PixlBit

Super Mario 64 wasn't as magical for me as Super Mario Kart was. By the time it came out, I was kind of used to 3D games and it didn't have the same "wow" factor as the Mode 7 graphics in the original. 

What it did have was probably the best battle mode in any Mario Kart I've played, so there's that. But unlike many others, I neither played this in a dorm nor owned it. I rented it enough and had plenty of multiplayer experience with it, but nowhere near what I had with the first two Smash Bros. games. 

This is one of those games I rented once and can vaguely recall enjoying. I guess it's a puzzle game, but I just liked driving around blowing shit up. 

Independence Day is something I rented for the Saturn ... which was also a rental. I liked it and thought the Saturn was pretty cool, but we weren't going to afford another console at the time, so a Blockbuster rental in Nebraska was it. 

I watched a classmate play this at his house back in the day. I really wanted to play it, since it had dinosaurs in it, but my parents didn't let me rent mature games and I was 7. 

My favorite game in the series due to the sheer amount of modes it has and probably one of my favorite fighters ever. Definitely up there with Soul Calibur 2 for me as far as 3D fighters, but for completely different reasons. I love all the joke characters, Eddie's cool dance-fighting style, and the fact there was a whole beat-em-up game along with everything else. 

Once again, this is one of those games my brother rented, I think when we were visiting family in Wisconsin, that made the PlayStation the cool system. 

It was a lot more common for PlayStation games to have opening movies in them, which was part of the appeal. 

I still can never seem to find the Rumble Pak commercial for this as I remember it. I've found a weird one that takes place in a dark lab, but I distinctly remember an ad where this guy's entire house starts shaking as he's playing Star Fox 64 with the rumble pak going. I remember that being a huge selling point for me, but maybe it's a created memory, since I did come up with commercials and music videos in my head as a kid. 

Anyway, Star Fox 64 had mindblowing graphics and I was instantly hooked when watching some cousins in Wisconsin playing it. My mind probably remembers that TV I saw them playing on as bigger than it was too. 

And yet, Julian is completely incorrect that I remember this game as being better than it is, since it's still a blast to play. 

This was the #1 seller in Nintendo Power's chart for some time. Everyone raved about it. I really liked the level with a space shuttle in it and I could pass the first couple levels when I rented it. 

... I thought it was ok. It was no Star Fox 64. In fairness, I only played multiplayer at the neighbors' every so often. 

I remember playing this on PC in daycare and thinking it looked pretty "kiddy," but probably pretty fun (I probably watched other kids play it more than actually playing it myself). 

Believe it or not, the neighbors owned either 1 or 2. Since I can't remember which, this is the only time I'll bring it up, since I only ever watched them play it. 

Yeah, I played none of the above games at the time. So why put them here? Because I definitely remembered their marketing campaigns. 

My copy of the remade Bandicoot Trilogy on PS4 is my only experience playing as Crash Bandicoot, but I definitely remember the ads for PlayStation he was in at the time, acting as the brand's mascot. 

PaRappa the Rapper's appearance in PlayStation ads actually made me sour on the PlayStation at the time and lean hard toward wanting an N64 to play Star Fox 64. This was because I thought the rapper dog's paper aesthetic made the PlayStation look less graphically capable and I also was not a fan of rap music at the time. Who the hell would want that when Star Fox was available, I thought?

Finally, as I've mentioned before, I only actually played Tomb Raider at kiosks, but Lara Croft was everywhere, acting as the PlayStation's sex symbol, if not another mascot. 

The variety in this game was so compelling, I'm actually pretty bumbed no one has thought to do something similar since, that I know of. 

Racing by land, air, and sea as well as all the alternate routes and having actual boss battles? For me, this game was more fun than Super Mario Kart 64, and I'd rent it whenever I could, as well as play it at the neighbors' house. 

This was actually my introduction to the series, and I remember enjoying my rental quite a bit. It wasn't much like a traditional Bomberman game, which was fine with me, cause I was always a lot more interested in action-platformers than anything resembling MineSweeper. 

Wrestling games were great back in the day. I rented this a few times, despite having no idea who anyone was, save for Hulk Hogan. I only knew him because of a plushy doll my parents had got my older brother in the 80s. That and there was a movie he was in wearing a pink tutu on the cover. I always saw that at Blockbuster. 

Finally, I actually really liked the pop-up book Yoshi's Story and rented it a handful of times. This is where that annoying Yoshi grunt comes from I think (could be wrong), so that can be a little grating, but this was a fun, colorful game for my 7-year-old (or maybe 8 or 9-year-old; I didn't play all of these the year they came out, necessarily) self. 

I seem to recall having issues with having enough memory to save the game. 

Well, what I can recall for certain is having rented and enjoyed the game, digging its visuals and platforming.