The Nintendo 64 is a favorite for a lot of gamers both young and old. Its impressive library boasts some of the greatest video games of all time such as Super Mario 64, Goldeneye 007, Banjo Kazooie, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time and so much more. The Nintendo 64 was a revolutionary console and upon its release, blew the minds of video game fans all around the world.

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The Nintendo 64.

It was first released in Europe during March of 1997 and I eventually got one on Christmas of that year. It was actually my brothers Christmas gift but I played it so much more than he did that I eventually adopted it as my own. We got 3 games with the console and it was these 3 games that first had me hooked. The first titles we got were Super Mario 64, Diddy Kong Racing and Goldeneye 007. I can still remember when we first played Super Mario 64 and I was in complete awe of the 3D element of the game. It was mind blowing the first time I jumped through the picture frame and landed in Bob-omb Battlefield. I loved everything about the game and I was obsessed.

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Mario preparing to jump in to Bob-omb Battlefield.

After a few hours of Super Mario 64, it was time to fire up Diddy Kong racing. Yet again, my young mind was blown by how the game looked and I was enthralled in it. I loved the character roster and being able to choose between the different vehicles. I did find the game extremely challenging though and had to call upon my big brother to beat some of the boss races on my save file from time to time. Nevertheless, Diddy Kong racing was and still is one of my favorite video games. I have yet to actually complete the game, the final race with WizPig has bested me for almost 20 years now but I’m determined that I will one day show him who’s boss.

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The character roster from Diddy Kong Racing, two of which went on to star in their own video games. Can you guess who they are?

Last of the 3 games was Goldeneye 007, one of the only video games based on a movie that I think is actually better than the movie itself (If you can think of any others, let me know in the comments section). This game was so much fun to play in both single player and multiplayer. I loved the different difficulty choices for each level as it gave the story mode a lot of re-playability. My older brother Aodhan was a master at the game, he could clear the game on 00 Agent and I used to love sitting there watching him play the game for hours on end. The multiplayer aspect of Goldeneye is legendary among gamers and it has paved the way for multiplayer first person shooters ever since.

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A close call for James Bond in Goldeneye 007.

These 3 games made me fall in love with the Nintendo 64 but there are so many more reasons why I love it so. Later I would be introduced to my favorite video game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and this would firmly cement the N64 as my favorite console of all. There’s also the nostalgia factor that keeps me coming back to the console. I have so many fond memories of playing games on the N64 with my older brother Aodhan and those memories will stay with me forever… Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

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It wouldn’t be an N64 blog without mentioning Ocarina Of Time.

There are still so many more N64 games that I have yet to play with Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Paper Mario being two that I am on the hunt for at the moment. These games and all of the rest I have yet to play will keep me hooked on the N64 for years to come.

Thank you very much for reading, if you have a favorite N64 game then let me know in the comments and I’ll talk to you then.

Naoise.

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