Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64DD

"Dinosaurs will fly."

The Nintendo 64 was famous for bringing the astonishing 3D power of a Silicon Graphics workstation to vidya. It has a respectable library, especially in the 3D platformer / "collectathon" genre. Also, its built-in 4 controller slots helped spawn some epic multiplayer party games and racers. However, it is sorely lacking in genres like RPG, fighting, or shmups.

An essential add-on is the Expansion Pak, which doubles the console's RAM, allowing many games to run with better framerate, higher resolution, and extra effects. It is even obligatory for a number of games to run at all.

The controller slot offered 3 important features: the memory card, the rumble pak, and the transfer pak (which allowed connectivity with some GBC games).

There was a China-only variant, the iQue Player (or Shén Yóu Ji), which could load games from the internet or special kiosks - similarly to the Famicom Disk System or Super Famicom's Nintendo Power cartridges. But China being China, only 14 games were released before the system was abandoned due to rampant piracy.

The Nintendo 64 also had a short-lived disk add on called the 64DD, only released in Japan.

The list

* An asterisk means the game came out on the iQue Player.

Box Art	Title	Genre	Description
	1080° Snowboarding	Sports	A constantly underrated N64 game and an underdog among Nintendo's own properties. Don't ignore it just because it's a sport game, it's got satisfying gameplay and cheesy nineties style to boot. Might even remind you of a really reined-in Jet Set Radio (DC), stylistically speaking. A sequel was released for the GCN. Also available for Wii VC.
	Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2	TPS	One of the best titles in the Army Men series, the N64 easily had the best version (possibly besides the PS2 version, which this editor hasn't played). Has a good, decent-length campaign with the addition of 4-player splitscreen multiplayer (includes color-based teams, a nice touch).
	Banjo-Kazooie	Platformer	Rare's first entry into the 3D platforming genre, drawing from much of what made Mario 64 a massive success and adding numerous innovations to the genre. Massive levels with some great level design and plenty of unlockable moves and transformations. Suffers a bit from excessive amounts of collectables, but is nonetheless one of the biggest games on the platform. It was re-released on the Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade) with minor graphical updates, an online leaderboard and achievments.
	Banjo-Tooie	Platformer	Includes larger worlds, more moves, crisper graphics, and of course, THAT FUCKING ICE KEY. Was also re-released on the Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade) with many of the improvements seen in its predecessor's port.
	BattleTanx	Action	A virus has wiped out 99% of the female population. Instead of leading to widespread sodomy, society collapses and the US becomes a battleground for roaming gangs of tanks. An excellent tank sim that'll take you through varied locales with interesting special weapons (if you can find them), including nuclear warheads. There are several multi-player modes as well, all very fun, even alone.
	Battle Tanx: Global Assault	Action	See above, only with more tank classes.
	Beetle Adventure Racing	Racing	One of the more obscure N64 games. You race VW Beetles. All the courses feature tons of shortcuts and collectables.
	Blast Corps	Destroyan	Underrated Rare classic. A truck is carrying nuclear material across the nation and needs you to destroy buildings before the truck collides with them. Amazingly hard.
	Body Harvest	Action	A free-roaming sci-fi adventure made by Rockstar North, sort of a prototype for the future 3D GTA installments, game feels a little empty and devoid of much atmosphere, but has plenty of interesting challenges to confront, and a ton of different vehicles to take control of.
	Bomberman 64	Platformer	Hudson's first 3D installment of the Bomberman series. Makes some rather interesting changes from the original formula that will influence the future of 3D bomberman games such as spherical explosions, 8-directional controls and expansive levels. Features some interesting puzzle solving elements and boss battles.
	Bomberman 64 (Japanese 2001)	Action	This is a completely different game than the one above. The one above is known as Baku Bomberman in Japan. This one is more traditional being in 2D and all. Great mulitplayer romp with lots of fun minigames and classic bomberman action!
	Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!	Platformer	An interesting overhaul of the first Bomberman game. The action isn't quite as fast paced, but there is much more you can do, such as using different elemental bombs, each with a different effect (such as an ice bomb that freezes water for you walk on ("Bomberman can't swim.")). There is also special armor for you to find that gives you Megaman X style upgrades, although limited to permanent power-ups instead of new skills (It beats finding them or spending money, though.). In addition, there is also the inclusion of "Pommy", a little critter who helps you fight enemies and can be controlled by a second player. Pommy evolves into different more powerful forms that depend on what you feed him. Multiplayer is also a blast, although some prefer the first 64 game's over this one.
