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I asked chatGPT for Five Nintendo 64 Hidden Gems!
Hey guys! If you remember, a few months back we asked ChatGPT to come up with a list of 5 Nintendo GameCube Hidden Gems. Well, we are back at it. Only this time around, we suggesting it do Nintendo 64 games? What games will it collate into its list this time around? After all, the Nintendo 64 is considered very top-heavy. Sure, it’s top 30 or so games can compete against the best of the best of any other console. However, unlike the Super Nintendo or Playstation 2, its catalog of games isn’t nearly as deep. Surely, that means there’s some unknown games with some real potential. Remember I also asked it to write it in a Youtube script format. Enjoy!
Remember if you would prefer to watch this, I did a video over this topic on my Youtube channel (Dahubbz) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvTL_WY5MLE&t=6s
“Hey, gamers! Welcome back to our channel, where we love to unearth hidden gems from gaming’s past. Today, we have something special in store for all you Nintendo 64 fans out there. Get ready to discover five incredible hidden gems that you might have missed. Let’s jump right in!”
“Our first hidden gem is none other than ‘Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon.’ Released in 1998, this action-adventure game combines humor, platforming, and RPG elements into a unique experience. Follow Goemon and his friends as they traverse beautifully designed levels, battle quirky enemies, and solve puzzles. Trust us, this one will leave you smiling from ear to ear!”
“Moving on to our second hidden gem, we have ‘Rocket: Robot on Wheels.’ Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, the studio behind the ‘Infamous’ series, this game offers a captivating blend of platforming and puzzle-solving. As Rocket, a lovable robot, you’ll explore an amusement park filled with challenges and secrets. With its charming characters and clever level design, ‘Rocket: Robot on Wheels’ is an underrated gem that deserves more attention.”
“Next up, we have ‘Blast Corps.’ This explosive action game from Rare combines destruction, strategy, and puzzle-solving in a way that only the N64 could deliver. As part of a demolition team, your mission is to clear a path for a runaway nuclear missile carrier. Use a variety of vehicles and creative methods to demolish buildings, navigate obstacles, and save the day. ‘Blast Corps’ is a thrilling and addictive experience that will keep you hooked for hours on end.”
“Our fourth hidden gem takes us into the world of racing with ‘Diddy Kong Racing.’ While many are familiar with ‘Mario Kart 64,’ ‘Diddy Kong Racing’ often goes unnoticed. This game offers a robust single-player adventure mode, where you’ll explore different worlds and engage in various racing challenges. With its vibrant visuals, memorable characters, and an incredible soundtrack, ‘Diddy Kong Racing’ stands tall as one of the best racing games on the Nintendo 64.”
“Last but certainly not least, we have ‘Paper Mario.’ While ‘Super Mario 64’ stole the spotlight, ‘Paper Mario’ offered a delightful twist on the traditional Mario formula. This RPG combines turn-based battles, charming storytelling, and a unique papercraft aesthetic. Join Mario on an epic quest to rescue Princess Peach and collect the seven Star Spirits. With its witty dialogue, engaging gameplay, and unforgettable characters, ‘Paper Mario’ remains a beloved classic among N64 enthusiasts.
And there you have it, five incredible hidden gems for the Nintendo 64 that you absolutely must play! Whether you’re a long-time fan of the console or new to the N64, these games will provide you with hours of entertainment and nostalgia. Let us know in the comments which one you’re most excited to try out.
So there you have it. ChatGPT gave us 5 interesting picks. My favorite here is Goemon. Paper Mario and Diddy Kong just don’t feel like hidden gems. So with that in mind, what games would you add or remove from this list. Thank you for reading. Have a great day.
Ranking Every Star in Jolly Roger Bay
Oh boy. I’ve been putting this one off for a while because this level is just not fun. Atmospherically speaking, it’s one my favorites. But as far as actually playing the level, big meh.
So, for those of you unaware, I’ve been doing a series of ranking every star in Mario 64 stage by stage. Make sure you read the previous installments after this one. Okay, now let’s get on with the list.
