Get some cake...it's the N64's birthday!

Yep, the Nintendo 64 is officially ten years old. Happy birthday, little fella!

I actually remember the first time I had picked up my N64. Summer 1996. I think I was still living at my house at the time, enjoying my PlayStation and engaging in multiplayer rounds of Twisted Metal. I remember getting a call from a friend who told me that a game store had a used import N64 in stock, along with Wave Race and Super Mario 64, so I said, "Screw it" and headed down to pick it up. A few hours later, I was engulfed in N64 greatness.

I managed to depart with my import N64 before the US version came out, and getting some reasonable dollars back on it to go towards my reservation. I don't really own that many import systems, aside from my blue skeletal Sega Saturn and the white PS2 unit I'm going to be ordering fairly soon here. But I had a great time with the N64, and when I picked up the US model, I remember playing it for hours on end along with Mr. Boyd, especially Mario.

There were a lot of fun times that I had with the N64. I remember playing Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for several hours and finally getting drawn in to a first-person shooter; I remember my countless multiplayer sessions of Goldeneye with Mr. Boyd, and his accusations I was "peeking" at his screen to get his location (and I still insist I didn't); I remember finally getting an Ultra combo pulled off in Killer Instinct Gold; and then there's the racing games, in a league by themselves.

Mario Kart 64...ahh, those were the days. Four-player racing madness across some beautiful tracks, all while firing off red shells and trying to keep first place. Then there was F-Zero X, still one of my favorite racing games to this date (even if F-Zero GX easily eclipses it). Beetle Adventure Racing, Ridge Racer 64, and San Francisco Rush round out this category with ease. I love all those games.

Man, those were the days, weren't they? When the next generation was just starting to get its feet wet and microtransactions were a gleam in someone else's eye. The early N64 days are still ones of great rememberance, sort of like the first time you picked up a Dreamcast and played Soul Calibur or the first time you really, really, REALLY got into Symphony of the Night on the PlayStation. Sigh...to live those days over again...

At least the days are coming back around. Between the XBLA service, the PS3 Network service (well, OK, not so much that), and the Virtual Console, the good ol' days continue to surface around the face of the next generation. I'm looking forward to seeing what these services do over the next year, and the classic fun they bring with them. Sure, I'll drop a few bucks all over again, but, hey, anything to relive glory's past while still staying in the present, right?

Anyway, happy birthday, N64. I know a lot of people didn't care for your limitations or kids' games (Pokemon Snap...bleah), but I love ya all the same. You brought plenty of great gaming experiences with you, from the elegance of Mario 64 (which truly excelled the 3-D platformer) to the introduction of Smash Bros. (still a favorite at the GameDaily offices to the fun flying of Rogue Squadron. Hell, I especially love the fact you got one of the most mature-themed games out there, the raunchy yet delightful Conker's Bad Fur Day. Still love that game, if just for the Great Mighty Poo. "How about some scat, you little twat!"

Hehe, alright, that does it for my look back, see you guys later. Go get an N64 and live it up a little!

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