answered--and I'm not sure what compelled me to pick it up in the end--but I did answer, and lo' and beyond, my friend was able to join me. We played through the opening segment of the game up until King Goomba, and I was glad of my companion's company all the while.
6. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Notable memory: Despite the game having broken my heart at Christmas--I didn't have an Official RAM Expansion Pak--I do remember the March day that I received, in the post, an "Unofficial REM(?) Extension Pack". The device had gone out of stock everywhere--and for a very long period of time--and I'd been sent a crude alternative--though I really couldn't have cared less, as it did the job remarkably well. A couple of friends had stayed over at my house the night before, so they were there during the morning to catch a glimpse of this game that felt similar to Ocarina, but very different in terms of presentation. Clock Town felt eerily alive, with its feel transforming as the days loomed on; the masks that decorated the walls were pugnacious and intimidating; the sounds were more sinister that those of the game's forbear; and the sense of inexorability born of the lack of a save feature for those first three days enhanced that sense of powerlessness you already had from being in the form of a Deku Scrub.
7. Diddy Kong Racing Notable memory: The golden evening on which my sister and I arrived home to play the game for the first time. I'd promised my mother that I'd let her play as Donkey Kong--who we had somehow reckoned would be the main character--but we weren't at all concerned by his absence, because I took to Timber immediately, and my sister just as quickly gunned for Pipsy. This was one of those rare occasions where the two of us would start a game together, the only other one of note being Luigi's Mansion.
8. Chameleon Twist Notable memory: The multiplayer. That multiplayer. My friends and I, rather than fight each other, just competed to see how long we could all survive on the stages as they shrunk smaller and smaller after the time-limit ran out. I can't describe just how much fun we had on that enterprise: it's surprising that Chameleon Twist was our go-to multiplayer game of choice, above Mario Kart and Mario Party.
9. Banjo-Kazooie Notable memory: Seeing the game for the first time at a stand in Toys 'R' Us, one summer's day. I recall watching one chap trying to knock over the fish bowl in Banjo's house, which I somehow figured was a futile exercise that would yield no result, but nevertheless asked the guy if I could try my hand at liberating the fish from its prison. When it transpired that I, too, could not dislodge the fish, I continued playing anyway--and I think I got as far as the Mumbo's Mountain painting. I was, by that point, firmly convinced that I'd just played one of the most necessary Nintendo 64 games ever.
10. Mario Party Notable memory: Another thought of my neighbours and Toys 'R' Us, where we headed together to pick this one up. No game actually made us all feel quite as involved as Mario Party did. While Chameleon Twist was our multiplayer of choice for battles, Mario Party was like an RPG we all participated in together, with the different scenarios for each board. My earliest memory is of the Yoshi stage, which was the first board we played on. It was fascinating to look at those pre-rendered worlds and think about how best to get to the star--but I was most mesmerised by my friends who took gambits to reach unknown parts of the board. On that Yoshi stage, I never would have considered what would have happened if I turned left instead of paying the toll to go right unless my friend had dared to try first. I got the impression one's progress was already laid out for them, so being introduced to choice made quite the impact on me. Oh--and the bit where you arrive back in the village to find all the stars stolen scared the bejeebis out of the lot of us.
11.Mario Kart 64 Notable memory: I'd like to write about exploring the castle grounds of Peach's castle on Royal Raceway, or the first time I saw Rainbow Road, but I've settled on recounting what it was like playing this game's Battle Mode. It always surprised me that so many fans of the Super Nintendo game hated the Battle Mode here, because my friends and I found the huge stages were capable of injecting an enormous amount of trepidation as we all unknowingly happened upon each other. Though I was partial to the Double Decker, it's hard to dispute that Block Fort was the most popular, with each player laying claim to a fort and trying to defend his or her own territory.
12. Super Smash Bros. Notable memory: That was the Pokemon Christmas, where everything in the stocking was Pokemon shaped. Before I devoted the rest of Christmas Day to embarking on my Pokemon journey, I spent the morning in my room playing Smash Bros. as Link and Pikachu, being totally bowled over by the sorts of moves I could now pull off as the former. No longer was Link rooted to the ground; he could jump, kick, and somersault all over the place--and he could do so in space, with Fox McCloud. This memory complements that of a sleepover with a couple of my neighbours: we all assembled in my room and tried staying up all night, Smash Bros. blaring away on the television in the dark of a chamber with no lights on.
