My Favorite Nintendo 64 Games

 

 

I'm back again with another one of these doodads. Anyone who's been following this blog (or my content in general) long enough, knows by now that I do seem to love me some lists. In the past, I have thus far tried to suss out what my Top NES Games, Top SNES Games, and Top Game Boy Games are. Originally, I made an article on what my Top 10 Favorite Games are, period, which in and of itself was a bit difficult to nail down all 10. Well now, I'm here to talk about a console that I have some mixed feelings about.

On the one hand, I am highly nostalgic for the Nintendo 64, a system that launched in Fall 1996, to much ado and fanfare. I didn't get my own until Summer 1998, but it was the first console I bought with my own money, from a summer job. I had a friend or two who had their own, pretty early in its life, so I had experienced it plenty. In point of fact, before the damn thing had even launched, said friends spent WAY too much time literally parked over at the local Toys R Us game display section. So much so, that one of them actually beat Mario 64, again, before the damn game had even officially become available to buy!

The Holy Grail, Circa 1998.

But as I said, I'm nostalgic for the system, because it was the first I got myself, in my teens, and there were in fact many games for it that were quite good, some of which I still rather enjoy to this day. One of said friends and I even made it a point to go and regularly rent N64 games, once or more a month, if there was anything new out or anything we hadn't yet tried that was available at the local Blockbuster, or some other video store. We even on occasion rented something we were pretty sure neither of us were going to much enjoy, such as a FIFA Soccer game one time, just because we wanted to "see what it was like", graphically and otherwise. As far as my own library, it was pretty small, at most I probably personally owned maybe 5 or 6 N64 games myself. But I got to try a LOT of 64 games back when the system was new, trust me.

Not only was there the renting, but there also happened to be a small handful of multiplayer games, something the N64 was tailor made for in a way no console before it had been, that a few friends and I would regularly play. Some of these included Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye 007, Duke Nukem 64, and later on others like NBA Hangtime. Mario Kart and Goldeneye specifically, became a tradition for us, even long years after the N64 was "old news", on birthdays or New Years, certain friends and I would still gather together at least once or twice a year to fight each other at those old classics. For that alone, I'll always be nostalgic about the system.

 

 

Dude, it looks REAL!

 

 

On the OTHER hand, the mixed feelings come into play, because of the nature of most of the Nintendo 64's games. The N64 represented a major jump for Nintendo, and gaming in general (along with the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation), with 3D polygonal gaming largely replacing my beloved 2D, sprite based gaming. Now don't get me wrong, I like many 3D games. There's a few I even love, a small number of are certainly in my Top 20 or Top 30 games of all time. But by and large, I love, and prefer, 2D gaming. On the one hand, yes it is nostalgia, because I grew up with old arcade games, and computer games, and NES and Game Boy (and to a limited extent in my teens, SNES).

But it isn't merely nostalgia. I also firmly believe, with lots of gaming experiences to back it up, that for the most part, 2D gaming not only tends to look (in general) more aesthetically pleasing (especially when it comes to the graphics aging) than 3D, but also tends to play better. In my experience, most especially when talking about a more "old school" experience, such as a side scrolling or "top down" perspective game, pretty much 100% of the time, 2D sprites both look, and generally handle/control much better than 3D polygons. Whether we're talking fighters, platformers, puzzle games, or even something like a "Zelda Type" adventure. For side scrollers of any sort, the 2D sprites always, ALWAYS have tighter controls and physics (that is, unless the developers were just REALLY awful, there are plenty of 2D games that play like shit because of simply bad programming or design).

In general, that was, and remains, my biggest gripe about the N64. For many, it seems to be the controller, which to be honest, yes, it looks funky, what with it's three prongs and centered analog stick. BUT, frankly, I think the N64 controller is mostly a good controller. It has comfortable and functional D-pad, buttons, L and R buttons, and a nicely placed analog and Z-trigger. Plus it's comfortable to hold, for the most part. The only thing I'll say is that the "C-buttons", which are most often meant for camera angles in many games, don't work amazingly for fighters (though they still get the job done). 

But no, overall, I actually think that the 64 controller is generally MUCH better *GASP* than the seemingly beloved Gamecube controller. The only thing the GC has over the 64, in that regard, is a better/more durable analog stick. My actual, personal gripe with the system, however, was the lack of 2D games. 2D gaming was heavily abandoned on the Playstation as well, but it did still have many 2D games, include a few great ones (such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night). The N64 on the other hand, only ever got a handful of 2D games, which I felt was a damn shame, both because I prefer 2D, and because with the system's power, there's a lot more they could have done with 2D that they just ignored. 

