The Top 10 Greatest Nintendo 64 Games Ever

Nintendo has maintained its dominance in the home console market for well over thirty years, making it an undeniable giant in the gaming industry. From the early days of turning on the Nintendo Entertainment System in the living area to the current era of carrying your Switch with you everywhere you go, Nintendo has produced gaming systems that satisfy players’ demands and evoke fond memories.

Despite the fact that the Nintendo 64 has been around for more than 25 years, it is easy to locate ardent supporters of the ground-breaking system. Even after all these years, the system’s collection of top-notch games continues to impress, even though some of its features may not withstand contemporary examination.

The Nintendo 64 featured games for every kid of the 1990s, ranging from intense action games to comfortable role-playing games. The top games available for the Nintendo 64 are ranked here.

Pilotwings 64

As a follow-up to the SNES original “Pilotwings,” “Pilotwings 64” made a concerted effort to broaden the scope of the simulation of flight genre by incorporating some vintage Nintendo comedy into the mix. While “Pilotwings 64” isn’t tied to realism like more realistic games like “Microsoft Flight Simulator,” it does make extensive use of flight dynamics.

“Pilotwings 64” lets players practice their airborne skills with three different vehicles: the Rocket Belt, the hang glider, and the Gyro Copter, while competing in a series of themed tasks. In its assessment of “Pilotwings 64,” IGN deemed it “by far one of the most impressive 3D games ever seen on a console, and its delivery is charming, diverse, and enjoyable.” “Pilotwings 64,” with its diverse range of gaming modes and quirky cast of characters, promotes exploration and discovery.

Doom 64

The renowned “Doom” franchise contributed to the foundation of the first-person shooting genre. Midway Games created the spin-off “Doom 64” in an effort for bringing the demon-slaying excitement to home consoles. It has the same amazing selection of weapons as “DOOM II,” however with new visuals. Players must then traverse and finish over two dozen additional levels using their well-known armament. The difficulty and creativity of the new “DOOM 64” levels set them apart from their predecessors, making them difficult challenges for even seasoned “DOOM” players.

The Unmaker is a new upgradeable superweapon that was added to “DOOM 64” that can provide players the ultimate power fantasies when they desire to slay legions of demons. Additionally, the game has an amazing soundtrack that heightens the suspenseful mood and makes the trip through Hell as eerie as it ought to be. It is not surprising that “DOOM 64” has developed a cult following amid gamers given how comprehensive the game manages to be.

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The Mystical Ninja starring Goemon

Its plot makes “Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon” seems like a cursed fever dream to players. The world is turned into a musical venue when a malevolent dance troupe determines that the most effective way to conquer it is to abduct all children and make them live a life of dancing. The panel determines that adapting stunning Japanese sites to be more Westernized is the best approach to achieve this. To aid in this, they additionally have a UFO with a peach motif. Stopping them requires a team of heroes with a variety of absurd skills. Weird music cues and robot fights occur.

The strangeness of “Mystical Ninja” stands alone, providing players with something to connect with, despite the fact that there is a whole series of Goemon-themed games, many of that were never translated for North American consumers. Although “Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon” is not very subtle, its humor and surprisingly sharp visuals make it a memorable adventure, according to NintendoLife’s review.

Mario Tennis

Despite the fact that Mario and his pals have appeared in numerous sports games, Nintendo has consistently chosen tennis. The plumber’s tennis career actually began with “Mario Tennis” for the N64, even if it had previously appeared on the doomed Virtual Boy. In addition to eight courts and sixteen Mario characters, the game offers a variety of modes and challenges.

A fantastic a single-player and multiplayer experiences may be had with the 3D sports game. Winners will receive unlockables after competing in a variety of cups. Challenges including Piranha Challenge and Ring Shot are rapid skill contests that provide enjoyable breaks from conventional play, according to IGN.

However, this does not imply that the fundamental tennis gameplay is unmemorable. The heart of the game is interesting because of its various variables. Characters are categorized based on their strengths, for example: Each character may execute a variety of shots, with Yoshi being a speed character and Bowser being a power character. Players will like learning the different techniques because slice strokes have a curve, topspin shots are quick, and lob shots are high.

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The Story of Yoshi

“Yoshi’s Story,” a sort of sequel to “Yoshi’s Island” for the SNES, was intended to be a spectacular return to the earth of every person’s favorite green dinosaur. IGN, meanwhile, claims that the game overextended the platforming formula and produced a cheesy 2D–3D aesthetic that would be Yoshi’s for years to come. “Yoshi’s Story” was intended to be a platformer for players of any age, full of collecting and navigating that attracted to both adults and children, even though some could view the game as the lowest point in the Mario canon. It also sparked some amazing future developments.

