I’ve had a bit of a fascination with Nintendo 64 lately, though why this is happening is a complete mystery to me. Nostalgia probably has a lot to do with it, as is usual for a lot of the things I do. It’s been on my mind for a while now, but only a couple days ago did I actually take the initiative to dust the thing off and give it some playtime.
The N64 is the one pre-2000 console that I’ve never packed away, but it hasn’t so much as been plugged in for well over a decade now. So imagine my surprise when it decided that it didn’t want to play nice with my TV. That is, everything was connected properly, but the N64 refused to output anything to the TV. I don’t know why; maybe it’s because it’s an old machine, maybe it’s because the TV is too new. Maybe Ijust wasn’t putting the jacks into the correct plugs, but I’m pretty much an expert at plugging video game machines in, so I doubt it’s that one. I did eventually get it working, but I have no idea what I did that made the two decide to finally cooperate.
The next hurdle was deciding what to play. My Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time cartridges have mysteriously disappeared, so my first choice wasn’t plausible, and I couldn’t play Zelda either. I would be more worried about them, but I have multiple other ways to play legit copies of those games, so it’s not a big deal.
Eventually I settled on Goldeneye 007, which felt like the right choice, but I was a little worried that it would be the hardest game to get back into because of the N64 controller. And let me tell you, getting used to playing a first-person shooter with the N64 controller after about 12 years of dual-stick controls is not a task for the weak-willed. I fumbled my way through the Dam stage as quickly as I could, accepting that this was not going to be an easy or competent playthrough. By the time I hit the first Surface stage, the controls were starting to feel almost natural again. As I reached the end of the game, I felt like I had regained enough of my skill to maybe even play it again on Secret Agent difficulty. Or maybe I’d just go back and try to unlock all the Agent-level cheats. I still haven’t decided.
Playing through Goldeneye again has been a lot of fun, though I must admit that I’m not sure what to hit up next. The truth of the matter is that I’ve got a hankering to try out some games that I don’t own, so I’ve been poking around the internets to see if I can score some N64 games on the cheap. So far I haven’t turned up much, and I’m finding it odd that for a console that gets no respect, N64 games don’t come dirt-cheap. I mean, we’re still only talking about $15-$25 bucks, but I was hoping that I’d be able to find some in the $5 range (that are not sports games). It’s hard to justify spending $20 on an old game that’s probably not as good as I remember it being when I could just as likely put that $20 towards a decent current-gen game. At least none of the ones I want are hitting crazy SNES prices.
I was pretty happy when I found a copy of Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes for $10 on eBay. I know it’s not a very good game, but I spent a lot of time playing it when it was new, so the value is there for me. Hell, that’s what I’d be paying for a Virtual Console version anyway. You know, if Nintendo hadn’t completely dropped the ball on the N64 side of Virtual Console. Yes, we got the Marios and Zeldas, but I’m in it for the curiosities right now. I’m in it for games like Doom 64, Bomberman 64, and Quest 64. Games I may have rented in the day but never beat. Oh, hey there it is. Apparently I’ve gotten myself back into Nintendo 64 for some silly, past due sense of closure.
I also found copies of Body Harvest and Jet Force Gemini for $10 and $15 apiece in the local used games shop. A quick look on eBay shows that I may have been able to get them for a dollar or two less with good timing and a lucky bid, but I’m willing to pay the difference for convenience. Body Harvest is a game that I never played back in the day, but seems to be one of the better N64 titles, and I did rent JFG once, but none of my friends liked it so I had to dump on it too to fit in. It seems like something I’d enjoy though, so here’s to second chances.
Anyhow, I’m declaring now that my big video-games-style goal for the year is to beat one [1] Nintendo 64 game each month. Whether they’re new games or games I already own and have beaten before, it doesn’t matter. Just one a month. I need to get this 64-bit monkey off my back. Also I might publish a review of each one. Maybe. It’s the Year of Nintendo 64 here on TE. Hold onto your butts, it’s gonna be mediocre.