35. Harvest Moon 64 (N64)
As with most entries in this farm sim series, let its gentle cycle of farm work and soil-based simulation seep into you and Harvest Moon 64 has the potential to suck hours and days from your life.
It’s hardly a technical tour-de-force, but tending livestock, sewing seeds, harvesting your crops and striking up a relationship doesn’t require massive hardware horsepower, and the series’ 64-bit entry is as engrossing as any.
34. Pilotwings 64 (N64)
Pilotwings 64 was a brilliant launch title for the system which showcased its features and provided players with a lovely flight sim adventure — something worthy of playing alongside the mighty Super Mario 64.
It proved to be a diverting companion piece for early adopters which built on the Super NES original with gameplay equal parts tense and relaxing. Cracking game.
33. Quake II (N64)
Quake II excels at providing a fast-paced first-person shooter experience on N64, and one which feels quite different from system stalwarts GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark.
The single-player is a gruelling task, if only because of the enemies’ resilience to almost all kinds of weaponry, not to mention that hitting them is a bit difficult when you move so fast that your shots don’t line up with your crosshair. That’s not to say that it isn’t fun, but it nevertheless requires some patience. These issues are also present in the multiplayer mode, but given that each player is at the same disadvantage, it isn’t as big an issue. Moreover, the multiplayer feels surprisingly nippy for an N64 game and usually maintains a playable frame rate even with four players.
It may not be as memorable or as deep in terms of gameplay as its Rare competition on the system, but Quake II is nevertheless entertaining, and especially worth experiencing if you miss the glory days of the arena multiplayer shooter. Playable on Switch via the remaster, too.
32. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, HAL Laboratory managed to keep the core structure many knew and loved about the Kirby series while glossing it up with a shiny coat of polygonal paint for the new console generation.
Kirby’s 64-bit foray into the third dimension (well, kinda — it’s 2.5D, or on-rails 3D, if you prefer) stands out as one of the more unique entries in the series, feeling somewhat fresh in comparison to the many, many 2D Kirby platformers and still pleasurable to play to this day.
31. Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (N64)
The N64 was notoriously underserved in a handful of genres — RPGs and fighters among them — but Ogre Battle 64 was a stellar strategy game.
Following on from the series’ previous appearance on SNES, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a fantastic example of the genre, a real all-timer. It also features possibly the finest post-colon subtitle in gaming.
30. Goemon’s Great Adventure (N64)
This sequel took the character and colour of the original and threw in a bonus co-op mode for another wonderfully entertaining platform adventure with an off-the-wall Japanese flavour.
There’s an argument to be had over which is best, and we tend to lean towards the original, but Goemon’s Great Adventure is a fine game, too.
29. Mischief Makers (N64)
A side-scrolling platformer on a system with very few of those to its name, and one from the makers of Gunstar Heroes, no less! Treasure’s Mischief Makers is a brilliant little 2.5D platformer that has gained a cult following over the years, but made little impact at the time.
Back in the late ’90s, anything that wasn’t 3D was largely dismissed by the mainstream as old hat. Do yourself a favour and track this one down if it passed you by. Also, NSO when?
28. Blast Corps (N64)
Blast Corps involves clearing a path for a slow-moving truck carrying a malfunctioning nuclear missile to a safe detonation zone — a zone which is blocked by buildings and other structures ripe for destruction.
As with many 64-bit titles, its early polygonal visuals are arguably looking a little dogged these days, but don’t let its looks put you off. This incredibly silly concept makes for a Rare gem and one of the most fun games on the N64.
27. Mario Golf (N64)
Camelot brought Mario and his golfing pals onto the 3D fairways in this excellent entry in his catalogue of sports games. This game also linked up with the superlative Mario Golf for Game Boy Color. They’re very different games, and the handheld version is probably even better thanks to its brilliant RPG elements, but together they make an unbeatable pair.
When we’re disappointed that later games like Mario Golf: Super Rush don’t match the quality of older entries, it’s Mario Golf that we’re remembering with a faraway wistful look in our eyes.
26. Rayman 2: The Great Escape (N64)
A very strong 3D platformer from a time when you couldn’t move for them, Rayman 2: The Great Escape saw Ubisoft’s gangly protagonist make the jump from 2D in a colourful adventure that delivers practically everything you could want from the genre.
It’s not quite on the level of Rare or Nintendo’s efforts, perhaps, but it’s still a fine, fine game up there with the very best.
25. WWF No Mercy (N64)
Much like every sport in video game form, the history of wrestling games is littered with plenty of lows, a mass of middling efforts, and a handful of highs; WWF No Mercy is very much in the latter category. In fact, with depth and heft that’s often missing from wrestling games two decades on, it’s a legitimate contender for the greatest wrestling game ever made.
For a system with a paucity of one-on-one combat titles, AKI’s game is an extravagantly large feather in the console’s cap.
24. Pokémon Snap (N64)
Sitting in a vehicle moving along a set path as you take photographs might not seem like much fun, but Pokémon Snap quickly proves to be a highly enjoyable, if short-lived, experience.
The quest to find a few more Pokémon or score better to open up new stages or get a useful item keeps you engaged for the game’s brief duration, and the variety of creatures and their actions keeps things interesting when replaying stages. There are only 63 Pokémon to find, and it can be cleared very quickly, but there’s plenty of opportunity for new and improved (or funnier) photos with each playthrough.
The Switch sequel may have far eclipsed this one, but Pokémon Snap’s inhabitants will surely bring a smile to your face.
23. Pokémon Stadium 2 (N64)
The original Pokémon Stadium was fine, but Pokémon Stadium 2 expanded the concept of a 3D companion cartridge to play alongside the mainline Game Boy games.
It included Pokémon from both the Johto and Kanto regions and offered some juicy extras if you owned the Game Boy entries (we pity whoever had a Pokémon Stadium game without owning Blue, Red, Yellow, Gold, or Silver!).
Only in the soundtrack department did it arguably not live up to its predecessor, but otherwise this felt like the ‘proper’ execution of the concept.
22. Sin and Punishment (N64)
Gamers in the West wouldn’t be able to get their hands on Treasure’s hectic N64 on-rails shooter (not easily, that is — there was always the option to import) until it came to the Wii Virtual Console.
On original release it quickly became a cult classic thanks to its developer’s heritage and its Japan-only status, and while it’s probably not worth importing a Japanese console to enjoy this game alone (we did, but we’re a bit obsessive) — and its sequel Sin and Punishment: Star Successor for Wii arguably improves on this foundation in every way — this is still a very fine shooter from a very fine developer.
Cracking box art, too.
21. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (N64)
A blend of genres with an emphasis on platforming, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon makes you pine for the days when Konami still made video games.
A surreal Japanese platforming adventure that combines a cast of colourful characters with oddball and endearing humour, it’s a minor classic that’s still worth playing today — a real gem in the console’s catalogue
