What are some good N64 games?

[HaRuMaN]

I just picked one up at a yard sale, and it only came with some baseball games...

[Malenko]

Mario 64,Golden Eye, Zelda:Ocarina Of Time, (some say Majora's Mask is better, I dont), Killer instinct Gold, Mario Kart, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Gauntlet Legends, Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie,  Any of the Cruisin' games (they are all the same imo), NFL Blitz, NBA Hangtime, Paper Mario, Rampgae, Superman, Wrestlemania 2000














PS:just kidding about Superman

[Necroticart]

here Is a small list of the ones I enjoyed

Doom 64
Gauntlet Legends
GoldenEye 007
Hydro Thunder
Killer Instinct Gold
Legend of Zelda, The - Ocarina of Time
Legend of Zelda, The - Majora's Mask
Mace - The Dark Age
Mario Kart 64
Paper Mario
Perfect Dark
Star Fox 64
Star Wars - Rogue Squadron
Star Wars - Shadows of the Empire
StarCraft 64
Super Mario 64
Super Smash Bros.
War Gods
Wave Race 64
F-ZERO X
Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Tooie

also keep in mind the n64 has alot of arcade conversions like mace the dark age it even has a few extra characters

[missioncontrol]

I only have a few titles for my N64, Mario Cart is the one the kids will play when it's hooked up...

[HaRuMaN]

Ooh, I had forgot about Mace, good call.  My poor PC can't handle running that in MAME.

[Ginsu Victim]

WCW / nWo: Revenge
WWF: No Mercy

[Blanka]

Diddy Kong Racing
Legend of Zelda, The - Ocarina of Time
Mario Kart 64

Personally, I thought Super Mario 64 was highly overrated. It's the most annoying Mario from a "click a way a zillion stupid story lines" perspective. And it looks really bad for a 3D game. It's the worst N64 graphics IMO.

[Ginsu Victim]

Personally, I thought Super Mario 64 was highly overrated. It's the most annoying Mario from a "click a way a zillion stupid story lines" perspective. And it looks really bad for a 3D game. It's the worst N64 graphics IMO.

You're out of your mind.

[EightBySix]

You're out of your mind.

+1

Diddy kong racing

[Malenko]

Personally, I thought Super Mario 64 was highly overrated. It's the most annoying Mario from a "click a way a zillion stupid story lines" perspective. And it looks really bad for a 3D game. It's the worst N64 graphics IMO.

You're out of your mind.

+2 I think it still looks good today. I kinda wish I still had my N64

[Necroticart]

You're out of your mind.

+3 nintendo really needs to rerelease the game with updated graphics same with Ocarina of Time both games were ahead of their time

[opt2not]

I kinda liked Robotron 64 (that's right, i said it), only because they tried really hard to represent the look and all the psychedelic colour swapping of the original in 3D. Don't hate me for this!  

I'm surprised no one mentioned Conker's Bad Fur Day. That game is definitely a N64 must!

[Necroticart]

I forgot about Conker's playing as a hung over squirrel is just classic

[HaRuMaN]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Conker's Bad Fur Day. That game is definitely a N64 must!

I've played that before...  pretty fun in 4 player mode.

[wp34]

You're out of your mind.

+3 nintendo really needs to rerelease the game with updated graphics same with Ocarina of Time both games were ahead of their time

+4

+1 for Banjo-Kazooie

[EightBySix]

+2 I think it still looks good today. I kinda wish I still had my N64

Got a Wii? You can download it - its a really good emulation.

[zimmy]

Perfect Dark
Goldeneye
Conkers Bad Fur Day

..But I'm pretty i could survive with just my 64 and Perfect Dark...Best game ever released...on any console!

BIG call i know.

[Blanka]

I really don't get it with that SM64 adoration. I guess it's something like that Apple users have an unwritten agreement not to say anything bad about Macs and OSX.

