n64 classic (speculation)

[Reality]

As many of you know there is a lot of buzz about whether Nintendo will keep extending the "classic" console thing.

Obviously, the Nintendo 64 comes next after the SNES chronologically, and in addition Nintendo has been filing trademarks that have gotten a lot of people talking about it. 

Personally I don't think another classic console will happen, as the NES and SNES classic were launched WITHOUT trademarks being filed in advance. The article I linked suggests the line-art is most likely for use as icons in the Nintendo Switch version of virtual console. For me this makes more sense as the Switch could probably use the boost to its feature library rather than having its big Christmas titles face direct competition from another year of a "side console". 

But assuming that an N64 classic was made what games would it have?

NTSC n64 virtual console (wii and wii U combined)

Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64, Paper Mario, Ocarina of Time, Kirby 64: Crystal Shards, Sin and Punishment, Mario Golf, 1080 Snowboarding, Yoshi's Story, Wave Race 64, Excitebike 64, Majora's Mask, Mario Party 2, Mario Kart 64, Pokemon Snap, F-zero X, Star Fox 64, Ogre Battle 64, Harvest Moon 64, Bomberman 64, Cruis'n Usa.

JP n64 virtual console that aren't on NTSC

Custom Robo V2 , Super Smash Bros, Bomberman Hero

Company licenses involved with SNES and NES classic.

Koei(who own Tecmo and Team Ninja) Konami, Capcom, Square(who own Taito), Sunsoft, arc systems works (who own technos japan)

In the context of the n64 these companies represent Chameleon Twist 1 and 2 (third tier platform games), Resident Evil 2 (a technical marvel, but a port and mostly notable for being able to compress FMVs onto cartridge format), Bust a Move 2, Bust a Move 99 (Puzzle games that are good to this day), , , Three International Superstar Soccer (Konami's soccer games were historical competitors to the now dominant licensees) The three Goemon games (2 platform, 1 goose/party game) Rakuga Kids ( 2D fighting game that thankfully uses traditional 6 button attack setup instead of being gimmicky) Quest 64 (one of the more memorable RPGs on the n64 despite being mediocre) Hybird Heaven (An RPG in the same boat as Quest 64) Castlevania 64 and its sequel (also 3rd tier platform games), as well as a dozen or so other games that are worth even less mention. 

There are also a few non-Nintendo groups that have tried or successfully launched HD versions of certain N64 3rd party games. Night Dive Studios with Turok and Shadowman (although they seem to have used the PC version), Throwback Entertainment with Extreme G, and Microsoft with the relevant Rare Replay games come to mind.

Licensing Partnerships are less difficult for nintendo than they used to be (nintendo got a console minecraft game out of microsoft after all), so it would be nice to see at least some of the 3rd party pillars of the N64 on any classic edition. 

As for what deserves to be on a classic edition: For me it would be the following first party games Mario 64, Super Smash Bros, Pokemon Puzzle League, F-Zero X, Ocarina of Time, Sin and Punishment, Wave Race 64, Star Fox 64, Ogre Battle 64, Paper Mario, Mario Kart 64, Mario Party 3 as well as these third party games + Rocket on Wheels, Rayman 2, Beetle Adventure Racing, Space Station Silicon Valley, Mischief Makers, Banjo Kazooie, Goldeneye 007, Turok 2,  A wrestling game from Aki Corp (preferably one of the later ones with Ladder matches and other bonus events),  This is a nice round 20 games. 

I leave things games like Worms Armagedon / Tony Hawk Pro Skater out because while Rayman 2 and Turok were also multi-platform, they originated on n64. A good case can be made for things like Pilotwings, Majora's Mask, Pokemon Snap, 1080 snowboarding, NBA courtside 2,  or Rareware's other games but I don't really think they fit as well into a representative compilation as the 20 aforementioned games.well maybe Beetle Adventure Racing was overly personal and not of historical signifgance

Also looking at Starfox 2 on the SNES classic, I wonder if any of the canceled prototype N64 games could resurface (including the ones that shifted to gamecube) or maybe 64DD games could be included in the N64 classic. 

Anyway I'm opening this thread if anyone wants to discuss this (unlikely) future console, what nintendo's licensing policy with 3rd parties are, what games they would pick, etc. 

[Moblin Major General]

The only DD game they could probably release (because it was finished) is Ocarina of Time Master Quest. The only other one that very slightly could (and is highly unlikely) is the beta build of Mother 3 for the DD.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Resident evil 2 would be a good get. Best horror game on the system, even if a port.   There's only one other capcom game on n64 it would contend with, and I'll admit mega man 64 is a version of that game most have not played. But whatever copyright concern keeps getting mega man legends taken down from the PlayStation store will probably keep that n64 port from showing up anywhere. I don't know the details on that, but either would be a strong capcom representative game.

The million dollar question is how many Rare games we think they can get away with. we've seen DK64 on Wii U VC and I bet diddy kong racing could show up with no negotiations necessary with Microsoft. Even so, I think Nintendo would work hard to get at least goldeneye. Such an iconic game for the system. As darling as conker's bad fur day is, I don't think they would find it worth the M rating, so we can leave that off the table.

[Hardin]

I wouldn't expect anything from Rare outside of maybe DK64. Banjo, Conker, Joanna Dark and others are all owned by Microsoft. James Bond of course would require a licensing from multiple parties. 

