Video game fans of a certain generation will recognise the iconic Nintendo 64 as having a special place in industry history.
It gave us some solid gold classics like Mario 64 and Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time .
It also introduced the now-ubiquitous analogue stick and was the first to support frantic four-player multiplayer matches.
Not bad for a console that celebrates its 20th anniversary today . That's right - twenty years.
The original system was launched in Japan on June 23, 1996. It finally came to Europe nearly a year later on March 1, 1997.
Unlike the similarly-timed PlayStation (the first one) console, Nintendo stuck with cartridges rather than swap to CDs. That made the games much more expensive - but many argued the overall quality was better than what Sony could manage.
Several games, including the aforementioned Mario and Zelda , as well as Goldeneye 007 and Mario Kart 64 , were groundbreaking titles that still influence modern gaming.
Did you have a favourite N64 game? Let us know in the comments below. Also, check out these retro 90s adverts for a hefty slice of Nintendo nostalgia.