Go Youtube and watch some SM64 vids:
- The colors and textures are ugly. Don't blame the 1990-s 3D quality, Zelda, Diddy Kong, Aqua Racer (you know the game I mean) all look awesome.
- The gameplay is deadly boring, even the end-boss level, watching it instead of playing it can even be considered as torture. Would work better than waterboarding on me I guess.
- Princess is a dumb ---smurfette---, but in SM64 she's even anoying and ugly.
- All you do is run, run, and run with a accidental jump now and then. Nothing happens! The only risk is sleepwalking into une "Champion malicieux".
- Killing Bowser is done in the most childish way of killing any endboss in any game ever. Jonassing him of the platform with his tail. How eclectic! (Quote: King of all Cosmos)

I guess SM64 was a bad try-out for SMGalaxy. That version finally got some of the quality of SMW for the SNES, still the best Mario World ever.

[zorrobandito]

I'm stunned that no-one has mentioned 1080 Snowboarding. The half-pipe mode is so addictive, it's illegal here in Australia.

Diddy Kong Racing (is that +4 now?) - better and more colourful than Mario Kart 64
Super Mario 64 (I don't think it's that great but millions do - I'm not a fan of most of Nintendo's 1st party catalogue)
Rogue Squadron - It has a brilliant mission structure and, as a bonus, you can see where 90% of Lair came from)
Beetle Adventure Racing - looks great and is great fun 4 player
Goldeneye and Perfect Dark are probably the best shooters on the system, but play Goldeneye first to adjust to the days of simpler polygons ;-)

[Ginsu Victim]

I really don't get it with that SM64 adoration. I guess it's something like that Apple users have an unwritten agreement not to say anything bad about Macs and OSX.

Actually, it's just that damn good that many of us still play it to this very day.

- The colors and textures are ugly. Don't blame the 1990-s 3D quality, Zelda, Diddy Kong, Aqua Racer (you know the game I mean) all look awesome.

Super Mario 64 was the FIRST game released on the system. Compare the first game on any system to top tier titles that came out later and you'll get the same results.

- The gameplay is deadly boring, even the end-boss level, watching it instead of playing it can even be considered as torture. Would work better than waterboarding on me I guess.

I've always found it to be very enjoyable, and I'm not alone.

- Princess is a dumb ---smurfette---, but in SM64 she's even anoying and ugly.

How is this even relevant?

- All you do is run, run, and run with a accidental jump now and then. Nothing happens!

This is so wrong I'm not even bothering to point out why.

- Killing Bowser is done in the most childish way of killing any endboss in any game ever. Jonassing him of the platform with his tail.

And it gets progressively harder and is a boss battle I've always enjoyed.

[ChadTower]

None of those other titles he mentions for comparison were first.  SMB64 changed everything in a way few console titles did.  Top to bottom SMB64 may be the greatest console game of all time.  It is still better than half the crap coming out now.

[massive88]

- The colors and textures are ugly. Don't blame the 1990-s 3D quality, Zelda, Diddy Kong, Aqua Racer (you know the game I mean) all look awesome.

Super Mario 64 was the FIRST game released on the system. Compare the first game on any system to top tier titles that came out later and you'll get the same results.

I dont really care one way or the other, but Soul Calibur was a release title on the Dreamcast, and still one of the best looking games for it.  Though, people had an advantage working with the DC due to its naomi heritage.

[Blanka]

Compare the first game on any system to top tier titles that came out later and you'll get the same results.

Rember Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario World? Maybe not the official first titles, but they were near perfect considering the virgin state of the MegaDrive and the SNES at their release and set very high references directly.

[Ginsu Victim]

- The colors and textures are ugly. Don't blame the 1990-s 3D quality, Zelda, Diddy Kong, Aqua Racer (you know the game I mean) all look awesome.

Super Mario 64 was the FIRST game released on the system. Compare the first game on any system to top tier titles that came out later and you'll get the same results.

I dont really care one way or the other, but Soul Calibur was a release title on the Dreamcast, and still one of the best looking games for it.  Though, people had an advantage working with the DC due to its naomi heritage.

Yeah, I thought about Soul Calibur as I was writing that. It's still beautiful to this day. Shenmue is the only game I can think of that looked better (and Shenmue II, of course).

Compare the first game on any system to top tier titles that came out later and you'll get the same results.

Rember Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario World? Maybe not the official first titles, but they were near perfect considering the virgin state of the MegaDrive and the SNES at their release and set very high references directly.

Just like Super Mario 64 did, which you don't see, for some reason. SM64 was a great launch title that, as you pointed out, didn't look as good as Zelda 64 or Perfect Dark. Obviously they SHOULD look better and play better. Now compare Super Mario World to Yoshi's Island or Super Metroid. Same thing - great game, but later games used the technology better. It didn't make SMW any less of a game, and SM64 holds up just as well compared to later titles.

