We’re going to have a look at 5 of the most defining games on the Nintendo64 platform. Consider them as our Nintendo64 Must Play List. Mind you, these are not nessesarily the 5 best games, but if you only had 5 games to play on the console, these ones will give you a nice slice of the platform.
Banjo-Kazooie
Though many would put up Super Mario 64 up here, we place Banjo-Kazooie here for a number of reasons. Most importantly, Banjo-Kazooie was first introduced on the Nintendo 64. Though a few games were made on other platforms, we do not speak of it’s blasphemy. (Though we actually did enjoy Nuts&Bolts a bit). You can play a good Mario game on pretty much any system, but if you want to enjoy Banjo-Kazooie, you have to get yourself a Nintendo 64. (or go for the rerelease on XBox360). If you never played any of the Banjo-Kazooie games we advice you to start with the excellent first game and if you want more after that, play a game that shows how sequels should be made in Banjo-Tooie!
Regardless, these games marked a height point in the platform genre and are both fantastic to play even to this very day!
Diddy Kong Racing
Again, a controversial choice. Though with the exact reason as stated above. The competitor in this pick obviously being Mario Kart 64. Again, a great game and a milestone in the franchise. We really don’t understand why Diddy Kong Racing never got a sequel. Not only are the racing mechanics (almost) as flawless as Mario Kart, it also features Planes and Hovercrafts and even a very enjoyable Adventure mode. Sure, the adventure mode isn’t as good as say Ocarina of Time, but for a racegame, it’s a nice breath a fresh air at which we’re amazed nobody ever tried it since!
Speaking of Ocarina of time…
The Legend of Zelda, The Ocarina of Time
This is probably a no-brainer. Boasted by many gamers and critics alike as one of the best games ever made (if not THE best), this game took the amazing Legend of Zelda series into the realm of 3D and showed the world how amazing the 3rd dimension really is. The rerelease on the Nintendo 3DS from 2011 showed that the game still holds up today as it shows only a few very small improvements on the controls and non to the gameplay or story. Both versions are well worth playing though we still prefer the Nintendo 64 one, but that is probably only because of nostalgic value.
Conker’s Bad Fur Day
Warning, this fluffy squirrel is not ment for the younger audiences. We’ll keep the language to an acceptable degree here, but man did Conker surprised us back in 2001. Though the journey of this foul-mouthed orange rodent has it’s fair share of flaws it’s still absolutely worth playing and among the funniest games ever made.
Have a look at the Opera Scene and realise it isn’t even the funniest scene in the game.
Jet Force Gemini
The least playable of the list, but still well worth revisiting. Also the only one of these 5 games that never got a rerelease on another system. We do still highly recommend playing this game if you are into Nintendo 64 games as it shows many things amazing at the time. Multiple playable characters with intertwining plots, plenty of big planets to visit and a variety of things to do. The multiplayer is laughable at best, and the fact you have to save every damn Tribal (bears) to even finish the game makes it a hard sell these days. But we enjoyed the game a lot and think you should too..
Many, many more…
Even though we picked these five games, there are still many, many good games we can highly recommend on the Nintendo64. These five will keep you busy for some time however and should give you a nice look at what Nintendo achieved with their 64-bit console.
