Your dismissal of games based on their graphical power or the way their models look is also nerve breaking considering Nintendo is only alive thanks to their handheld market of pseudo 3d pikachus
That's only half true. Yes, Nintendo's strength is in handheld, but they make money on console hardware. It's part of the reason why they've been missing features/power from the N64 onwards - to save money.
All of the game lists I've made so far were reduced to just the absolute most highly regarded games, plus a few cult classics. You don't want to do your mid-tier master list first? Alrighty then...
Wave Race 64
F-Zero X
1080° Snowboarding
Pokemon Snap
Pokemon Stadium 1 & 2
Banjo-Tooie
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire
Star Wars Episode I: Racer
Paper Mario
WWF No Mercy
Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil
Rayman 2: The Great Escape (superior to the PS1 version)
Mario Golf
Mario Tennis
Mario Party 1, 2, & 3
Beetle Adventure Racing
Extreme-G
Diddy Kong Racing
Blast Corps
San Francisco Rush 2049
Hydro Thunder
Like I said, the N64 is the place to be for platforming, racing, and party games, just like the PS1 is the place to be for sports, JRPG, and survival horror.
You see, my argument is that the PS1 isn't inherently better just because it does well in certain genres, because the N64 has its own genres that it's good at. No, what makes the N64 better is that it caters to all ages, and is more powerful. Power isn't everything, but the gap is big in this case. The PS1 would've done a Wii U had both systems used the same storage medium.
It's ridiculous. And the difference between me and the guy is that whilst his mom didn't allow him to have a PSX because of the blood, I have all those N64 games he speaks about, including guns, rumblepacks, wheels and that random 3D expansion that came with DK. I'm probably a bigger fan than he is. Probably can hand his ass to him in Goldeneye, any Pokemon generation or smash bros. The difference is the "boy" part, I'm a fan, not a fanboy.
Blood and violence didn't have much to do with why I went N64 instead of PS1. I played Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Perfect Dark, and those are plenty bloody. I went N64 because the PS1 has s***ty graphics, a s***ty controller, s***ty loading times, and slim pickings in terms of sprawling adventure games aside from JRPGs, which I can't stand. I need open worlds and real-time combat (Worms being the exception), hence why I adore The Elder Scrolls.
Smash Bros., you'd probably beat me at - I've mostly just played against the CPU since Melee. Pokémon, maybe. It's a pretty simplistic game that leans more towards grinding than skill. GoldenEye,
now we're talking. I've trained with the best via netplay, and came second in a local tournament. I'm a hardcore GE/PD fan.
I'm done fiddling with emulators (at least until
CEN64 is done...), but I'll happily challenge you to a few matches in Perfect Dark XBLA (even though I don't like the port for a lot of reasons). ^_^