Got ahold of and am playing Super Smash Bros. 64 for the first time in many, many years. I had forgotten how much it doesn't have. 12 characters, 4 being unlockable, 9 stages, 1 being unlockable (Battlefield and Final Destination are in the 1P Game mode only and can't be selected, neither can Metal Mario's stage Meta Crystal.) I just started up, so I don't have any of that unlocked.
And adding on:
-There's no Side B attacks.
-Throwing only goes Forward and Backward, and there's no Pummeling. What Pummels in later games is how you Throw them.
-Smash/Tilt Attacks cannot be charged.
-Limited selection of Items, like there's no Metal Box.
-All of the Pokeball summons are sprites and so are their attacks. Actually, a lot of things are sprites, and more obviously than in later games.
Given all of that, that I have Melee, Brawl, and 4 3DS, and that it's not stopping me from wanting to play play 64, it's like... a trip to the roots to show where it started and how far its come. But this game is good in itself, I remember it from when I was a kid, and I also remember that I never made it to Master Hand (I thought Master Hand was new to Melee years ago), the Fighting Polygons always got me. I just really wanted to finally complete it.