I've been a Nintendo-fan for pretty much all of my life, and some might even consider me a fanboy. I guess I am, somewhat, although I like other systems/games as well, if they're good. However, this thread is going to be fully devoted to Nintendo.

To me, the Nintendo 64 was pretty much the pinnacle of gaming. I can't even begin to describe how many fun times I had with that console, and if I were to make a top 5 favorite games of all time list, surely at the very least 4 of the games on the list would be from the Nintendo 64. Which brings me to my current point...

I still love Nintendo. The whole "omg wii is too casual lol!!!" I do not agree with, and this is definitely not one of those threads. However, I'm going to discuss three different games from the 64 here and how their future games since then have been, in my eyes.

I'm going to start things off with what may very well be my #1 favorite game of all time, Star Fox 64. Now, this is a monster of a game. The whole gameplay is top-notch and the voice-acting, while not fantastic, still got the job done and was relatively new for a game at that time (it was new to me anyway). I've replayed this game so many times and I'm fairly sure I've achieved every possible thing in it, time and time again. Now, for it's future... I got the Gamecube pretty early in it's life, I believe it was in 2002. However, I did not get the Star Fox-games for the GC until a little more than a year ago.

First I played Star Fox: Assault, and I found it very fun. It was a great game, according to me, but one gripe I had when comparing it to Star Fox 64 was the length. It was just far too short to be compared, and it had no freedom of choice whatsoever. Still, this game was very fun, but just didn't feel up to par with Star Fox 64. Next, I played Star Fox Adventures. The game was fairly fun, but didn't really hold a candle against other games of the same genre. It also didn't feel much like Star Fox. But that's what I was expecting when going into it, since it wasn't meant to be a Star Fox-game in the beginning. I must commend the game for it's graphics though. I found that they were very good for a game from like 2002. I guess I should include Star Fox: Command as well. The controls were pretty tough to get used to, and put some strain on my touch-screen but the game in itself was enjoyable, even though some things in it felt pretty imbalanced and annoying.

Next up, let's go to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This game gave me a lot of grief. You can call me n00b if you want to, but I got stuck in the Water Temple, and none of my friends wanted to help me. Everytime I loaded my savegame and tried it on my own, I just failed again. It wasn't until 3 years later, when I replayed the game from the beginning with a friend that I managed to beat the Water Temple fairly easily. Now, my favorite Zelda is A Link to the Past, but this was a very good 3d-transition and I was more than pleased with this game. Amazing game, and lots of fun. Moving on to the future it had...

Zelda is a franchise I really have no gripes with even today. I thought that Twilight Princess was as fun as Ocarina of Time, and Wind Waker was even more fun. In my eyes, Zelda is still going very strong and keeps my interest at it's peak. I know some may not agree with me, but I definitely think that Nintendo are treating this franchise right.

And moving on to the final game here, let's talk some about Super Mario 64. Now this must be my most-played game. I've replayed this game so many times I've lost count years ago. I've done speedruns, and everytime I start this game up and make a new file I make it a rule to gather all 120 stars as well. When I was a kid I played Super Mario All-Stars(So SMB1, SMB2 and SMB3) lots, as well as Super Mario World so Mario was already a character I was very fond of. This game just made my fondness of him grow exponentially. His future games, however...

When I got my Gamecube, I didn't run right out and buy Super Mario Sunshine, even though it was released(atleast I think it was, my memory is a bit fuzzy), and I really have no idea why. I was absolutely in love with Super Mario 64, so you'd think I'd go crazy for it's sequel. When I eventually ended up buying Super Mario Sunshine, I found that it was lots of fun but it just lacked some of the things I had grown to love in Super Mario 64. The F.L.U.D.D., while somewhat fun, felt far too overused to me, and it felt empty having the F.L.U.D.D. completely gone in those extra-levels(although I admit the F.L.U.D.D. really shouldn't have been in those levels anyway, because it would ruin them). Overall, I think the game just had a hard time balancing itself out. Still, the game was very fun and I'd recommend it to anyone with a Gamecube.

Now, Super Mario Galaxy. To start off - Do not get me wrong here. I agree that this is a simply spectacular game, and I personally believe it to be the second best game this gen, second only to Brawl. But somehow, this game managed to let me down, and I had hardly hyped it at all. I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the linearity, maybe it was how easy everything was - Maybe something inbetween. I just didn't get drawn into it the same way as with Super Mario 64. It's sad, really. Soundtrack was incredible, though.

My point in this thread is to ask everyone else if they feel any of the same things as me, or if I'm just a lone wolf(pun, regarding my avatar, intended). I still love Nintendo, and probably always will, but I just feel that they should re-evaluate some things they do, mainly with Star Fox since they seem to stray further and further away from the grandeur that was Star Fox 64.

If anyone actually had the willpower to read through all of this, kudos to you. If anyone actually wants to hear more of my rambling, just tell me and I'll mention some other Nintendo-franchises and what I think of their "evolution".

Dude, I agree 100% with everything you just said.

Star Fox Assault captured some of what made SF64 so great but it just wasn't enough and it left me wanting more. Much more. Hopefully this can be rectified with an impressive Wii Sta Fox game (I'm hoping!).

I too have no gripes with the Zelda franchise at all.

Super Mario 64 was my favourite game until OoT came out and I played it continuously until I had beaten it (and still played it after that). However, with Galaxy, although I enjoy it and it's an awesome game I still haven't beaten it. In fact, I haven't played it in over a month. Maybe it's because I have too many games and I never know what to play? or maybe it's something else... probably the former more than the latter though.

I hope they do re-evaluate the Star Fox franchise though and bring it back to the glory of SF64.

We could build you a time machine and send you back to 1996.

I'm glad to hear that you agree with me :) It's nice to for once have a discussion on this forum that isn't just a flamefest between fanboys XD

EDIT: Mr. Y, no thanks :P I still have my N64, you know.

Excellent post. I agree with many of your points.

Edit: I presume you've played Majora's Mask also?

I did not play Majora's Mask back on the N64, however I have started it on the Zelda Collection-thing for the Gamecube, but I haven't finished it. Not out of dislike for the game or anything like that, I just have a lot of games to finish right now :P

Atleast you're playing it! Good show.

The N64 will always be my favorite console followed by my SNES. Nintendo has never disappointed me.

I agree with your points about the Mario series, they just dont feel like 64.

I understand all of your points and agree with them. Starfox 64 was just so full of replay value.

franchises i expect to see on wii in the next 2 years: wario, animal crossing, kid icarus, mario, mario sport, zelda, pikmin, punchout, f zero. i also expect at leat one new IP possibly an RPG