#7 Can the Eel Come Out and Play- When I make my overall ranking, I’ll be interested to see where this one ranks. This star is awful. It’s entirely underwater. You have to lure out an eel and grab the star off its tell. Conceptually, I don’t hate it. It feels somewhat unique compared to the other 120 stars. In practice, I hate it. Yes, there’s a camera angle trick that makes this star easy to grab. But this has got to be one of the 5 stars I die the most on. If you miss initially grabbing the tail, chasing him down can be a pain. If you get hit by his tail, you are almost guaranteed to be a goner. And not to mention, once you grab the star off his tail, it’s not over yet. The star floats away off screen. You better make sure you still have enough air to make it to it.
#6 Blast to the Stone Pillar – This star isn’t much better. There’s just not much to it. The cannon is at the start of the map. Once in, you launch straight to the pillar. Then, you jump from pillar over to the platform. It’s pretty straightforward. However, if you miss with the cannon, you must swim all the way back to the cannon.
#5 Through the Jet Stream– This is another straightforward star. It’s almost too simple. Once you’ve unlocked the metal cap, this one is a gimme. You grab the metal cap and proceed to sink to the bottom of the lake. That’s it.
#4 Jolly Roger Bay 100 Coin Power Star- This is one of the worst 100 coin stars in the game. There’s only 104 coins in this stage. This means that if you fail to grab a single blue coin, it is impossible to get this star. Or you could be stuck trying to find the star rings on the water. Or if you fail to grab the coins from defeated enemies, out of luck. It’s not a super difficult star, but you do have to play nearly perfect.
#3 Plunder in the Sunken Ship- Truthfully, the first part of this level is not my favorite. Traversing the more open part of the lake can be chore. Then there’s the matter of swimming to the bottom of the lake. The worst part, by far, is getting that Eel out of the sunken ship. It is not fun. Once he’s out of the way, the rest of the star is okay. You enter the ship. From here, I lower the water and swim as far up the interior as I can. Now, do some platforming, and you’re at the star. The Eel hurts this one from going any higher. Yet, the slight exploration and platforming help it.
#2 8 Red Coins – Ultimately, I’m okay with this star. I wish the floating ship was a more fleshed out part of the stage. As the ship only hosts about half the red coins. The rest are found littered throughout the course. This one has a nice mix of exploration, platforming, and collecting. On another course, it probably won’t score this high. However, I don’t think super highly of the rest of the stars on this course.
#1 Treasure of the Open Cave – The only star I really like doing on this course. This star is exactly what I’m looking for in a stage. It highly encourages exploration, combat, and collecting. It highlights the unique feature of the stage, the giant lake. It’s not the best star in the game or anything, but I enjoy the cave. It’s the N64, and I’m not expecting a lot. So, for the time period, the cave is sweet. It’s got blue coins, some combat, and a puzzle ending with you snagging a star.
So this is by far one of my 5 least favorite levels in the game. And honestly, has probably my least favorite collection of stars in the game. The atmosphere is a slight redeeming quality, but it doesn’t hold up the subpar selection of stars.
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So thank you guys so much for reading. Have a great rest if your night!
Ranking Whomp’s Fortress Stars!
Today we will be ranking the 7 stars of Whomp’s Fortress. Remember, we base this off of fun factor with a mix of iconicness. I tend to value things like exploring the level and fun tricks more so than degree of ease or difficulty. With that in mind, let’s rank em.
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#7 Blast Away the Wall- This was an easy one. Some people may rate this higher for its pivotal role in speed runs, but I don’t care for this star. I should take a minute to add that this is one of the most notorious stars in Mario 64 history. It may seem pretty simple at first. Hop into the cannon and, well, blast away that wall. But Speed runners found a way to clip through the wall, obtaining the star cannonless. This became an early barrier to entry into speed running Super Mario 64. Your run often henged on hitting cannonless first try. As a kid, this star was iconic in my mind for being one I had to google. How was a 6 year old suppose to find this star? As a kid, I thought this was such a cool star. As an adult, it is just kind of boring.