	Bomberman Hero	Action-Platformer	A much more fast paced and action oriented entry to the Bomberman series. Features jumping and some of the best music in the series. One of the few Bomberman games to lack a multiplayer mode. Also available on the Wii (Virtual Console).
	Buck Bumble	Action	A game about a cybernetic bee from the guys that programmed Starfox on the SNES, thus, this game plays a bit like Starfox as well. RIGHT ABOUT NOW IT'S TIME TO ROCK WITH THE BIGGITY BUCK BUMBLE.
	Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness	Adventure/Platformer	Prequel and remake of Castlevania 64. Much better than the first game and refines every flaw with Castlevania 64. Would be suggested over Castlevania 64, as it contains the whole Castlevania 64 game but revamped with the refined controls. The best 3D game in the series, or at least on the N64.
	Chameleon Twist	Platformer	Disregarded by critics for having difficult gameplay controls and a strange life and continue system, Chameleon Twist is heralded for it's uniqueness and has gathered a cult following. Has a english patch with better translation (if you care) and a sequel where the main character is actually a chameleon (outside of Japan) and
	Conker's Bad Fur Day	Platformer	Notable for being the most adult game on the Nintendo 64. Also, it's fucking hilarious. Updated on the Xbox with huge amounts of censorship.
	Custom Robo*	Fighting	A japan only classic with customizable robots (go figure). Just like the Gamecube title but more retro. No English translation exists currently, but if you can read yes/no/save in Moonrunes, you can enjoy the combat of this game.
	Custom Robo V2	Fighting	Sequel to the above. Alows up to four players this time around.
	Deadly Arts	Fighting	One of the few 3D fighters for the Fun machine that were FUN. The poor man's Tekken, Deadly Arts was an early 3D fighter for the Fun Machine. With a innovative character-creation mode(YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN MOVESET!), simple arcade controls, fast-paced battles(obviously, it's FIGHTAN) and a special stage WHERE YOU CAN BATTLE AS SUPERSIZED MONSTERS ON THE STREETS OF TOKYO, Deadly Arts is a solid fighter that fell to obscurity because a)Ergheiz and b) TEH N64 HAZ NO GAMEZ!
	Diddy Kong Racing	Racing	Rare's own Kart racer for the console featuring Diddy Kong, along with a cast of Rare's own original characters, most of which were intended to get their own games in the future. Though much less memorable than Mario Kart 64, the game features three vehicles and a more fleshed out and challenging Adventure mode with boss races and coin collecting races that have considerable difficulty. Game was developed as a standalone kart racer to introduce new Rare protags and Nintendo shoehorned in Diddy. Battle tracks have more depth than their Mario Kart counterparts and is worth playing. Also on the DS with arguebly better graphics but Banjo and Conker have been replaced by Dixie and Tiny Kong.
	Doom 64	FPS	It's a completely new Doom, exclusively on N64. This game was done by Midway, it includes all new levels and sounds plus hi-res graphics done from scratch. Most of the enemies from both Doom and Doom 2 are in, with few exceptions. There's also a new weapon. NOTE: a TC of this game exists for PC that has some extra content plus modablity Forget about this, it's been officially re-released for PS4/XONE/Switch/PC in 2020 with improved graphics.
	Donkey Kong 64	Platformer	Standard adventure game fare, tons of collecting, many zany and fun challenges packed into large levels for each member of the Kong family. Features Donkey, Diddy, Tiny, Chunky, and Lanky. Do you like walking through a shopping mall, filling your cart with bananas? Do you enjoy collecting countless collectibles? If so, you will love this game.
	Duke Nukem 64	FPS	A port of Duke Nukem 3D. While technically the port is good, it's censored from most of its mature content (weirdly, though, all the porn related stuff have been changed into pro-weapon magazines and stores) and the controls could be a bit better. This version has a lot of changes to the level layout; since this version only has the three original episodes, they took some of the The Birth (Episode 4) level architecture and spread it across the three episodes. There are also some weapon changes, the chaingun has been replaced with dual SMGs, the RPG with a grenade launcher, you have exploding dum-dum rounds to the shotgun plus there are two new weapons: a homing missile launcher and the plasma cannon. The boss enemies have 3D models for them as well. Still awesome to own if you don't have any other means to play Duke Nukem 3D. The four player split screen cooperative is a must try for all Duke fans. Looks better than the Saturn and PSX ports but still a bit off.
	Dr. Mario 64	Puzzle	An updated version of Dr. Mario with up to 4 players! Little touch ups here and there like theres a character roster to choose from and stuff to unlock. Music isn't quite as catchy as the original sadly.