But ANYWAY, that's enough rambling. I do love the N64, but my feelings for it might best be described as being "bittersweet", because it represents to me both a time when I bought my first console for myself, and had a lot of fun with the system in general, while at the same time representing an era when most developers were mostly abandoning 2D gaming, because 3D was the new fad.

Without more ado, here's the meat and potatoes of this piece, here are my favorite Nintendo 64 games:

 1 – Game: Mario Kart 64, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1997

When I really think about it, while there were N64 games that I arguably "liked more", or certainly ones I spent a lot more time playing by myself, there was no game I probably spent more total cumulative time with, nor a game I had a more complete experience and fun time playing, than Mario Kart 64. Which is funny, because I didn't even originally own a copy myself, my friends did. So I generally had to go to friends' houses to play it. But play it I/we did, a LOT. 
 

 

 

Perfection.

 

 

Now while the 3D polygonal graphics of the tracks certainly look "dated" and clunky by today's standards, make no mistake, I will go out on a limb to say that I think this game is THE best Mario Kart ever made. It's certainly MY personal favorite, and always will be. There is little about it that I don't love. Most of the tracks, with very few exceptions, are good, and classic. The 2D prerendered sprites for the racers (and items, etc) look great, animate well, and most importantly, in my view, CONTROL great. To this day I prefer the controls of these sprite racers, over the more floaty, slippery mechanics of all the polygon racers that followed. Granted, Super Circuit on the Game Boy Advance (another great MK entry) also used similar sprites, but there's just something about these 2D sprites on those 3D courses, that not only looks aesthetically cool, but also just, at least to me, control really well.

The game also, while it does indeed have that annoying "rubber band AI" that people complain about, in my view still has better balance than most MK games that followed it. The item selection is perfect, and even though the whole "if you're in first you got crappy items" mechanic is indeed a factor, I found over my long hours playing this over the years, that unlike most later Mario Karts, in 64 it is in fact possible to get so good at the actual racing part of things, that you can still have an edge and reliably win. Maybe not on 150cc, but that's another story. 

 

 

Easily the best thing Mario Kart ever gave us.

 

But in addition to a majority of the racing tracks being good, the Battle Mode was absolutely ace. All four arena stages are good, but Block Fort, far and away, is THE best Battle Mode stage that Mario Kart has ever had. Nothing that has ever come out since tops it, not a damn one. Kinda like "The Facility" in Goldeneye, Block Fort is just a perfect stage, and much like that 007 battleground, my friends and I spent TONS of time duking it out amidst those colorful blocks.

While I'm nostalgic for Mario Kart 64's music, that is another area that could have been better, specifically if, as I had wished even back then, the stages utilized versions of more recognizable Mario tunes, the music that is there is catchy. Overall, the game has a shit-ton going for it, and while I don't currently own a recent (IE Switch) Nintendo console, if they were ever to release an MK64 remake, done the RIGHT way, just enhancing the sprites, not making them polygonal racers (or items), but redoing the polygonal tracks as more elaborate versions of themselves? And of course give it online, don't add any items or new racers. Just straight up "Mario Kart 64 Deluxe"? I'd buy that immediately. 

 

2 – Game: Star Fox 64, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1997

It's somewhat of a tossup, as to whether my 2nd favorite N64 game is Ocarina of Time, which I technically bought the console for, and put quite a bit of time into, or Star Fox 64, which I didn't originally own myself. But I have to go with Star Fox, because while I loved Ocarina when it was new (in spite of some gripes), and it was mind blowing for its time, SF64 is a game I have, and still can, come back to time and again. Part of that, of course, is the nature of the game: blaze through a handful of stages, on a pathway through the game you choose, and if you're good you can beat the game in like an hour, during one of those playthroughs. So it's more pick up and play, and once you know the controls, arguably more readily accessible, than starting a new run of the daunting quest that is Zelda.

Do a barrel roll!

But it's also the fact that the game is damn fun to play. Simple and uncomplicated in its own way, there are also nice little nuances, and plenty of hidden paths and things like that, to keep it interesting and fresh. For its time, especially considering it was essentially still part of that first wave of N64 titles, Star Fox was very impressive. The original SNES game, powered by that FX Chip magic, was already impressive a few years prior. But SF64 represented such a monumental leap over that, in every possible way. And it was actually developed by Nintendo, in-house, to boot. The graphics for the time were some of the best of that generation, and it was neat to hear the little sound-bites from the characters (even IF some of them wore on your nerves after awhile). 

