Topic: Nintendo 64 (Switch Online)

Didn't Miiverse have a thing that would put a checkmark by your profile if you'd actually played the game you were commenting on?

Man, that sort of thing would do wonders for debates like this.

It's your choice if you want to stick to the internet rage, and it's fine if you don't want to spend the extra 30 bucks to find out for yourself, but every post these people make should simply be preceded by bolded language stating they most likely have not played the thing they're about to trash.

@rallydefault Yeah I'm convinced that most of the people complaining haven't actually played the Switch versions of the N64 games...which makes sense considering the incredible overlap with people who weren't willing to pay the $30 price tag. That's nor to say that people that have actually purchased the expansion pack can't be disappointed with it.

Personally, having played these games on the Wii, Wii U, and now Switch, I find these to be the best N64 rereleases from Nintendo so far. They're not perfect but they're far from abysmal.

Decided to buy the expansion yesterday. I'm actually not having any MAJOR problems yet. The music in Mario Kart 64 cuts out between laps and there's some minor delay but other than that, it's good. I'm having a lot of fun with Dr Mario 64 as I'm a massive puzzle game fan. Overall, while I've had a lot more fun with the Mega Drive games, this is still a nice addition to the switch online library!

@skywake I think the N64 emulation is definitely better than on Wii U. The N64 and the NES emulation on Wii U was off in terms of colours (strangely both consoles fared much better on Wii). SNES and GBA were the winners on Wii U.

The one thing that's slightly annoying about the NSO N64 app is actually due to the one thing that the N64 controller absolutely got right - the B button should be (as it was on the N64 but has never been on any other major console) North West of the A button. The A-to-A and B-B mapping just doesn't feel natural to me. I get why they've done it - it means that menus line up with the writing on your controller - but I'd like to be able to remap it (and then have C down-to-A and C left-to-X).

I also get why 'Z' has been mapped to the 'L' button so that you have consistency across the NSO apps where the Z triggers are used to access the menus. Again though - it doesn't feel right, the 'Z-trigger' was such an integral part of the feel of these games and the 'L' button is much less satisfying.

Value-wise I think it's actually a good deal for anyone who actually wants to play these games (and of course if you don't - then you don't have to pay).

The idea that games should be "free" (whether because they are old or because they are 2d or "too short" or because "I can download them for free on my PC") is one that only ends in one destination and it's not a good one. If having an actual £2-3 a month price tag on the service is what ultimately allows lots of second tier games to actually get exhumed into a format in which they can be conveniently played by millions of people then it's doing the job and the arguments for outright piracy of old games is weakened.

@YusseiWarrior3000 I heard it has had fog issues and, The way the controls are is a little strange, Don't take it from me tho, Also, High five ✋That was a good one!

@YusseiWarrior3000 IKR? Its so cool, But Nintendo is really just ripping us off at this point, have been for a long time, but at leas 10 bucks was you getting what you paid for, Pay 60$ But the online is still as crappy as ever.

Clap

So one of the things that did actually annoy me was seeing OOT's graphical issues. And it took me a bit to realize why. Because I've not seen if there's anything beyond two areas of the game. If someone plays that version of OOT, in all likelihood it seems it will not be worse as a whole then any other N64 emulation for it (or at least in a way that a regular person would notice). Kinda questioned for a second if this even remotely mattered.

But then I realized. This is not just a way to play Ocarina of Time. This is THE way to play Ocarina of Time. Legally. It's not like they're gonna entirely replace this on the next system, this is presumably Nintendo's way of selling its retro games going forward. In 10 years, NSO will still exist as the most common way to re-experience this game and others on modern hardware. Even if they decide to sell them on their own again, I have to believe NSO is the focus. So yeah, it would be really awful and stupid if they didn't fix issues with OOT that weren't even in the original game since this is how most people who have never played it will experience it (legally). I can't imagine they won't, if they bothered to fix F Zero X on the Wii U.

I guess in a way that's also why things might turn around for this. Again, NSO basic is better than it was at launch, and I wouldn't be shocked if in a year, much of the issues with the expansion are fixed. And the expansion isn't a service you need to play online, so that whole issue is at least a non-factor for this. But I also understand that's not much of an excuse. God knows, we don't need even Nintendo to be putting something out in a worse state than it could be, there's too much of that from gaming companies outside of Nintendo already.

@rallydefault Oh I get it, you are part of the problem.

@YusseiWarrior3000 NGL it is.

