I loved the Nintendo 64 (N64) console so much that it was the focal point for my Skandalous EP feature track, 64. Because of this, I felt that I should spend a little time justifying why the N64 was such a strong presence in my childhood. And apparently I am not alone in feeling this way. Geekwire actually did a comprehensive study where people voted, with a close margin, and 54% crowned the N64 as the undisputed champion of the console wars. Why? Well, the internet has a slew of articles you can search for on why the N64 is the best, but it sums up to the ‘fun factor.’ Any of you that owned or played the system know exactly what I mean by fun factor! It was so strong that it even served as its own sort of marketing. My first experience with this console in 1997, was visiting a friend and watching them play Banjo Kazooie! That was it. No advertisements were needed for me. Just that 1 experience and I was so hooked that I pestered my parents for 4 months before they caved in at Christmas.
The N64 first launched in America during the summer of 1996 as Nintendo’s last cartridge based ROM system, and would go on to sell over 33 million units before production was stopped. There are 3 main selling points that add up for the N64’s ‘Fun Factor’, which are summarized across plenty of articles as the multiplayer games, massive 3D environments, and of course, its unique controller.
The controller in and of itself is fun to hold and use! With more button variety and shoulder buttons, it was the key to interfacing with this glorious machine. I had always thought that it was ergonomically superior because of how natural it felt to hold the controller…until I had to teach my first young person how to hold the controller while we were shooting the music video for 64, talk about feeling old!
Offering a joystick also presented a whole new way of gaming, that to the misfortune of many of our palms, was an incredible way to compete with our friends on Super Smash Brothers. Let’s not forget Golden Eye which had a multiplayer feature that is still fun to play today, and quite possibly one of my favorites, Conkers Bad Fur Day, which also had a massive open world to explore in its single player mode.
And finally, let’s not forget the N64’s poster child for 3D environments though, which was The Ocarina of Time under the Zelda franchise. Technically Super Mario 64 should be up here as well, but this writer is biased. The Ocarina of Time offered so much in a single masterpiece. Beautiful open world, plenty of side missions and easter eggs, exciting gameplay/combat, and of course an amazing story to immerse yourself into.
Now, there were certainly other inspirations for this song, such as my visits with family in Ghana, but the N64 was so prominent that it deserves to stand on its own. In fact, we even went as far as creating the K64 logo in the video, as a way of honoring the original N64 logo that was so iconic for so many of us.
About the Author – Killa Kwabo is a Charlotte based hip hop artist drawing inspiration from Wiz Khalifa, Nipsey Hussle, & Curren$y. Learn more by visiting his Facebook at Facebook.com/diamondclub616.