This was another game that "weird" N64 controller was seemingly tailor-made for, as well. The controls and in-game mechanics are smooth, and once you get a handle on things like barrel rolls and u-turns (in boss battles and dog fights anyway), it plays like a dream. To be perfectly honest, while I always appreciated its technical achievements, I was never really into the original Star Fox, though I know many people love it. But Star Fox 64, I can genuinely say, is easily in my Top 20 favorite games of all time, one of the few 3D games to hold that distinction. Not only that though, it's also my favorite 3D shooter, and favorite shooter game overall.

I have been waiting, no joke, close to two and a half decades now, for Nintendo to make a proper follow up to this. They've played with my heart more than once, first with the deceptive Star Fox Armada on Gamecube, which I was initially thrilled for, because the trailer made it look EXACTLY like what I wanted in a sequel. Just more of the same but better, but then it turned out to be literally 80% lame "walk around on foot" missions, which is not what I want from Star Fox. And then years later, with Star Fox Zero, which while not a sequel like it should have been, it initially looked like a nice graphical remake/remix of SF64, which I was at least somewhat interested in, until it was revealed the crappy motion control scheme they came up with, was the ONLY control option. That just ruined it for me, so I didn't bother, and I've sadly still been waiting. Maybe one day. 

3 – Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1998

This spot could have just as easily went to Goldeneye, by virtue of just how many hours over the years, that my friends and I put into playing the "Death Match" mode. But, the truth is, I was never very into the single player mode for 007, which is one of the several reasons I also chose Mario Kart 64 over it. Because I enjoy pretty much all of what MK64 has to offer. It also helps that, as previously stated, Ocarina of Time was pretty much THE reason I bought an N64 for myself, in the summer of 1998, with my first (real) summer job money. That, combined with just how into this game I was during my first playthrough, and how many hours I put in during that playthrough, it deserves to have this spot. 

The gold standard of a generation.

It is no small claim to say that Ocarina of Time was, arguably, THE game of its console generation. Mario 64 was incredibly impressive at launch, and games like Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, etc., arguably impressed more, at least graphically, from the N64 itself. And the Playstation for sure had several games of its own that could attempt to lay claim to such a lofty title. But I don't think there was a single game, on any platform during this span (let's say, 1996-2001), that was AS impressive, AS influential, AS complete, and AS epic, as this first 3D Zelda was. 

For my own part, I was extremely hyped for it, as many were. I did, however, wind up being at least a BIT let down by the game, once I discovered that some of the hype for the game, in magazines years before its release, weren't entirely accurate. For instance, there were early interviews with the developers, which made it sound like the game world was going to be considerably bigger than it was, having several towns you could visit, ala Zelda 2, and other things like that. BUT, the game we did get, most especially at its time of release, was still ultra-impressive. The graphics, the mechanics, the controls, the 3D "camera" work, the varied areas you could explore. There are still tons of 3D games that come out, TODAY, all these years later, that don't play as well, as tightly and smoothly, as Ocarina did. Mario 64 and Ocarina were essentially the blueprint, of how to make GOOD 3D games. A blueprint many developers, even today with much greater resources and much more powerful hardware, still can't seem to match. 

It needs to be said that Ocarina of Time is NOT my favorite Zelda game. That belongs to Link's Awakening, the original Game Boy version, which also happens to be my favorite Game Boy game. Ocarina isn't even my favorite 3D Zelda, as that belongs to Twilight Princess (the Gamecube version, or Wii U remake). I wasn't big on Wind Waker when it was revealed, and still wasn't upon trying to play it (even the HD version). But when Twilight Princess was unveiled a few years later, I about hit the roof, as it was more or less EXACTLY the Ocarina "sequel" (I wasn't big on Majora's Mask either), that I had wanted and been waiting years for. Even in the face of the nicer aspects of Breath of the Wild, Twilight Princess remains my favorite 3D Zelda. But for its own part, I still have a soft spot for Ocarina, it's a great game, and I will always cherish that first epic playthrough. 

4 – Game: Goldeneye 007, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1997

Okay, so after name-dropping it multiple times in this article already, I think it's only fair to give it the #4 spot. To be clear, as single player experiences, and games in general, there are several other N64 games I enjoy more than this. But as I've said, that multiplayer "Death Match" mode, and the time my friends and I put into it, just by itself, even if there was no single player to speak of, would still likely put this at #4. 

The memories.

Goldeneye 007 on N64 was an odd duck, and a total surprise to most people. It started life as a (most likely 2D) game on the Super Nintendo, developed, oddly, by Rare, who had largely been known in those mid-90s years, for their Donkey Kong Country games on the SNES. Cute, bouncy, colorful. Them making a game based on James Bond, full of shooting and explosions and violence, was already at least slightly a head-scratcher. But then it got delayed, and moved over to the upcoming "Ultra 64" console, and I think most people didn't quite know what to make of the project. So it was going to be a game based on a movie, that by the time it came out was about two years old. But I sincerely doubt much of anyone, really predicted how good the game would actually wind up being. Much less that it would, in its own way, not only be one of THE smash hits of the Nintendo 64, but one of the most popular and talked about games of that generation, on any console. It's still talked about today, in fact, deservedly so.

