I vividly remember my Dad surprising me and my brother at Christmas with a grey N64 and a copy of GoldenEye 007 and Super Mario 64 back in ‘97… the excitement that I felt at that point was unparalleled and I have really fond memories of me, my brother and my Dad spending the majority of Christmas Day that year completely immersed in the multiplayer mode on GoldenEye 007… an unforgettable Christmas that’s still fondly remembered by us all.
My dad brought home a 64 with Pokemon stadium and ocarina of time. And we actually got to play it! Unlike with his Saturn, he was scared we'd scratch up his games lol
I think it was 98 or 99 that my Mom bought me an Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64 and Goldeneye, the same two games you got as well. I got the N64 with with the Atomic Purple controller included. But the real special treat outta nowhere that Christmas was that my best friend that lived right next door to me got the EXACT same setup (games & system) the same Christmas day because both our Mom's went Christmas shopping together, so amongst us we had four controllers and each of us had a younger sibling so we had soooo much fun that Christmas holidays
I remember being utterly speechless seeing the N64 for the first time at Incredible Universe. There was a line from hell behind me waiting to try Mario 64 😆
I got my N64 on Thursday, Sept 26th 1996. It released a couple days early at the Toys R Us where I preordered it. I was going to college on the other side of the state from where I grew up. After class I found out they released the system early. I called in to work saying I wouldn't be in until Monday. Packed some things to go stay the extended weekend at my parents house across the state, picked up the N64 and drove across the state to play Mario 64 with family and friends. What a great weekend!
Hard to believe this thing was only a few years old when I started to play it when I was around 5. It was hooked up to this hotel my family would always stay at and it was absolutely incredible. I was introduced to so many franchises that day including Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, Smash Bros., and Kirby. This is one of my most favorite consoles and probably the one I have the most nostalgia for. Every time I hear the Paper Mario intro I nearly tear up.
I think I might have played at a blockbuster or something. I was so pumped for this game. I never owned it on 64 tho. We got a 64 right before goldeneyes launch. That was the first game we picked up. My friend had Mario 64 and would lend it to me and bring it over all the time.
I remember when it would cut you off after like 5 minutes and Mario’s voice would come in through the speakers saying, “Hello! It’s a me! Mario… thank you for playing Nintendo 64. Who’s Next?” 😂
I will always remember my first time trying out the Nintendo 64! It was at Blockbuster Video in mid-1996. Totally blew my ten year old mind away. My first thought was, Oh my GOD, Nintendo is reinventing video games! The N64 controller and Super Mario 64 changed everything. You had to be there to know what I am talking about. Today it does not seem to be a big deal, but back then this was revolutionary. Going from Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 was huge.
Going from 16 bit to 3D is revolutionary. People wanted anything close to Virtual Fighter style games. Remember N64 was the last to come out. Sega Saturn and Playstation were 1-2 years head start.
The jump from 16-bit Super Nintendo to 64-Bit Nintendo 64 was unlike anything we'd ever experienced before or since. I remember it all like it was yesterday. The feelings ahead of this console launch... it was a level of hype that hasn't been topped since.
I was born in 1995 so I can’t imagine my life without an N64. Still have my original console, and it’s a house rule that it is the only console that is always connected to a TV. Still my favorite in my heart!
N64 was the first console I was able to get on launch day, even though I grew up playing NES and SNES first. Never will forget how excited I was back then in 96. Kids these days don't know what it was like! *grumbles in old man* :) My thumbs don't miss the controller joystick though haha.
Did you play on any other consoles back in the day other than Nintendo's consoles? Such as Sega's consoles, Turbografx 16, or any home computers (Amiga, Atari ST etc)? If not, have you emulated any of the others in this day and age?
@@ulysses2162 my friend down the street had a Sega Master System and the Genesis, which I played when I would visit sometimes. He was a Sega fanboy and I was Nintendo haha. I don't really play emulation much other than NES and SNES games here and there.
