15 Essential Games for Nintendo 64

Photo: Nintendo of America

Everyone has their game console. You know, the one system out of all the systems they've ever played that they think the most fondly of and keep coming back to again and again. The N64 was my game console. I've played at least 500 games on 15 different systems that I can think of, but the N64 is the one I play for fun. I know everyone and their sister with a website has their own list of "essential" Nintendo 64 games, but this list is sort of the entire reason why the 15 Essentials series exists here. Let's just say, if you never look at another essential N64 game list, you can't go wrong with these.

Also, since the N64 was released in 1996, it was the first console of Nintendo's where every officially-sanctioned game was reviewed by the North American ESRB. You'll find the game's ESRB rating next to the title. Hover your cursor over it to find out what it means.

Availability: Per-game (see below)

Games

1. Super Mario 64
2. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
4. Mario Kart 64
5. GoldenEye 007
6. Banjo-Kazooie
7. Banjo-Tooie
8. Cruis'n World
9. Super Smash Bros.
10. Paper Mario
11. Lylat Wars / StarFox 64
12. 1080° Snowboarding
13. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
14. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
15. 007 The World is Not Enough

Honourable Mentions

A. Yoshi's Story
B. Doom 64
C. Diddy Kong Racing
D. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
E. Star Wars, Episode I: The Battle for Naboo

Super Mario 64

September 1996, Nintendo EAD
Availability: NSO+EP
It may not have been the first 3D platforming game (that distinction going to an obscure French Atari ST game, Alpha Waves in 1990), it was certainly the most influential one. Alpha Waves was somewhat abstract by necessity, as the hardware couldn't handle a great deal of geometry, so it was more like a 3D Atari 2600 game than anything we'd consider a 3D platformer today. Other console options at the time; such as Bug! on Sega Saturn or Bubsy 3D on PlayStation; were approaching Super Mario 64's level of complexity, but Bug! was hampered by an unpopular console (the Saturn costing 400 USD or more) and Bubsy was not considered a very good game. Super Mario 64 had the benefit of Mr. Yamauchi's personal fortune and Mr. Miyamoto's influence as a game designer. Yamauchi believed in the concept and gave Miyamoto the freedom to direct the development of the Ultra 64 hardware as what was then called Super Mario FX required. Mario's ability to tiptoe, walk, jog, and dash was translated into the controller gaining an analogue joystick. Being able to see the starting point from the top of a mountain required the Ultra 64 to have additional video memory so essential bits of the stage environment could stay loaded in RAM. Ultimately, Yamauchi's investment paid off—Super Mario 64 inspired untold thousands of game developers, both platforming and not. I'd estimate that most of the games listed on this page were influenced by Super Mario 64, just as platforming game designers from 1985 were inspired by Super Mario Bros.. Plus, the rumours of Luigi being in the game were... mostly true?

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

March 1997, Iguana
Availability: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Valve Steam
Turok was the first great shooter for N64, being released mere months before GoldenEye 007. There's a lot more blood in this game, mostly because Nintendo wasn't looking over Iguana's shoulder quite as much as Rareware's. If you're low on health, shoot some monkeys or goats and they'll drop health bonuses. Unlike other shooters of the time (thanks entirely to Doom), armour plays less of a part in Turok, being much more rare and not appearing until the level designer thinks you're going to need it. While wearing it, your armour takes the entire impact of the attack, leaving your health intact... oh, wait, GoldenEye does that too! But, no; they clean-roomed each other. Iguana and Rare were just too darn busy to worry about what the other was doing.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

November 1998, Nintendo EAD
Availability: NSO+EP
In the influence department, Ocarina of Time ranks right up there with Super Mario 64. It won Game of the Year in 1998, Game of the Decade in 1999, and Greatest Game of All Time in 2001. It increased the "open world exploration" aspect introduced in Super Mario 64 to an absurdist extreme, leaving in irrelevant areas that were vestigial remains of features from development, and having no real purpose to them except for there being a Gossip Stone. I'm not entirely convinced Gossip Stones didn't happen specifically because there were so many totally pointless areas (not that that's a bad thing; I'm a firm believer in having areas that aren't relevant to the storyline, just to break up the linearity of the piece); give the player some reason to go there, other than just getting cut to pieces by a Peahat. Rumours of there being an Arwing left in the game are... mostly true?

Mario Kart 64

February 1997, Nintendo EAD
Availability: NSO+EP
The Nintendo 64 was where racing games started really... um... revving up. While there had certainly been very successful racing games as far back as the 1970s, the N64's Z-buffering techniques allowed developers greater freedom in creating more varied terrain than what was possible up to this point on the Saturn and PlayStation. Mario Kart 64 and Wave Race 64 were the first racing games for the platform. While Super Mario Kart had done well enough on Super NES to start a franchise, Mario Kart 64 really put players into the Mushroom Kingdom's racing scene, with cartoon-realistic racetracks that didn't just look like a rotating gameboard. It also brought the N64's unique ability to be a LAN party in a box to the forefront. In an unprecedented move for videogaming, and really for home computing in general, four people could connect up a controller and play some Mario Kart. Two people could even play in Grand Prix mode against the computer. Sleepovers, slumber parties, and college dorms alike would never be the same again.