To be clear, Goldeneye on N64 plays very well. It is very well designed, it controls well, has a great soundtrack, for its time it had impressive visuals, and on harder modes, there wasn't really another game, let alone another First Person Shooter (even on PC), that had as good of AI. It was basically down to Goldeneye and Turok 2 (both N64 games, Turok 2 I myself owned), as far as the two most visually impressive FPS games of the era, and the two with the best AI (meaning enemy programming, how "smart" they act, how they can try to out maneuver you, etc.). I myself was just never terribly into the single player mode. 

 

 

Goddamn Oddjob.

 

But when it came to multiplayer Death Match? Especially once you unlocked the goodies? Hot damn! Our preference was playing it on "License to Kill" mode, which was one-hit deaths. It made it more frantic, but also, in our opinion, more fun. Death matches were significantly less fun to play, I think, when you had to whittle away at someone's life bar. But that was us, License to Kill, usually "Paintball Mode" (where the bullets made colorful paintball splashes), and while we tried them all over time, THE most played level by far, most people's favorite, was The Facility (based on the opening area in the film). I don't mind telling you that, while it certainly took me awhile to do so, we played this damn game so much, that I got QUITE good at it. My preferred method of play was basically just kamikaze, running around the stages, blasting people as I saw them. Though I did also master more subtle techniques, such as peaking around corners to pop someone sneakily, etc. 

Oddly, I'm not a HUGE FPS fan, really. I like some of the classic "corridor" style shooters, such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom (especially Doom 64), etc. And I did buy Turok 2 during my original N64 owning days in the late 90s, I'm pretty sure I even beat it. But in general, its not one of my favorite game genres. Which makes it all the more weird that I love Goldeneye (multiplayer) so much. As far as I'm concerned, Goldeneye 007 on N64 has THE best multiplayer "Death Match" mode of any FPS that has ever been made. Nothing has topped it, even with "improved" controls, more complex stage layouts, etc. I'm biased, of course, and all the fun I had through all those years, playing with my friends, certainly colors that opinion. But I also stand firmly by it, as it was, and remains, incredibly good.

 

5 – Game: Killer Instinct Gold, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1996

This game deserves a spot in the Top 5, purely based on how much I love, and was obsessed with at the time, the arcade version, Killer Instinct 2. KI2 is in my Top 5 favorite fighting games of all time. I liked the original Killer Instinct, in fact I was quite impressed by the graphics (being arcade, they naturally put even Donkey Kong Country to shame). But when KI2 came out, to me at least, everything about it was better, the stage songs, the graphics, the character lineup (almost), the tweaks in gameplay, you name it. I was decent at KI1, but I became, I don't mind saying, PRETTY good at KI2. One of the few fighters with an intricate combo system, where I actually managed to somewhat master said (arguably overly complicated) system. I put tons of time into KI2 at local arcades, and I'm still to this day PRETTY sure I was the first person to learn and use the code to play as the boss Gargos, in my town (I beat it with Gargos at a different arcade, later that evening). It's safe to say, this game was one of my teenage loves. 

My main man, Sabrewulf.

KI2 arcade, for comparison.

 

I played this game so much, that I made an effort to get OKAY, at least, with all of the characters. But I still had my handful of ones I was much better at than others. And none better than Sabrewulf, who was cool in KI1, but was bad ass in KI2. So the idea of a home version of the game, of course, was very enticing, especially because Rare had managed to do a pretty impressive "down port" job of the original Killer Instinct, on the 16-bit SNES. I practically drooled, imagining how close to the arcade KI2 could be on the ULTRA powerful Nintendo 64, right?  

Originally, when KI1 came out, it (along with the original Cruis'n USA racing game, which DID wind up coming to the system), was announced as "Coming Soon, for the Ultra 64". But the console was delayed, and they ultimately decided to port KI1 to the SNES (and Game Boy), instead. So then its sequel, KI2, was supposed to get ported to the N64 instead, which was fine by me, because as stated, I wound up liking the sequel way more. The problem is, the advanced graphic techniques they used for the stages in KI1 AND 2, were something the N64 hardware just couldn't do, even as powerful as it was. They were basically a form of FMV (Full Motion Video), which would have been un-doable, even on a CD based system of the era. So instead of just doing simpler static rendered versions of stages, like they did with KI1 on SNES, Rare decided to redo all of the stages as fully 3D polygons, instead. The action is still taking place on a 2D side scrolling plane, but it allowed, I guess they thought, for smoother sense of camera zoom and background rotation for certain stages.