	Excitebike 64*	Racing	Are you extreme enough for this? I guess not, since it's been missing from this list for a rather long time! The best of the Excitebike games, this is a solid racing title with a fucking awesome track-creating mode. 'Sequels' named Excite Truck and Excite Bots are on Wii, which are fine in their own standards.
	Extreme-G	Racing	Futuristic racing title. Cross F-zero's speed with Wipeout's weapons and you're nearly there.
	Extreme-G 2	Racing	Like the first but with new levels, bikes, weapons and music. Apart from that it's basically the same. Graphics have also been heavily improved at the cost of FPS.
	Fighter's Destiny	Fighting	Kickass fighting game akin to Virtua Fighter. Unique point based system (finishing off your opponent in different ways grants you different points) instead of conventional rounds. Sequel also on N64.
	Fighter Destiny 2	Fighting	After some more characters, different company production and name change to just "Fighter Destiny 2", the series is back. All in all an ok entry in the series, it's pretty fun it has a good techno music score as well.
	Flying Dragon	FIGHTAN-RPG/Fighter	That's right, not a typo dudes and traps. This game brings TWO motherfucking fightan games to the table. The first, a chibi-sized animesque fighter reminiscent of World Heroes starring ROBOTOYOKOZUNA and Not-Yamcha. With RPG elements akin to Brawl's sticker mechanic, and learning supermoves from Wrestling Tapes. Yes, like NMH. The second, a shameless Tekken rip-off. Not as good or innovative as the first one though.
	Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 2 - Oni Shuurai! Shiren Jou!	Rouge-Like/ Mystery Dungeon	Literally Mistery Dungeon series before being localized. Random dungeons, monsters, trap you know the drill. J only, but not the most difficult game to figure out. You may need a guide though... or, you can just play all the fuckton of versions that were released in english on the DS, 3DS and Switch.
	F-Zero X*	Racing	Difficult futuristic racing game. Third F-Zero game and first one in 3D. This game was a blast on the Super Nintendo. It was so amazing that they had to tone down the detail to keep the game at 60fps, but still an awesome racing game and the best on the Nintendo 64.
	Gauntlet Legends	Action-RPG	Great home version of the arcade game, with all the 4-player shooting, hack-n'-slashing, Turbo Attacks and treasure-grabbing intact, plus the ability to toggle most temporary items on or off so you can save them for later. The only things this port's missing are the FMVs and high-quality music. Also available on PS1 and Dreamcast, and overhauled for the PS2, Gamecube and XBox as Gauntlet Dark Legacy. Compatible with the Expansion Pak for even smoother visuals.
	Gex 64	Platformer	A platformer for television and movie fans. Players control Gex, a smart-aleck gecko as he attempts to defeat the evil Rez in the Media Dimension, which features a variety of movie/television themed "channels" each with 3 remotes to collect in order to progress to the next stage. Features a lot of 80's and 90's pop culture one liners from Gex himself which are randomly spoken throughout the game, sure to tickle someone's funny bone (Voice by Cat from Red Dwarf! in Europe and Comedian Dana Gould in the US). Camera is a bit shoddy. Prequels on PSX, Saturn, PC and 3D0.
	Glover	3D Platformer	A bit of a deviation from your typical adventure game. A wizard has accidentally turned himself into stone and sent some magic crystals off into various worlds, leaving the land devoid of life. One of the wizard's gloves transforms the crystals into balls to protect them from shattering, and must guide them back to the castle. One of the few N64 games to make interesting use of physics. Players can transform the crystal into balls of various weight and shape in order to solve certain puzzles and defeat bosses. Also on PC!
	Goemon's Great Adventure	Platformer	A very difficult 2D multiplayer platformer, most definitely the hardest of the Ganbare Goemon series. Features some seriously over the top bosses and awesome first-person robot battles. Excellent style, play mechanics, and Japanese-techno musical score.
	GoldenEye 007	FPS	The first good console FPS and possibly the best movie game of all time. Still a blast on multiplayer, provided some asshat doesn't pick Oddjob. Huge mouth on boxart :I
	Harvest Moon 64	Simulation	One of the cuter games in the long-running farm simulation series. The characters and graphics are great, but the days are rather short, so prepare to rush everywhere you go, every single day. If you wanna see how the series is doing nowadays, look for 'Story of Seasons', since the HM brand is owned by a different company.
	Hexen	Adventure FPS	A port of Hexen. This game has 3 different characters, each with different weapons and stats. There are also a shitload of inventory items and most work in a different way depending on the character. To unlock new areas you must solve puzzles that revolve around a hub system. While not as good looking as the original one on the PC it is essentially the same game. The controls are also very well done on the N64 and there is 4 player co-op and deathmatch.