[ChadTower]

Sonic and Super Mario World weren't first - they were actually among the last.  They were the pinnacle of 2d game design.  They were the result of many years of refinement.  They were the first on those particular systems but SMB64 was the first massive 3D platformer of its kind.  There had been a few lousy attempts on prior platforms but nothing even close to the scale of SMB64.  The fact that it still stands up well now, and in fact is better than most of the platformers that came after it, is nothing short of amazing.

[Ginsu Victim]

Yeah, SM64 was mindblowing when it first came out and it still holds up as an amazing game experience. It's still one of the best 3D platformers available today.

[ChadTower]

It should also be noted that Majora's Mask and Perfect Dark require the expansion pak.  SMB64 does not.  It's not an even graphical comparison.

[Ginsu Victim]

True. (I've never actually played Perfect Dark, so I forgot about that)

Didn't DK64 need the expansion pak, or it at least ran better with it?

I left out Conker's BFD. That game looked VERY nice.

[ChadTower]

I forget if DK64 ran without it... Majora's Mask was a hard requirement, not playable without it.  Perfect Dark had like a minigame or small multiplayer mode that you could play without it but the main game was not accessible.

Yeah, Conker was a great game, though these day's it is probably just better going with the Xbox version, for controller reasons.

[Ginsu Victim]

Yeah, I play the XBOX version now for that exact reason.

[RTSDaddy2]

I can't believe no one brought up DK64 except in passing - and I believe it did require the expansion pack also in order to run correctly.  That game ate up a LOT of my time the Christmas it came out.

I'll agree with SMB64 chatter...there are a lot of so-called 3D platformers it would definitely run rings around. I'll also second / third / whatever Majoro's Mask not being nearly as good as Ocarina of Time.  Ocarina was a thing of beauty that even had my parents oohing and ahhing at the time.

We loved Conkers, of course, but the Gex: Enter the Gecko series was a big hit with my wife as well. We kept ours and recently we got it out, dusted it off, and hooked it up to a smaller TV in our house....god, it's still fun to mess with that thing. It's been fun to get to see our 7 year old rediscover the classics from that system.

[hypernova]

Majora's Mask was an excellent game in terms of dungeon quality.  There may have only been four main dungeons, but they were all premium quality.

Ocarina of Time had plenty more dungeons, but how many of us finished some of those dungeons thinking "You kidding me?  That's it?" (cough Spirit Temple cough)  The Water Temple had the best puzzles.  If you play the GC's Master Quest version though, it'll raise that bar some.  They removed some of the old tricks like the invisible holes in the Shadow Temple, but overall it's better.

Oh, and those who may have the GC disc of the four Zeldas (OoT, MM, LoZ1&2) don't play MM.  I never fully checked the rest, but MM doesn't work.  It'll freeze at random times, and you'll have to restart.  Either N64 or Project64 emu.

Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.  PD is just fantastic as a single player game.

Blanka should give Tommy a call.  They are in the severe minority when it comes to SM64.

[Ginsu Victim]

I can't believe no one brought up DK64 except in passing

I've never played it. I should check out the rom for it since I've got it...

[HaRuMaN]

Is the Xbox version of Conker the same as the N64 version?

[danny_galaga]

I'm stunned that no-one has mentioned 1080 Snowboarding. The half-pipe mode is so addictive, it's illegal here in Australia.

I'm mentioning it too   I love 1080. Shardian here recommended it when i got an N64. Played it just the other day. I'm not sure what you mean by it being illegal in Australia? Unless you mean the half-pipe?

Goldeneye is an absolute must. Especially with 4 players. When you do, try this- Everyone crouch down to shoot. Now start hunting each other like this. When you first do it, you will need a spare pair of pants  

Wave Race is awesome too. And that pretty much IS the launch title. And Pilot Wings for some chillaxin'.

 Star Wars Episode 1 racer looks and plays brilliantly, and Rogue Squadron too, although i havent played that one much.

In the eye candy department, it's hard to beat Ridge Racer. Although i don't like drift type racing much. I use an Ultraracer wheel for that game which for me makes it a hell of a lot more playable (because i'm the original drift 'tard). Using that also means you are putting a little less wear into your precious N64 thumbstick (",)

Another great game is Blast Corp. It really is, well, a blast!

