Is it worth it to get an N64?

[WhiteNachos]

I have a Wii, a Gamecube and a 3DS, will probably get a Wii U for Smash but I'm not 100% sure about it.

Aside from game boys (and a NES I wasn't very interested in), my first Nintendo console was a Gamecube, the first console I ever really cared about was a PS1 so I grew up as a Sony fanboy. I always wondered if getting an N64 instead would've made a big impact on my life because video games have been a big part of my life.

I saw an N64 for cheap somewhere (I think around $30 or $20) and I was tempted to get it but I can't help but wonder what games I really want for it. I started thinking about all the famous N64 games that came to mind and how much I wanted them. So I'll go through them and the assumptions I'm making.I've only played N64 games through my friend's houses or my dentist's waiting room when I was a kid (that dentist was awesome).

Goldeneye - I played this for the first time in 2008 or 2009. I've owned and loved the Timesplitters series for years before that. When I played it in multiplayer my first thought was "this seems like a primitive version of Timesplitters" followed by "I think I'd rather be playing Timesplitters right now". I didn't do the single player though so maybe that redeems it?

Super Mario 64 - I ordered the DS version on Amazon and it came in. I know it's not an exact carbon copy but I'm hoping it's close enough.

Mario Kart 64 - It looks like Crash Team Racing is a better game (although I haven't played the 64 version that thoroughly) and it sounds like the more modern Mario Karts beat it anyway.

Mario Party (whatever number) - they've made so many sequels and I don't see the formula drastically changing so I assume more modern versions are just as good.

Zelda Ocarina of Time -also ported to the 3DS so I figured I could grab it there.

Pokemon stadium looks interesting and I always thought it'd be cool to fight with my Red and Blue guys on the big screen but I imagine I'd need to spend money on more equipment and I've started over on Red and Blue so I'd have to make progress in those games too (and find them, since I've lost the cartridges right now)

There's the first Smash brothers but it looks like the sequels are all better (melee/brawl/etc)

The only other ones I'm really interested in are Star Fox 64, Pokemon Snap and some platformers like Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64.

But are those alone worth getting an N64 in this day and age? Am I overrating, underrating or forgetting any games that were good on the N64 and how much of the good N64 games can I get on the virtual console (or whatever the Nintendo equivalent of the PSN store is)?

 

[Roxas1359]

In all honesty, I'd only recommend you get an N64 if you just want to own every home console. All the main games that sold the best that were on the N64 have either been ported or are on the Virtual Console at this point. I mean, N64s are generally cheap nowadays, but still the question needs to remain: do you really need one. Not to mention, unless your TV has composite input, you'll have to use RF for N64's on modern televisions unless you have an HDMI converter, which can work.

As for the games you listed, the only games that haven't been ported on your list are: Donkey Kong 64 (legal issues, and emulations problems), and Pokemon Snap. For DK64 you have to buy the Memory Expansion Pak for the N64, otherwise the system will crash or the game will bug out, which is the entire reason the Memory Expansion Pak exists. Banjo Kazooie and Tooie are on XBLA, and fix many of the issues the original N64 versions had (frame rate, losing all notes upon death). Last one is Pokemon Snap, which for some odd reason Nintendo hasn't tapped into that gold mine for the Wii U yet seeing as the Wii U would be perfect for a game like that...

You can get the first Smash Bros on the Virtual Console, along with Mario Kart 64, Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, etc.

 

[WhiteNachos]

You can get the first Smash Bros on the Virtual Console, along with Mario Kart 64, Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, etc.

They haven't put on Pokemon Snap?

I'm surprised, I'm also surprised they never did a sequel to that game. Are they ashamed of it or something?

 

[Roxas1359]

They haven't put on Pokemon Snap?

I'm surprised, I'm also surprised they never did a sequel to that game. Are they ashamed of it or something?

Believe me, I wish I knew. There have been many people wondering why Nintendo hasn't done a little Pokemon Snap-esque sequel for the Wii U, especially since it would be perfect for a system like that.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I was born and raised on the Nintendo 64, so I might be biased, but...

... Yes, get the Nintendo 64. It has a lot of amazing games, mainly from Nintendo and Rareware. It is a Platformer champion, and it's got a lot of good racers and shooters too. Plus, I like Cartridges more then CD's/DVD's/Blu-Rays. The controller might be a little wonky if your hands are big, but it works really well for the games it has. Get the Nintendo 64, you'll love it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I think it's one of those cases that solely relies on price.

 

[Ambient_Malice]

Yes. The N64 is a fantastic console, and emulation is very far from being "good enough" to replace a real console.

The console is filled with awesome games which aren't on VC, because 90% of VC is first party Nintendo stuff.

