I'd have to second Mario 64. I have distinct memories of just walking around outside the castle, marveling at everything, looking up at the sun and seeing the lens flare, etc.
I remember playing Pokemon Stadium for N64 back in 2011 or 2012 ony friends older brother's system. This was when I'd only had shovelware and a few pokemon games on the DS as my only video games, so seeing pokemon in 3D completely blew my mind. Soon after I'd gotten an N64 and the game for christmas, slowly expanded my collection to other old systems, and hey here I am because of it.
The first 3D game that I think I played was Castle Wolfenstein and the first full-version game that I owned and really masters was Duke Nukem 3D. However, I don't think that mechanism is considered to be polygon-based 3D. You know what... I'm having a hard time with this one. I guess it has to be Star Fox and if you don't count that then it's probably is Super Mario 64. I purchased it with my N64 right at launch. It was awesome.
It was either Mario 64 or super smash Bros, around 2007 (I was 5 at the time) my mom took me and my bro to a garage sale. Near the back of the garage was an n64. When I saw it I was begging my mom to buy it for me, she bought it but it didn't have any games, but a week later we found a bunch of n64 stuff at another garage sale which included the 2 aforementioned games l, Mario party, Mario kart 64, and a couple of controllers.
Tough to say exactly what it was. Surprised to say so many people saying Mario 64. It was really well done, but 3D was nothing new then. For me it was probably something really primitive on PC or Genesis, and it wasn't super impressive. I remember being really impressed by early 3D arcade games like STUN Runner and Cyber Sled, though.
Destruction Derby on PS when it was new and shortly after that, Twisted Metal.
Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA were nice, the the early PS titles really cemented 3D games as the new direction of gaming with less cartoony style and the realistic damage.
I would Twisted Metal was one of the first for sure. True story, my art teacher in high school, who was in his 50's at the time I think, let my friend set the PS1 up in the classroom! This was 95-96, and we played it because the teacher's son had it at home, and he was literally enthralled by it. But he also was an avid fan of computer graphics, and would show us all those boring full length computer animated films from the 80's that didn't look all that different from Ballblazer.
As someone mentioned, Indy Car racing from Papyrus was one of my first as well.
Star Fox (SNES) and Myst (PC) if that counts. Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot came later but made a bigger impact on me.
Back in those days everyone knew PCs were more powerful than gaming systems. It was only when we started seeing things like Star Fox, Donkey Kong Country 1-3, SM64, and Crash Bandicoot that you could see potential in consoles looking close to PC quality. This is why we start seeing more PC ports in the N64/Playstation era and onward. - Examples: Myst, Riven, Wing Commander III and IV, etc...
Outside of the arcade, Starfox. Loved that game as a kid and still to this day. After that I think it was either Iron Soldier or Cybermorph for the Jaguar. I thought both of those were pretty awesome at the time, especially Iron Soldier.
My first 3D game ever was Road Rash on the PS1. Played it in a store demo unit, and I thought it was fun, but that was about it, didn't blow me away or anything.
The first 3D game that I played that blew me away was Super Mario 64. I didn't even liked the way it looked at the time but I played it anyway and it blew me away. Changed the way I viewed video games forever.
I'd need to research the release dates to say for sure, but I suspect most of us (or at least many of us) saw the debut of 3D polygonal graphics (filled, rather than vector-based) in arcades, well before the N64 was ever released.
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I actually had superman as my first nintendo 64 game. Ive never played too much pokemon stadium. I remember my cousins really liked it.
Virtua Fighter and Daytona USA were nice, the the early PS titles really cemented 3D games as the new direction of gaming with less cartoony style and the realistic damage.
I would Twisted Metal was one of the first for sure. True story, my art teacher in high school, who was in his 50's at the time I think, let my friend set the PS1 up in the classroom! This was 95-96, and we played it because the teacher's son had it at home, and he was literally enthralled by it. But he also was an avid fan of computer graphics, and would show us all those boring full length computer animated films from the 80's that didn't look all that different from Ballblazer.
As someone mentioned, Indy Car racing from Papyrus was one of my first as well.
Back in those days everyone knew PCs were more powerful than gaming systems. It was only when we started seeing things like Star Fox, Donkey Kong Country 1-3, SM64, and Crash Bandicoot that you could see potential in consoles looking close to PC quality. This is why we start seeing more PC ports in the N64/Playstation era and onward. - Examples: Myst, Riven, Wing Commander III and IV, etc...
N64 was close behind that. Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64/Diddy Kong Racing 64 etc.
The first 3D game that I played that blew me away was Super Mario 64. I didn't even liked the way it looked at the time but I played it anyway and it blew me away. Changed the way I viewed video games forever.
I'd need to research the release dates to say for sure, but I suspect most of us (or at least many of us) saw the debut of 3D polygonal graphics (filled, rather than vector-based) in arcades, well before the N64 was ever released.
I don't really count Star Fox.
Why would you not count Star Fox for this topic?
Star Fox and Stunt Race FX were both 3D polygonal graphics.
I think it was Hard Drivin' at the Computer Museum in Boston, around 1990 or 1991. Arcade version, obviously, and I was impressed.
We use to rent that game for the Genesis. I remember my four yearold brother trying to find a nonexistent gas station.