Gamecube vs. N64

[steven]

Which do you prefer? Which did you find more disappointing?

Also, I'm so out of the current gen loop -- how is the release schedule for GC? Is it still somewhat plentiful or are they now trickling in, a la US Saturn circa early '98?

Whats the next "big" GC release?

[The bag of sand]

IF it comes out, Zelda TP will be the next big thing.

And which console is better... thats a hard question. I have only had my cube for a few months, since March but so far I love it. But running downstaris christmas morning only to find that under the christmas tree there is a big package and I open it up, and find a Nintendo 64 with a clear purple controler and Legend of Zelda OoT, that will be something you never forget. The N64 was just a powerhouse, in my mid elementary days I never thought of PSX It was my good ol' n64, I remember me and my dad getting to the boss in the deku tree and not knowing what the hell to do. It was such a great game, brings back some memorys.

[ReyVGM]

Which one is more disappointing depends on what kind of hype you had when the console came out.
The N64 was considered to be the second coming of Jesus and Super Mario 64 delivered the goods... but after that, only Goldeneye and Zelda took the N64 to the next step.
Meanwhile the Playstation was having great releases upon great releases.

I think the Gamecube got a whole LOT better support than the N64, it had a bunch of Resident Evils, a Metal Gear Solid remake, all the Splinter Cell games, Medal of Honor and all those 'mature' action and FPS games that on the PS/N64 era only came out for the PS and Saturn.
The power was also on par with the PS2 & Xbox and games were as abundant as Xbox releases.

What killed the friggin console since the start was the stupid color and handle. Sure us hardcore gamers don't "really" mind that as long as it has games to play, but the general public (Casual gamers & casual media) unconsciously/subliminally preferred the PS2/Xbox regardless of what games they had.

The N64 had a cool design, some would say mature. But the system was filled with childlike platformers thanks to Mario 64.
The Gamecube had MUCH better support when it came to games and mature games, but the console design really killed whatever image it would have gotten from those games.

[MRSKELETON]

the n64 had megaman legends.


nuff said.

[vysethebold]

The N64 Megaman Legends was far inferior to the PSX version, but I knew you were joking. I really don't like the N64. I had one right from the time it came out and sure it has a couple of my all time favorites but most of the games for the system were utter crap. Ever notice that almost every game has a grayish fog over all of the environments and sprites? All the colors were never vivid and almost always dull to the max...

[Scylla]

reyvgm said:

Which one is more disappointing depends on what kind of hype you had when the console came out.
The N64 was considered to be the second coming of Jesus and Super Mario 64 delivered the goods... but after that, only Goldeneye and Zelda took the N64 to the next step.
Meanwhile the Playstation was having great releases upon great releases.

I don't think it's a matter hype. You're not giving the people here, or gamers in general, the credit they deserve. I think we're perfectly capable of comparing the game libraries and hardware themselves, and I believe most of the general gaming populace is capable of that as well.

You really should be more clear about how you're expressiong your opinions too. You make that statement as if Mario 64, Goldeneye, and Zelda 64 are the only great games as if it's a fact, but you'll find MANY people who would disagree.

Oh, and regarding the handle, why does everyone hate it? o_O Are they really THAT stuck on the idea that the system is somewhat lunchbox shaped? (And thus in their heads they think "lunchbox" = "for kids".) I don't know about anybody else, but I've found the handle VERY useful. As for the color, yeah, Nintendo has an unhealthy obsession with purple, but I got my GameCube no more than a few months after launch and I got a black one. I don't know if black was available at launch, but it was definitely there shortly thereafter.

Anyway, as I said in the other topic, I prefer the N64 since I feel that most GameCube games don't do anything that wasn't already done on N64 or elsewhere, and in some cases it had been done better before. I have most of the "big" GameCube releases, but few have really captured my fancy. Of course, my N64 collection is much larger than my GameCube collection and I have a tendency to look back on retired systems more fondly than what's current, so maybe once the Wii takes over and I can start loading up on cheap GameCube games I might start liking it more. I know with the N64 I got it at launch and I was very happy with it for awhile, then I started to lose interest a little, but once it died I started getting a ton of games and realized just how much awesome stuff was out there. Heck, my small import collection alone makes the N64 worth owning with Sin & Punishment, Wonder Project J2, Getter Love, Custom Robo, and Bomberman 64. And Goemon's Great Adventure, man, that's one of the most brilliant platformers ever made.

[zzz]

Childish? I would rather not start a gamefaqs like discussion about this, but I do not see anything childish about a abstract game like Mario. Or anything mature about M rated games.