The only problem is that N64 games can be super expensive, and you can't really trust the internet's opinion on whether an obscure game is good or not. There are super-not-legal N64 flash cards, but I assume Escapist rules would consider them piracy.

Turok 3.
Resident Evil 2. (Dem 3D controls.)
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. (30fps! 640x480! Random crashes!)
Rogue Squadron/Battle for Naboo.
Perfect Dark. (Chugs, but it doesn't have the XBLA version's questionable art style.)
Mystical Ninja.
Wonder Project J2. (Fan translated girl raising sim. Playable on flash card, I assume.)
Beetle Adventure Racing.
World Driver Championship.
Nightmare Creatures. (Less frustrating than PS1/PC. Story was shredded, though.)
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness.
Donkey Kong 64.
Body Harvest. (Precursor to GTA.)
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour
Quake 2 (Different game to PC version.)
Doom 64. (May as well be Doom 3.)
Top Gear Rally.
The World is Not Enough. (Terribly coded, with abysmal framerate, but cool Eurocom Bond game nonetheless.)
Duck Dodgers.
BattleTanx and BattleTanx 2. (Tanks for everything.)
40 Winks. (Unreleased N64 port of the Eurocom game. Kiddy, but charming.)
Tonic Trouble. (It's not as good as Rayman 2, which launched on the N64 by the way, but it's not as bad as its reputation claims.)
Blast Corps.
Conker's Bad Fur Day.

Despite only having around 300 games, the N64 has a lot of underappreciated gems.

edit:
pro-tip - lubricate the crap out on the N64 stick. Otherwise it'll grind itself to powder very quickly.

 

[LaoJim]

All the main games that sold the best that were on the N64 have either been ported or are on the Virtual Console at this point.

Unfortunately that's not entirely true. Most of the good first party titles are available, however many second and third party are not. Most glaringly there are no Rare games available and given than Microsoft now owns Rare, they are never likely to be. These games include:

Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Donkey Kong 64
Diddy Kong Racing
Banjo Kazooie and Tooie
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Killer Instinct
Jet Force Gemini
Blast Corps

Collectively these are some of the best games available for the system (The only one I haven't played is Conker's) and are all well worth having. Banjo and Perfect Dark are available for XBox 360.

 

[Daft Ada]

They haven't put on Pokemon Snap?

I'm surprised, I'm also surprised they never did a sequel to that game. Are they ashamed of it or something?

Believe me, I wish I knew. There have been many people wondering why Nintendo hasn't done a little Pokemon Snap-esque sequel for the Wii U, especially since it would be perfect for a system like that.

It was released on the VC, at least in Europe. Nintendo even added the option to save photos to the Wii's message board thing. But yeah, they need a sequel on the Wii U or 3DS. It's crazy they haven't done this already.

You can get most of the best N64 games on VC, but the other gems you should be hunting for are:

Blast Corps
Jet Force Gemini
Rocket: Robot on Wheels
Space Station Silicon Valley
Hybrid Heaven
Beetle Adventure Racing

 

[Maximum Bert]

If you can get it for a good price then sure why not it had some good games but for me its probably my least played console I pretty much played Goldeneye and Perfect Dark (actually bought it for Perfect Dark).

Most of the Nintendo games on it disappointed me massively but maybe you will have a different experience for me though its definitely Nintendos weakest console in terms of games (not counting the WiiU yet).

 

[EHKOS]

Yes and no. It's worth it, but it will cost you. In gaming most games get cheaper as more time passes, but nostalgia controls the market of supply and demand in a way that makes a lot of great old games very expensive, sometimes higher than the original retail price. I'd shop for your list of games, add up the prices on Amazon and Ebay, and then decide if it's worth it.

 

[Ratty]

The main problem with the N64 these days is the controller. It's not as bad as something like the Atari 5200 (where most controllers never worked/broke almost immediately) or even the Gamecube (where most controllers have been ground into powder by Smash Bros. and Mario Party players) but it's still difficult to find good controllers for the system. Since a design flaw makes the joystick wear out pretty quickly. Other than that yeah it's a great system with a lot of hidden gems, as long as you're willing to pay a pretty penny to get them.

PS- I really like the N64 but barely ever play it so I can save the controllers for my semi-annual playthroughs of Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness and sometimes Castlevania 64.

 

[Jaggededge11]

While the N64 does has a plethora of games not currently available elsewhere (Most of which have already been listed), I wouldn't suggest buying one unless you were willing to seek them out and play them. Most noteworthy N64 titles have either been re-released or have not stood the test of time.

 

[Leemaster777]

All the main games that sold the best that were on the N64 have either been ported or are on the Virtual Console at this point.