If you were to have only one N64 game, it would have to be Goldeneye.

Is the Xbox version of Conker the same as the N64 version?

No. Apparently it's been Bowdlerised for the Xbox. To me playing the Xbox version would be akin to watching a Cheech and Chong movie with all references to weed removed...

[HaRuMaN]

No. Apparently it's been Bowdlerised for the Xbox. To me playing the Xbox version would be akin to watching a Cheech and Chong movie with all references to weed removed...

Bowdlerised?   

Hmm...  I'll probably look for the N64 version, then.

[Ginsu Victim]

No. Apparently it's been Bowdlerised for the Xbox. To me playing the Xbox version would be akin to watching a Cheech and Chong movie with all references to weed removed...

I haven't looked into this, but are you sure that's not just in Australia? Everything gets neutered over there.

[ChadTower]

Is the Xbox version of Conker the same as the N64 version?

IIRC, minor changes in the training.  The multiplayer was swapped for a Live version.  Other than that it's the same game with some more horsepower but also load times the N64 version obviously didn't have.

[HaRuMaN]

Is the Xbox version of Conker the same as the N64 version?

IIRC, minor changes in the training.  The multiplayer was swapped for a Live version.  Other than that it's the same game with some more horsepower but also load times the N64 version obviously didn't have.

So, is there still a local multiplayer?

[ChadTower]

Erm... don't remember.  I never played the multiplayer on either version.

[HaRuMaN]

Erm... don't remember.  I never played the multiplayer on either version.

The multiplayer is loads of fun... I especially liked the Cavemen vs. Dinosaurs (2 on 2).

[ChadTower]

Yeah, looks like it, but when I played that game there were no other gamers in my house over the age of 5.

[opt2not]

Is the Xbox version of Conker the same as the N64 version?

It is the same game, story-wise, but the XBOX version has more censoring than the N64 one. Which is kinda sad being that Conkers is supposed to be a more "comically mature" game.
But, the XBOX version is prettier...
IMO if you never played it before, or don't remember playing it, I'd go with the N64 version. Its still a great looking game.

That reminds me, on the topic of games that pushed the technical limits of the N64, Conkers was definitely one of the few games on N64 that pushed it's limits. They were the first on the console to have dynamic shadowing, and proper facial animation. Here's the wiki link.

After the release of Conker's Bad Fur Day, many publications and websites declared the graphics were the best to date on the N64 (even better than Perfect Dark).[3][4] The title included a number of technical effects that gamers were not yet used to seeing. The engine featured dynamic shadowing, colored lighting, and other visual effects, still fairly rare at the time; large areas with a long draw distance and no distance fog, a rarity among Nintendo 64 games; detailed facial animations, including lip syncing, at a time when the vast majority of characters in 3D games had static or minimally animated faces and individually rendered fingers on some characters, rather than the standard "brick."

It's amazing how much Rare pushed the technical boundaries of nintendo consoles -- great, great developers.

[hypernova]

the XBOX version has more censoring than the N64 one

Wait...Nintendo was the one that had LESS censoring?  Freaky...

[opt2not]

the XBOX version has more censoring than the N64 one

Wait...Nintendo was the one that had LESS censoring?  Freaky...

Yeah, well the game originally came out in 2001, which means it was developed in the late 90's...still at a time when we had less censoring overall. It was only till the early-mid 2000's where The Family Protection Act was forcing publishers to tone down their developer's game violence and mature content.

also:
"Nintendo of America refused to even acknowledge the game in its Nintendo Power publication except for the playback in volume #230, and all advertising in the U.S. was limited to late-night cable television and ads in Playboy. In other regions, the advertising was far less limited. Despite all of these factors, the game has enjoyed a cult following, actually growing in popularity despite its age."

haha, sounds like Nintendo wasn't openly promoting this title either.

[danny_galaga]

the XBOX version has more censoring than the N64 one

Wait...Nintendo was the one that had LESS censoring?  Freaky...

[zorrobandito]

I'm stunned that no-one has mentioned 1080 Snowboarding. The half-pipe mode is so addictive, it's illegal here in Australia.

