Does it Hold Up? Playing every N64 game on the Switch Virtual Console, Part 1.
Since I've been reliving my childhood on the Switch over the last year, I've made it a goal to reassess every N64 game.
Banjo Kazooie
What do I remember about this game? My brother owned this one, and we tag-teamed our way through the entire game. The game was kinda like Mario 64, and even better in some ways (more open level design, better graphics).
What holds up? The art style, awesome music (all hail Grant Kirkhope!), and clever levels filled with lots of small hidden objectives. The level design in Banjo Kazooie was really ahead of its time. Obviously they copied Mario 64’s basic concept of small open world design, but took it further by letting the player freely explore each area and collect the prizes in any order. In retrospect, Banjo Kazooie laid the groundwork for modern Mario games such as Odyssey and Bowser’s Fury.
What doesn’t? The camera controls are stiff and annoying. The same could be said for every other 3D platformer at the time.
Overall… Best of the Best! Wow, this game really holds up! Banjo Kazooie is extremely entertaining, and I ended up playing it all the way through. Very highly recommended!
Dr. Mario 64
What do I remember about this game? Honestly, I’m not sure I knew there was a Dr. Mario game on the N64.
What holds up? The classic music and basic gameplay. Dr. Mario is a fun falling block puzzle game.
What doesn’t? The newer music is very annoying, and the story mode is disappointing. I thought story mode would mix up the game with new challenges, but instead it’s just a series of AI opponents and a painfully dumb story.
Overall… Unnecessary. Just stick with the NES version of Dr. Mario, which is free on the Switch with any online plan.
Excitebike 64
What do I remember about this game? I did not know this game existed until it was announced for the Nintendo Switch.
What holds up? The overall racing mechanics have a decent amount of depth to them. Overall it feels like a successful update of the sidescrolling original (which I was never very good at). The outdoor courses have cool layouts and scenic elements.
What doesn’t? The learning curve is very steep, to the point that I couldn’t even fully complete the tutorial. The “dirtbike” physics make it very easy to slide out of control and crash. The indoor courses all look the same, just with altered track layouts.
Overall… Much too hard! I really enjoy the basic concept, and at first I was impressed with the depth of this game. But after many valiant attempts and about a hundred crashes, I was still stuck on the first cup. Why bother making 3 difficulty settings if the easiest one is nearly impossible?
F-Zero X
What do I remember about this game? I played this one briefly in college, but mostly remember the SNES and Gamecube versions. I recall that they were very flashy but also very, very hard.
What holds up? The fast speeds, rad music, world creation, and trippy gravity-defying courses. When you get into a groove with the fast-paced action, it’s pretty intense.
What doesn’t? FZero X is an inaccessible game for casual players, with very sensitive steering, high difficulty, and a lot of insta-death elements on the harder courses.
Overall… Worth struggling against the high difficulty. F-Zero X has a similar problem as Excitebike 64, in that it’s too difficult on its easiest setting. However, I’m somewhat willing to look past that when the rest of the game is this good. It’s absolutely enthralling when you have a good race, and I found the first two cups on “novice” difficulty to be challenging but beatable. I had to use a cheat code to unlock the final cup, though.
Goldeneye 007
What do I remember about this game? I LOVED this game in highschool, and played it a ton. I also remember that 00 mode was really fun but brutally hard.
What holds up? The clever levels, fast-paced action, excellent weapon selection, balanced difficulty, and expanding spy mission objectives. Goldeneye also stands up as a “different” FPS, both from its predecessors (such as Doom) and its successors (such as Call of Duty).
What doesn’t? The gameplay lacks the precision and realism of modern shooters, and is more “run and gun” than I remembered. Playing on a Switch controller requires significant readjustment, though a custom button remap fixes most of these problems (except the “red crosshairs” aiming, but that might be my knock-off controller).
Overall… Great for its time. Goldeneye doesn’t flow as smoothly as modern FPS games, so kids raised on Call of Duty probably won’t like it. Personally, I thought it was still good fun once I got reacquainted with the controls and old-school sensibilities. Though the “Control Room” level is still ridiculously hard.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
What do I remember about this game? I knew about this game, and remember seeing some commercials. I’m not a huge fan of the series, but have really liked some Kirby games (especially Epic Yarn).
What holds up? The copy abilities! This game lets you combine 2 abilities to make crazy new powers, and most of them are pretty awesome. Some of the boss fights are well-designed and actually somewhat challenging.
What doesn’t? The game doesn’t have much meat to it: a minimum completion is pretty quick, and the extra challenges required for a full completion aren’t much fun. The level design is bland.
Overall… Fun, but flawed. Kirby 64 is fine, but hardly essential. It’s mostly worth a quick revisit to discover what silly things Kirby turns into when he combines various copy abilities (electricity + ice = refrigerator, and such).
Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
What do I remember about this game? I mostly remember that the 3-day cycle was a frustrating game mechanic that would reset your progress on sidequests and prevent you from saving the game properly.
What holds up? The four main dungeons are all pretty good, especially the SnowHead Temple. The character transformations are a fun twist on Link’s usual arsenal of tools. The Nintendo Switch version lets you save anytime, which fixes one of the many problems with the original N64 game.
What doesn’t? Most quests outside of the aforementioned dungeons are hard to find and poorly designed (needless misdirection is a common theme). The 3-day cycle provides annoying time restrictions and removes all of your heroic actions, which is discouraging on both a story and gameplay level. Most assets are recycled from Ocarina of Time.
Overall… Represents the best and worst of the series. The good parts are great, and there are glimpses of an emotional story buried in there somewhere. But… Majora’s Mask is very unpolished and most of what it tries to do was done much better in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. FWIW, the remake on the 3DS seems to have addressed at least half of the issues I had with the quest design.
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
What do I remember about this game? This was the game that convinced me to give the Zelda series another look, having previously only played (and hated) Zelda II. It was fantastically designed and felt like a real adventure!
What holds up? The opening chapter is still the best intro of any 3D Zelda games, employing a mythic feel and a quick tutorial area before dropping you into your first dungeon. There are a lot of dungeons (12, I think), all with great themes and extremely well-designed puzzles. The game notably makes good use of the 3D format for exploring and fighting, and set the standard for later games like Dark Souls. Overall, the quest is engaging, the story flows well, the difficulty is about right, and the atmosphere is great (especially the spooky settings in the second half, which actually frightened my daughter).
What doesn’t? The flat pre-rendered images used to hide graphical shortcomings are very obvious. Some of the optional tasks like rounding up the Cuccos or trying to catch the largest fish are annoying. These are all nitpicks, honestly.
Overall… Best of the best! I hadn’t played this game in about 20 years, and started to wonder if it really was as good as I remember. Turns out, it’s every bit as good as I remembered and more! Ocarina of Time is a masterclass in expert game design, with excellent boss fights, great world creation, and a perfect melding of story and gameplay.