	Hey You, Pikachu!	Microphone orinted romp.	Command your Pikachu around the Pokémon world with voiced commands delivered via mic peripheral. Talking to Pikachu through various missions like fishing or whacking a piñata is the game's whole draw, but the mic's voice recognition is awful and makes the experience mostly frustrating. If you can somehow get past that, the game can be very comfy and really makes you feel like a kid living among Pokémon in an everyday sense. No PAL release. Hard to find with mic.
	Hotwheels Turbo Racing	Racing/Stunts	Fun racan and stuntan. Also on the Playstation.
	Hybrid Heaven	Action RPG	A unique entry in RPG history. A hybrid between fighting game and turn-based battle sim, player manuevers protagonist in a playing field until in position to attack, or be attacked. A very much overlooked title that tried something new.
	Iggy's Reckin' Balls	Racing/2D Platformer	A racing platformer where you play as a cute ball thing. Race against other balls and beat them to the finish line. Climb vertically through platforms, jump over ledges and dodge enemies. Lots of unlockable characters!
	Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine	Adventure	One of the best Indiana Jones games, often overlooked. Originally on the PC, but was ported on the N64 with superior graphics and controls. How that worked out for Lucasarts is beyond me (they could've just released a graphics mod...) but this is still a pretty good action-adventure game.
	International Superstar Soccer '98	Sports	If you're not an amerifag, you probably know this game already. It's a sequel to ISS64, with a few improvements. Some consider this one to be better than ISS2000, so if you have the option to choose between the three, get this one. (In case you're wondering: that's Carlos Valderrama, one of the best midfielders ever.) Also, don't even try FIFA games from that era, they all suck balls.
	Jet Force Gemini	Action	Third person shooter/adventure game by Rare. Great graphics, incredible soundtrack, brutal difficulty, unique co-op and a vast array of bug exploding weaponry make this game unforgettable. Don't forget to grab the tribals...
	Killer Instinct Gold	Fighting/CCCCOMBO BREAKER	ULTRA ULTRA ULTRA! COMBO BREAKER! Killer Instinct's sequel on the n64. It has some pretty good graphics even though its not in full 3D, but the characters are way better than some of the Mortal Kombat cast. Pretty good fightan, some say it's hard to find.
	Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards	Platformer	Still a 2D platformer, but now with 3D graphics, its main draw is the ability to combine two types of powers into something new. This makes for great variety but each individual power is very shallow gameplay-wise. Requires nabbing all the collectibles for the true ending, but that's fine because it's very short. Somewhat of a cult favorite among Kirby fans, but not the most satisfying series entry.
	Legend of Zelda, The: Ocarina of Time*	Action-Adventure	Even today, Nintendo fanboys consider Ocarina of Time to be one of the best games ever made (if not the best). It has aged quite gracefully and is still a marvelous 3D adventure, and the template for practically every Zelda title since (implying this isn't just a 3D Link to the Past). Everyone should at least give this a try. Also on GCN, VC, and 3DS, the last one being a remake with improved graphics and framerate.
	Legend of Zelda, The: Majora's Mask	Action-Adventure	An oddball entry in the venerated series, where Link must save the land of Termina from being crushed by its own Moon in three days (but you can reverse time, so no pressure!). Its morbid tones, mysterious story and occasionally dark side-quests make it an underdog and /v/ favorite. Make sure to take your time to understand how everything flows in the 3-day cycle, or just play the whole game using a guide like the pussy you are (that's faster but not as rewarding).
	Mario Golf	Sports	Mario characters play golf. Better than anything EA has come out with, true story. Sequel on Gamecube. Has GBC and GBA parallel games, which plays more lik an RPG.
	Mario Kart 64*	Racing	Completely next-level gameplay compared to the SNES original, Mario Kart 64 became the template for all entries to come with simple but highly competitive and extremely addictive 3D racing. Some questionable stages aside, it's still an absolute classic with just the amount of depth necessary to keep you coming back all the time. Multiplayer is great even with only two people.
	Mario Party	Board Game/Minigames	The humble beginnings of the Mario Party series, while very much random and unpredictable, remains a load of crap if you are good at video games. This game ruins controllers and palms, if you would like to keep both intact, DO NOT play the games where you must rotate the stick repeatedly, or you gonna make your controllers useless in no time. Future games fixed this mistake.
	Mario Party 2	Board Game/Minigames	Improving upon its predecessor, adds a slew of new wrist breaking minigames as well as board events, arguably the best in the series.
