The Nintendo 64

[calias]

N64 was my first console and my first game was Super Mario 64.

I got that game right before Christmas vacation as a kid, so I had the time to be completely hooked on it.

I have such fond memories of this game. It intrigued me so much because of the freedom to explore everything and with how the game rewards you for your curiosity. SM64 had an air of mystique to me thanks to some of the creepier aspects of the game, such as the endless staircase, the Bowser levels, all of Big Boo’s mansion and Hazy Maze Cave.

Haha, I guess I scared easily as a kid. Which is so funny in hindsight because…it’s Mario. I was too young and clueless to know about game guides, so my imagination filled in a lot of blanks. It’s one of the earliest pieces of media where I created theories and stories about it, even making a fan comic.

I treasured the exploration so much that when Mario Odyssey came around, I tried my best to go into that game without spoilers just to recreate what I felt playing SM64.

I played other games on the N64, but Mario 64 had the strongest impact on me.

 

[Hypno KK]

It was one of the big consoles of my childhood but I had a Playstation instead. I remember desperately wanting one, especially with the Pokémon games and those clear cases they eventually released!

 

[Suguri]

Ah yes, the Nintendo 64. I see it as one of the last retro consoles. I remember one of my cousins still had one in the living room during the age of the 3DS and Wii U. I would see them popping in Mario Kart 64 and competing against each other in multiplayer. I also have memories of dumping their cartridges onto the floor and looking at them out of curiosity, separating the ones with eye-catching sticker art from the ones that didn't appeal to me. And of course, I tried playing Mario 64 and I didn't know what to do; my literacy was still developing and there were too many buttons.

 

[Neb]

While I wasn’t alive during the Nintendo 64’s peak, my cousin let me borrow her old one to play Super Smash Bros back in 2010. I had to give it back after a few weeks, but I managed to convince my parents to get me one off eBay later. They found one in good condition for $35 that came with five games (definitely couldn’t have happened now). I think it was a basketball game, a Tony Hawk game, Lego Racers, Pokemon Stadium 2, and Super Mario 64. I only spent time with the last two.

Later on I got The Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask and it captivated me like no other game up to that point. The time loop system, world, and general creepiness kept me coming back. I’ve had dozens of dreams about the game, even when I went years without playing it. All of them either featured that creepy Link statue or had the infamous countdown clock on the bottom of my vision. I still get dreams about the game to this day.

I spent a lot of time in Pokemon Stadium 2 despite never beating it. I loved Earl’s lessons and the different mini games.