Why the N64 is my favourite console and can never be topped

A reader muses about the reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 and why no console can live up to the impact made by the N64.

With Nintendo and Xbox both announced they’ve got next gen consoles on the way it’s probably not long until PlayStation does the same – Sony’s probably just waiting until the PS5 Pro is out. Personally, I think it’s far too early for a new Xbox, but I understand why they’re doing it, and I can’t say I’m not curious to see what their massive leap forward is going to be.

I’m much more optimistic about the Switch 2 though, to the point where Nintendo would have to do a lot to put me off buying one, given how well the current Switch has worked out. Even so, it’s not my favourite Nintendo console and in thinking about the start of a new generation I’ve realised that it has never got any better than the N64 and probably never will.

I am, of course, referring to the ground-breaking 3D graphics of Super Mario 64 which, for me, are the biggest leap forward in visuals that video games have ever seen. They’re the biggest there ever can be too, since we’re practically already at photorealism and the only step beyond that is plugging them into your head or something.

In terms of everything that’s happened so far, and that seems plausible for now, the N64 is the best it’s ever been, proportional to its time. I imagine that’s hard to appreciate if you weren’t there back in the day, but you only have to look at the quality of PS1 graphics to see how far ahead of the game Nintendo was. Mario had a better 3D camera than any other game for years and was basically a generation ahead of anyone else.

We’ll never see the likes of that again, as that ridiculous PS5 Pro video proved, with its side-by-side comparisons looking like exactly the same footage. With the N64 it was night and day between it and the PS1, and especially the Saturn.

But it wasn’t just that, the N64 popularised analogue controls as well. Most people forget, but the original PS1 controller didn’t have analogue sticks or any rumble. Nintendo also popularised rumble, with the add-on that came with Lylat Wars, so neither of those things would be standards now without the N64.

And then there’s Zelda: Ocarina Of Time. Still a frontrunner for the best game of all time and so far head of the (Hyrule) field that it was like other games and consoles were still stuck in the stone age. Rockstar said they looked at it for inspiration on how GTA 3 should work but Ocarina Of Time’s controls and camera were miles better than it, even all those years later on the PlayStation 2.

People complain that the N64 didn’t have enough good games but when it comes to quality over quantity virtually every first party release was a classic. Even if it had just been Mario and Zelda the console would’ve been worth it, but you also had GoldenEye 007, Lylat Wars, Wave Race 64, Zelda: Majora’s Mask, F-Zero X, Mario Kart 64, Sin & Punishment, Paper Mario, Super Smash Bros., Banjo-Kazooie, and Mario Party.

OK, there isn’t much on top of that (but there are some other notables, like Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and Blast Corps) but with classics like that you don’t need anything else. It reminds me very much of the Switch’s line-up actually, as they’re all the best versions of their franchises up till that time – while others are brand new and still going today.

The move to 3D graphics was always going to be the biggest milestone but the N64 did it so much better than the PS1 and with games that have lasted forever in terms of influence and quality. We’ll never see that kind of generational leap again.

By reader Gambit