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Obselete Game System Showdown (1 Viewer)

Joseph Young

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And plus, the Dreamcast has a pretty good version of GTA2 that I picked up (and wouldn't have known about had it not been for a heads-up from the man himself, BrianB!)
I'm actually playing it more than GTA3!
They just released the Spiro the Dragon trilogy in a boxed set that retails for about $40. I never had a chance to play this before, and it's pure action/adventure platform exploration at its finest! The RPGs on the PSX are amazing and varied.
The PSX's best action/adventure title is arguably Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and while I am lucky to have this, I think the powers that be are insane for not re-pressing this title (they even stopped printing the Greatest Hits version of the game).
My favorite platformers, however, aside from the requisite Mario 64, were Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie. Kazooie is the better game IMO, but they're both worth a look and testament to Rare's ambition as a developer.
The DC also has some strange titles, like the PC port of Omnikron: The Nomad Soul with music and dialogue by David Bowie. The game is far from perfect, but for $4.99, it's a bargain. Also, E.G.G is another strange game. a top-down, hand-drawn 2D adventure title with some stunning aesthetic touches (and problematic gameplay, but still fun).
The Power Stone series is multi-player genius, hands-down. I can't think of another multi-player game in recent memory (aside from Bomberman Online for the DC) that was so much fun to play with 4 people at once.
The DC version of Alone in the Dark: The New Nighmare by Infogrames, despite borrowing many elements from RE series, has some stunning lighting effects.
But all this is small change compared to what is perhaps the greatest title of the last ten years, a virtoso title with amazing gameplay and a breathtaking plot..
[rant]Fighting Force 2[/rant]
hehe... :laugh:
;)
Joseph
 

BrianB

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You jest about Fighting Force2, but I don't mind those early DC games like it, Expendable & Zombie Revenge. Would I pay $40 for them? Not a chance. Are they worth the $3-5 it'd cost to buy them? To me, yup. They're simple, straightforward arcade games that are fun to stick on for 30 minutes, blast through & forget about till the next rainy day.
For less than the price of one video rental, I've definitely got my money's worth out of them :)
 

CameronS

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Apr 26, 1998
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You can generally say that the N64 had better graphics than the PS, but it also had its own disadvantages. As others have mentioned, the games were usually described as "blurry", (the actual technical term for this escapes me at the moment.)

As far as sound goes, if this is a main concern, stay away from the N64. Using cartridges, it's limited to MIDI sounding music. Every disc based system beats the N64 in this category a majority of the time.
 

Morgan Jolley

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This is how I see it.

The Nintendo 64 has a bunch of great games for every type of gamer. It's good game to bad game ratio is pretty damn good.

The PlayStation has a lot of great, if not amazing, games, but also has a ton of crappy ones.

The Dreamcast is a great console, but the only people who will dig it are fans of Sega or people who just so happen to like the games made by certain companies, like Capcom (who actually kept the DC afloat for a while with all their fighting games).

If I had to recommend one console, it would be the N64. Get a PS2 and that counts as a PS2 and PSX (so its less than $100 for each) and also get an N64.
 

BrianB

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At the end of the day, it's all down to the games. Go spend an hour on IGN or somewhere & dig through their "editor's Choice" reviews. They'll give you a pretty good idea of what's out there.
 

Joseph Young

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They're simple, straightforward arcade games that are fun to stick on for 30 minutes, blast through & forget about till the next rainy day.
I fully agree. :emoji_thumbsup:
DCI have a fondness for games that don't meet certain critical criteria but manage to retain fun elements. Take Super Runabout: SF Edition for DC... the pop-in is rampant, the crash physics are downright insane, the music and characters are inexplicably weird, but it is a game completely devoid of self-importance and I have to admire that in a game. Take the oft-maligned Jedi Power Battles for DC. Instead of just lazily porting the godawful PS1 version over, the developers actually listened to gripes about the game and fixed them as best they could. The result was a sub-par, but vastly improved version.
N64: On the other hand, Rare may be a very succesful developer, but one can't help but think that by the time Perfect Dark and Jet Force Gemini were released, they had grown too big for their britches. They were trying to include everything and the kitchen sink, despite the suffering framerate.
Isn't the hazy effect on the N64 called anti-aliasing, a way to remove jaggies? I have to admit that the blurry effect was kind of trippy and worked well with certain games, but it got kind of ridiculous with certain games.
-J
 

Patrick Larkin

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Lots to consider.

