Top 3 Nintendo 64 Moments You’ve Remembered as a Kid Who Played that Console

How many of you remembered playing the Nintendo 64 as children or teens? How many games did you own at the time when it was at its peak of fame in the late 90's? Of course, I was one of those children who grew up in the 90's who owned a video game console of its kind. When my parents gave it to me as a Christmas present, I became elated. It was a jungle green console and it came with my first game for that: Donkey Kong 64. On occasion, when I did poorly in school or whatever, my parents confiscated the game, making me bored to death. (I bet your parents pretty much did the same thing too.)

Anyway, the system was a joy to play with, thus I give you the top 3 Nintendo 64 moments (good or bad) many of us remembered experiencing in its peak.

Most of us who remembered playing Yoshi's Story knew that all the Yoshis changed their voices. Those lovable dinosaurs with saddles on their backs went beyond their flatulence-like noises (made by a scratching record) and changed their voices into babyish grunts, squeals, and babbles. They also spoke a few English words, like "Nintendo."

But the best moment from that game was the super happy song, which occurred when a Yoshi successfully completed the level. But why was it so intriguing? Well, a lot of people who were trying to interpret what the Yoshis were trying to sing. Some thought that the lyrics were, "The apple," whereas some others thought they were, "be careful." Of course, there are some others who embraced usage of vulgar vocabulary and profanity who, well, interpreted what they were singing in their own way.

Any way you interpret the super happy song, you got a knack of playing that super-cute video game and enjoyed or hated it.

So what made Star Fox 64 a great game? Did the characters' voice change from gibberish to human fascinate you? Was it the change of graphics from polygonal to realistic?

The crowning moment of nostalgia, as well as awesomeness, was Peppy Hare's advice to Fox McCloud to perform an aileron roll, or a "barrel roll."

That moment defined more than just minimizing damage to your Arwing from enemy attacks, whether you are gliding through Corneria or flying through Fortuna. It also became an internet meme, when a user of humorous webpage creator YTMND first created his page dedicated to it. It featured a looped clip of Fox's Arwing flipping as it sails through Corneria, an 8-bit remix of the German disco group Genghis Khan hit "Moscow," and Peppy's sound byte of his phrase. Whether you hear it from playing that game or seeing pages and videos featuring it, the moment when that hare tells a fox to do an aileron roll always sticks with you.

Most of us adults who played the N64 as kids remembered playing this infectious Donkey Kong Country sequel, Donkey Kong 64. Well, that game has a lot of moments, good or bad, that we remember. There’s the big pole in the center of Angry Aztec that groaned, “Feed me.” For me, the best part of the entire game was Lanky Kong because he was my favorite of all the playable characters. Everything about him (including his Trombone Tremor) was my crowning moment of awesome in this game.

But there was one moment (or in this case, character) that made most of us turn our trousers and shorts brown and/or yellow: Krosshair.

That unseen Kremling was not a new character in the game. He first appeared (with just an aiming cursor and nothing more) in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. (He only appeared in “Krack-Shot Kroc,” where he tried to shoot down Squitter, a spider transformation from Dixie and Kiddy, both absent from DK64.)

But that unseen crocodile came back with a vengeance, and we adults as kids found him in three levels. He lurked in most of the igloo rooms and cabin rooms of Crystal Caves. If a Kong failed to complete a timed challenge, the door opened and he aimed at him (or her, regarding Tiny Kong). He or she had to leave the area within the time he took aim or else he shot him or her.In one of them, he aimed at Chunky Kong (should he cross one of the overhead spotlights) for one second and shot him either losing his health or his life.

He also appeared in the greenhouse (in Creepy Castle), and took aim at Lanky, should he fail to get the Golden Banana in the maze within the allotted time.

But Krosshair’s biggest break was the Five-Faced Temple, located in Angry Aztec (as if the music in those rooms was not terror bone-tickling enough). Whenever a Kong obtained a Golden Banana, via Bonus Barrel or just itself, he took aim and shot once time ran out. The same held true if he or she re-entered the temple with the said item being already claimed.

But the circumstances in the game involving him all had something in common: his ominous voice telling the Kongs to get out.

His infamous growl of "get out" planted itself in the minds of many players who mastered (or had tried to) that game in a negative way. Some of them reported nightmares from playing it after doing even just one area of a level where his Kong-aiming cursor appeared. One player went back to the Five-Doored Temple (as Lanky) to find and pop any banana balloons left behind. But while popping one of them, he heard Krosshair's growl and sensed his timer and aiming cursor. From that moment on, he refused to return to that temple.

That moment had many players scrambling to exit the level or reset the game so much that they affectionately dubbed his appearance "the get out voice." Having played it myself, that moment is one of those that made DK64 my absolute favorite game of the whole console.

Although not a moment in any video game, this Christmas 1998 home video featured children Brandon and Rachel Kusma enthusiastically unwrapping a gift containing their N64 video game console. They were so excited that they used God's name in vain so much, pumped their fists, and screamed joyously.

Of course, that happy moment didn't stop there. A few years later, it became a feature in America's Funniest Home Videos. A few more years later, someone took the video, ended it by reusing the first few seconds and slowing one section down (the part when he said, "Four!"), posted it on YouTube, and became a viral hit. Subsequently, some users remixed the video, BMW used it for one Christmas commercial, and a talk show host interviewed Brandon.

Whether you watched the video of the Kusmas' excitement over the console on Christmas morning, most of us felt that way when we received it via birthdays, purchases, or Christmases.

Many of us who played the N64 remembered both good and bad moments. From realistic blood and gore pouring out of fighters to super-cute characters that bring out the child in us, the console became an icon of late 90’s childhood.