Because of the cart size, they also left out (while it could have been included), the FMV winning animations, attract mode clips, and character endings. Things like the lack of FMV bits, and the 3D stages, were let downs, for sure. Far moreso, however, had been Rare's hints that the characters who had been cut from KI1 for the arcade sequel (Riptor, Cinder, Chief Thunder, and perhaps even the boss, Eyedol), would be included as redone versions of themselves, for the N64 version. I personally looked forward to that a lot. But those characters were nowhere to be found, and in general, the release was pretty light on content. HOWEVER, all that said, while it wasn't as good as I feel it could/should have been, it IS still a pretty damn good port of one of my favorite arcade games of all time. And while, surprisingly, I never tried to buy my own copy back then, I still enjoyed playing it when I rented it. 

I'll admit, if it wasn't for how much I adore the arcade version, KI Gold might not be as high on this list. But as it is, my love demands I give KI Gold its due, warts and all. 

 

6 – Game: WWF Wrestlemania 2000, Publisher: THQ, Originally Released: 1999

This one gets the #6 spot over anything else, purely by virtue of just how much time I put into it. Out of all the N64 games I played, I almost certainly put more hours into this than anything else, at one point in time. Anyone who's been reading RR long enough, knows that I'm a pro wrestling fan, and for many years, starting around 1996 onward, I was a huge WWF fan. More than anything else because of The Undertaker. When I first bought my N64 in Summer '98, the very first game I actually bought and owned, was another wrestler, WWF War Zone, by Acclaim. They had the WWF license before THQ acquired it, and put out two games themselves: Warzone, and Attitude. And while I certainly put some time into War Zone, while waiting for Ocarina of Time launch date, I never loved it. The gameplay is somewhat wonky, the controls to do moves play out more like a fighting game, which doesn't really work well for a 3D wrestler. Plus the roster and "Create a Wrestler" features were limited. There just wasn't much to the game. So when THQ, former makers of WCW (World Championship Wrestling) games got the WWF license, and came out with Wrestlemania 2000? It was a breath of fresh air.

The Main Man, The Phenom, The Undertaker.

While there was a time, a few years down the road, after I had gotten ahold of another N64 (sold mine like an idiot, long story), I would go on to probably put in the majority of my time with WM 2000, but I still definitely put in the hours back in 1999/2000, when I owned it new. Compared to War Zone, the game just had SO much more going on, so much more going for it. Better graphics, better (and more) music, simpler and more fun gameplay, a bigger roster, better gameplay modes (including a great "Season" mode), and a MUCH more robust "Create-a-Wrestler" mode. Hell, I spent HOURS just making my own custom wrestlers, let alone playing the Season mode.

While I did play Wrestlemania with friends, most of them weren't really into wrestling, so this was far more of a "Me by myself in my room" type of game, which suited me just fine. We had rented one or two of the WCW games previously, in our quest to rent practically every other title that came out. But somehow, while they basically played the same as this, I just didn't get into them. But I was a big WWF fan, and this game struck my fancy, hard. In that "few years later" period, I even put in QUITE a bit of time (see: wasting time like an expert), trying to "update" the game, so that it better fit WWF/E circa 2003, versus 1999 when this came out. That meant going in and altering or erasing certain wrestlers no longer on the roster, and trying to create ones that now were (or that I wanted to be there, in some cases). Like I said, I put a LOT of time into this game.

It certainly isn't my favorite N64 game, and while I had some real fun with it, I don't LOVE it. It hasn't aged super well, mainly because of slower, clunkier gameplay ("Here Comes the Pain" on PS2 has aged better). BUT, I'll always have fondness and nostalgia for this game, because of what it meant to me back then, and how much I played it. Oh, and on one final note, while THQ came out with another N64 WWF game, No Mercy, which many people seem to regard as the "better" game, as someone who owned and played both, I am here to tell you: it really isn't. All around, WM 2000 is the better game.

 

7 – Game: Wave Race 64, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1996

Now, out of all the early N64 games that I got to play at my friend's house, long before I owned my own system, the one game that REALLY "wowed" me, was Wave Race. I had never gotten to play the (now sadly pretty obscure) original Game Boy title, which is a top down racer, similar to the old Micro Machines games. But this game was a whole different beast, trading in "Wave Runner" boats for Jet Skis, and very realism-based, trick based gameplay. But while the gameplay and in-game water physics were (and still are) very impressive, the thing that "wowed" me about this game, was the graphics. I hadn't seen water as realistically presented in a video game prior to this, nobody had. It moved with realistic fluidity, it looked and moved like water (mostly wilder coastal ocean water) should. 

