If you grew up in the 90’s, the Nintendo 64 was a huge part of your childhood. We all remember rushing home from school to fire up the gaming system, or hanging with your friends and having gaming tournaments. Officially releasing on September 29, 1996, the system utilized a 64-bit central processing unit (which it was named after) and redefined standards in the gaming world. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and look at some of the most memorable games to release on the Nintendo 64.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
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Widely regarded as the best game to release on the Nintendo 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time brings a lot of fond memories to gamers. Serving as the fifth game in the Zelda series, players took control of Link and led him on the quest to stop Ganondorf (king of the Gerudo tribe) from obtaining the Triforce. The game introduced several features that are still prominent in adventure games today, like a target-lock system and context-sensitive buttons.
GoldenEye 007
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Growing up who didn’t want to be James Bond? GoldenEye 007 gave every kid that chance. Releasing in August 1997, the first-person shooter followed a plot very close to the corresponding film of the same name. The most heralded feature of the game was the multiplayer mode, which allowed you and your friends to team up or play against one another.
Super Smash Bros.
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Where do we begin with Super Smash Bros.? Still today, the game is widely heralded amongst gamers. The game crossed over many of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, creating a comprehensive fighting title. Unlike most fighting games, the objective of Super Smash Bros. was to knock your opponents off the fighting stage. Players had the option to select 12 characters (Captain Falcon, Donkey Kong, Fox, Jigglypuff, Kirby, Link, Luigi, Mario, Ness, Pikachu, Samus and Yoshi) and featured single player and multiplayer game modes.
WWF No Mercy
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Professional wrestling was at its height in 2000, many of us mimicking the weekly antics we saw performed by The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Capitalizing on that popularity THQ released WWF No Mercy in November of 2000. The game featured an extensive story mode and the deepest creation mode a wrestling game had seen to that point. New match types like ladder and special referee also made their debut in the game.
Mario Kart 64
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Mario Kart 64 really changed the game (no-pun intended), serving as the successor to Super Mario Kart, the game was the first in the series to feature true 3D graphics. Best known for its competitive multiplayer modes, the game also featured a couple of fun single player modes. Gamers had the option to race with one of eight characters. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Bowser who all returned to the series or Donkey Kong and Wario who made their debuts in the game.
It may be 20+ years since it’s launch, but gamers are still firing up their old Nintendo 64’s and playing their favorite games for a trip down memory lane.
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