I’m not normally the type to make a big fuss over anniversaries, especially when it comes to something so young and rapidly changing as gaming. But this time, at least, memory lane is just a little too tempting. If you’re about the right age–and if the words “blue shell,” “barrel roll” and “hookshot” send some tingles down your spine–I think you’ll agree.

That’s right, folks: it’s the Nintendo 64’s birthday. It’s all too easy for me to shower praise on the first console I bought on launch date, but the real story of the N64 isn’t exactly a Rainbow Road. With a bit of restraint, then, I hope I can give you a balanced glimpse onto the lasting legacy of Nintendo’s first 3D console.

When the Nintendo 64 first came to the North American market fifteen years ago, the industry was on the edge of a seismic shift: with their 32-bit systems, Sony and Sega had shown–just barely–that home consoles could emulate the arcade experience and bring polygonal graphics to our living rooms. But after decades of D-pads and 2D sprites, early PlayStation and Saturn developers struggled to make enjoyable 3D experiences. Nintendo, it seemed, was primed to do it right.

By Nintendo’s standards, the message was bold: “Get N, or get out,” the old commercials went. With its name, the Nintendo 64 made a cold and confident debut as the first 64-bit game machine–and even before that, Nintendo had codenamed the console “Project Reality.” Its design was sleek, black and intimidating, like it was supposed to be the bully on the block.

The Big N had reason to be confident. With a powerful two-part processor, the Nintendo 64 could render 3D games that made Sony’s early PlayStation efforts look like spoiled soup (something all these older 3D games are starting to resemble nowadays). It included four controller ports right out of the box and could handle split-screen multiplayer with ease. Most important of all, it offered a controller that actually complemented the 3D games its hardware was suited for. While a bit more modest, the rear-facing Z button introduced gamers to the now-ubiquitous “trigger”–if you’re playing a shooter, you may as feel like you’re shooting.

But it was also a time of great uncertainty, and Nintendo was hedging its bets. Add in a lack of foresight, and you’ll start to understand why the N64 barely managed to sell a third of what Sony did with the PlayStation. It was still unclear if 3D would take over or if 2D games would have a significant place on the N64–turns out they didn’t–so Nintendo created an unsightly third prong on its controller for a traditional D-pad and shoulder button. It turned out to be a fairly awkward waste of space, as only a handful of games made meaningful use of it. Even its impressive joystick had the wind taken out of its sails, as Sony one-upped Nintendo with the elegant DualShock controller just a year later.

The Nintendo 64 was also held back by its hardware, which in hindsight was caught between the worst parts of two overlapping eras. While Sony went with Compact Discs–they developed them, after all–Nintendo stuck with bulky cartridges out of a fear of piracy and stubbornness to change. It was nice to not worry about scratching up a disc, but Nintendo 64 cartridges were more expensive to manufacture and could only hold, well, 64 MB of data. Nintendo lost dozens of third-party deals over the cartridge decision, most famously its treasured partnership with Final Fantasy-developer Squaresoft.

In short, developing on the N64 was a headache for anyone but Nintendo and its subsidiaries.
But ultimately, that might be the system’s saving grace. The Nintendo 64’s technical shortcomings and historical oddities are undeniable, but so is the enduring charm of the system’s first-party library. Even considering only Nintendo and Rare, the system was a worthy purchase: games like Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, Goldeneye, Banjo-Kazooie and Mario Kart 64 bent the arc of gaming history and will live on in basements and dorm rooms for decades. Maybe I was just the right age at the right time, but it’s hard not to think those games overcame the limitations of their time and pushed their way close to legend. The titles I just named, in fact, are so well remembered that they’ve all been remade or reimagined in recent years. No other console’s first-party library still receives so much attention.

Fifteen years on, the Nintendo 64 stands as a timely reminder of Nintendo’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. The Big N can be bafflingly unresponsive to changes in technological trends and consumer preferences, but it isn’t afraid to blaze new paths all on its own. With the company struggling to sell hardware and investors calling for Nintendo to go the way of Sega and sell off its software to other companies, it’s hard to be certain of what lies ahead. But as we can fittingly recall on this anniversary, one thing is clear with rose-tinted glasses or not: Nintendo is an immensely proud company and will relentlessly pursue its own vision for the future, come hell or high water.

I, for one, am glad they did so fifteen years ago. Happy birthday, Nintendo 64.