By Aaron N
In 1996 the Nintendo released it's third major home gaming console, the Nintendo 64. The Nintendo 64 had a plethora of popular games, many of which are considered some of the best of all time. It is hard to pick just a top five but I gave it a shot. Starting the top five is Mario Kart 64. Mario Kart 64 was a sequel to the very popular game for the Super Nintendo. It was a very fun racing game and seeing three dimensional racing was amazing. It was a game that you could just pop in with friends and play for hours. Each character had their own style, advantages and disadvantages. This is the best Mario Kart game in the series and it will be very hard to top it in the future. The next game on the list, coming in at number four is the best party game of all time, Goldeneye 64. I can't tell you how many hours we logged into this game at my sleepovers. It is the best first person shooter ever made and its popularity came out of nowhere. The multiplayer part of this game really made this game awesome. The story mode went along with the movie of the same name and it was good in its own right. This game will always be at the top of party games. The number three game to ever come out for the Nintendo 64 is Star Fox 64. This game took everything that worked with the original and improved upon it tenfold. It also had audible dialogue instead of just grunts when your teammates would talk to you. The music is catchy, and the atmosphere is one where you feel yourself in the game. Couple this with the invention of the rumble pack, and you have a complete gaming experience. The second best game to come out for the N64 is the flagship title Mario 64. Mario 64 will always be known as one of the groundbreaking games in gaming history. It introduced us to the world of 360 degree motion. The first time you saw Mario jump into a painting is something that will never be forgotten. The story was the usual Mario story, but that didn't matter. So what does it take to top a revolutionary title like Mario 64? It takes a classic hero and a classic villain reimagined. It takes a gripping story filled with colorful characters and mini-quests that will keep you playing for months. It takes a green tunic, a shield, and a sword. Yes, I am talking about what some consider to be the absolute best game ever to be made, and it's hard to disagree. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a masterpiece in game form. Everything about this game was at the top of its class. This is the quintessential Zelda game. The graphics were unbelievable for its time. The gameplay, from riding Epona to taking on dungeon bosses, is the best ever. The puzzle missions inside the dungeons are fantastic. The story spanning across seven years is better than a movie. The game makes you want to come back time after time to replay it. Ocarina of Time is arguably the best game ever made and it is easily the best game for the Nintendo 64. From a masterpiece of a game to what I think is the most underrated game to come out for the Nintendo 64 which is Diddy Kong Racing. This game at first may look like a Mario Kart clone but it is much more than that. There is a story involving an evil giant pig named Wizpig who rules over the island and it is your duty to defeat him by winning races and eventually facing off against the flying pig in a race for the world. There are secrets and tons of fun courses to play and it is a great feeling to finally beat Wizpig. It is a rare combination of a racer and an adventure game that also includes some multiplayer action in there.