@@d1gitaldave That's cool... sounds similar to me and my best friend back in the day, haha. I emulate, as I like to try out all the systems I never played before back in the day, ones I saw in magazines etc... like the Neo Geo, I'd see screenshots and be drooling over them, lol.
The Nintendo 64 is one of my most nostalgic consoles of all time. I’ve been gaming since ‘91 and when I got the N64 with Super Mario 64 for Christmas in ‘96 from my dad it really changed my life and I beat a video game for the first time, got all the stars and everything with SM64. It was great!
I just remember being completely immersed in Star Fox 64, I would draw the characters all the time in school and come home and play that thing nonstop.
Hey Jonny, hi Rob. If it makes you feel any better, I was 46 years old when the N64 was released. Still enjoying it today, love it when you guys get together. P.S. Jonny looked a bit of a wild man in his younger days....lol.
wow 25 years! that's crazy. i remember getting the N64 on my birthday when it came out here in sweden. good memories and man time flies and man do i feel old! haha
Something about Mario’s 1st entry into Peach’s castle, greeted by bowser’s evil laugh, then left with an eerie vacancy in the castle-struck a deeply emotional chord in my 7-year-old self. It was engrossing. Mario 64 coupled with the excitement of a new 3D experience is surely a memory I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
I missed the 64 and this last week just started my first play through of Mario 64 thanks to the 3D All Stars collection. 36 stars in so far and loving it!
Back when the new console launch meant getting games that were leap years ahead in graphics and innovation compared to the previous generation..I'm in my late 30s and i miss those days
What a wholesome episode, thank you for this. I was 17 when the N64 released in Europe in ‘97. I’m 41 years old now and still gaming. In fact I’ve preordered the Switch OLED. I remember all the hype of the N64 which at the time was called Ultra 64 during development and I remember all the hype for Killer Instinct and Cruis’ n USA being developed by Rare exclusively to the Ultra 64. I remember getting Mario 64 with the N64 and playing it every day hunting all 120 stars. I remember F-Zero 64, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Zelda, Mario Kart 64. It didn’t have many good 3rd party games but I still have great memories with the console and I’m thankful for that.
I will never forget getting the N64 for Christmas that year. I was 8 years old. Best Christmas of my childhood hands down. I was so ecstatic and the days that followed were equally unforgettable. Mario in 3D blew my mind. Good times 👍
I was about 13 years old and I still remember seeing Super Mario 64 on a huge screen at a local games shop, and I think I never had a moment of pure awe like that in gaming ever again.
You summed it up perfectly. It truly was a beautiful time for video games. It was all about having fun. I'll never forget playing Mario 64 for the first time.
I love seeing these two more! It’s almost like seeing family, Ive seen them for so long. But the 64! I remember seeing the Nintendo 64 for the first time while standing in line at blockbuster. There was a Mario demo playing on the kiosk and both my dad and I turned and said, “is that the new Nintendo?!” at the exact same time! We were floored! The graphics were like nothing I’ve ever seen. Ever experienced! I’ll always remember that night.
I was 12 when the N64 was released. I got it with Mario 64 for Christmas of 96. I was blown away by it. The graphics looked so amazing. The game felt larger than life.
This was the year I started gaming (officially). Man so many happy memories with the N64. Having mates stay over and play games all night. This show is awesome!
How can it be 25 years, seems like only yesterday. Don't imagine the younger people today can fully appreciate the gigantic leap it was when you first saw Mario 64. Groundbreaking moment that will probably never be experienced again 👍
I remember waking up xmas morning, racing downstairs and watching my older bro unwrap his present to reveal the N64. We'd both grab our chocolates and rush to our bedroom, set it up then both perch on the bed and watch the zelda OoT intro play out in awe. Watching link ride epona through hyrule and listening to that gentle music wash over us will forever be ingrained in my mind. It cannot be underestimated how much nintendo has shaped my culture over my lifetime and they show no signs of stopping! 😃
I played Zelda: OoT for the first time in medical school. When I was home from university for the summer I had my mom pick up a Gamecube with the Zelda collection. That was probably the best summer ever!
