In terms of software quality, which transition did Nintendo handle better, 3D or HD?

[Jumpin]

curl-6 said:

Jumpin said:

I’m going to go against the stream, and vote HD.

So, I’ll make it abundantly clear I’m speaking for myself because my opinion is far from what most fans think 😀

I didn’t really start to enjoy Nintendo’s 3D efforts until the Wii. Yeah, Super Mario 64 impressed me, so did Wave Race 64, but I found that wore off quickly. I found myself primarily playing SNES (as far as Nintendo games went) during the N64 era.

Rare, on the other hand: IMO they stole the show on the N64. But Nintendo lost them in the end.

I did enjoy Mario Kart 64 and Lylat Wars, more than the 2D era, but that was it. I didn’t really enjoy the Super Mario series in 3D until Galaxy, and Zelda didn’t happen until the HD era with Breath of the Wild.

On the downside of HD, Nintendo flubbed the Wii U. But not on the software side, what they needed was a great console for that software, and we got it with the Switch. During that generation they developed Xenoblade Chronicles X and Breath of the Wild, which remain two of my favourite games of all time. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe somehow became my most played Mario Kart game of all time on the Switch.

So, IMO, neither transition was perfect. But, speaking for myself, HD is a clear winner.

Interesting to hear from the HD side of the discussion, cheers.

Wii U's first party output did impress me as a whole, even if some stuff like NSMBU or Nintendoland felt a bit too conservative, relative to how ambitious their N64 output was. BOTW and Mario Kart 8 though were top notch, Tropical Freeze while not a technical showpiece was one of the best platformers ever made, Splatoon was a fresh and exciting new IP, and Xenoblade X while it had its flaws delivered one of the most striking open worlds in gaming.

On the N64 side of things, Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, and Lylat Wars blew my mind back in the day, more than anything on Wii U sans BOTW and XCX. F-Zero X also deserves a mention for pushing an insanely fast racer at 60fps.

I think that's where we differ, that for me the N64 lustre wore off quickly. And I found the games somewhat lacking compared to their 2D counterparts. But the HD games I find to be big improvements over their 3D era counterparts - well, except Mario Odyssey, which I like considerably better than Mario 64 and Sunshine 3D, but not nearly as much as Galaxy 1 and 2.

I liked 3D era Zelda at first. But then it came to represent everything I disliked about 3D era games. And while I did like Ocarina of Time during the N64 era, I was still disappointed with it for two reasons: first, I didn't enjoy it as much as Link to the Past; second, it fell very short of my expectations - Breath of the Wild exceeded my already crazy high expectations. Lylat Wars was fantastic - but it might be the only N64/Gamecube game by Nintendo I'd consider playing again. I can scarcely imagine I won't want to play many games from the Wii U/Switch era again in 10-20 years time.

Last edited by Jumpin - on 05 December 2024