What is the greatest N64 game of all time?
For someone who enjoyed the magic of endless hours battling siblings, friends, and enemies (said family/friends) on the Nintendo64 for many long golden years in my youth I have always wondered which game ranks as the epitome of this beloved gaming system.
I am here to try and answer that question.
Before I conduct what will be a rather meaningless (though hopefully entertaining) debate with myself, I should say that my gut tells me the answer has to be Goldeneye 007. What many video game players of an older, simpler time would call the greatest (screw you HALO) multiplayer FPS.
But Mario and his friends just might have something to say about that hunch. Let's get to it.
The Contenders:
Alphabetically provided to show no favoritism.
1) Goldeneye 007
2) Mariokart64
3) Mario Party 3
4) Perfect Dark
5) Zelda: Ocarina of Time
First Round: The Shooters
I mean c'mon. We all know who wins this fight. I only include Perfect Dark as a worthy comparison because the extended weapons choices, excellent level variety (Area 51?? Air Force One??) and the singular joy of adding lots of sims into the mix to play against with your best buddy, or give your younger sibling a "chance" when you know full well they will be ruthlessly destroyed.
Winner: Goldeneye
Second Round: The Cartoons
This side of the bracket is a lot harder to hash out. I mean, Mario and his pals have generated about *consults abacus* 6 Gajillion Dollars USD over their delightfully entertaining lifetimes. To me, quintessential Mario boils down to Mariokart vs. Mario Party 3 (undoubtedly the greatest Mario Party). Ultimately, it will come down to the types of game you prefer, but for my money the mini games make Mario Party 3 the winner. When playing for 2-3 hours, it never gets old, while MarioKart can feel a little repetitive after an hour or two of playing.
Winner: Mario Party 3
FINAL ROUND:
It boils down to shooter vs. party game. Honestly, you can't go wrong, I've spent probably *consults trusty abacus* 2 Gajillion hours myself on my trusty, dusty N64 on these two games alone. Love 'em. But I gotta go Goldeneye. It's just too good, no weaknesses, and if anything only enhances the aura of the movie it is practically scene for scene ripped from. No other game has really done that. (yes yes, DOOM, I get it, but the movie got ripped from the game - yes, they're both excellent)
*** I know, you're thinking, hey dummy what about Zelda Ocarina of Time? (arguably the greatest Zelda) or StarFox? or NFL BLITZ?? Ultimately I narrowed the field to four-player oriented games as that's what the system was best at. These are all excellent honorable mentions though ***
I enjoyed this very one sided debate, I hope you did too, so please join in in the comments!
As always, I hope your time was well spent.
-Romulus