Nice. I had the Gamecube what Zelda collection too which is rare and it came with Zelda l & ll, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask with the demo of Wind Waker. When was you in medical school? Must been a long time ago.
@@Melbester9 Yes, I am getting older. :-) Early 2000. I bought Wind Waker the summer as well separately plus a game boy player so I could play A Link to the Past on my GC.
Playing Goldeneye with my brother for the first time was the moment I realized gaming was my thing in life (we also RENTED the N64 before buying it haha)
My brothers and I rented the system at least 4 or 5 times before getting one for Christmas with WCW vs NWO: World Tour... oh man, I was blown away by that game
I rented the Japanese imported N64 at a local chain. I was 15. My friend and I were astounded while playing Mario 64. It changed everything forever. I’ll never forget that moment.
Fun to hear your story. I live in europe and I imported the N64 from Japan with Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 on the launch day (23 june 1996).. for $1700. My best decision ever.
I was 15 when this came out. I'm 40 now. I feel your pain. I remember the mainstream news talking about this. The hype was that high. True story. My Uncle was taking me to my first concert Ozzfest and we were picking up a buddy of his. We get there and the guy had just bought and hooked up a N64 on a 52 inch TV! We almost didn't go to the show. We got lost in playing games that we forgot for 2 hours why we came there in the first place.
I remember the first time I saw Mario 64, I had to walk down the street to get my brother from his friend's house, for dinner. And they were all sitting in the living room, playing the level where you have little wings on your hat, flying through the sky collecting red rings, I was just in awe of what I was seeing. RIP brother, I love you.
My favorite N64 memory came from when I was working as a concrete labourer, I was 17 at the time. We were working out of town, one of my co-workers brought the system and Mario Kart 64 with 4 controllers. A group of us spent a bunch of hours after work in a hotel room drinking beers and playing N64. It was just a really fun night hanging with the guys, definitely stands out as a great memory.
Love your channel dude! I vividly remember being 12 and reading gaming magazines every month from fall of '95 right up until launch for every screenshot and tidbit of info I could get on the N64, and I'll never forget my quest to finally get to play it in summer of '96. After a failed attempt at the Toys R Us near us which had a power outage in the electronics section of the store where the demo units were setup (just my luck!), I had to wait a couple weeks later till I finally got to play it at our local Nobody Beats The Wiz in NJ, and I managed to get to the top of Thwomp's Fortress and beat Thwomp within the 5 minute demo time limit which impressed the crowd of onlookers the system had attracted! Of course I had to wait until Xmas to finally get mine, played the hell out of Mario 64, Shadows of the Empire, Wave Race and Cruisn' USA in those early days. Most memorable console launch ever for me!
To this day, Mario Kart 64 is still my favourite in the series. I'll never forget, my grandma took my brother and I down to Kmart in Melbourne (we lived in the country) and we arrived at about 8pm at night, on a school night. She was getting things, we weren't there for the N64. They had a kiosk set up with Mario Kart 64 and the first track my brother and I ever played was Wario Stadium. We were immediately hooked so we spent the next school holidays saving up for it and picked it up at the same location about a month later. Some of the best memories playing the N64 was Wave Race 64. My dad (who has passed away now) was not really into videogames, but he really took to Wave Race which we played the living daylights out of.
I was 5 years old when me & my sister got a 64 for Christmas. Our first game was banjo kazooie. I’ll never forget the excitement of opening that gift & seeing this new system I never knew existed until that moment.
I remember that very Game Fan and browsing it every time I went into Toys R Us. Then to soon after constantly play on the 'sample' N64 as I browsed the stores. Memories sirs. Memories.
Johnny you are to us what video games are to you. You helped me through such hard times man, you can't even imagine how lonely a man could get. Thank you, brother, you're an original.
I carried around a Wal-Mart ad for a Nintendo 64 in my school box all through 5th grade. I finally got one in the summer of '97 and borrowed Super Mario 64 from my cousin. I was hooked. My friend came over with the Players' Guide and we got all 120 stars.
