N64 is the Greatest Nintendo System Ever

The first time I saw her, I was in love. She had sleek curves and a sexy body. She was always ready for action; ready, willing and able for wherever my mood took me. She was my first college love, a wild, enduring romance that lasted for years. She felt right at home as I held her tightly all those lonely nights, tucked away under a blanket together. Most importantly, I could turn her on with the flick of my finger. Oh, how I worshiped and loved my Nintendo 64. I can still remember the excitement and anticipation the first time my roommates and I opened up the Nintendo 64 box, ripped off the packaging for the GoldenEye 007 first person shooter game, and plugged in the cartridge. Everything was perfect: the music was everything Bond music should be. The gameplay was challenging, but not overly so. The levels were replayable, and the multi-player function let the four of us chase, stalk, and shoot each other endlessly. We spent the next few months dodging class, drinking beer, enjoying a variety of herbal gaming performance enhancers, and slaughtering each other. Not counting the time since my son was born, it was, without a doubt, the best winter of my life. But does one good experience define the system as "the best" of my lifetime? Probably not. But the Nintendo 64 did more than just happen along at the right time in my life to earn the title. What else is there? For starters, Nintendo 64 has the, hands down, best video game ever made, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. (If you disagree, you are probably a communist, and not in the good sense of the word.) The game play and story was amazing, and the changes from original Nintendo game were breathtaking. The best part? Nintendo almost had the other contender for best game ever, with Final Fantasy VII rumored to have been an early favorite to land on the Nintendo 64 platform. If that had happened, I may never have bought a Playstation. (Final Fantasy VII was the first game that ever made me cry — literally cry — at a plot twist in the story). And who can forget Banjo and Kazooie? Mario Kart 64? Diddy Kong Racing? The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask? Doom 64? Conker's Bad Fur Day? I could go on all day. I know Nintendo has had a lot of success with more recent platforms, but they're missing the one element that Nintendo 64 kept from its predecessors: cartridges! There is nothing like not knowing if your game will work because it is scratched, as all my old Playstation games ended up. It's much better when you're certain that, even if they fail a bit, you can just blow in the bottom of them, move the dust around, and they'll magically work. If all else fails, Nintendo 64 has GoldenEye 007. Sorry friends, but that's the clincher for anyone who has ever played it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an old love to dig out of the garage and snuggle with.