GoldenEye 007

August 1997, Rare
Availability: NSO+EP, Xbox Game Pass
And, whilst we're on the subject of multiplayer games, let's not forget the best-known one of all. Based upon the 1995 Eon Productions picture, GoldenEye 007's multiplayer mode was more of an afterthought than a planned feature, but all the kids who had played Doom over DWANGO when they were in high school brought their N64s with them to college, could pick up GoldenEye, and host an informal tourney in their dorm room if they wanted. The fact of the game's multiplayer mode is what Martin Hollis and Dave Doak say made the game a classic, relative to the fairly cult James Bond film it imitated. It launched the game composing careers of Graeme Norgate and Grant Kirkhope, and made my entire childhood.

Banjo-Kazooie

June 1998, Rare
Availability: NSO+EP, Xbox One (as Rare Replay), Xbox Game Pass
Banjo-Kazooie is a Super Mario 64-like platforming game with a cinematic storyline. Even though it didn't have the benefit of Mr. Miyamoto's trademark openness (like, you had to go to Bob-Omb Battlefield first, but after that, you had choices), the relative linearity of Kazooie is not a hindrance. Even though you are compelled into following the developers' intended map progression, once you're actually in a level it doesn't matter where you go first. Some things aren't accessible until you've met a prerequisite, but in general, it's up to you whether you go steal Conga's oranges first or you visit the village first when you arrive in Mumbo's Mountain.

Banjo-Tooie

November 2000, Rare
Availability: Xbox One (as Rare Replay), Xbox Game Pass
The sequel to Banjo-Kazooie was pre-ordained in the ending cinematic—a larger, more impressive game called Banjo-Tooie. Though the "Stop-n-Swap" thing never went anywhere, Tooie is not hurt by this. And it is a larger, more impressive game. You start with the full complement of moves that Bottles taught you in the previous game, but Drill Sergeant Jamjars has loads more to teach you. It really puts the three-armed monster through its paces, this game; by the time you reach Cauldron Keep, there's not a single combination of buttons that doesn't have some prescribed function.

Cruis'n World

September 1998, Midway
Availability: none
Even though Cruis'n USA is more famous, its sequel is better. The soundtrack is better, the maps are better, the cars are better; plus, if you're good enough, you can even race on the Moon.

Super Smash Bros.

April 1999, HAL Laboratory
Availability: none
The beginning of esports, right here. Not Mortal Kombat, not Doom, Super Smash Bros. Unlike other arcade-style fighting games, Smash Bros. does not have a decrementing health bar, meaning players cannot be knocked out by attacks alone. Instead, the damage metre increments with every hit; the higher the number is, the further the opponent flies before being able to react. Designer, Masahiro Sakurai, admitted the mechanic of knocking an opponent out of the ring was based on sumo, as opposed to the "World Wrestling Federation" style of knockout fighting that had existed up to this point. It was the start of a phenomenon that revitalised the fighting game genre and began the concept of esports as we know it today.

Paper Mario

February 2001, Intelligent Systems
Availability: NSO+EP
Following the same formula as Super Mario RPG on the Super NES, Paper Mario is a turn-based roleplaying game. "Paper" insofar as it's designed to look somewhat like a pop-up book. Mario starts out in a village full of pacifist Goombas, then gets a hammer, beats some Goomba bullies, and advances into Toad Town. Mario's task, apart from rescuing the Princess, of course, is to rescue the seven Star Spirits (you could say it's a Legend of the Seven Stars... okay, I'll leave).

Lylat Wars / StarFox 64

June 1997, Nintendo EAD
Availability: NSO+EP
Less of a sequel to Star Wing, more of a reboot. The Lylat system hasn't changed much; it's still at war with Andross, there's still an asteroid field, the furthest planet is still called Venom, and the hero team still consists of a fox, a hare, a bird, and a frog. This time, it comes with a backstory that is completely unsupported by Star Wing. Usually there isn't much difference between regions, even if the title is different (which is the case with the American StarFox; there was a German company called "Star Vox", so the title was changed to avoid any potential for lawsuits); however, StarFox 64 contains full voice acting, where Lylat Wars uses Banjo-Kazooie-like semi-vocal sounds for character voices. I'm not real clear on why this is, but it's enough of a difference to be noteworthy. Gameplay is otherwise the same.