	Mario Party 3	Board Game/Minigames	Considered by most of /v/ to be the pinnacle of the series. A completely new set of minigames along with some of the best boards in franchise make this a fantastic multiplayer experience. The series has over 12 games by 2020 and as you may have thought, not all are as great as the N64 ones.
	Mario Tennis	Sports	Surprisingly a very solid sports game and the Mario cast's charm helps it stand out among the lot of tennis simulators. Multiple camera perspectives, tight controls, and lots of little details to how the characters handle and play that make it a worthwhile experience. Sequel on GameCube, along with side-games on GBC and GBA that could be linked up to unlock additional content. Fun fact: Waluigi debuted in this game.
	Mega Man 64	Platformer	Port of the Playstation game Mega Man Legends, pretty much indiscernable from its counterpart. The sequel (Megaman Legends 2) is not available on this console. Features more save slots than the original PSX version, and fixed many clipping errors that were rampant in the original. Controls take some getting used to, though.
	Mickey's Speedway USA	Racing	A Disney kart-racer made by Rare with a modified Diddy Kong Racing engine. Pretty fun overall.
	Midway's Greatest Arcade Hits Volume 1	Compilation	Good compilation of some classic midway games, like joust and whatnot, blah, blah, blah. Probably dirt cheap somewhere.
	Mischief Makers	Platformer	Another outstanding addition to the Treasure library of games, so you know it's good. Players control Marina, a cyborg girl created by the perverted Professor Theo, who sets out to save the planet Clancer from the evil empire and its three subordinates, the Beastector. THROUGH FIRE JUSTICE IS SERVED! Shake Shake Japanese version has voice acting but you know, it's all in moonrunes.
	Mortal Kombat 4	Fighting	MK IN TREEEEE DEEEEE HUR DUR. Pretty Good port of the arcade game and worth a lookout, best version would be Gold on the Dreamcast. Strangely never got rereleased on HD platforms.
	Mortal Kombat Trilogy	Fighting	Midway's answer to tekken tag tournament and vice versa. Has all characters from the first 3 games with features like noob saibot and other unlockables. Get it if you buy fighting games for the amount of characters they have or if you love MK.
	Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon	Action	An adventure game starring the Mystical Ninja cast. Plays abit similar to, and even came out a year before, Ocarina of Time, but is much more heavy on platforming, but plenty of devious puzzles and unique powers to acquire for each cast member. The controls suffer horribly from the lack of a targeting system, and the camera's unreliable, but the great level design, unique style, and kickass soundtrack cancel those out. Worth playing for the crawling animations IMPACT alone.
	Neon Genesis Evangelion 64	Fighting/Rhythm/QTE	I know it's a licensed game but boy does the remixed N64 MIDI soundtrack sound awesome, especially the remix of "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" in the menu for the Story Mode. Worthy if you're a weeb, but not as interesting if you're really not into anime or EVA for that matter. Features an unlockable 2-player mode which you and another player get to duke it out as one of the Evas or the Angels.
	Ogre Battle 64	Strategy RPG	Fuck long SRPG with a sweeping story and high degree of customization. Great replay-ability. Probably the N64's rarest game, an original cart nowadays costs a decent chunk of change ($50–200). Worth buying though, no matter what you spend. Notable for one of the worst Strategy Guides ever.
	Paper Mario*	RPG	An RPG set in a paper cutout version of the Mario universe and imbued with untold amounts of charm and personality. Easy, turn-based and simple battle system where you play as Mario and one of multiple supporting partners, but perfectly-paced and balanced progress, never hitting a snag or lull like most JRPGs. The vibrant dialogue and smart fleshing-out of the Marioverse help a lot as well.
	Perfect Dark	FPS	Superior in every way to GoldenEye. You get a laptop that can shoot people and deploy as a sentry turret, enough said. Has deep multiplayer customization and an excellent campaign but the framerate does drop considerably at times. Was remade for the Xbox 360 with upgraded graphics, solid 60fps, online multiplayer.
	Pilotwings 64	Flying	Featuring, for the time, glorious huge open 3D worlds. You pilot a variety of craft through tests to win medals. Tricky to get all gold, even though there's a small number of craft, pilots, and tests. Sequel on 3DS featuring Miis.
	Pokémon Puzzle League	Puzzle	Tetris Attack only with Pokémon characters and a neat 3D mode. The game borrows more from the anime than the games, so expect tons of awful voice acting to bother you while you puzzle. Other than that it's the definitive puzzler on the system.
