I have decided to take a look at Nintendo 64 games. As a child, I read a lot of N64 Magazine and read about many games I never got to play, so I figured I would check out as many Nintendo 64 games as possible.
I won’t be playing the original N64 version of every game. Choices will be made on a case by case basis but generally
– Games famous for being N64 games I’ll be playing enhanced versions of, either via better emulation or enhanced ports. These ports can look nicer but still retain the overall look and feel of the N64 game.
– Games famous for being multiplatform or being on another platform, I will be looking at the specific N64 version of the game
My reasoning: I want to celebrate the N64 by playing the best version of games. However, for games better known for other platforms, the specific differences of the N64 version are what make it an N64 game, so I will be focusing more on that.
I will be ordering the games based on the first release date in any region – Wikipedia has a list that can easily be sorted in this manner, so is perfect for ordering the games and not missing any.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
This little game became a massive hit, with Tony hawks games possibly being the most universally loved and well regarded sporting franchises. I personally started with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 on GameCube and adored it (yet I’ve oddly never touched the franchise…
Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls
Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls is a very hideous game. It’s not that it’s low quality, there’s just something ugly about the entire design from it, from the design of the ball characters, the platforms of the world, the dirty-looking water and the blurry background.…
Centre Court Tennis
The first tennis game on N64, and one that never came out in America. It’s a fairly simple tennis game, but is unfortunately plagued with control issues – the depth perception on the ball during service (you throw the ball far too high…
Air Boarder 64
Air Boarder 64 is a trick-based skateboarding-style games, but on hoverboards. The fascinating thing about Air Border is that this came out before Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The unfortunate thing is that the developers of Air Border never seemed to figure out what…
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Looking back at N64 Magazine regarding this game is a bit confusing. In Europe, this was due to come out in September 2001. THQ then informed N64 magazine that the release date was pushed forward to June 2001, which is what issue their…
Virtual Chess 64
I wasn’t expecting much from Virtual Chess as it’s just chess, but at least you can’t mess up chess – or so I thought. Against all odds, Titus have managed to achieve the impossible and create a chess game that looks bad and…
World Driver Championship
In my previous reviews of the more serious kind of racing games, I said that they’ve aged far less gracefully than arcade racers. This seems to be one of of those examples, as I couldn’t get into it at all – or even…
Fox Sports College Hoops ’99
Instead of opting for the fully professional basketball teams, Fox Sports instead went to the various colleges and universities to include their teams (but the players are all fictional). I personally find college sports being watched nationwide to be a bit of an…
Madden NFL 2001
While Madden 2000 looked like it was trying to revitalise the series, Madden 2001 just comes across as a more clinical version, with the smooth white UI still used today and less focus on the silly elements (although some of the silly teams…
Polaris SnoCross
I’ve never driven a snowmobile, but if SnoCross is accurate in any way, they feel exactly like a motocross bike. This is pretty much a motocross game with white textures instead of brown dirt, and not a particularly good one. Movement feels extremely…
Chameleon Twist 2
The first Chameleon Twist was a game with interesting but fiddly moves that weren’t used to their full potential, so I was hoping that the sequel would fix these issues. Chameleon Twist 2 adds two new moves: you can spin vertically on some…
Bassmasters 2000
Looking at other reviews of the fishing game Bassmasters, it got a few high scores, but then IGN gave it a 3.1. Quickly reading a few of them, I think I know why: IGN had played In-Fisherman Bass Hunter 64, while the others…