So I hooked up my original N64 (23 years old, lord,) and decided to try some of my games just to see if the save data was still around. Happily, I only lost my original OoT save, but man, this system is ROUGH now, and I used to love it.
To preface, played it on a CRT, so any issues I bring up are as they would have been in 96-02.
Banjo Kazooie:
Mostly fine, frame rate problems pop up often, and even more so in the sequel (like, painfully so.) For all intents and purposes, these are Xbox games now and forever.
Turok 2:
What... Were they thinking. Graphics look nice I guess, but it runs at 7 fps, and when it isn't that low, the controls have a half second of lag! It's basically unplayable, and I get why I cheated every time I played as a kid. Plus, the level design is a disaster. If you must, play the recent versions.
MK4:
What the hell, this game runs and controls great haha, still fun to play even if it's mechanically shite. Would play a rerelease, but this version is fine.
SW:SotE:
Dash Rendar is a paper tank, and the framerate and level design are psycho. Hoth battle is great. Just play Rogue Squadron 2.
F Zero X:
Wonderful experience. Plays great on N64, which I'm very happy about.
Diddy Kong Racing:
Better than MK64 in every respect. Plays fine on N64, luckily, but that's probably due to strong gameplay mechanics.
Perfect Dark:
Love this game, but do not play on N64. Higher difficulties especially are unplayable with the framerate.
Super Mario 64:
Uuuuuuh how'd they do this day one? It's a little ugly now, but it plays perfectly today and is still a ton of fun. It's not as far removed from Odyssey as I had thought either.
But cumulatively, every game was very soft visually and game design of the time was very inconvenient. I feel a little less joy with the system now, and have packed it up for basically eternity at this point. I think the controller is fine, but there's really only a few great games on the system now, and there's better ways to play them. If the games were rereleased on Switch, they really need remasters or remakes, because in their original form, these games are better left in their time. (To me, anyway.)
To preface, played it on a CRT, so any issues I bring up are as they would have been in 96-02.
Banjo Kazooie:
Mostly fine, frame rate problems pop up often, and even more so in the sequel (like, painfully so.) For all intents and purposes, these are Xbox games now and forever.
Turok 2:
What... Were they thinking. Graphics look nice I guess, but it runs at 7 fps, and when it isn't that low, the controls have a half second of lag! It's basically unplayable, and I get why I cheated every time I played as a kid. Plus, the level design is a disaster. If you must, play the recent versions.
MK4:
What the hell, this game runs and controls great haha, still fun to play even if it's mechanically shite. Would play a rerelease, but this version is fine.
SW:SotE:
Dash Rendar is a paper tank, and the framerate and level design are psycho. Hoth battle is great. Just play Rogue Squadron 2.
F Zero X:
Wonderful experience. Plays great on N64, which I'm very happy about.
Diddy Kong Racing:
Better than MK64 in every respect. Plays fine on N64, luckily, but that's probably due to strong gameplay mechanics.
Perfect Dark:
Love this game, but do not play on N64. Higher difficulties especially are unplayable with the framerate.
Super Mario 64:
Uuuuuuh how'd they do this day one? It's a little ugly now, but it plays perfectly today and is still a ton of fun. It's not as far removed from Odyssey as I had thought either.
But cumulatively, every game was very soft visually and game design of the time was very inconvenient. I feel a little less joy with the system now, and have packed it up for basically eternity at this point. I think the controller is fine, but there's really only a few great games on the system now, and there's better ways to play them. If the games were rereleased on Switch, they really need remasters or remakes, because in their original form, these games are better left in their time. (To me, anyway.)
