15 Essential Games for Nintendo 64

Secret 2nd Set of Honourable Mentions Found!

You just go around websites, clicking on punctuation at random, hoping to find an Easter egg? You must have watched Strong Bad Emails growing up!

While I'm sure that these 20 selections have convinced you that the N64 wasn't all just boxy models and impenetrable drawing fog, here now is the definitive end to my N64 recommendations. Not because there aren't any more good games for the platform, but because I have other pages I want to make, so... yeah.

F		Mario Golf July 1999, Camelot Availability: Wii Virtual Console, Nintendo Classics A spiritual sequel to NES Open Tournament Golf, this game does for golf what Mario Kart 64 did for racing. Unfortunately, Tony does not reappear in this game, which may be a deal-breaker for some; but it does feature a host of other, more recognisable, golfers, as well a few more newcomers. Mario Golf also features other areas of the country club, including the Driving Range and a Mini-Golf course. Unfortunately, without physical media, the 4 unlockable characters you earn by connecting up the GBC version with your Transfer Pak will probably remain locked.

G		Perfect Dark May 2000, Rare Availability: Nintendo Classics, Xbox One (as Rare Replay) GoldenEye 007's futuristic counterpart, Perfect Dark is a somewhat... rare example of a female protagonist in an action game. Riding on the heels of not only GoldenEye but also the PlayStation blockbuster, Tomb Raider, Joanna Dark is a private detective working in the employ of the benevolent Carrington Institute. The game reuses its predecessor's game engine and also a few of its art assets, so things might seem a bit familiar; however, several new features have been added, including a third-person mobile camera, the ability of enemies to see you through windows, and blood pools that form under dead enemies.

H		Harvest Moon 64 December 1999, Victor Interactive Availability: Nintendo Classics The next-gen successor to the 1996 Super NES game, Harvest Moon 64 adds certain features that have maintained into the present day, such as operating hours, changing seasons, and things to do during your character's leisure hours. Otherwise, you're still the proud inheritor of a farm owned by your grandfather, which you have to work on in order to grow anything.

I		Pokémon Stadium March 2000, Nintendo EAD Availability: Nintendo Classics Riding the Pokémon wave into the new millennium, Nintendo used the turn-based battle mechanics of the main series to turn out one of the N64's best-selling games. Choose a party of 6 Pokémon (gen 1 only, of course) and battle your way up the rankings to win an exclusive Pokémon! Unfortunately, without physical media, there's no longer any way to transfer the Pokémon that you win into your GB cartridge copy of Pokémon Blue, as there's nowhere to plug in your Transfer Pak anymore. Oh well.

J		Conker's Bad Fur Day March 2001, Rare Availability: Xbox One (as Rare Replay) 2001 was the Nintendo 64's last year in stores, as everyone was getting their midnight launch parties ready for the GameCube in November. Conker, previously seen in Diddy Kong Racing, had been trying to find a game to star in as far back as 1997, but every idea got shot down. "Oh, it's too much like Mr. Nutz. Oh, it's too much like Banjo-Kazooie. Oh, it's too much like Wario Land". Finally, Chris Seavor probably watched Monty Python one day and said, "Oh, that's what we need to be doing," and wrote the raunchiest bit of furry-bait since the cabaret scene of The Great Mouse Detective. And Nintendo bought it! Obviously, Bad Fur Day isn't for everyone. Its cutesy, cartoony look belies some of the most stomach-churning gameplay in the history of Nintendo, including a rat that takes after Mr. Creosote, Conker swimming in raw sewage, and a mid-level boss composed of excrement. But it's a technical achievement on a scale that would never be seen again, purpose-building much of the game engine in RCP microcode so as to provide a cinematic aspect without sacrificing performance, full voice acting, and the highest-definition musical sampling for sequenced songs anyone could ever hope to hear (including some samples of the composer's own trumpet). It's definitely the N64's crowning achievement, even if it's a bit squicky.

K		F-Zero X October 1998, Nintendo EAD Availability: Wii Virtual Console, Nintendo Classics Mario Kart isn't the only Super NES racer to get a next-gen glow-up on N64. If you're familiar with Mario Kart 64, the first thing that will hit you is how much more aggressive the enemy AI is. While opponents in Mario Kart may obsequiously drive into your weapons, each CPU-controlled driver in F-Zero X will earnestly and tenaciously attempt to win. It tries so hard, in fact, that certain concessions had to be made in graphics and sound to bring performance up to Miyamoto's desired level. But, you'll hardly notice any of that, flying by at 10 times the speed of sound with a horde of merciless enemies on your tail.

There. With that, I think I've finally done justice to my first game console. Like I said before, I'm biased in the N64's favour because it was my system. I could find good things about Superman 64 if you asked me to, but these 25 games represent the best, most accessible games in the system's rather small library.