13. F-Zero X Notable memory: Big Blue. If ever there was a simulacrum of the presiding soaring feeling I had in childhood, this is it. As hard as it is to relate, this course captures the same colours and feelings that I had on those sunny ways where I would return from school; it represents the sense of dizzying freedom you get in childhood, when your commitments number very few. Spinning around the stage's pipe turns your stomach--but that gets the adrenaline going, even now, and gives you the same sense of euphoria that I sort of felt for every game that I played at the time of this game's release.
14. Mario Party 2 Notable memory: Christmas Day 2000, I think. I didn't get the game for Christmas, but when the extended family showed up and friends popped over, we played this one like there was no tomorrow. Western Land and Horror Land were our ports of call, that day, and there's nothing quite like that sense of surprise and involvement we got from seeing the characters dress up. Though this memory is one of the most halcyon, my abiding memory will be of that Minigame Coaster and nigh-on impossible game of Mecha Marathon therein.
15. Yoshi's Story Notable memory: Not many of my early memories for this one are immediately accessible, but I do have foggy recollections of trying to reach the fourth alternative level for each chapter of the story book--especially for the third chapter, where you could explore a dazzling snow world with one of the most brilliant starry panoramas I have ever seen.
16. Pokemon Stadium Notable memory: Receiving a Squirtle from Oak after defeating the Pokemon League Castle. The prospect of actually being able to win one of the rarest monsters in the game from an N64 cartridge was out of this world, especially since nobody ever wanted to trade away one of the starter creatures for good. This was one of the best ways to get your hands on some of the rarest beats about, opening up the world of the Game Boy game in a very meaningful way.
17. Snowboard Kids Notable memory: Racing on grass made the most forthright impact: that was something else. Dizzy Land looked magical, but Grass Valley felt exciting: it felt expansive, and I got the impression that there were many secret routes you could find to discover alternative routes to the bottom. As it turned out, there were indeed a few exits that I caught a glimpse of on the way down on the second and third laps--but it took some practice to break away from the main route. My abiding memory is of Christmas Eve a couple of years back, where my sister unexpectedly asked to have a go at Night Highway. Disinterring the N64 for that purpose was a good decision--it was one of those occasions where I was genuinely interested just to watch someone else play.
18. Pokemon Puzzle League Notable memory: Being over the moon at finally getting a chance to "play" as the characters from the TV show--Ritchie, especially. While I still play Puzzle League even now, there aren't many early memories of this one that have stuck with me, indicating that its presence at the time probably wasn't quite as big as it could have been.
19. Bomberman Hero Notable memory: Hero isn't all that impressive a game--but it's compulsive. I shed tears and tears trying to get a perfect score for the first level with Louie, and I was similarly frustrated while trying to get a perfect score on the underwater boss level when the "boss rush" challenge showed up on the last planet. These thoughts of frustration are counterbalanced by the simple joys of moving across cliff sides and misty water works with some pensive music.
20. Snowboard Kids 2 Notable memory: Jingle Village. I didn't play this game until a couple of years ago, but the music for this village--mournful, Christmassy, wistful--took me right back to those childhood years that are just golden in my memory. In many ways, this is the best game I could pick to sign off this list: Jingle Village speaks of the excitement of youth that is epitomised by Wave Race--the first game I listed--but the way it transforms the anthem of Dizzy Town from the first Snowboard Kids, which I played in my youth, from a high-spirited ditty into a wistful and almost melancholic tune aptly describes the sense of sadness that I have in thinking of those powerful years being so far behind me.
Last edited by Uppa on Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
1. Ocararina of time 2. Goldeneye 3. Majora's mask 4. Mario 64 5. Perfect Dark 6. Super smash bros 7 Mario kart 64 8. Shadowman 9. resident evil 2 10. Diddy kong racing 11 Lylat wars 12. Banjo kazooie 13 mario golf 13. Mario Tennis 15. Iss 64 16 Turok 2 17 Jet force Gemini 18 Castlevania
A matter of hours left to vote/adjust votes! I'm going to start work on the layout of the unveil thread and so on now to get prepared for counting votes while I work tomorrow.
If anyone makes any changes to their lists from this point on, could you please post to let me know.
There's a total of 78 games in the list of voted for games, although that's subject to change when I check up on games i've never played to see if they're actually the same thing (F-Zero/F-Zero X and Killer Instinct/Killer Instinct 64). Exciting times...
Joer wrote:If anyone makes any changes to their lists from this point on, could you please post to let me know.
There's a total of 78 games in the list of voted for games, although that's subject to change when I check up on games i've never played to see if they're actually the same thing (F-Zero/F-Zero X and Killer Instinct/Killer Instinct 64). Exciting times...
There's only one F-Zero on N64 (F-Zero X) and one Killer Instinct (Killer Instinct: Gold being its proper name).