1080° Snowboarding

April 1998, Nintendo EAD
Availability: NSO+EP
Nintendo started a small phenomenon with Ten Eighty; suddenly, and for a very short period of time—say, about 4 years—it became fashionable to make games based on snowboarding. While they were the first, they are often overlooked now, as the SSX franchise rose out of the piles of Ten Eighty imitations. Since it was the first one, there were some things no one thought about, like combative multiplayer; while certainly a heavy rider, like Dion Blaster, could knock over a lighter rider, like Ricky Winterborne, if they collided with each other, the game was relatively friendly when compared to some of the other games that happened at the time. Punching opponents to knock them over and gain a speed boost, the ability to shove opponents off the side to end their game prematurely, landing on your opponent to kill them, certainly not. Ten Eighty is a straight simulation game, like Cruis'n World of the snowboarding set.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

October 2000, Nintendo EAD
Availability: NSO+EP
The successor to Ocarina of Time is quite a bit less linear, and it has a baked-in time limit of 3 game days. Since you're Link, you have the Ocarina of Time, so you can sort of control time a bit; slowing it down, speeding it up, and restarting from day 1 (and losing your entire inventory in the process); but it's still a bit of a nuisance for people who aren't accustomed to Zelda. In spite of all that, it is the second of two Zelda games for the N64, so that has to count for something.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape

November 1999, Ubisoft
Availability: none
Rayman, of course, was the breakout title for the Sony PlayStation, which never saw a Nintendo 64 release. However, its 3D platformer successor, inspired of course by Super Mario 64, did numbers on the N64, perhaps more so than the PlayStation. It has none of Super Mario 64's openness, being more like Crash Bandicoot at times, but this kind of linearity is not objectionable. Just like its PS1 predecessor, there are certain areas you must return to because you aren't properly skilled to accomplish a particular objective; fortunately, unlike Banjo-Kazooie, you retain your score after you leave an area, so you can return and not be penalised.

007 The World is Not Enough

October 2000, Eurocom
Availability: none
I'm still a bit salty about Tomorrow Never Dies skipping the N64 and going to the PS1 instead, but at least The World is Not Enough made the 3-year wait worth it. It's got more detail than GoldenEye, allowing you to watch 007 reload his weapons, though he loses his famous 1-handed sniper rifle skills insofar as you can see his other hand supporting the larger weapons now. If you got used to hiding from guards behind a plate-glass window, sorry; the enemy AI in this game actually lets them see through glass and over railings.

Honourable Mentions

While these 15 games are guaranteed to make you love the Nintendo 64 as much as I do, there were a few that didn't quite make the cut, but are worth your consideration anyway.

Yoshi's Story

March 1998, Nintendo EAD
Availability: NSO+EP
An old-style side-scrolling platformer, aimed at young children; Yoshi isn't saddled with Mario of any age in this game. The objective is to stay happy by eating lots of fruit in order that the Yoshis may return the Super Happy Tree from the clutches of Baby Bowser. It's a low-stress game with catchy music and built-in replay value.

Doom 64

April 1997, Midway
Availability: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Valve Steam
Breaking the tradition established with the Atari Jaguar of porting Doom to the new console, the N64 instead had a completely new installment in the Doom franchise. Doom 64 features entirely new maps, higher-detail monsters, and new sound effects, alongside a brooding ambient electronic musical score from Doom PS1 composer, Aubrey Hodges. Everything you thought you knew about Doom, throw it away—it won't help you here.

Diddy Kong Racing

November 1997, Rare
Availability: none
Like I said before, racing games took off on the N64. Diddy Kong Racing was released so soon after Mario Kart 64, that it sort of competed with that game for market dominance. Unlike Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing used actual 3D models for their racers instead of just SGI-generated sprites. It took up approximately the same amount of space on the cartridge and it also allowed characters to change their vehicle type. Tired of the go-kart? Here's a hovercraft so we can race on the water! Here's an aeroplane so we can race in the air and in space!

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

December 1998, Factor 5
Availability: none
Who doesn't like Star Wars, right? The very first videogame to feature 3D vector graphics was the Star Wars arcade game in 1978, wherein you played as Luke Skywalker, shooting down TIE Fighters aboard the Millennium Falcon. Well, 3D graphics had improved somewhat in the intervening time, allowing players to actually pilot a real X-Wing, just like Red 5 himself. The game's storyline serves as a bridge of sorts between the battles of Yavin and Endor, barely acknowledging the events of the films, and more on the Rebel Alliance's intelligence-gathering operations and planetary skirmishes. Apparently the tales of a hidden Naboo Starfighter in this game are... mostly true? The reason why this game is under "Honourable Mentions" instead of the main list is mostly due to emulator compatibility. For reasons that are quite technical, Project64 is not able to run Rogue Squadron or the next item. So, if you're interested, you'll have to either A, have a top-of-the-line gaming computer and run Simple64 on it; or B, track down cartridge copies and play them on your N64.

Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo

December 2000, Factor 5
Availability: none
And finally, if that Naboo Starfighter quip in the description of Rogue Squadron got you interested, this game is based in the canon of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Made by the same developers and using the same game engine as Rogue Squadron, drive around in your speeder, taking out the Trade Federation droid army, then fly an actual Naboo Starfighter without needing to cheat your way into it.

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