Pushing the Nintendo 64 to its Absolute Limit

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The N64 was a transformational console for me. It was such an unfathomably huge leap beyond the SNES that when I saw my first N64 game (Pilotwings) I didn't really understand what I was looking at. It seemed impossible. And even more impossible was the notion that graphics could improve at all beyond that point!

This was me upon finally saving enough allowance and lawn mowing money to buy one:

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Gaming consoles were something my Dad looked down on as a misapplication of computer technology. "Chasing after pixels on a screen all day rots your brain and accomplishes nothing". What he didn't grasp is that I didn't even care much about the games. I had a nearly fetishistic appreciation of the technology itself.

When I got my N64, Dad said "You didn't even save up enough to buy a game with it. I won't help you buy any games you know" but I didn't buy any games for months. I didn't even rent any. I just put my N64 on a shelf to admire. I slept with it next to my pillow. I was a weird kid who really, really, really liked high technology.

When I finally did buy some games, I was content with Pilotwings 64 and Mario 64 for about a year. Anything else that looked interesting I simply rented due to high cartridge prices. The Birdman mode in Pilotwings 64 was an excellent way to unwind after a stressful day of being bullied at school, I would spend hours just soaring around to see the sights.

Unsurprisingly, many other people have equally fond memories of this machine. Some of them went on to be talented programmers. That's how we came to witness marvels like this one, made by Retroactive:

Then there's Nacho64, winner of Presence of Mine '99. About the highest poly count, most detailed and good looking 3D scenery you'll ever see on this platform. Arguably exceeded in a few official games like Turok 2, but it still stands tall as one of the crowning achievements of N64 coding:

Then there's goofy shit like 'The Muscular Demo' by MegaHawks. Not focused on pushing the hardware but more about bringing back the classic, silly, charming demo scene spirit that's lacking in more serious releases:

Even back in the day, Nintendo and Silicon Graphics were showing off demos of what the N64 could do to astonished members of the press. It really was a quantum leap beyond what other consoles were capable of back then:

Some of the most impressive indie game accomplishments for the N64 in the modern era aren't games at all, but fan sequels or expansions to existing titles. My personal favorite is Super Mario 64: Star Road, a Mario 64 sequel with all new worlds, music, some new enemies, and 120 new stars to get:

Then there's silly stuff that isn't very playable, but was done mostly to show that it's possible and get a reaction out of fans. Like this partial re-creation of Sonic Adventure in the Mario 64 engine:

Probably the most technically impressive N64 game ever released was Conker 64. Rare's swan song for the system, which was then on its last legs, it managed to cram full voice acting into a 64mb cartridge as well as graphics which looked like they would've been at home on the Dreamcast:

Another looker for the N64, last-wave release and all around amazing game is Tsumi to Batsu: Hoshi no Keishōsha. Known in the US as Sin and Punishment 64, still a rare and valuable title to this day which is highly sought after by collectors:

There's a lot more I could cover, but this should be an adequate jumping off point for anybody looking into N64 emulation or collecting. Sadly the sequel to Super Mario Star Road is going to be for 3DS. This beta footage of it is no longer representative of the game that's being worked on now, which is a shame as it looked like it was shaping up to be impressive indeed: