A friend came around to my house the other day, surprised to find me playing 
a video game system released in 1996. With the Playstation 2 and the 
Gamecube sitting right next to it, gathering dust, my friend was slightly 
confused... why am I playing such an old system when I can plug in and play 
the "new generation" of games?

Of course, what my friend didn't know is, just because new games have better 
graphics and all that hoo-hah, what really matters is how fun the games are. 
And, as far as I'm concerned, the new systems offer very limited 
entertainment (Kingdom Hearts for the PS2 is the best game ever made, but 
that's just one game.)

Nintendo versus Sony.

During early high school, I was one of the only brats that owned the 
system... nearly everyone else went for the "cool" system, the Playstation. 
Why? Because apparently the N64 had "kiddy" games. Cool people play 
skateboarding, basketball and shooting games, you see, despite how fun they 
are. Honestly, why the hell would you play a basketball game when you can go 
outside and play a real game of it?

If I remember correctly, video games were designed to be an escape from 
reality. Even though I occasionally romp around the countryside and jump on 
turtles, most people do not. Nintendo have always been releasing games that 
stretch the imagination, and allow you to do things you would never even 
think about. They have never been afraid to be creative, even in the old 
days.

The problem with Sony is that they're trying too hard to appeal to their 
audiences. A lot of people watch wrestling, and skateboard. Guess what? 
Lot's of wresting and skateboarding games. The way I see it, the majority of 
games released from the Playstation were designed for people that DON'T 
NORMALLY play games. They outnumber the people that want to escape into 
fantasy, and therefore, Playstation wins.

The trend continued.

Even Nintendo are losing it these days. I purchased a Gamecube just to play 
the new Smash Brothers game, but the majority of the games released can be 
purchased on another system. And most of the games are still the same old 
"we have to appeal to teenage attitudes and what's hip dawg" crap happening.

Hope can be found from games like the Final Fantasy series and such, but why 
play something new and original when I can play another goddamn Tony Hawk 
game?

The Nintendo 64 defined what gaming SHOULD be about.

A few bad games in the systems late years did pop up, but generally the N64 
had some of the most creative, imaginative games ever released. A lot of 
them were perceived as childish, due to their colourful, cartoony graphics. 
But if those people were less shallow, they would realize the amount of fun 
they're missing out on. It even allowed for 4 players to play at once, 
instead of the one on one crap the Playstation offered... and still offers 
today!

Let's take a look at some of the games I've played, and still continue to 
play:

The best game:

Legend Of Zelda - The Ocarina Of Time: Words cannot describe just how 
great this game is. It's massive, it's challenging, the characters are 
likeable, the story is incredible... Seriously, this game is to be 
experienced, much less played.

The Super Mario Line

Super Mario games use the same likeable characters throughout their games, 
but each game offers something new and creative. Easily accessible, and can 
be enjoyed by anyone... if the cartoons and colours aren't too much for you! 
The worst thing about this line of games is, the majority of them can only 
really be enjoyed when you have friends over.

Super Mario 64: Well, everyone has played this, and it's usually the 
first thing Playstation owners say when they call N64 a kiddy system. 
Morons. This game is absolutely bursting with creativity, and offers a very 
high degree of challenge and longitivity. I hate that clock level, though!

Mario Kart 64: Designed for multi-player... not much fun can be had 
when you play this on your todd. Still, fabulous fun, and gets really 
competitive at times... to the point where things get violent :)

Mario Tennis: Very, VERY good game... when played with friends. 
Whether it's one or one or two on two, this game emulates tennis in a very 
creative, entertaining way. Seriously, this game will give you hours of fun, 
whether you're a kid or not (everyone reading this is a kid, don't try and 
hide it!)

Super Smash Bros.: The epitome of multi-player fun. The controls are 
intimidating at first, but once you and your chums get around that, you're 
in for a REAL treat. Smacking the crap out of your friends as your favourite 
Nintendo character is incredibly fun. It can be enjoyed by yourself, but you 
really want to kick beat up anyone who selects Pikachu as their character, 
right?

Paper Mario: A single player Mario game, this is a really fun role 
playing game. Easy to grasp battling system, and a charming graphics style 
makes this one of my very favourite games.

Other Mario games include the Mario Party series and Mario Golf. I don't own 
them, but the party series is another example of multi-player goodness. 
Mario Golf is... um... golf with Mario characters. Golf isn't my thing :)

The Rare Line

Rare were a Nintendo owned company that released some amazingly creative 
games for the N64, each outdoing each other in terms of quality.

Goldeneye: I didn't like this game too much, but it was undoubtably a 
great game. Most Playstation owners cleverly forgot about this game when 
they were hassling the N64s lack of shooting games. Hours of fun can 
literally be had with a few friends, this game, and some Dominos pizza. Also 
has a great single player adventure.

Banjo Kazooie: Don't let the ridiculous name fool you; this is an 
amazing game. You are a bear with a bird in your backpack, running around 
colourful worlds (from a graveyard to giant beehives). The graphics were 
outstanding for the time, and a large, unforgettable adventure awaited you. 
The catchy music is stuck in my mind, too.

Diddy Kong Racing: Hehe, I love this racing game. Better than Mario 
Kart 64, in my opinion, due to an enjoyable single player game. But that 
particular argument could go on for decades... Still a very enjoyable game.

Donkey Kong 64: Pretty much just an advancement of Banjo Kazooie. 
This is a massive game that everyone should play. I enjoyed every single 
minute of it, particularly a stage where there's giant mushrooms all over 
the show, tee hee! I like mushrooms!

Those are the best games from Rare, although I have never played Perfect 
Dark, and Banjo Tooie, unfortunatly, was a disappointing sequel to Kazooie.

Other enjoyable games:

Legend Of Zelda - Majoras Mask: Not as good as the other Zelda game, 
but this is another massive adventure, allowing you to shape shift with 
masks, and time travel... You have three days to finish the game before the 
moon destroys the earth!! Really, the creativity of the Zelda games blows my 
mind, and this game in particular hit me hard.

Snowboard Kids: Kids with big noses snowboard. I think I've said 
enough :)

Harvest Moon 64: The Harvest Moon series is one of my favourite set 
of games ever. Basically, you... farm. Yes, it's a game where you run a 
farm. Grow crops, raise animals, etc. But there's more to it than that! It's 
a real life simulator of sorts where you make friends with the villagers, 
you can get married, and have your own kids. Ok look it's funner than it 
sounds alright!!!! TRUST ME DAMN IT!

Space Station Silicon Valley: Creativity is unmatched here. This was 
my favourite game for ages. Basically, you are a microchip, and there are 
over 50 robotic animals you can take control of. It is a puzzler/platform 
game of sorts, different animals are suited for different situations. For 
example, you can get past the guard dog as a mouse, but you will get your 
**** ruined if you try it as a sheep. But sheep can jump over pits, the 
mouse can't! God, if you see this game, just buy it.

That's about all the games I can comment on currently :)

I know you're not going to rush out and buy a N64

But really, you can pick one up for like $20, and the games for $10 a pop. 
And some of you probably have the system tucked in your cupboard somewhere, 
anyway.

I wrote this article for my own entertainment, mainly, but I would like to 
think that you will put the Playstation 2 away and enjoy some REAL games for 
a change. And, more to the point, I hope you enjoyed reading :)

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