It seems the hardest-working man in games journalism has struck again! Yes, Chris Scullion — features editor over at VGC, formerly of Official Nintendo Magazine UK, and Nintendo Life contributor extraordinaire (most recently giving EA's FIFA series a fitting send-off for us) — is back again with another entry in his excellent gaming encyclopedia series.
Having covered the NES, the SNES, and the Mega Drive / Genesis, as well as stopping off to cover the entire platforming genre, Scullion has now tackled the Nintendo 64 library as part of his epic and ongoing quest to make that Billy bookcase of yours earn its keep.
Over the course of 264 pages, he examines the machine which delivered some of the most groundbreaking and beloved software in video game history. Nintendo famously struggled in the marketplace as Sony rose to dominate the industry in the space of a single hardware generation, rewriting the rulebook with its razor-sharp PlayStation marketing, teen appeal, and cheaper disc-based approach versus Nintendo's expensive cartridges. Sorry, game paks. However, the list of all-time greats that the 64-bit system played host to speaks for itself. Seminal works like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and GoldenEye 007 would shape the entire medium in the years that followed gaming's early steps into the polygonal realm.
Scullion looks at each and every one of the games released for the Nintendo 64, including Japanese exclusives (so yes, it covers the original release of Animal Crossing, or Dōbutsu no Mori). He also casts his critical eye over the slim yet fascinating library of the 64DD, the Japan-only disc-based 'add-on' system that sat beneath the console.
As you'd expect, Scullion's vast knowledge is brought to bear with all the wit and wisdom you'd expect if you've read any of his brilliant work before. If you're looking for an entertaining overview of one of our very favourite Nintendo consoles, you can't do much better than this.
The N64 Encyclopedia is available now in the UK from all good booksellers, and is coming to the US later in the year.
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Comments 23
Well worth a read and an exhaustive look at the whole library of games! Really impressive and very nostalgic for fans of the N64.
I still prefer PS1 games over than N64 games as PS1 games shaped my gaming experience during my teenhood.
When I look through the book I just feel envy he got to play all these games, even the crap ones.
Loved those quirky N64 games back in the day, like Fighter's Destiny, Hybrid Heaven and Body Harvest. I would love to give this a read.
@Anti-Matter I hear you there, but I think it just depends on what you grew up with. I only ever had a PS1 and my friends all had N64, so I only got to play those games in short sessions, usually co-op only. I don't remember much about those games.
My childhood memories are filled with Ape Escape, Medieval, and Crash Bandicoot, but that doesn't mean Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, and Mario games still weren't really fun to play at the time.
Only rich kids had both systems lol
I can't wait to get my hands on this, and I really love the warmth for your fellow colleagues here! 😄
Anyone know how this compares to the N64 Anthology?
Already got my copy, always nice to support Scully!
Oh I gotta get this.
Annoyingly, by the time I discovered this series the NES book wasn't available in hardback so I had to get the paperback. I then picked up the paperback of the SNES book so they'd fit together on my shelf. And now I'm stuck in the irritating situation where I have to wait ages after each book releases for the paperback edition to come out. I want this one so much!
@BionicDodo First world problems.
Ooh, I'll definitely look into this. There are a bunch of N64 games that I absolutely love (Paper Mario, Kirby 64, WINBACK BABY WOOOO) and the console itself, for all of its very obvious faults, has an undeniable charm in the modern age so this seems like it'd be a great read!
@HarmanSmith Exactly! I played all those 3 (rentals at Blockbuster) but my love goes to Hybrid Heaven. That opening scene with the guy in his appartment, always struck 14 y.o me as a "mature" game. And the combat system...
I was going to say, was there even 400 N64 games?
But there were about 300 games released in North America, so I guess there's probably enough Japanese exclusives to round up that total.
(I know PAL regions got literally 4 games that NA didn't. One, maybe two of those got Japanese versions?)
@Aurumonado
Anthology is more detailed. This is just game reviews. But both compliment each other.
I've got all Anthologies and encyclopaedias. Hoping bitmap books does their n64 compendium soon.
Guess Nlife will cover Chris' Platform book at some point too. (Unless they did already?)
It would be nice if the anthology books got another printing. They are insanely expensive now.
I want it. GIMME!
I have "Nintendo 64 Anthology" by Mathieu Manent.
i wonder why the N64 encyclopedia encompasses all regions but the SNES one only went for US and EU...? perhaps there's a smaller difference in N64
A YouTuber called Thab is currently playing through every N64 game at the moment - at the rate he's going I think he's meant to finish sometime in 2024. It's a bit of a nostalgia trip to watch, like this book would be to read I imagine.
@Maxdokdok I know! I really, really liked the combat system in Hybrid Heaven. And yes, it was quite a shock for me too to be playing a "mature" game. I still remember the moment when the true protagonist's identity is revealed and I went "OMG!".
We have come a long way since then in videogames, but those memories are filled with pure magic!
I have the NES & SNES editions, and can't wait for this to release in the US!
I own several of Chris’ encyclopaedias (NES, SNES, Mega Drive and the N64 one). I highly recommend all of them. I believe his next one is on the Dreamcast…
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