The Nintendo 64 is one of the most iconic consoles to ever grace entertainment centers. Gamers have one specific moment that introduced them to gaming, and the Nintendo 64 is what many consider their gaming genesis. Hits like Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Banjo Kazooie are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the Nintendo 64 offered.
Nintendo’s hit console didn’t just feature great exclusives. Plenty of games were ported to the system, but not all of them were ideal fits. Resident Evil 2 and Rayman 2: The Great Escape were some of the most notable Nintendo 64 ports. A few of the biggest PC games of the 90s made their way to Nintendo’s hardware, and it became a great showcase of why some games just aren’t meant to be ported to every console.
Every Nintendo Home Console Launch Line-Up, Ranked
Nintendo has an impressive library of home consoles and launch titles to go with them. Yet, which Nintendo launch had the best games on day one?
The Nintendo 64’s Limits and Weird Controller Were Major Hurdles
The Nintendo 64’s controller is both revolutionary and wildly divisive. The three-pronged design still makes it awkward to hold and truly feel comfortable. It was the first controller to popularize the analog thumbstick, though. That alone makes it one of the most important steps forward in gaming. It’s equal parts confusing and inventive. Nintendo loves to experiment, but the controller was a bad fit for some games that weren’t specifically designed with it in mind.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
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StarCraft and Command & Conquer are two of the most notable examples. Both are some of the best real-time strategy games around, with each spawning successful franchises. Real-time strategy doesn’t really fit well with the Nintendo 64, though. Both ports’ graphics were seen as strong back then, but the clunky gameplay caused by the system’s controller and hardware was frustrating when having to manage so much in-game. The thumbstick and button mapping simply weren’t a good match for what the game demanded.
The Nintendo 64’s lack of power also forced key features to be changed. StarCraft‘s N64 port used still images in place of animated cutscenes. Command & Conquer‘s FMV scenes also had to be replaced with static pictures.
Duke Nukem 3D Coming to the Nintendo 64 Was a Big Surprise
Generally, Nintendo is seen as a family-friendly company. Yes, mature games like Perfect Dark and Conker’s Bad Fur Day existed on the console. There is a lot of wild content in Duke Nukem 3D that made it highly controversial, though, so it’s shocking that Nintendo even considered bringing the game under its umbrella. Duke Nukem 3D‘s Nintendo 64 port is heavily censored, with levels being completely redesigned and new voice lines being re-recorded or cut entirely. Also, the ability to kill NPCs was replaced with a mechanic that saved them instead.
Like Command & Conquer and StarCraft, some pretty important features were cut from Duke Nukem 3D‘s port because of the console’s limitations. The game’s soundtrack (minus the menu music) was taken out to conserve cartridge space. This really changes its atmosphere, making it feel way more serious than the original’s over-the-top action movie vibe. The Duke Nukem games have taken many shapes and forms, but its presence on the Nintendo 64 feels more like a hilarious mistake than a genuine addition to the console’s roster.
Nintendo 64’s PC Ports Are a Reminder That Games Aren’t Always One-Size-Fits-All
Since the industry has evolved, bizarre game ports like Command & Conquer, StarCraft, and Duke Nukem 3D aren’t really strange in the same way. Although hardware power still differs, controller designs are more universal. There is still an issue with some ports having major performance issues, though. With companies like Sony ending PC ports for single-player games and Xbox seemingly willing to port some of its most beloved exclusives to other consoles, it’s going to be interesting to see which approach ends up sticking in the next few years.