	Pokémon Snap	Rail-Shooter	An unexpected Pokémon spin-off that plays basically like a rail shooter, you move slowly along a pre-set route through scenic stages trying to get the best photographs of dozens of Pokémon species. Unlocking new items will allow you to coax out new Pokémon and the game's secrets will encourage some replays. While it doesn't have a lot of content overall, trying to get the best possible shot of each Pokémon can be very addictive and the whole game-world is nicely and very organically realized. Available for the Wii VC with picture-saving.
	Pokémon Stadium	RPG	Nominally a 3D battle simulator for all the critters you collected in Pokémon Red and Blue (GB), which you could transfer here via a unique add-on. Offered a fair amount of challenges for your Pokémon and allowed you to use pre-set "rental" monsters if you didn't have your own to transfer, though this made the game harder. Also, a slew of shockingly fun and addictive mini-games. Seriously. TRIVIA: Actually called Pokémon Stadium 2 in Japan, since the first one had less anime animals and never got localized.
	Pokémon Stadium 2	RPG	Now compatible with Gold, Silver, Crystal, and the whole second generation of Pokémon, pretty much the same as the first game but with a much greater variety of challenges (and even more mini-games) that made this worth owning even if you didn't have any monsters to transfer over. You could also win Pokémon for your GameBoy games, and use it as an extra deposit box for organizing your critters. The battle school was especially solid at showing you the ropes of competitive battling!
	Quake	First Person Shooter	Quake ported on the N64 by Midway and pretty good for a port if you don't have a PC suited for gaming.
	Quake II	First Person Shooter	the sequel to the first, if you liked the first, this is good too. Has different levels from the PC version so worth owning even if you have a pc.
	Rakuga Kids	Fighting	A stylistic fighting game by konami featuring a cast of weirdo kid drawings. Nice animations and fun it's cartoony style set this apart from most fighters. It's somewhat slow paced for a fighting game, and the load screens take quite a while for a cartridge based game. Pal and J only. This is where Beartank originated.
	Rayman 2: The Great Escape	3D Platformer	Probably the best Rayman game ever (besides the first). Great game; it comes in a green cart so it's not hard to miss on any used game shelves. Requirements may be a little annoying if you don't have the Memory Pack Expansion Pack. Still, it's fucking RAYMAN so I bet you'll love it to bits. It was ported to almost anything with a screen, so get the PS2/DC version (dubbed Rayman Revolution) if you can. Avoid the PSX/DS versions because they suck Globox' balls.
	Resident Evil 2	Survival Horror	The classic Survival Horror title on the N64. An awesome feat of data compression. Somehow they managed to get both the Leon and Claire discs, with dialogue and FMVs, on one cartridge here! It looks pretty good, sounds great (even has Dolby Surround support), and even has some extra content! /v/ has a hard-on for the DC version, but all of them play great. Protip: Playing the game with an expansion pak through an upscaler is headache inducing. With the expansion pak, the game will switch between 480i/240p a lot. Plays fine with cheap no name upscalers but impossible to play with a Framemeister or OSSC, especially the former. Either use the jump pak or just play a different version (PC, PS1, DC, GC).
	Ridge Racer 64	Racing	RIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RACER! Remember that one? A somewhat over-looked yet excellent addition to the famous Namco franchise. Nintendo fans who didn't have a PS1 can now experience what they were missing: insanely fun arcade-style racing with an emphasis on drifting. (NA and EU only). Weirdly, it got a port to Nintendo DS with some cars based on Nintendo characters.
	Rocket: Robot on Wheels	Platformer	You only have one wheel. Made by the guys behind Sly Cooper and Infamous. The plot involves you, Rocket, having to navigate throughout a Theme Park turned dangerous, to find all the tickets and tokens for the park. Also a raccoon kidnaps a walrus. Yeah, I don't know what they were smoking either. (pot seems too obvious) Has a great physics engine. (That's right, a physics engine on the N64)
	San Fransisco Rush	Racing	Almost perfect sandbox racing game. includes this. Also has the best name entry music in existence.
	San Fransisco Rush 2049	Racing	San Fransisco Rush, but in THE FUTURE! Has immensely improved graphics (without detriment to the framerate) and music. Also on the Dreamcast.
	Shadowgate 64: Trials of the Four Towers	Adventure	Classic style adventure game with great, medieval horror atmosphere and lots of puzzles to solve, and plenty of secrets to uncover. The last in a series (the first is on NES, and the second is on the Turbografx).
	Shadowman	Platformer/Action-Adventure	WTF KIND OF MUSIC IS THIS!?!?!?! Mario 64-like game with some brick shitting moments. This version is the best with expansion pak but the PC platform sucks and stay the hell away from the PS1 version).