To answer the original question, I am not really into these consoles. N64 had Mario Kart 64, F-Zero X, Densha de GO! 64, Robotron 64 (infintely inferior to original, but ok), and a few others. GC had Fire Emblem, Mario Kart, F-Zero, five or six Resident Evils, Ikaruga, Puzzle Bobble, Pinball Hall of Fame, and a upcoming Fire Pro. Both had good games, but PS, PS2, Saturn, NGPC, and Nintendo's portable consoles were better for me. And GC games will be playable for Wii, so that kind of makes GC obsolete for me. If Wii's VC gets MK64 and FZX that would make both more or less obsolete for me.

[shido]

Both great consoles and kinda unrrated
I think the GC is better because it has more diversity than N64 had. I mean, N64 go a lot of good games but almost all of them are from Nintendo or Rare. Most GC good games are from Nintendo too, but it also have some good games from Capcom, Namco, Sega, Treasure and more.

[dartagnan1803]

I prefer the Gamecube.
Innovation is fine, but titles can still age poorly (Timesplitters>>>>>>>Goldeneye).
As it is;
If I collected every last N64 game I found worthwhile, my collection would cap at about 24 tops.
Considering the rest of my collection that's a somewhat dismal number. Not only that, but of those 24, I'd probably buy even less.

The cube has more games I still want to play.
That's all there is too it.

[kyouki]

I had a lot more fun with my N64 than I had with my GC. It was totally worth getting the N64 just for Mario 64... that game was that good. I didn't really care for OOT but when I first played it I thought it was a thing of beauty. F-Zero X is the best racer ever made as far as I am concerned. Body Harvest was a remarkable gem. I even liked Killer Instinct Gold and Mortal Kombat Trilogy!

My Gamecube sat on my entertainment shelf and collected dust. The only game I could bring myself to finish on that was Paper Mario, and that was torture towards the end. Every other game disappointed me. :/

Nintendo helped to cultivate their childish image by designing their games with children in mind. I'm not talking about aesthetics, but I am talking about the way their games force you through boring tutorials, over explain every single detail, and explicitly guide you throughout the course of the game. I'm hoping that with the Wii the controls will be so intuitive that such things won't be necessary.

I like to think of Disney versus Studio Ghibli in this situation. I can't watch a Disney cartoon now without feeling like I'm being talked down to; this is because Disney cartoons are made for children. I can easily watch a Studio Ghibli cartoon because they aren't specifically made for children... they are made for everyone, including children.

So no, you don't have to pack your game full of swears and sex and graphic violence to be seen as not childish... but you have to design the game assuming some level of intelligence in the audience. Kids can actually be pretty clever. I'm no genius but me and my generation were able to make our way through The Legend of Zelda and Ultima Exodus and other cryptic games without much help.

So anyway, I think the reason I enjoyed the N64 more than the GC was that the N64 was an entirely new experience compared to the previous consoles I had played (I didn't have a PSX until much later). The GC (like every other system of its generation) was just better quality graphics compared to the last generation. I think because the experience was so new I was willing to put up with being patronized. Although I did get annoyed with OOT.

[Scylla]

zzz said:

N64 had Mario Kart 64, F-Zero X, Densha de GO! 64, Robotron 64 (infintely inferior to original, but ok), and a few others.

Densha de GO! 64 is really good? I've never played any train simulations, but I'm up for it and I'm always looking for more worthwhile imports I can get for N64. Is it the best one in the series or maybe the best for starting out with?

[YourAverageJoe]

Personally I don't see anything about Mario 64 that didn't get done better with later titles, and by that I mean that the camera sucks. Alot. The rest of the game, although good at the time, has aged to the point of below mediocrity.

[Scylla]

I had way more trouble with the camera in Sunshine than in Mario 64. It's a lot easier to adjust it how you want than it is in Sunshine. In fact, I can only think of one part in Mario 64 where I can't get the camera quickly and easily where I want it (which is in the volcano).

And as for the game design itself, I still think it's as brilliant as ever and stands up as one of the best 3D platformers ever created.

[ahnslaught]

Re: Mario 64, isn't it kind of amazing how a game that invented the 3d platformer is still so playable today? I mean, I'm not a Mario fan by any stretch, but it's undeniable in how well it plays, 10 years after its release. A far cry from the batches of other 3d games released for 64/PS1/Saturn around that time that are totally unplayable today.

[YourAverageJoe]

While it's true there's lots of trash that's worse, I still can't shake the feeling that I could do WAY better!