Unfortunately that's not entirely true. Most of the good first party titles are available, however many second and third party are not. Most glaringly there are no Rare games available and given than Microsoft now owns Rare, they are never likely to be. These games include:

Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Donkey Kong 64
Diddy Kong Racing
Banjo Kazooie and Tooie
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Killer Instinct
Jet Force Gemini
Blast Corps

Collectively these are some of the best games available for the system (The only one I haven't played is Conker's) and are all well worth having. Banjo and Perfect Dark are available for XBox 360.

Pretty much this. If you have a Rare-boner, then by all means, pick up the N64. If not, then there's little point, as pretty much every other worthwhile game for the system has been ported to a more recent console. Hell, even some of the games on that list are available in some form or another.

That being said, Conker's Bad Fur Day might be worth it all on it's own. That game was (and still is) a riot, and the multiplayer is some of the best on the N64. And I say that with full knowledge of Smash 64, Goldeneye, Mario Kart, and Starfox.

There WAS an Xbox port... but it's lacking. Something was lost in translation for the single-player (and the loading times don't help), and the multiplayer doesn't compare to the N64 version.

 

[Mrkillhappy]

I grew up on the system and it was the first console I ever owned as a kid so expect a degree of nostalgia bias here so I would say yes though I wouldn't be surprised if you could find it cheaper then the price you listed. I say this because a few months ago I received a free backup console from a local shop which I would have offered except one I don't know you and two it is missing some of the cables. Though getting on the subject of if you should get it or not I believe the answer would be to ask yourself if you enjoy collecting physical games, I say this simply because most of the best games are available on the virtual console so the way I see it is if you are not a collector then I don't see much point in getting the physical hardware and physical games if all you want to do is play games that are in some cases depending on timing with the market, where you live, or how you choose to purchase said games cheaper to get through the virtual console. As for games that you don't have listed I would say for a fun 4 player arcade brawler experience Gauntlet Legends, I usually play this game with friends at small parties due to it being a good 4 player coop experience for those interested in fantasy and retro gaming.

 

[Story]

Ehh my question is not how much the console is worth but how much the games cost.
Some old PS1 games go for a lot these days at least the desirable ones.
But hey, if you can afford it, go for it.

 

[Ambient_Malice]

The N64 has a number of cool exclusives and it also has several ports with advantages. Resident Evil 2 N64 has an exclusive 3D control scheme. Indiana Jones has better controls and overall graphics than the PC version. Turok 3 is N64 exclusive. Rocket: Robot on Wheels, Suck Punch's big debut platformer, is an N64 exclusive. The Mystical Ninja games are excellent, exclusive, and can't be emulated properly. Doom 64 is a must-play for any self-respecting classic Doom fan. Body Harvest and Space Station Silicon Valley are both N64 exclusive, and both brilliant. The World is Not Enough is N64 exclusive. (PS1 got totally different game.) Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness is N64 exclusive, and an underrated Castlevania entry. Battle Ogre 64 is exclusive, also, and a stellar TRPG.

Also stuff like Bomberman, Harvest Moon 64, several excellent racing titles, Duck Dodgers, Mischief Makers, and a long list of so-so, but worthwhile titles.

There's more to the console than just Nintendo and Rareware games.

edit: Oh, but yea... pricey. Collecting N64 games is not cheap.

 

[Jaggededge11]

Ehh my question is not how much the console is worth but how much the games cost.
Some old PS1 games go for a lot these days at least the desirable ones.
But hey, if you can afford it, go for it.

I found purchasing N64 games to be on the cheaper side of retro collecting(Usually within the $15-25 range), especially if not going for major titles such as Mario games or something hard to obtain like Conker's BFD or Starcraft 64.

 

[Irick]

If you're got the room, grab one.
It's not so much the price investiture that's the problem for me personally these days, it's the space. I've got so much retro hardware it's hard to actually find a place for it and the games. I honestly end up playing my backups on an emulator more oftain than I do the actual consoles just because it takes too damn long to look them up.

However, the N64 is totally worth it. The games are all <3 and even if you don't go that route, I would totally recommend picking up the N64 versions of classics (Especially Conker's BFD) and then ripping them for emulation.

 

[Trinket to Ride]

If you're a collector, go for it, that's a pretty good price. If not, don't.

Most, if not all, famous N64 games have ports on more modern consoles, are available on Virtual Console, or have had their niche filled by another game since release.

N64 gets a lot of love from 20-somethings because it's what they grew up with. Most of the games haven't aged well at all. If it was before your time, you probably won't get the same joy as the people in "Only 90's kids remember this" threads.