There are so many great games for the Nintendo 64. The console may not have sold enough to have beaten the mighty PlayStation during the console wars, but arguably it has some of the very best games of it’s generation and many of them were exclusives. Even to this day some of the game son this list can only properly be experienced on Nintendo 64.
Let’s now run down the top 30 Nintendo 64 games of all time!
30. Doom 64
A great Doom game that was overlooked at the time for being too much like Doom in an era where first person shooters had moved on. More appreciated with it’s modern rereleases.
29. Worms Armageddon
The perfect follow up to Worms 2, this game adds more weapons, silly worms kombat and sheep!
28. WCW/NWO Revenge
The best ever WCW game which is almost as good as it’s spiritual sequels WWF WrestleMania 2000 and WWF No Mercy. This is the only one from this era of games which lets you play as the WCW roster including Bill Goldberg and Sting.
27. Mario Golf
When Mario Golf released it changed the way people saw sports games. Whilst other games were making things more complex in the pursuit of realism, Mario Golf went the route of simplicity to create fun.
26. Gex 64
Of all the non Nintendo exclusive Super Mario 64 clones from this generation, I would say Gex 64 is about the best of the bunch. With great humour and lots of movie references this is a fun and funny game to play.
25. Quake II
Quake 64 was fun, and this sequel is even more awesome in every way. Better graphics, faster gameplay and even more monsters and guns to play with.
24. Dr Mario 64
The classic puzzle game returns on Nintendo 64 and you play as Mario where you have to throw multi coloured pills into a jar to wipe out viruses of the same colour.
23. Paper Mario
Nintendo’s own answer to Square’s Super Mario RPG is a charming adventure with the famous stylised graphics which puts Mario as a flat piece of paper in a 3D world. Even though more people like the GameCube entry in the Paper Mario series, this is still seen as the second best of the Paper Mario games.
22. Mystical Ninja Starring Goeman
The first Goeman game for the Nintendo 64 is arguably the best one and is a 3D adventure that people said was a good alternative to Super Mario 64 at the time of it’s release. Other games have taken that spot, but it’s still worth a look even to this day.
21. F-Zero X
Nintendo’s F-Zero franchise has seen some ups and downs but this may be my favourite. Crushing the competition from Wipeout on PlayStation, F-Zero X was a fast and furious affair that got the blood pumping as you controlled futuristic vehicles piloted by Captain Falcon and company.
20. Pokemon Snap
This Pokemon safari game sees you shooting the Pokemon, but using a camera to snap photos of them rather than using a game. It’s Nintendo’s take on an on rails shooter and has a surprising amount of depth and replay value. It doesn’t feature all of the original 151 Pokemon that were in the Game Boy games, but it has a lot of favourites in there.
19. Super Smash Bros
The idea of a Mario based fighting game seemed almost impossible before it happened, but it would go on to be one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises. Super Smash Bros features Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong taking on Link, Kirby, Samus and Pikachu in four way fights where you have to knock your opponents off the stage and be the last one standing. Like many other Nintendo games it’s simple to get into and hard to master.
18. Mario Tennis
Who would have thought that Tennis could be simple and fun? Nintendo did. Featuring easy to get into gameplay that still took time to master Mario Tennis for the N64 was a hit with players who loved the light hearted and fun focussed take on tennis compared to the likes of the arcade focussed Virtua Tennis or other tennis based simulation games.
17. WWF No Mercy
Possibly the most famous pro wrestling video game of all time, it’s a game that for many is still yet to be beaten. No Mercy features the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock, and is the final evolution of the THQ wrestling games that started with WCW vs NWO World Tour, continued with WCW/NOW Revenge before switching to WWF for WrestleMania 2000 and wrapping things up with No Mercy.
16. Turok Rage Wars
After some traditional first person shooting adventures, Turok Rage Wars went the route of the likes of Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena with this deathmatch focussed game. With a range of characters to play as including dinosaurs this was a great multiplayer alternative to Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.
Continue to the next page for part 2 of our list!
