Ten of the Very Best Nintendo 64 Games Ever Made

The late 1990s and early 2000s were great times to be a Nintendo fan. That was because the company was releasing a number of classic games for the Nintendo 64, their first 3D console. Since I was twelve years old, I have grown to love the Nintendo 64, and though it has been discontinued, I still go back to it from time to time and play various games that I
consider to be among Nintendo's greatest classics. Of all the Nintendo 64 games released, which ten do I consider to be the best ones? That is what I am about to reveal...

10. Mario Kart 64: One of the earlier games released was this crazy kart racing game starring Mario and friends. It was a bit limited, since there were only eight drivers and 16 courses. However, the game more than made up for these shortcomings by giving each course its own set of surprises, adding weapons that would help you take out your opponents, and challenging you to set new course records. Best of all was the multiplayer mode, in which hilarity would ensue as each player attempted to become the king (or queen) of the road. A solid and nostalgic entry in the Mario Kart series.

9. Diddy Kong Racing: Even better than Mario Kart was this racing game from Rare. The British company added a lot of features that gave this game a lot of depth, such as an adventure mode, multiple vehicles, and even some fun mini games for up to four players to try out. It was here that Banjo the bear and Conker the squirrel made their first appearances, and both of them would become superstars in their own right. While the game had a childish look, it also had the occasional challenge that would be quite maddening. However, the racing fun to be had in the game's 20 courses had so much variety that kept players coming back for more.

8. Mario Party: Even though the Mario Party series appears to have run its course with 11 entries since 1999 and no new installments after 2007, this first game remains a multiplayer classic. With lots of addictive mini games, eight boards with tons of surprises, and a lengthy single player mode, it became such a huge smash that it inspired a lot of rip offs from numerous companies. As fun as this game is, though, it relies a bit heavily on rotating the control stick, which would result in physical injury and was taken out of subsequent sequels. I wish that Nintendo would bring this game to the Virtual Console and introduce Wii players to the multiplayer mayhem.

7. Super Mario 64: If you're wondering why I did not rank this game higher, it is because, as groundbreaking as it was and as fun as it still is to play 14 years later, it feels outdated. Later 3D platform games, and indeed, other 3D Mario games, would enhance the experience by leaps and bounds. Nevertheless, Mario 64 still has plenty going for it, from challenging tasks to fun mini games and lots of memorable moments. It remains a solid game...it has just been surpassed by other 3D games that improved upon the game's greatness.

6. Conker's Bad Fur Day: The last truly great Nintendo 64 game was this title that shows just how far Nintendo and Rare were willing to go to attract more mature players. It was filled with lots of adult-oriented humor, violence, and strong language that was largely uncensored, unlike the Xbox remake. On top of that, the amazing graphics, music, and voice acting made it a visual and audio masterpiece and showed just how far Rare had come when it came to pushing the Nintendo 64 to its limits. Conker still may be waiting to have another adventure, but his Mature-rated starring role is not to be missed.

5. Star Fox 64: The best game in the Star Fox series was this title that introduced the world to the Rumble Pak, a device that would vibrate at various moments. In addition to that, the game had it all: multiple courses, numerous routes to take, an impressive amount of voice acting, and exciting multiplayer battles. It was here that Star Wolf, All-Range Mode, and multiple vehicles made their debut, as did the epic Star Fox theme that headlined a wonderful soundtrack. Nintendo needs to make more series entries like this one, and less games like Star Fox Assault, which was the worst Star Fox game to date.

4. Paper Mario: This was the game that made me love the Mario RPG series. While it is not very challenging for the most part, it features lots of fun battles, exciting side quests, and entertaining humor. Deciding which strategies worked best for which enemies, and using the action command to cause more damage to them, gave the fights plenty of depth. Even Peach, despite being kidnapped yet again, became useful for a change by going on stealth-based missions to aid Mario in his quest to rescue the Star Spirits and defeat Bowser. A strong start to the Paper Mario series, and fun for RPG fans of any age.

3. Banjo-Kazooie: The first adventure of the lovable bear and bird duo is considered a platform classic, and with plenty of good reason. It features more challenging tasks, more clever level designs, and feels more fun overall, than Mario 64. Adding to the fun are dazzling graphics, a fitting cartoon-like soundtrack, and lots of inspired humor. Many hours of classic game play awaits those who play this amazing game, and if you collect every Jiggy, you will even get a surprise ending. A wonderful platform game that was surpassed in turn by...

2. Banjo-Tooie: At first glance, it seems like this game is merely more of the same, but Rare poured their hearts into it to make it their best game to date. The tasks were more challenging, the graphics and music were improved, and many people surely had aching sides from the amount of clever humor to be found. More secrets and surprises than ever before could be found, and the result was a marvelous title and Rare's penultimate Nintendo 64 release. Ten years later, its appeal has not diminished one bit.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Indeed, what other Nintendo 64 game could top the list? The Zelda series' first, and to date, best, foray into 3D was nothing short of marvelous. It resulted in more intense battles, tougher dungeons, loads of exploration, and lots of truly innovative features. For the first time, Link could ride on horseback, use a targeting system for better accuracy, and performing stronger sword attacks not possible in previous games. The sheer amount of things to do, the amazing quest, and more were combined to create a game that is still fondly remembered by players today.

These are the Nintendo 64 games that I feel are the best ones ever made. Everything about these games, from game play to challenge to sheer nostalgic value, made them shine and were among the best released in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Yes, I omitted many games that others feel are also the cream of the Nintendo 64 crop, but that is because I have either never played them or I did not think they were quite good enough to make the top ten list. As for these games, if for whatever reason you have never played them, I suggest that you track them down at used game stores, E-bay, Amazon, or, in some cases, download them from the Wii Shop Channel or Xbox Live Arcade. Whether you are playing them for the first time or the 50th time, you will surely agree that these Nintendo 64 games are true masterpieces.