Probably the best console I ever brought. N64 was the first to do many things and it did it with welcome arms. First seeing Mario 64 to Zelda OoT were memories never forgotten, Rare was a machine too.

The new Zelda game makes me want to buy a NX.

Losing Rare was a huge blow to Nintendo, this was especially felt during the Gamecube and Wii U years where Rare's output would have made both those consoles libraries even better and more varied. However I do acknowledge that by around 2002, the Rare we knew and loved was mostly gone as key developers had left the company some before then. Their 64 output was absolutely legendary. I'm collecting all the retro consoles in reverse order and the N64 is my next purchase, will be having a HDMI internal mod installed, can't wait!

Yeah, that's true. You really had to own both consoles back then.

I think that's a good point. Losing Rare's output was a blow, but losing Rare the company wasn't. A lot of the talent had left and started other studios.

Honestly, even though it turned out fewer games than Rare during its golden age, Retro, I think, filled that void nicely.

I loved the N64. Got it a couple of months after launch. Bought Mario 64 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Highlight of the console was goldeneye and the incredible Ocarina of Time.

nintendo pretty much guided rare to greatness.

I think that's a big part of it. Nintendo's financial and professional support really helped Rare, as did a healthy competition between EAD and Rare.

Mario 64 with my cousin, good memories :)

Retro are definitely excellent, for sure. I should have mentioned Iguana and Factor 5 also who pushed the N64 to its limits also but were not first/second party developers. Most of my fondest gaming memories are tied to Rare's games though. I miss seeing their logo pop up upon booting up... :(

I agree the staff were leaving at Rare but to lose Rare as a company was a blow. All those IPs under Rare’s Belt are some of the greatest games of all time and definitely boosted Xbox on the IP department. I think MS has handled Rare's games pretty well (Prior and Post Kinect), Banjo Kazooie/Tooie and Perfect Dark Remasteres on the 360 were great, while Viva Piñata and Kameo were good games to add under Rare’s rich collection of amazing IPs. The company has changed since the good old Nintendo days and Rare was dying when Donkey Kong 64 and Star Fox Adventures came out as disappointments in my opinion. However Rare's art style and humour is something that I think has been lost at Nintendo and gained though MS. Seeing Sea of Thieves and playing Rare's Replay honestly makes me wonder why Nintendo didn’t just hold onto Rare just for the IP library and that Rare Factor.

I honestly will tear up if MS announce a BattleToad game, with all the BattleToad references lately I think something is cooking.