Retro Rewind: Nintendo 64

The first Retro Rewind is about Nintendo's final cartridge based console, the Nintendo 64.  Though it did send nintendo into a distant second place in sales, It was an amazing console, and the one that got me into retro gaming.

(Note:  Not my N64)

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Nintendo had been declared the winner of the 16-bit Era as the SNES defeated the Genesis in sales.  But another Japanese company, Sega, was ready to start another war.  But first a little backstory.  Nintendo wanted to make an attachement for the SNES that allowed for CDs to be used.  So they partnered with Sony to create it.  As Nintendo realized that they had a mistake, giving Sony a decent amount of the rights, they cut ties with them.  Nintendo then announced they were creating the "Ultra 64," which we know as the N64.  But Sony wouldn't let all their work go to waste.  They turned into the console that defeated the N64, the PlayStation.  

Now why exactly did the N64 not succeed as well as the PlayStation?  Here's a few reasons. First off is the obvious difference between the two machines.  The N64 uses Cartridges, while the PlayStation uses CDs.   

My collection.  From the top:  Diddy Kong Racing, F-Zero X, Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time.

CDs could hold WAY more content than a cartridge could, making them a good choice.  Nintendo decided to go with cartridges, in favor of faster load times and sturdier games.  This didn't work out so well.  This caused the second reason.  Many third party publishers didn't exactly like Nintendo's choice, and jumped ship to Sony.  This included the RPG series Final Fantasy, who chose the PlayStation in favor of a larger world and a more complex story.  

Let's not forget that the Nintendo 64's games.  Nintendo and Rare churned out hit after hit on the console, providing some of the greatest games of all time.  For example, 

My Ocarina of Time Cartridge.

The Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time.  This took storytelling to a whole new level.  The dungeons were large and took some puzzle solving, the combat was fluid, and the game looked great for the time.  There was also Mario's first 3d adventure, Super Mario 64.

My Super Mario 64 Cartridge

The levels were fun, It had great music, and great controls.  There's a bunch more, such as Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, and Banjo Kazooie as well.  

That's it for this Retro Rewind.  See you next time!  

-dsteenson

E3 Recap

Ah E3 time.  The gamer's ultimate holiday is here once again.  Will this year's news be epic?  Or will it ail miserably like the xbox one presentation.  Let's recap.

I'm going to be recapping the press conferences of EA, Nintendo, and PlayStation.

The first one I got the chance to see was EA's.  Now we all know EA.  They suck sometimes, but surprisingly, not at all in the conference.  They talked a lot about sports and their new ignite engine. and it was actually pretty impressive.  For some reason they got drake on stage for some weird product endorsement stuff.  And that ended the sports.

They moved on to what we were all hoping for.  Here's the video.

BOOM!  STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT 3!  Well they aren't calling it that but still....NEW BATTLEFRONT!

That was the main thing I was excited about, besides Battlefield 4.  (Nintendo) 64 people got on stage, and all hopped into one game.  The camera followed one squad, as they destroyed the environment around them.  It all culminated as tanks took down a building in real time.  Check it out.

Pretty impressive.


The next conference I caught was Sony's.  This recap's going to be a bit shorter, but it was just as impressive and exciting.

The PlayStation 4's price will be $100 less than Xbox one's.
Used games will be supported.
No always online

Those were the main points of the conference, an obvious strike at microsoft.  Speaking of attacks on microsoft.....

Burrrrnnn.......

They also demoed a few games, but the most memorable for me was Assassins Creed Black Flag.  Or should I say, Assassins Creed Black Lag!  Anyone?  Eh just watch.

The video doesn't show it all, but later into that cutscene at the end, the game froze and Sony had to move on.  

Finally is Nintendo, which I was unable to watch live due to lag.  Nintenlag?  I give up.

They opened with what excited me the most, Pokemon X and Y.  There were a few new pokemon, and a new feature for caring for pokemon was announced.  All this made me even more excited to get the game, ad my birthday's in october.  And you can also ride more pokemon besides gogoat.  Rapidash maybe?

They also anounced a new donkey kong game for the eds.  It looks epic.  This time around it isn't a remake, but a brand new game.

There's more I'm forgetting, but the big anouncement was Super Smash Bros. on 3DS AND WII U!  The first smash bros on a handheld, will it be good?  Is the hardware finally powerfull enough?  I'll let you know first-hand when I finally get my 3ds.

That's it for this E3 Recap, also doubling as the first post on the blog.  See you next time.

-dsteenson