Which old Ninendo to buy?

[Fenris]

Hi all,

My son plays some Nintendo games on a PC at afterschool care. He enjoy these immensely. So we were considering buying him an actual console set to occasionally play. We don't want or need a Wii. Just something older than will play some manner of a Mario and Donkey Kong game.

We have been looking at used systems a bit. But I have been out of the loop on consoles for a long time. So I am seeking some advice. Should I look for a Nintendo 64, a Gamecube, super nintendo, what?

 

[LightPhoenix]

If you can get SNES games with working batteries, I'd say go for that. It's got a good selection of games for a variety of age levels, and the controller is relatively simple compared to the N64/GC.

 

[TheLe]

Hi all,
We have been looking at used systems a bit. But I have been out of the loop on consoles for a long time. So I am seeking some advice. Should I look for a Nintendo 64, a Gamecube, super nintendo, what?

I HIGHLY recommend the Gamecube. They are dirt cheap right now (around $30 I believe), and the controllers/games are very kid friendly. Everyone who has taken this recommendation has been very pleased with the gamecube for their children.

`Le

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

I'll echo the SNES selection with one little thing to add. The games are older. While so many of them are some of the greatest games ever made, they don't necessarily appeal to kids as much these days due to the age.

If you anticipate that kind of thing being a problem, then Gamecube is definitely the way to go.

 

[Bront]

I HIGHLY recommend the Gamecube. They are dirt cheap right now (around $30 I believe), and the controllers/games are very kid friendly. Everyone who has taken this recommendation has been very pleased with the gamecube for their children.

`Le

Ditto.

Plus, you can get the GBA adapter for it and play GBA and GB games on it too.


The Wii is your best bet as far as selection of games, and hardware reliability, but a Game Cube you can't go wrong with.

 

[stevelabny]

The N64 gets a lot of hate, because it was still cartridge when other systems went disk, a lot of people don't like the joystick and there weren't a lot of games...but the N64 has some of the greatest games ever made.

possibly the 5 best gams of all time?

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - best game ever?
Super mario 64 - started 3D platforming
Banjo Kazooie - close to perfection and just plain fun
Jet Force Gemini - hidden gem!
Mario Kart 64 - best multiplayer for all levels of skill

Super Smash Brothers - Fighting game Nintendo style
the first few Mario Parties - ditto
Legend of Zelda:Majora's Mask - not as good as Ocarina, but all Zeldas are great
Mario Golf - makes golf fun
Mario Tennis - makes tennis amazing
Banjo Tooie - not as good as the original, but what is?
Goldeneye - FPS on nintnedo
Paper Mario - a great Mario-style RPG
Perfect Dark - the other FPS.
DK 64 - can get frustrating in spots, but still worthy
Conker's BFD (Rated M) - um...yeah, not for your kid

I'm also the only fan of the N64 joystick. I loved the three-prong stick with multiple options on how to hold it.

The SNES would be my 2nd choice.

The gamecube was the last generation which was the WORST generation for videogames across the board since the dead spot between atari 2600 and nintnedo. I bought the Gamecube at launch, and always supported it against the competition, but at the end of its run, it did not have the same high level of games (weaker Mario, waker Zelda, weaker Mario Kart.... the only decent stuff was RE4, Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, and Mario Baseball and Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door)

for the record, the Wii games list is also disappointing so far... Super Paper Mario took a previously great franchise and gimmicked it up into somethign unrecognizeable, Zelda was well made and playable but missing some of the fun, Mario Galaxy is overhyped, it is NOT one of the best Marios

 

[Orius]

SNES is a pretty good choice. That had Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country. Heck even an old NES might be worth it, IMO SMB 3 was probably the best game in the series.

 

[Bront]

The N64 gets a lot of hate, because it was still cartridge when other systems went disk, a lot of people don't like the joystick and there weren't a lot of games...but the N64 has some of the greatest games ever made.

possibly the 5 best gams of all time?

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - best game ever?
Super mario 64 - started 3D platforming
Banjo Kazooie - close to perfection and just plain fun
Jet Force Gemini - hidden gem!
Mario Kart 64 - best multiplayer for all levels of skill

Super Smash Brothers - Fighting game Nintendo style
the first few Mario Parties - ditto
Legend of Zelda:Majora's Mask - not as good as Ocarina, but all Zeldas are great
Mario Golf - makes golf fun
Mario Tennis - makes tennis amazing
Banjo Tooie - not as good as the original, but what is?
Goldeneye - FPS on nintnedo
Paper Mario - a great Mario-style RPG
Perfect Dark - the other FPS.
DK 64 - can get frustrating in spots, but still worthy
Conker's BFD (Rated M) - um...yeah, not for your kid

I'm also the only fan of the N64 joystick. I loved the three-prong stick with multiple options on how to hold it.

The SNES would be my 2nd choice.

The gamecube was the last generation which was the WORST generation for videogames across the board since the dead spot between atari 2600 and nintnedo. I bought the Gamecube at launch, and always supported it against the competition, but at the end of its run, it did not have the same high level of games (weaker Mario, waker Zelda, weaker Mario Kart.... the only decent stuff was RE4, Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, and Mario Baseball and Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door)

for the record, the Wii games list is also disappointing so far... Super Paper Mario took a previously great franchise and gimmicked it up into somethign unrecognizeable, Zelda was well made and playable but missing some of the fun, Mario Galaxy is overhyped, it is NOT one of the best Marios

See, I thought the Gamecube's Zelda was great, and very well done. It was poorly recieved because of the cartoony graphics, but it had a strong story and very good gameplay, and the only annoying part was the sailing, and that wasn't too tedious in my opinion.

The Wii is great because you get EVERYTHING. Gamecube, NES, SNES, N64, and Genesis, TG16, and Neo Geo.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I've always been partial to the SNES (mostly for Final Fantasy VI) and the N64 (for Ocarina).

 

[Alzrius]

The only reason I hesitate to recommend a GameCube is that, if you do ever decide to get a Wii, all GameCube games can be played on it (they don't have the rumble feature, I believe, but other than that there's no compatibility issues). So if you do ever get one, a GameCube will become somewhat superfluous.

That said, the Super Nintendo is thought of as the "Golden Age" of Nintendo, and there's a reason for that. Some of its greatest hits still cost as much today (on eBay, used game stores, etc.) as a contemporary game does, since they're so great and thus hard to find. Games like Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Earthbound, Final Fantasy IV and VI (marketed as II and III for the SNES, respectively), Megaman X, and so many others are all classics that your son will likely fall head over heels in love with when he plays them.