About five years ago (I'm now 40), I adopted a dog off the side of the highway. I was playing Ocarina on a CRT TV and I was at the end. I went to sleep and this dog that I completely adore ate my N64 during the night. So much rage but I love my dog. Now I play Switch.
The Nintendo 64 was the first console I ever saw at the age of like 2, maybe 3 back in 2000/2001. Dad used to play Goldeneye and I remember watching him play that. Then, I started playing N64 with Super Mario 64, Goldeneye, the AKI WCW games, Diddy Kong Racing, Army Men Sarge’s Heroes, 1080* Snowboarding, Destruction Derby 64, Star Wars Shadows of the Empire, Cruis’n USA, StarFox 64, Wave Race 64… the list goes on and on. And those were just a few games I played growing up, and I still love the N64. It’s one of the best consoles Nintendo put out imo. Awesome video as usual Johnny! Always happy to see Rob on!
It's a great feeling when you bring home a brand new console, definitely remember my brother bringing home the N64. Was a great console in it's time. Good memories
I got mine late for Christmas of 1999 with Mario 64, Ocarina of Time and Star Wars Episode 1 pod racing. Coming off owning a SNES and a Genesis it blew my mind. 25 years old, that blows my mind.
I lived in a remote place. We didn't have a phone at home. When my grandpa brought me Ocarina of Time, before I turned it on, I went to my friend's house and called him and his brother to go with me and enjoy the game. Good memory that is!
I had the exact same feeling during the build-up to the launch of the Ultra 64. To this day I’ve never been as excited about any consumer product. There was just something magical about that era in gaming. I still vividly remember walking into Toys R Us with my mom and finally seeing the N64 in that bubble chamber Tv setup running Mario 64 and thinking: my god I have to have one of these. I finally got it that spring in ‘97 and those are still my favorite games of all time. The N64’s lineup may have been lacking 3rd party support, but the memories I made during those years from 96-2000 as an 11-15 year-old with this console and it games are what define my experience as a gamer.
I believe it was 1997, I was 8 years old and my uncle(who is not and is still not a gamer) got an N64 and I was so jealous. I begged my mom to drive me and my brother to his house while it was sleeting outside just so I could play it, lol. We got there and my Uncle was playing/attempting to play Shadows of the Empire. As a Star Wars fan, you have no idea how much that opening level blew me away. Such a good memory. Like you guys it's not my favorite Nintendo console but it still holds a dear place in my heart.
I was 6 years old, my brothers had begged for it essentially the entire year.... Christmas was over but my Dad had to go grab one more present.... Definitely the best Christmas of my life and probably the best winter season of my life.... I was completely enchanted by Mario 64 and I had pretty much no clue what was going on in it... some of my fondest memories
i was born right around the time the n64 came out, but my parents always tell me they had really no interest in gaming until they saw Mario 64 at our cousin's house. They IMMEDIATELY went home and picked it up. To this day I still have that 120 star file my dad finished all of those years ago. It's one of the only games I can truly bond with my parents about.
I was always late to getting the new systems. So I remember going with my mom to Sears and while she would look at clothes, me and the other kids who were with their parents would be huddled around the N64 display taking turns on the demo of Mario 64. We were so blown away by 3D Mario. Was definitely one of my favorite systems when we finally got one. Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Tony Hawk, Spiderman, Mario Party 64, 1080 Snowboarding, and WCW vs NWO Revenge were among my favorites.
I remember being 13, going to the London Trocadiro, Virgin megastore, where they had N64's in stock, my hometown was sold out completely, my dad wanted Turok, I wanted Mario 64... he scraped the money together and got both games... I was 13 years old and seeing Mario in 3D blew my tiny mind, and still does because its impressive all these years on... I still have my N64 all these years on, it was more the time spent with my dad that I cherish and I won't ever get rid of my original console.