In Yoshi games, “Yoshi’s Story” started a style trend that has persisted in more contemporary titles like “Yoshi’s Handcrafted World.” The items in “Yoshi’s Story” have a storybook aesthetic and seem to have been pieced together using common home items. “Yoshi’s Story” continues to be a must-play N64 game for a peek at the beginnings of this style as well as a simple fun time.

Episode 1 – Star Wars: Racer

Despite the controversy surrounding the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, practically everyone concurs with the belief the podracing scene from “Star Wars: Episode 1-The Phantom Menace” is famous and deserving of further development. Owners of Nintendo 64 received just that. Like its title implies, “Star Wars Chapter 1: Racer” is a game about racing that allows users to control the movie’s recognizable podracers. Despite appearing to be a typical racing game with a sci-fi twist, “Star Wars Episode 1: Racer” is much more complicated because of a unique boosting system that makes players make snap judgments.

The game “Star Wars Episode 1: Racer” is an efficient machine even without its special twist on boosting. With a heart-pounding John Williams soundtrack, each level offers a palpable sense of speed comparable to the “F-Zero” and “Wipeout” tracks. Furthermore, “Star Wars Episode 1: Racer” is packed with upgradeable podracers and unlocked aliens, giving the fictional sport the feel of a fully realized, inhabited area of the “Star Wars” galaxy. Any work that expands the already expansive universe of a franchise is valuable.

Gemini Jet Force

Rareware was unstoppable throughout the Nintendo 64 era. The firm produced well-loved games that are still cherished today, but even if one of their titles had no lasting impact on the industry, the final product still outperformed the majority of the N64 collection.

For its day, “Jet Force Gemini” looked like a strange creature. The game transports players through several sci-fi locales and combines elements of collect-a-thon platformer and linear third-person shooter. There is no need for the story to become more complex just “blast evil space ants,” however it never does. The sheer scale of “Jet Force Gemini” more than makes up for its lack of narrative depth.

Every game item has as many polygons as the N64 could manage, and players basically have three campaigns—one for each character. The level design of “Jet Force Gemini” is excellent, keeping players engaged and challenging without feeling overpowered. Although the N64’s hardware, particularly its controller, does hinder “Jet Force Gemini” a little, the game is still a good experience despite these small problems.

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Gauntlet Legends

Arcade cabinets were made by game creators prior to home consoles. Many studios attempted to adapt arcade games to the new format as home platforms replaced arcades. The “Gauntlet” series was one of the most entertaining outcomes, and “Gauntlet Legends” on the Nintendo 64 was one of the more notable transfers of that franchise. Similar to the other games in the series, this one is a straightforward dungeon crawler in which players take control of one of four classic fantasy classes and traverse several levels. Playing the game is as simple as searching the levels for escapes and hidden riches and hitting foes with the attack button. Combat and exploration are unadulterated, with no randomized equipment.

On paper, the idea may seem uninteresting, but the outcome is quite the reverse, evoking the same vitality of contemporary musou games. “Gauntlet Legends” offers an engrossing cycle of destroying enemy-filled areas. Furthermore, “Gauntlet Legends” really shines when a player and three friends band together to combat wave after wave of betrayal because the Nintendo 64 can accommodate up to four players.

Harvest Moon 64

Although “Harvest Moon” began on the SNES, “Harvest Moon 64” greatly improved the formula. Before the franchise faced a difficult legal struggle over its name, it served as inspiration for an incredible offshoot series. By bringing the well-known farming simulation into the 3D realm, “Harvest Moon 64” gave its characters and cute barnyard animals more depth. Players established themselves in Flowerbud Village, a tiny community, and put a lot of effort into restoring their deceased grandfather’s farm.

Players have the opportunity to marry, make friends with locals, and raise a wide variety of animals and veggies. According to GameSpot’s analysis of “Harvest Moon 64,” players who have never played farming simulators before may find the gameplay loop monotonous, although the action in the game itself never truly grows old. Fortunately, because the game has no end in sight, there are plenty of celebrations, bonds of friendship, and challenges to keep players occupied for a very long time.

The Bad Fur Day of Conker

The Nintendo 64 became the best option for gamers looking for 3D platformers. The console had such popular games as “Mario 64” and “Banjo-Kazooie,” but could it be that these cartoonish, kid-friendly titles were actually designed with adults in mind? “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” provided an answer to this perennial query.

Rare’s “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” combined the lighthearted 3D platforming of the “Banjo” games with a dash of mature comedy. The improbable combination resulted in an incredibly fantastic match! The game’s beginning depicts a main character who invested excessive time at the pub, making it instantly more mature. Conker sets the tone for the remainder of the game with his bloodshot eyes and his slurs when speaking to NPCs on the first level.

With an entertaining moveset that comes with a spiraling hover move, “Conker’s” functions nicely as a platformer. However, Conker rarely does the same action twice because he also employs toilet paper and a slingshot as weapons at certain stages of the game. For older players who desire a little something different from the usual child platformers, “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” is available.

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