I want a console to play fun games. Like the old days of Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog.

If I want gore, I have Quake 3 and Unreal Tourney on my Mac. So, is it these types of games where the haziness became annoying?

As for racing games, I'm not sure what is out there but I did see a bunch ofr N64. I'm no NASCAR nut or anything and would rather play the racing games where you drive through cool scenic landscapes and stuff.
 

Morgan Jolley

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Nope. If you're a sports fan, a racing fan, a RPG nut, you'll find yourself with slim pickings for /good/ games of those genres on the N64 as far as I'm concerned
NFL Blitz and whatever Madden game(s) were on the N64 were pretty good, DKR (as much of a non-hardcore racing title as it is) was pretty good, and technically Zelda is an RPG.

To tell the truth, with all the time you need to invest in an RPG, I'm not sure many people would buy an old one unless its one of those "best games ever made" types. There's no point buying older sports games (unless its a classic one, like Madden 94) and racing games usually are only good when they're in a trademark series (like Gran Turismo).
 

Morgan Jolley

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Actually, now that I think of it, Cruisin USA and Mario Kart were two pretty good racing games for N64.
 

Patrick Larkin

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BrianB -- not quite. The answer to one of my previous questions was never given. That is, were there BIG titles that were available on BOTH platforms? I don't want to get the N64 and then realize there was something I really wanted...

Heading to IGN...
 

Neil Joseph

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I picked up a N64 for my kids (6, 5, and 3) as their first console. It is a test to see how they can handle a console without breaking it. Got Donkey Kong 64 and Super Mario Bros.
 

BrianB

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That is, were there BIG titles that were available on BOTH platforms?
There's a handful, but not many. Most of the very popular N64 games were exclusive - it's a safe generalisation that if it's by Nintendo or Rare (Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong etc), it's not on the PSX. A handful of big PSX games received slightly 'watered down' N64 conversions - Resident Evil, Ridge Racer, Wipeout, Tony Hawk off the top of my head. Mario Tennis, Mario 64, Mario Golf, Donkey Kong 64, Blastcorps, Zelda, etc are all exclusive to the N64.

Basically, if you want Mario, you need a N64.

On the Playstation, there is a ton of GOOD games that never made it to the '64. Off the top of my head, some big stand-outs are: Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, the Squaresoft games, Gran Turismo, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Dance Dance Revolution, Driver, GTA, Tekken, Syphon Filter.

If you're after a 'pick up & play' cheap gaming experience, either console would do you fine. Go with whatever one has the games you want.
 

Bill_Caughey

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I'm one of the N64's biggest fans and have played pretty much every USA game in it's library...

There are quite a few games that are truly outstanding on the N64, there's the obvious choices (most exclusive):

Super Mario 64 (AAA)
Zelda: Ocarina of Time (AAA)
Zelda: Majora's Mask (A)
Banjo-Kazooie (AAA)
Banjo-Tooie (AA)
GoldenEye 007 (AAA)
Conker's Bad Fur Day (AAA)
Perfect Dark (AA)
Donkey Kong 64 (A)
Wave Race 64 (AA)
F-Zero X (A)
Super Smash Bros. (AAA)
Mario Tennis (AAA)
Mario Golf (AA)
Paper Mario (AAA)
Turok (A)
Turok 2 (A)
Turok 3 (AA)
Starfox 64 (AAA)
1080º Snowboarding (AAA)
Diddy Kong Racing (Best Kart Racing Game, EVER) (AAA)
Jet Force Gemini (AA)
Mario Party 1, 2, 3 (Often Imitated, Never Duplicated) (AAA)
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (A)


Some other not so obvious, but outstanding, choices:

Space Station Silicon Valley (AAA) (Best Action/Puzzle you've never heard of)
Beetle Adventure Racing (A)
Wipeout 64 (A)
Blast Corps. (AAA) (Another great Action/Puzzler)
Rocket: Robot on Wheels (AA) Best 3d Platformer you've never heard of
Body Harvest (AA)
Pilotwings 64 (A)
Tetrisphere (AAA)
Iggy's Reckin' Balls (A)
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (A) Better than PC version.

--
fab
 

James_A

Stunt Coordinator
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Feb 19, 2000
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Sheesh....
I now find myself wanting to dust of my N64 and get some more games :D.
And for the record, I suck at Jet Set Radio, but keep trying it anyway....
Jim
 

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