It came out in 1997 here in Europe. I was 9 years when I first played this machine. I started my journey as a gamer during the last couple of years of the Mega Drive and got a PS1 at launch in 95, but when I saw Mario 64 runing....OMG...it was like I was playing the in game, with the same grsphics as the cutscenes. Im 33 now, and it also hits me... I feel very lucky for the childhood I had, and for the chance to see the transition of 2D gamers to full 3D. Cheers from Portugal HCG and Rob ,)
The 64 was my second console in life. Yet it is first in my heart. Ocarina, Goldeneye, Banjo-Kazooie, Mario 64, Mario Kart, Winback, RE2, and many more. Great lineup.
25 years (or maybe a touch less for us in the UK)? Crazy! It's impossible to replicate how exciting Mario 64 was, seeing it for the first time. Mind blowing. Interesting seeing those initial games in that magazine! Some came out on day 1, some took years, some never on the system at all.
I was 4 years old when the Nintendo 64 first came out and looking back now at 29 is wild. “Super Mario 64” and The “Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” hold such a dear place in my heart because a lot of my childhood revolves around those games. Also off topic to early 3D games, the Spyro games on the PlayStation were pretty impactful as well and to this day put “Super Mario 64” and “Spyro: Year of the Dragon” as my favorite 3D platformers. Thank you guys for making this video and bringing back some good nostalgic memories for a lot of us!
I’m so glad you guys made this video, it reminds me of the Super Mario 64 memories video from a while back. I love you guys a bunch, you guys always make my day
The N64 was my first new console. My father had a Super Nintendo before I was born and I played the hell out of it. But one day in 1997 he comes home from work with a N64, an extra blue controller, Super Mario 64, and Wave Race 64. Me, my father, and brother played until our thumbs went sore.
The best channel on youtube, no doubt about it. I always watch your videos with the biggest and genuine smile on my face. In the rush of everyday life, you know, work and other stuffs, it's hard to find some time to play videogames, but you know, videos like these makes me remember how much fun videogames are and how much they meant to me. Thanks
I went from playing Mario at NES to playing Mario on N64 nothing in between... I didn't know if I was dreaming or actually playing it , couldn't believe a game like that could be real .
In my neighborhood I had the ps1 my friends had a sega Saturn and a n64. When I saw Mario 64 I was completely awe struck, couldn’t believe I could run around in 3D it blew my mind. Love the ps1 but the dreams of n64 flood my memories.
The first console I bought with my own money when I was 16 years old. I remember going to Toys R Us and playing Mario 64. I was blown away by the graphics and gameplay.
My buddies staged a Ocean's 11 style heist at my small town Wal-Mart to get a N64. One person distracted the lady in the electronics department, and the other two grabbed the N64 from behind the counter and headed for the bathrooms. They took everything out of the box and stuffed the console, controller and cords in their pockets/down their pants. I can't believe they actually got away with it. That was my experience playing N64 for the first time and Mario 64 was mind blowing.
I had the luck to grow up playing the N64. I couldn't even remember when I got the console, so young I was. To me, videogames and N64 were almost the same thing. Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing will be forever my top 2 games of all time.
When you got Nintendo 64 I was 11 years old. But here in europe we got Nintendo 64 first in 1997. But when I saw Super Mario 64 on the television for the first time I was sold. It was so cool to see Mario in 3D
While I'm too young to have been around for the N64 launch (one year younger than Johnny was at launch), I do own an N64 that my dad brought back for me around 2013 or 2014. He knew I was into retro game collecting, and went looking through flea markets farther south in Alabama than where I live, and picked up an N64 with Mario 64, WaveRace 64, and Nascar 2000, plus two controllers AND an SNES with two controllers plus games. Even though I've played them less as time goes on, I really love to have these pieces of hardware in my collection.
I was in Marine Corps Boot Camp when it was released, graduated Oct 12th 1996. I remember going to the mall to treat myself and seeing a running display. I was a Sega Genesis guy and walked out with a Sega Saturn (Sega Rally Bundle one) Damn I feel old now!