 

 

Those waves, though.

 

 

I've never been a HUGE "graphics guy". I like and appreciate good graphics, and it's always nicer to have a pretty game than a plain or ugly one. But at the end of the day, I have always cared far more about gameplay. And I'm happy to report, that Wave Race 64's gameplay, is, in the immortal words of Bill & Ted, "MOST Excellent!" But those graphics? For 1996/7, while the racers were blocky, there wasn't a prettier game in terms of lighting, or environmental/weather/water effects. There's even a serene "duck pond" type stage, with totally still waters, that reflect all the action like a mirror. It was all just super, SUPER impressive.

I didn't play this game a TON, as in I never bought it for myself, regardless of how much I liked it, and we only rented the once, I think. But I loved it, and tried my best to beat it. I would, of course, later come to own it, and its gorgeous (for the time especially) early 2000s Gamecube sequel, "Blue Storm". The GC game was basically more of the same, just prettier, with some tighter gameplay and a few new tracks. Wave Race certainly isn't for everyone, out of all my friends who played, I enjoyed it the most, I'm the one who "got it". Some were thrown off by the water physics and gameplay, which takes a bit of getting used to. But to me, this and the GC sequel are two of the most unique, fun racing games ever made. And much like Star Fox 64, I've been waiting for them to put out another Wave Race, for many years now. Maybe someday. But that water better be STUPEFYING! 

8 – Game: Mischief Makers, Publisher: Enix/Nintendo, Originally Released: 1997

This game makes it onto the list for two reasons. The first being, that it was, again, one of the few N64 games I actually owned, so I put a fair bit of time into it, even eventually beat it. The other being, that it was (sadly) one of only like TWO 2D side scrolling games the console ever got! A fact that, as I've already stated, I disliked and lamented about the system. With this game, I feel like perhaps my friend and I rented it first, and having tried it, I liked it enough to later spend the $$$ on it myself. I had access to spending cash as a teen, but I had to REALLY want something to save up and spend like $60 dollars on it. 

SHAKE, SHAKE!

Developed by the great Treasure, makers of such 2D gems as McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure and Gunstar Heroes on Sega Genesis, among others, Mischief Makers is an incredibly odd, quirky game. Like its Nintendo-developed cousin, Yoshi's Story (the only OTHER 2D side scroller on the system), Makers utilizes pre-rendered 2D sprite graphics, specially shaded 2D sprites that give it a "three dimensional" look, akin to Donkey Kong Country or Killer Instinct. In Makers' case specifically, in certain levels, as well as for boss encounters, these 2D sprites were married with 3D polygonal elements, giving it a unique, hybrid look. 

I would not say that Mischief Makers is the BEST game in the world, but it is fun, once you get the hang of the weird gameplay. Said gameplay is centered around the heroine Marina's ability to grab things, shake them, and throw them, as well as grabbing onto certain objects to boost herself through the air. Marina is a robot, whose creator, Professor Theo, has been kidnapped by aliens from the planet Clancer. It just so happens in trying to rescue the Professor, Marina also winds up helping to free the oppressed Clancer people (who look a little bit like Shy Guys from Super Mario Bros. 2), from tyrannical rule.

As I said, I put a fair bit of time into this game, and there were certain levels that were a blast, while there were others that were puzzling or specifically difficult, especially later on. But I eventually beat the game, and while I don't think I "100 percented it", I did manage to 100% many stages. While it's hardly my favorite game on the console, I look back on this game with fondness and nostalgia, and will always wish the system had more of its like. 

9 – Game: Beetle Adventure Racing, Publisher: Electronic Arts, Originally Released: 1999

Yet another game that I never owned when it was new (and I had my original 64 console), but rather rented at my friend's house, I nonetheless loved this game enough, that it merits inclusion among my favorite N64 games. On the surface, you wouldn't think, me never having been much of a "car guy", that I would care about a racing game centered around a specific kind of car. But I did care about it, and wound up loving it, for a couple of key reasons. The first reason being, that I had previously played, and quite enjoyed, the first couple of Need For Speed racers on the Playstation, and this was developed by the same company, Electronic Arts. In fact it was the only EA racer the N64 ever got (I'm fairly sure), and the closest thing to a NFS game the system would get. The second being, that while it is indeed, conceptually, a product tie-in game with a specific car brand/model, the development team went wild with it. Meaning it isn't merely a by the numbers, realistic racer. Instead, its a bit more of an "arcade" affair, and where the tracks are concerned, the team used a lot of creativity and imagination, planting oddball things like UFOs and even Dinosaurs, on certain tracks. 