I'm mentioning it too   I love 1080. Shardian here recommended it when i got an N64. Played it just the other day. I'm not sure what you mean by it being illegal in Australia? Unless you mean the half-pipe?

Ah, apologies for confusing you, it's my bohemian sense of humour. It hasn't really been banned in Australia but the half-pipe mode is very, very addictive. If anyone can get close to 85,000 points, do let me know :-)

[danny_galaga]

I'm stunned that no-one has mentioned 1080 Snowboarding. The half-pipe mode is so addictive, it's illegal here in Australia.

I'm mentioning it too   I love 1080. Shardian here recommended it when i got an N64. Played it just the other day. I'm not sure what you mean by it being illegal in Australia? Unless you mean the half-pipe?

Ah, apologies for confusing you, it's my bohemian sense of humour. It hasn't really been banned in Australia but the half-pipe mode is very, very addictive. If anyone can get close to 85,000 points, do let me know :-)

I've been giving some of my other consoles some love, but i'll have to see how close to your score i can get (not very i suspect). I have a new aftermarket controller that really blows for finesse, like goldeneye and the downhill racing aspect of 1080. But for stunt type things where you slam the stick around and stab at the buttons, it seems ideal 

[ChadTower]

Maybe more than any other console, on the n64, you need first party controllers.  And you must have a good stick.  Of course, if you're into 1080, you may as well take a good stick and flush it down the toilet.  That game destroys analog sticks like no other.

[Ryglore]

Is the Xbox version of Conker the same as the N64 version?

It is the same game, story-wise, but the XBOX version has more censoring than the N64 one. Which is kinda sad being that Conkers is supposed to be a more "comically mature" game.
But, the XBOX version is prettier...
IMO if you never played it before, or don't remember playing it, I'd go with the N64 version. Its still a great looking game.

That reminds me, on the topic of games that pushed the technical limits of the N64, Conkers was definitely one of the few games on N64 that pushed it's limits. They were the first on the console to have dynamic shadowing, and proper facial animation. Here's the wiki link.

After the release of Conker's Bad Fur Day, many publications and websites declared the graphics were the best to date on the N64 (even better than Perfect Dark).[3][4] The title included a number of technical effects that gamers were not yet used to seeing. The engine featured dynamic shadowing, colored lighting, and other visual effects, still fairly rare at the time; large areas with a long draw distance and no distance fog, a rarity among Nintendo 64 games; detailed facial animations, including lip syncing, at a time when the vast majority of characters in 3D games had static or minimally animated faces and individually rendered fingers on some characters, rather than the standard "brick."

It's amazing how much Rare pushed the technical boundaries of nintendo consoles -- great, great developers.

+1

Sadly Conker's was the last game I bought for the N64. But damn I loved every minute of it. Gregg the Grim Reaper ftfw.... "cats I hate cats."

[Mauzy]

Great. After all that I've read here I need to go find an N64 copy of Conker's....

A few more, in my opinion, must haves for the N64:
Vigilante 8
Vigilante 8 2nd Offense
San Francisco RUSH
RUSH 2 (Gotta love the stunt track)

[Cakemeister]

Maybe more than any other console, on the n64, you need first party controllers.  And you must have a good stick.  Of course, if you're into 1080, you may as well take a good stick and flush it down the toilet.  That game destroys analog sticks like no other.

Mario Party 1 does that, too. I had to hide the cart from the kids.

Mario Party 2 is a fun family game which I recommend.

[Ryglore]

Gregg the Grim Reaper.

[danny_galaga]

I'm stunned that no-one has mentioned 1080 Snowboarding. The half-pipe mode is so addictive, it's illegal here in Australia.

I'm mentioning it too   I love 1080. Shardian here recommended it when i got an N64. Played it just the other day. I'm not sure what you mean by it being illegal in Australia? Unless you mean the half-pipe?

Ah, apologies for confusing you, it's my bohemian sense of humour. It hasn't really been banned in Australia but the half-pipe mode is very, very addictive. If anyone can get close to 85,000 points, do let me know :-)

Well, just having a bit of play tonight. I really suck! My best in the half pipe is 6117. I just am too unco-ordinated to make a 1080. I really like the Match Race and Contest aspect of 1080 though. This is what I've played the most.

 I'm gonna have to work out how to do a 1080 if i want some decent scores in Trick Attack...