I purchased the service this afternoon. Only played 3 games so far (with an N64 controller)

My initial thoughts:

The side border is really annoying (the brightness of the grey also seems to be different depending on game. For example, the side border was brighter on OoT compared to MarioKart). Not having an option for pure black so disappointing.

I found Mario Kart and Starfox played ok, no issues here (for me)

OoT is disappointed. Just little things annoy me, like the missing glow on the Draw Bridge Torches. The missing fog just changes the ambiance too much for me. They really need fix this. Hopefully there will be patch.

With the game menu, the found that you could not re arrange the game order. With SNES and NES you could drag/drop to customise the order. I don’t think this is possible with N64 (this is a very minor point) Edit: you can re-arrange the tiles, I just struggled with the N64 controller Doh!

@DarthNocturnal thanks, will give it a try

@YusseiWarrior3000 I don't think anyone thought the price was gonna go up that high, Hell I would have paid for it if it was 20-30 Bucks.

@YusseiWarrior3000
The individual membership price is definitely not worth at this very moment it if you aren't into Animal Crossing. But if you're into Animal Crossing you were going to spend $37AU anyways and the full expansion is $60AU. If you're in a family group it's $110AU but split amongst multiple people. I have five in mine so technically it's $22AU/year so effectively this year has paid for itself already with the Animal Crossing DLC.

And that's before we consider how you can take advantage of game vouchers to drop the price of full games by $10AU here and there throughout the year. I don't need to even think about whether or not the classic games are worth it, I use the service enough that those are just bonuses

@YusseiWarrior3000 I agree that the cost is way to high right now (unless you split the bill via family plan) but I think it could be worth it down the road if Nintendo makes it worth it. Stranger things have happened.

My N64 controller arrived which is odd because it's a Sunday. Postage must be ramping up to cover increased demand/shipping delays or something.

So first impressions from the perspective of someone who's main experience of N64 is via VC and Ports. Some of this may just be "modern day perspectives of the N64 controller". It's definitely bigger than I expected, I've played games on an original N64 on a few times but obviously not that much to remember it being this big. It's also definitely a less precise analogue stick which is a bit of a handicap in Mario Kart. And it's also far from the most comfortable controller to use, definitely something to get used to. Using it I can now see why there's a bit of a cult following for the GameCube controller that remains to this day. The GC controller was a massive step up

But all of that sounds pretty negative which I don't think is at all fair. It's definitely has its positives over the Pro Controller. In StarFox, definitely the better controller to use. The rumble is what you'd expect from earlier versions of rumble. That "rubber band with a weight in it" feeling as opposed to the "flicking a tight spring" you get on the Switch. Not as powerful as you get on the GameCube but a similar kind of lower frequency rumble. Also the lack of precision for some reason works better in Starfox, can't really put words as to why. And of course the C buttons are much better as buttons than using the right stick. I also like the DPad compared to the Pro Controller which, sadly, isn't much of a bar to clear

Overall, worth getting if you're into this collection I think. I'm not particularly upset about the complaints people have made about it not really working in other titles in terms of button mapping etc. It's probably not a controller I'd really want to be using outside of the N64 app. Except for maybe Mario 64 in the 3D AllStars Collection which I think they should patch to work with this controller

It came to mind, with how many gaps there are between Mario Tennis and Pokemon Snap maybe games like Banjo-Kazooie are put under "M" for Microsoft. Then 18-24 ends up being:
18 - Banjo-Kazooie
19 - Banjo-Tooie
20 - Blast Corps
21 - Conker's Bad Fur Day
22 - Goldeneye 007 (there's a Nintendo Life article about it no longer being banned in Germany)
23 - Killer Instinct Gold
24 - Perfect Dark

25 ends up being Mischief Makers as Treasure said more of their games are coming to NSO.

@SKTTR I was thinking the exact version (with the improvements) from 3D All Stars being included.

@skywake There are definitely some games that never feel quite "right" without the original N64 stick (and Z-trigger). That includes some of the best games on the console (and things that sane might still want to actually play) like Starfox 64 and F-Zero X.

It was ultimately a flawed controller though. The GameCube controller was better in almost every single way and you can see the sorts of thought processes with it that ultimately led to the Wii - that big inviting 'A' button that sort of says "maybe you only really need one button".

The original rumble in the original StarFox 64/Lylat Wars is a thing of pure beauty. If you manage to destroy the train on Macbeth the rumble just gets angrier and angrier for about a minute while everything blows up.

@thiz are you tapping the L button? That toggles the music in MK64.

@thiz No worries, I think a lot of people are making the same mistake! It's not the most convenient placement for such a thing.

I almost think they added that option simply to give the L button something to do.