 

 

 

They're so cute!

 

 

 

The German car maker, Volkswagon, had introduced the "New Beetle" model in 1997, and in the late 90s they were all the rage. Hence EA getting the license to make a game centered around them, as they would go on to do for Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed, which centered around the Porsche line of cars. As an odd aside, in Australia only, this game was called HSV Adventure Racing, replacing Volkswagon New Beetles with the Australian-made Holden brand of cars. But everywhere ELSE it was released, it used the New Beetles, and to great effect I might add. You might think that only being able to choose one model of car in a racing game, would feel limiting and somewhat lame. But in this, it works, because there are still a variety of Beetles, so to speak, each with their own stats and such. The ultimate car you can unlock, is an "Alien Beetle" of sorts, which is the fastest car, and has a "far out" metallic paint-job, with colors that seem to swirl and change. I also seem to remember being able to unlock a Beetle Cop Car, which was hilarious. 

As for the game itself, typical with the Need For Speed games of the day, it had smooth gameplay, that focused less on realistic racing physics, and more on fun, "arcade-y" gameplay. The game features different circuits, Novice, Advanced and Professional, with a fourth Bonus circuit being unlocked after you beat the other three. Each time you beat a circuit, more cars and tracks would be unlocked. The game was two player in the racing mode, but also featured four player gameplay in a very Mario Kart inspired Battle Mode, which itself was decent fun, though certainly weird. The game featured a pretty good soundtrack for the N64, and all of the tracks were very creative, stylized and individualistic. Basically every track featured at least one alternate, often hidden route you could take, which would help give you an advantage. Those hidden routes also often featured weird stuff that would seemingly come out of nowhere, such as racing past the aforementioned UFO, hidden in an icy cave in the snowy Ski Resort track.   

All in all, for a system that had a wealth of racers, I consider Beetle Adventure Racing to be, not only one of the top racers on the system, but one of the top games on the system, period. It's a blast to play, and one I would highly recommend (as I would, naturally, any game on this list).

10 – Game: Tetrisphere, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 1997

Another of the handful of games I actually owned myself. We rented Tetris for NES when I was a kid, and while my grandmother was semi-obsessed with puzzle games, especially Dr. Mario, for some reason she never bought Tetris. But, we did of course get it, when she got me a Game Boy for Christmas 1993. Another case where it was MY gift, but she would "borrow" it often, so she could sit at the dining room table and play Tetris.

Tetris has never been my TOP favorite puzzler, that'd be the Bust a Move games, or Yoshi on NES, but I've always enjoyed it. And it's entirely possible, that my favorite version of the game, outside of that GB original I owned as a kid, is in fact the oddball 3D Tetrisphere on Nintendo 64! 

Tetromino MADNESS!

As you can see above, three dimensional, "spherical" Tetris, is a very different beast than its classic predecessor. BUT, while it's definitely more involved and complex on the surface, at its core, it's still the same basic idea: you have to connect pieces of the same shape, to make them disappear, so you can clear the board. This is more complicated than merely making unbroken lines to clear them, but the focus is still on clearing the playing field, like most Tetris-inspired puzzle games. There are other bells and whistles added to the mix, such as special items which have different effects on the pieces, and the game does also still feature a 2-player versus mode.

Perhaps the most stand-out thing about the game, however, is actually the soundtrack. The gameplay is unique, and fun once you get the hang of it. It's a game that really makes you think. And the graphics,  for the time, were quite fancy. But the soundtrack, especially for the N64, a system that made liberal use of "midi" audio, is a lively techno score, composed by Neil Voss. The music alone earned this game notice, and won it awards, but in general, as far as I know, Tetrisphere was a decent seller for the system. I would certainly recommend it as one of the standout titles people should try. 

 

 

 

 

11 – Game: Kirby 64, Publisher: Nintendo, Originally Released: 2000

I had intended to do a traditional "Top 10" for this list, but I decided to add a bonus game to the mix, as it's one that I feel deserves mention. Kirby 64 was, and is, a mixed bag for me, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, as I've mentioned before, while I like many 3D games, I am and always will be far more a fan of 2D gaming, and 2D sprite-based graphics. That goes double for certain games/series, such as Mega Man, Adventure Island, Castlevania, and Metroid. Games that I feel not only look, but FEEL better as truly 2D side scrollers. The same goes, in my view, for Kirby. So the fact that Kirby 64, while remaining a side scroller at heart, was jumping into the "third dimension" graphically, was not my favorite move on HAL Laboratory's part.