	Sin & Punishment*	Rail Shooter	A fucking awesome rail shooter released only in Japan for the N64...but was localized by Nintendo through the Virtual Console on the Wii. There's also a fan-translation patch. Fuck, unless you're hearing-impaired, you don't even need any translation since all the dialogue is in (surprsingly good) English! Play this shit, goddamn, grab a high-res texture patch if you can (helps with aiming a lot). Sequel on Wii... get it now!
	Snowboard Kids	Racing	An Atlus made snowboard racing game with cartoony kids and boss fights. Has a good balance between characters and power-ups. Upgraded port released on the PS1 named 'Snobo Kids+', but it's Japan-only.
	Snowboard Kids 2	Racing	A cartoony racing game. Not as good as the original due to being less balanced. Don't ever touch the NDS sequel called SBK, it sucks.
	South Park	FPS	A long time ago when the show was starting out, it was very risque among people, but kids loved it's stupid and wacky antics about farting and cursing and whatnot. So Akklaim decided why the fuck not and rehashed the Turok engine to make this game. I'm not shitting you this game has fog n everything! All in all an ok game with some interesting weapons and gameplay. I think theres 4 player so that should keep you busy with some bros. Also on the PS1, but stay far way since its inferior in every way.
	Space Station Silicon Valley	Adventure-Puzzle	You play as a robot who takes over various robot animals in order to solve puzzles. One of the lesser known titles in the N64's library. As with most N64 games, has an amazing soundtrack. Made by the people behind GTA. An infamous collision glitch prevents you from ever reaching 100%, thus you'll never see the true ending or play the bonus level (of course, nowadays you can watch them on Youtube). Also known to freeze frequently if the expansion pak is inserted, so remove it to play this. If you're emulating or using an Everdrive to play this, look for the fixed rom, which... fixes all said problems.
	Starcraft 64	RTS/ ZERG RUSH KEKEKEKEKE	Yes, they ported Starcraft to the N64. I couldn't believe it at first either. Has both game expansions in it including some exclusive shit. Though you need an expansion pack to access Brood's War levels. Pretty damn good and all even adding split-screen multiplayer for you and your buds. An ok port that is nice and all, but the PC/MAC versions are still the way to go.
	Starfox 64/Lylat Wars*	Rail Shooter	The peak of the series. A bunch of furries shoot their way across the galaxy in order to keep a gigantic monkey head from taking over the Lylat system. Excellent music and actual voice acting give the battles a true cinematic feel, and this was the first game to use the Rumble Pak for force feedback. Released as Lylat Wars in Europe and Australia with Lylat Speech as an extra. Note: LOTS of secrets throughout this game to discover. Also available on the Wii (Virtual Console) and the 3DS (with upgraded graphics).
	Star Wars Episode I: Racer	Racing	YEEEEAAAAAH Pod-racing! Straight from Star Wars Episode I, race as any racer in the pod-racing circuit with tons of racers, upgrading, tracks, and multiplayer fun. Also available on the Dreamcast and PC. Dreamcast is essentily this port with higher res texures. The PC is the same but has an unlocked framerate. The arcade version is entirely different and was developed by Sega.
	Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire	Action	Third-person Star Wars game. Effectively blends space combat and on-foot segments. You play as Dash Motherfucking Rendar. Shooting at that motherfucking star destroyer has never been more fun. One of the N64's gems. By the way, isn't that some kick-ass boxart? Also on PC.
	Star Wars: Rogue Squadron	Flight Sim	Fun flight combat game set in the Star Wars universe. Relive moments in and outside the movies. Also on the PC. Sequels on the Gamecube.
	Super Mario 64*	3D Platformer	Widely considered the true birth of 3D platforming, this game's innovative camera control and tight gameplay made it a classic at the time, but today it is especially remembered for its self-contained playground-worlds, non-linear in nature and chock-full of secrets. In this sense it is unique when compared to Mario platformers to come. Pure, unadulterated fun. Ported to DS with improved graphics and extra content, but lacing analog stick controls. (Unless you play it on a 3DS.)
	Super Smash Bros.*	Fighting	The beginning of what would become an exponentially more popular series later. This one only features twelve low-polygon Nintendo characters duking it out over a handful of mostly clever stages. It's fairly slow and floaty and feels different to Melee (and Brawl). It would be entirely surpassed by its sequels, but is still worth a look if you never played it. Also Kirby Pikachu is broken as hell. Pretty great music. Also available on Wii (Virtual Console).