#6 Fall Into the Cage– The first star we’ve come across that I actively don’t like. The owl mechanic seemed so cool on paper. But this star would absolutely drain me sometimes. Especially if I haven’t played in awhile. This star has accounted for so many deaths it is not funny. As it doesn’t take missing by much to fall to your death. Once you get the hang of the owl, this is a pretty neat star. And it can be done fairly quickly for what that’s worth.
#5 100 Coin Star- I typically go to bat for the 100 coin stars. And I do think this one is pretty good. However, this is the first level to introduce insta death. Which means as you are ascending the level and inching closer to that 100th coin, death is always a misclick away. I like it, but for that, I got to drop it a bit.
#4 Shoot into the Wild Blue- This star confused me as a kid. As I thought you literally had to shoot off the map. I also was not good with the cannons. After countless misfires, my brother and I tried so many different ways to get this star including trying to drop from above to it. I don’t remember when we discovered wall jumping, but that is exclusively how I get this star now. As I still don’t trust those cannons.
#3 Chip Off of Whomp’s Block- Just as I go to bat for the 100 coin stars, I tend to not like many of the boss fights in Mario 64. They’re fine for the time, but they are easily one of the least favorite parts about the game. Whomp is no different. He’s just a variation of King Bomb Omb. The phasing glitch makes him one of the easiest bosses, too. So why is this #3. It’s because, which is a common theme with boss fights in this game, it encourages you to explore the whole map. The next two stars have even more to explore and aren’t derailed by a boss fight. So Whomp sits here at 3.
#2 Red Coins on the Floating Isle- There’s two things that bug me about this star. First, the floating isles are not unlocked immediately. This means if you are someone who likes to get 100 coins first, thus getting the 8 red coins, you really can’t. But you can still get like 5 before you learn about the isles and have to do it all over again later. Secondly, I think only 3 of the coins are found on the isles. What kind of false advertising is this? Outside of that, this a fun level to explore and the isles were always a neat section to me. Wish they had just embraced the name and made the section bigger with all 8 coins.
#1 To the Top of the Fortress- If you know me, you probably knew this was number 1. I still cannot explain where the tower came from, but this is one of my favorite stars in the game. Koopa the Quick in Stage 1 took a bit of a hit for ultimately feeling like a rehash of the previous star. TtTotF adds on to its former star by adding a small new obstacle, the tower. It too, is not dragged down by the boss fight, meaning this star is more platforming bliss. I could see either this or the 8 red coins being my favorite. But the Tower always stood out to me. As an adult I wish they would have expanded both the Tower and Isles. Either way, The Tower takes my #1 Star.
Whomp’s Fortress was never my favorite, but the level was fun in the way it moved upward. It never felt like it had the same sandbox energy as Bomb-Omb Batflefield, but it does have some neat sections and fun stars. So how would you have ranked all the stars?
Looking for a copy yourself? Find it on Amazon here!
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Daily Blog Challenge: February 5th Top Five Ocarina Songs
It’s Friday, time for a Top Five!
Today’s Theme: Favorite Ocarina Songs!
Music, whether it’s themes or soundtracks or songs, mean a huge part to games. It’s what makes horror games horrifying(Sounds in general). But if there is any one game franchise defined by it’s soundtrack(That isnt a music based game), It’s The Legend of Zelda. I think in hindsight that’s one of the reasons Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask(OoT more so) have been instant classics. I know little of the technicality of music. What I’m basing this off of is the feelings and memories these conjured up when I went back an listened to them again.
#5- Song of Healing- What a tone setter for Majora’s Mask. Meant to personify the tormented souls Link aids in his journey, it does quite the job. This song, coupled with the cut scenes of the souls finding their bodies, is totally a chilling experience to watch. It put’s you in their shoes. It’s the perfect song for a game like this. It’s even so good it makes faces fall off!
#4- Song of Storms- Maybe one of the more iconic songs to me in the whole franchise(Like just simply a song in general). It’s very fast and very chaotic. Not only does it capture the essences of a storm, it also captures the feel of the game at time. You were just a small village boy from the woods when destiny threw a deku curve nut. Now you posses this Triforce and your the hero of legend. Whoa! Also the old man lossing his absolute mind when he hear’s it is still one of my favorite scenes in all of Zelda.