Mind you, for 2000, Kirby 64 features quite nice graphics, and the cut scenes especially, frankly look on par with many Sega Dreamcast games (a new, more powerful console at the time of this game's release). But I also couldn't help but think how much better nice, even pre-rendered "3D looking" sprites would have looked, instead of blocky, clunky polygons. I think it would have at least been a nice touch, to have 2D sprites for the characters, but if they wanted to keep that "2.5D" approach to level design, the stages could remain polygons. But I digress.

Probably my favorite stage, just for the pretty Fall look.

As stated, the game takes a "2.5D" approach, similar to Playstation games of the era like Pandemonium and Klonoa, where you still move on a restricted "2D" side scrolling plane, but the stages themselves are 3D polygons, and many of them will move in 3D around you, taking you down curving and winding paths, etc. Otherwise, the gameplay is still basic Kirby: you waddle along, jump or float through stages, and encounter enemies, that you can either swallow whole, shoot as stars at other enemies/objects, or in some cases, you can steal their powers. It must be said, that my least favorite aspect of this game, aside from the general slowness compared to other 2D Kirbies, is the fact that for some insane reason (I suppose to manufacture a bit more challenge), HAL decided to make Kirby only be able to float for a limited time. That's right, once you've been floating around for a few seconds, Kirby will get tired, start struggling, and ultimately fall out of the sky. This wouldn't be THAT much of an issue, if this wasn't literally the only Kirby game (that I know of), where that happens. Every other traditional 2D Kirby, you can float to your heart's content. 

But in the POSITIVE column, while I did feel that this Kirby was a bit lesser compared to entries like the Kirby's Dreamland games, Kirby Super Star, or especially my beloved (3rd favorite game of all time) NES entry, Kirby's Adventure, HAL did make one other addition that is far more substantial, and is honestly the highlight of the game. And that is, the "Power Combo" feature. Kirby's Adventure introduced Kirby's Mega Man-like ability to copy enemy's powers, but Kirby 64 decided to up the ante, and allow you to capture a power from one enemy, throw it at another, and combine two powers to make a new ability! There are basic power types, that can be combined: flame, ice, rock, blade, electric, bomb, and spike. You can even "double up" on a power type, IE double bomb that makes you shoot rockets, or double flame, etc.

 

It's Darth Kirby!

 

 

And some of those Combo powers are quite memorable, such as an electric field you wield like a lasso, to slam a giant boulder around, to smash enemies. Or a giant flaming blade you can swing around. Or turning yourself into an explosive snowman. Or Kirby becoming an explosive, blasting firework sparks at enemies. Or throwing ninja stars that seemingly teleport straight to an enemy, then explode. Or turning into ice skating Kirby, where you blade over/through enemies. Or turning yourself into stone sculptures of the animal friends from Dreamland 2, each with their own sub-abilities (wall climb, floating, etc.). But I think perhaps the two most memorable, for different reasons, are turning Kirby into a refrigerator, which throws out food that not only kills enemies, but you can also eat to refill your health. And as you can see above, probably the "coolest" one, is Kirby becoming a Sith Lord (not literally), and wielding a dual bladed Light Saber, ala Darth Maul from Star Wars!

Not the best Kirby, by any stretch, and certainly it has its flaws. But Kirby 64 is still a very fun game, and for its time, late in the N64's lifespan, it was nice to get a high quality, yet also nice "throwback" type of game. 

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So there you have it, my Top 10 (11) favorite Nintendo 64 games! The system is hardly my favorite, by any means, for reasons I discussed early on. In fact if I were pressed, I might very well name the Game Boy Advance my fourth favorite system overall, behind the NES, SNES and Game Boy. But maybe the 64 is my fifth favorite? I'd have to ask the Turbo Grafx 16 about that. But either way, as I said at the beginning, the N64 is a system I will always have some nostalgia for, and look back fondly on. Because even though I don't like the hasty abandonment of 2D gaming it represented (which thankfully the GBA kept going in spades), it was the first system I ever was able to buy myself, and my friends and I had a lot of fun over those late 90s years, trying out and playing various 64 titles. I'll always look back on many of those times, and smile. 

And the library has a lot to check out, beyond my own personal favorites. Below are some honorable mentions, of other 64 games I rather enjoyed. As always, if you've never tried any of these, give some a whirl, you'll be glad you did!

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

Mario 64 

Cruis'n World 

Bomberman 64 

Bomberman Hero

Bust a Move 2

Turok 2

Chameleon Twist 2

 F-Zero X

\Doom 64

NBA Hangtime 

 Mortal Kombat Trilogy

Extreme G

Clayfighter: Sculptor's Cut 

Body Harvest

Castlevania "64"/ Legacy of Darkness

Rampage: World Tour

Robotron 64

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

The New Tetris