A big problem with the N64 is that it was propped up by Rare, and just didn't have noteworthy third party support like the NES or SNES. The only thing that could be interesting, would be if they added the F-Zero X DD expansion content. 

[BrightBow]

If there is going to be a N64 classic, I would really like to know how they would handle it. I mean, forget about the games. One of the big features of the console was that it supported multiplayer for up to 4 people.

But if such a console was made I would love to see Castlevania 64/Legacy of Darkness on it. I absolutely adore Legacy of Darkness but I never played it on the actual console. I only played it on an emulator just a few years ago. So I would love to have an opportunity to play that game "properly". Not to mention these games have never been re-released in any fashion.

Edited September 13, 2017 by BrightBow

[Tolvir]

Calling it now, Superman 64.

[Moblin Major General]

5 hours ago, Tolvir said:

Calling it now, Superman 64.

Also has licensing issues, and thank god for that.

[Tolvir]

19 minutes ago, Hylian Air Force said:

Also has licensing issues, and thank god for that.

I dont think the company is even around anymore. Was more of a joke anyway, I highly doubt they would do that, though it would be hilarious if it did.

[Zera]

If Nintendo makes a N64 classic, they should put the original Sin & Punishment on it. It was originally intended to be released internationally, but fell victim to the N64's decline, only becoming available on the Wii VC in 2009. There are probably many who still haven't played it. It's not as good as the sequel, but it was definitely a spectacle for the N64.

[NinjaMonkey]

On ‎13‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 2:36 AM, Reality said:

JP n64 virtual console that aren't on NTSC

  Reveal hidden contents

Custom Robo V2 , Super Smash Bros, Bomberman Hero

 

Except Super Smash Bros. was released on the North American Virtual Console 

Anyway, I can't think of any game that I'd especially want to see, given that I have all the N64 carts of games that I'd want.

Edited September 14, 2017 by NinjaMonkey

[SullyMcGully]

What about the Gameboy Classic edition? The original Gameboy/Gameboy Color sold much better than the N64, and it would probably be much cheaper to produce.

In the case that an N64 Classic does come out soon:

I don't know much about Lucasarts' licensing protocol, but Rogue Squadron was a pretty big deal. I haven't seen it on any of your prospective lists.

Also, Animal Crossing was originally released on the N64, in Japan at least. We already have the English translation on the Gamecube, so they could put them both together, assuming that we aren't getting a Gamecube Classic for a while. It's unlikely, but possible.

I doubt Mother 3 would get released. It wasn't 99% complete like Star Fox 2, and they already released it on the GBA. Just wait for the GBA Classic to come out, and they'll probably use "Official English Translation" as a selling point. Then again, with how popular the fan translation is, I don't know if that's the best idea.

Also, can Nintendo put M-rated titles on this if they're planned on marketing it to kids in any way?

[Reality]

33 minutes ago, SullyMcGully said:

 

I don't know much about Lucasarts' licensing protocol, but Rogue Squadron was a pretty big deal. I haven't seen it on any of your prospective lists.

I completely forgot about Star Wars!

Rogue Squadron is fondly remembered by most, although it's not a "must own" game for n64 the way that rogue leader is for the Gamecube. and I'm blatantly biased in favor of all space shooter games. I feel like it was important because of Factor 5s technical accomplishments, they managed to tame the n64 "fog" and achieve a decent draw distance (moreso in battle for naboo) which most 3rd parties were incapable of and the voice acted sound clips functioned properly.( other 5th gen consoles (PSX) could do this, but it was still important in 1998...). Rogue Squadron had okay variety of mission objectives, mostly virtue of the level design, but the difficulty was pretty low with the exception of Escape from Fest (the snow level) and Raid on Sullust (the lava level). Definitely a good game, even top 30-25 as far as n64 goes, but nowhere near the classic status of Xwing vs Tie Fighter, or contemporary 5th console gen competitors like Descent.(despite important differences in control/physics/subgenre). 

Factor 5 also helped port other companies games, sometimes with limited input (Resident evil 2) and in other cases (Indiana Jones) making substantial overhauls to the original.

On the other hand Rogue Squadron was re-released for PC a few years ago anyway, and I think inclusion in a classic edition should have more to do with video game contributions than hardware contributions. 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

51 minutes ago, SullyMcGully said:

What about the Gameboy Classic edition? The original Gameboy/Gameboy Color sold much better than the N64, and it would probably be much cheaper to produce.

Also, can Nintendo put M-rated titles on this if they're planned on marketing it to kids in any way?

I thought about that, but the Game boy was released in between the NES and SNES. If they wanted to do a Game Boy Classic, I would think that would have happened this year instead, but who knows. One could still be coming down the pipeline.

As for M rated titles, that's hard to say. Goldeneye is a must for a N64 compilation, you can't ignore such a classic. Plus the N64 port of Resident Evil 2 is the best horror game on a system that virtually has nothing in that genre. And Conker's Bad Fur Day was basically the finale to Rare's golden age. There aren't a lot of M rated games on N64, but several are very high quality, with honorable mentions to Turok and Perfect Dark. A Gamecube Classic will run into the same problem when they consider Resident Evil 4 or Eternal Darkness.

[SullyMcGully]

My guess is it won't be long until Sony catches on and releases the Playstation Retro, or whatever they want to call it.