#3- Song of Time- Probably the song you’ll use the most in your quest. You’re going to hear it several times and it will grow on you. One of the two iconic songs to come from OoT. You can’t forget it. If you’re playing Majora’s Mask, you already have the sucker memorized. Right A Down, *three days pass* Right A Down, *Three Days Past* Right A Down. It’s almost like it never ends…
#2- Zelda’s Lullaby- From the general fan, die hards and noobies a like, this is probably the song. I mean THE SONG. Learning this song on the castle grounds makes that whole experience magical. It’s calming, mysterious, and special. It’s every element of that that makes Legend of Zelda timeless rolled into a song. It perfectly explains Link and Zelda’s relationship. To hear Link play Zelda’s lullaby to advance in his quest shows how no matter how far apart they are, they always are truly thinking of each other and helping each other.
#1- Epona’s Song- I suppose this is where the list gets controversial. No, this is not one of my signature wacky picks. This is honestly my favorite song. And maybe the reason why I fell in love with the game. Yes, I struggled and went back and forth on making Zelda’s Lullaby one and Song of Time 2 and Epona’s song somewhere down the list. But, I just could not. If you read my first post on the Legend of Zelda, you know I stumbled upon the game when my uncle was showing my cousin how to play. The part they were at was Lon Lon ranch. They were learning this song. I walked in from the kitchen to the living room and this was the first thing. I heard Malon’s soothing voice coming in strong, followed by Link reciting the same sounds, and finally the song playing beautifully. In that moment a bond was born between Link and his horse. In the same moment, a bond was born between me and that little game. I had no idea the magnitude it would have on me though. And for that reason, I have to leave Epona’s song as number one.
So what’s you favorite Ocarina song?
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
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Top five N64 games!
N64 was the first console I ever played
and for that reason some of my favorite games are on this system. Here is my list of my favorite N64 games:
#5- Mario Kart- Mario Kart 64 was the first game that brought my entire family together. From my grandma to my two uncles, to my mom and dad, to me and my brother. We would all gather around and have a tournament. It was amazing. Everyone had their favorite character. I was Yoshi, my mom was Luigi, my brother was Mario, My mawmaw was toad, my uncle was Wario. It was a great time in my life. It brought us a lot of joy.
#4- Super Mario 64- This game was incredible to me and means a whole lot to me. I tried to get 120 stars and years later im still at 118 and that bugs me to the moon and back. The last two stars I need are for collecting 100 coins on the clockwork level and the magic carpet level(The last two levels). I will get them one day! Anyway, this game captivated me. I spent hours finding all the secrets, discovering every inch of every map. It was a wonderful experience.
#3- Super Smash Brothers- This game was an incredible idea. Blending the world of Nintendo into one game. This is probably the first game I unlocked things in. I remember rushing through the main campaign to unlock Captain Falcon. Now a days, I am obsessed with unlocking everything a game has to offer and this is probably where my obsession started.
#2- Donkey Kong 64- This game has probably stole the most time of mine more than any other N64 game. I absolutely am in love with this game. From getting the DK crew, to spending HOURS collecting all the bananas, to my favorite part, the DK rap! The best part is this game recently was added to the Wii U virtual library. YES!
Before we get to number 1, here’s some honorable mentions everyone should check out: Mario Party 2, Paper Mario, Star Fox 64, Pokemon stadiums, Kirby and the crystal shards, and 007 golden eye.
#1- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time- Probably no surprise here. But there is a reason for it being number 1 other than it being one of the best games Ive played, even to this day. This was the first game I really learned to play. Now, almost twenty years letter, it is still amazing! Ive beat, I collected everything, Ive done everything. The memories are still strong and if I played it today I could probably still do most of the stuff in the game. Its great, if I havent mentioned it already. It started my love for Zelda and I’ve played every one except Skyward Sword. This game is kind of a big deal. If you’ve never played it, do yourself a favorite, play it!
Da_Hubbz 