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.
Some games will also receive special stickers:
Recommended games are the best of the best – games I still consider to be worth playing, even today.
The worst of the worst. These games were a horrible experience.
Killer Instinct Gold
As I mentioned in the Mortal Kombat Trilogy review, fighting games aren’t my kind of thing, so this will be opinions from someone who has no idea about balance or techniques. That said, Killer Instinct Gold feel much more like a home console…
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
I have absolutely no skill when it comes to fighting games. I have a terrible memory for special moves and I never know when to block or attack, so I’m not going to be a good judge for games like this. Mortal Kombat…
Blast Corps
This game takes a silly concept and just has a ton of fun with it. The story is simple: there is a nuclear missile being transported on an automated truck. The truck malfunctions and heads to a location in a straight line. If…
NFL Quarterback Club 98
Another American Football game released on the same day as Madden 64, and it feels mostly the same. This done does seem a bit quicker without having to watch the referee as much, and all tackles looked like actual tackles instead of players…
Pilotwings 64
Part of what made me want to play through all the Nintendo 64 games was growing up with Future Publishing’s N64 magazine. I only had a small number of games myself, but read about so many more. Pilotwings is one I remember getting…
WCW vs. nWo: World Tour
It took a while for the N64 to get its first wrestling game, although it ended up getting a LOT after this one. It’s quite difficult to judge these properly as WWF No Mercy essentially invalidated all the other wrestling games on the…
Dezaemon 3D
For the N64’s first sci-fi scrolling shooter, this is a bit of an odd one, as it isn’t a specific game, but rather a creation kit for making you own sci-fi shoot-’em’-up game. The software itself is quite complicated and isn’t easy to…
Penny Racers
Known as Choro-Q in Japan, this racing game is base on a series of pullback toy cars. The all have a cute deformed style and the racing game brings that to life, with upgradable cars and weapons to use against other racers. The…
Automobili Lamborghini
Another car racing game, and this one is a mixed bag. It’s an arcade-style racer but everyone begins on the starting line (so it’s not a catchup game), and it has an “arcade” mode with a timer and a tournament without. But parts…
Rakugakids
Rakugakids is odd in that it came out in Japan and Europe – but not North America. It’s a 1-on-1 fighting game where magic crayons have brought the creations of children to life. This created a fun cast of inventive characters – showing…
Mission Impossible
Being a movie tie-in to an action spy film gives Mission Impossible a lot to live up to, as it was always going to be compared to GoldenEye. Like GoldenEye, Mission Impossible had origins on the SNES before being made for the Nintendo…