In 2001 Nintendo released the Gamecube. While there is no arguement that this is the weakest of the five Nintendo consoles, it still has a good group of games for it. My number five for this system is Super Mario Sunshine. As with almost every franchise to release a game for the Gamecube, this is sometimes considered to be a weak game. I agree that it did not match its predessesors in the Mario series but it was still a fun game to play. The addition of FLUDD was a cool new part of the game and it gave some inventive ways of playing. There are weak moments in this game but I still feel that it was a fun game to play. Next, ranking in at number four is Super Smash Brothers Melee. Melee is one of the most popular party games of all time and it is easily the most popular game in the Smash Brothers series. It has just the right amount of characters available to play as and there aren't annoying distractions to deal with when playing. I still prefer to play this game with friends over the newer one. They took what was made in the original game and improved on every aspect. The characters had more attacks and there were more levels. It was just a fun game to play. Number three for the Gamecube is Metroid Prime. This was my first Metroid game that I played and it did not disappoint. The way they utilized the different types of guns in the different environments was fantastic. The story was fun and the battles in first person were fantastic. The mood set in the game was consistent and it set Metroid apart from other games. The runner-up for the Gamecube is F-zero GX. This was a fast paced thrill racing game set in the future. It even had a storyline to go with the racing if you chose to play it which wasn't bad. It was obviously well thought out and not just made in order to give it something different. This is a game you can go back and play over and over. It was my favorite racing game for the Gamecube. Now the best game for the Gamecube was a launch title. There were quite a few games to be released with the system, with the most well-known being either Pikmin or Luigi's Mansion. But my favorite game for the Gamecube was neither of these. It is in fact the game that I got with the system, which was Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2. As a huge Star Wars fan I had to pick this game up. It was the game I would play when I went to Toys R Us to demo the Gamecube before it came out. The graphics were unbelievable when I first played it. I had so much fun flying through the Death Star trench and everything all the way to the attack on the final Death Star, "we gotta buy more time!" The game is a must get for Star Wars fans and for fans of flight simulators in general. The most underrated game for Gamecube is Star Fox Adventures. I feel like this game got a lot of hate because it was a different type of Star Fox game and that it was obviously trying to be a Zelda type game. While both of these is true I still had fun playing it and I found myself into the story. I still find it cool with the ultimate twist where it is Andross' final try at ruling the world. It isn't the greatest game at all, but I feel like it deserves more credit than it gets.
Now to the current Nintendo system, which was released in 2006 and is called the Wii. This system seems to be having an impact on the undustry that is similar to the N64. It has caused a motion control revolution that you now see for every major system. The fifth best game so far for the Wii is Super Mario Galaxy 2. Mario Galaxy 2 was not as good as its predecessor but it was still a fun game to play. It takes the usual Mario engine and adds very few to it. It is basically just an addition to the first game and doesn't add much more to it but you still feel thriled to play it. Number four for this generation is Donkey Kong Country Returns. DKC Returns was an extremely fun game to play and it brought me back to the Super Nintendo. It had a unique story and it had a different style of gameplay than other past sidescrollers. I feel that it could possibly usher in a new type of game that is a mixture between 2D and 3D graphics. This was Donkey Kong's return game and it didn't disappoint. The third best game for the Wii introduced us all to the world of motion controls. Wii Sports was the game that came with every Wii system. It had five sports you could play: Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Baseball, and Boxing. It was a great way to get all of us used to the motion controls and I still find myself putting this one in to play some tennis. The second best game for the Wii is Mario's return to form. Super Mario Galaxy introduced us to a new way to play a Mario game. It made us all dizzy but at the same time we were having a blast going through each world. It was set up similar to Mario 64 where you had a world to start with and you had to find each planet to go to and there were places to explore outside the levels. It was widely popular and it felt like a Mario game. It brought about new power ups for Mario. The last level and battle with Bowser has an epic feel to it and you actually do feel like you are playing for the fate of the galaxy. This game is a must play for all gamers. The best game for this generation is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Skyward sword was the most recent Zelda installment. This game is the first game chronologically in the franchise and it had a very epic feel to it. There were many side quests to keep you occupied if the 35-hour story wasn't enough for you. Skyward sword took the wii motion controlls and used them to their fullest for a complete video game experience like nothing ever before on the Wii. The most underrated game for the Wii is Super Mario Sluggers. This is a baseball game that is actually dissimilar to Wii Sports. I have played this game more than other Wii game and it is always fun to put it on and just play a nine inning game and taunt the other players. It is a fun game to shut your mind off and play. Nintendo has released some of the most iconic game ever made. They were the ones that started the whole home gaming revolution and they continue to be the flag bearer for the industry. They have had their good days and their bad days, but you can always count on Nintendo to capitalize on their most popular franchises. It seems like their only hiccup so far was the Gamecube but they were able to bounce back in a huge way and recapture the industry with the Wii. We will see where the Wii ends up and what Nintendo does when the next generation of consoles with the wii-u.
Do a barrel roll!
ReplyDelete