	Tetrisphere	Puzzle	Tetris on a spherical field and acid. Features an awesome techno soundtrack, baffling multiplayer, and guaranteed migraines.
	The New Tetris	Puzzle	From the folks who brought you Tetrisphere. While this version looks just looks Tetris for the n64 with 4 player mode, it introduces a lot of features that would be come standard for Tetris games to come. Lock delay, soft and hard drops, ghost piece to guide you, the ability see 3 blocks ahead, and you can hold a piece of later. Also home to one of the longest rants ever hidden in a video game.
	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	Sports	The series' humble beginnings. Pretty fun, but seqeuls improved the formula and whatnot. This version has cut music and no blood. You're better off playing the Playstation version. The cartridge is infamous for being easy to find due to it being dark blue. The game itself is also pretty cheap. Also on PS1 and Dreamcast.
	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	Sports	Pretty much the same game as the iconic PS1 version, only with some music cut. Also on Dreamcast, PS1, Xbox, PC
	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3	Sports	Yes, this is on N64. THE last N64 game ever made. August 20, 2002 to be exact. Watered down compared to the disc-based versions, but that was every N64 Tony Hawk for ya. Also on the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube.
	Turok	FPS	Crazy man goes forward in time to butcher every single dinosaur in the galaxy.  Frustrating amounts of fog used to reduce draw-distance. Controller smashingly frustrating amount of pixel perfect jumping needed at some points. Also on PC. Got a Remastered for PC, Xbox One, and Switch.
	Turok 2	FPS	Like the first but with better graphics, lotsa gore and a poor framerate (even with expansion pack). Great multiplayer though. Stupidly hard aswell. Got a remaster, for PC, Xbox One, and Switch, which fixes pretty much everything about the game, but does allow you to play in a more purist way if you want. Also, stay away from Turok Rage Wars.
	Vigilante 8	Vehicular Combat	Vehicle Combat with awesome level and weapon design. Spinoff of the PC game "Interstate '76". Also on PS1 and Dreamcast. Has sequel.
	Virtual Pro Wrestling 2	Wrestling	While Japan-only, this title is considerably deeper than all of the AKI-developed wrestling games for the N64; including No Mercy. It is often considered to be a Japanese counterpart of Wrestlemania 2000. But while No Mercy makes that game moot, this title really takes it's own spin by having 200+ different moves and the abilityto form combos with those moves. One of the deepest wrestling titles ever made. Only flaw is that - unless you're Japanese or are familiar with Japanese wrestling - you won't know who the fuck any of the characters are. Not as gay as the cover makes it seem (It actually means MUSCULAR MANLY). >Mitsuharu Misawa gay
	Wave Race 64*	Racing	Best racing game on the N64. Them water physics. Pal version is a bit fucked sadly.  Gamecube sequel is worth playing too.
	World Driver Championship	Racing	Arguably one of the best racing games on the N64. What it lacks in licensing and decent sound effects it makes up with in arguably one of the most technically impressive games (so much so that it is has proven ridiculously hard to emulate) with brilliant graphics and great gameplay if you can get past the shitty starter cars. The N64 may not have had Gran Turismo but this definitely makes up for it. Incompatible with N64 emulators They do not threat.
	WinBack	TPS	Fucking awesome third-person shooter that has elements later borrowed by games like Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War. It has "Win" in it's name, enough said. Also on PS2.
	Wrestlemania 2000	Wrestling	Pretty cool entry on the N64. 2000 features a decent number of Wrestlers from the late 90's and such. But this one pretty much has a good amount of variety in it too. Such as modes where you can create a wrestler, participate in tournaments week by week, as well as a ranking mode where you rise to the top. Basically, a nice game that's not expensive at all really. In fact it's really common, which is good for you collectors out there.
	WWF: No Mercy	Wrestling	IF YOU SMEELLLLLLLLL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN'. Fun wrestling on the N64. Use the chair, damn it. Awesome multiplayer for up to 4 people, be sure to play a ladder match. The good wrestling game on N64 to some. The best ever to few. Menu music's awesome too. Dig-dig-diggity, dig-diggity-dog.
	Yoshi's Story*	2D Platformer	You run around throughout the never ending stages trying to eat enough fruit to become happy and move on. Plus Yoshi singing. Multiple stage routes offer some decent replayability and good luck hunting down all 30 melons in each stage you play.Still a good game though with an amazing visual style and some nice and cheerful music! Controls are similar to Yoshi's Island on SNES. Some love hate it, most hate love it. It's easy but a nice experience.

Recommendation Copypasta

/v/'s list of must-have N64 games