Your Top 5 (10, 15, 20, 100) Favorite Nintendo 64 Games

[Key]

Or top 10, or even top 20. Let's talk about Nintendo 64 games. I did an entire journal month of Nintendo 64 games that I talked about that you can find here at this link: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-journal/93017-key-arcade-corner-21.html#post2220004 
(i will eventually integrate all of this over here, in time)

Here's my personal top 5 list:
Banjo-Kazooie / Banjo-Tooie (I'm going to include this in 1 since I feel like they're much better as a duo)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Particularly because the darker theme really fits. Ocarina of Time is objectively better, but man...Majora's Mask has a lot of good things going for it)
Super Mario 64 (I know this is as cliche as it gets, but I've still yet to see a new 3D platformer that broke as many boundaries as Super Mario 64 did.)
Diddy Kong Racing (One of my all time favorite games for many reasons, one of which being that there's so many little secrets you can find in this game that make it so much more rewarding than what you see at first)
Glover (I will always remember this game solely from the intro sequence.)

[Guybrush]

I didn't play much Nintendo 64 as I was almost exclusively a PC gamer when the N64 was popular, but I DID play a couple of titles that I remember fondly. They were Super Mario 64 and Goldeneye.

I have played a bit of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask as well, but didn't finish either of them. I actually preferred A Link to the Past for the SNES 😄

I wasn't very impressed with Zelda until Wind Waker for the GameCube.

[DJChameleon]

I didn't play much Nintendo 64 as I was almost exclusively a PC gamer when the N64 was popular, but I DID play a couple of titles that I remember fondly. They were Super Mario 64 and Goldeneye.

I have played a bit of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask as well, but didn't finish either of them. I actually preferred A Link to the Past for the SNES 😄

I wasn't very impressed with Zelda until Wind Waker for the GameCube.

No way!? You weren't impressed with Zelda until Wind Waker? I didn't even care for Wind Waker all that much. I have never finished that game to this day. It was okay but meh.

I agree with you on A Link to the Past being far superior than both of those N64 classics that people love so much. If I had to choose between Ocarina and Majora's Mask I would go for Ocarina. Even though I had the strategy guide for both because I just loved doing that back in the day. Getting guides with the games, I had to lean heavily on the guide for Majora's Mask more and that makes it the worse game imo. It is way too confusing without it.

I loved N64 growing up but I will keep my list to a light top 5. I played way more than just those in my top 5 and have fond memories of other games but I will stick to just five for now.

1. GoldenEye (Getting friends into the same room to play multiplayer for hours on end was so much fun and endless laughter. Even more so when you would screen snipe.)
2. Perfect Dark
3. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
4. Bomberman 64
5. Donkey Kong 64(I remember they used this game to introduce the expanded memory option thing)

[Lexi Darling]

I liked the N64 a lot, I was at the peak of my gaming hobby in the late 90s and early 2000s so I'm actually qualified to talk about video games for once, who'd have thunk it? This isn't really in order of quality aside from the first two.

1. Zelda: Majora's Mask
2. Banjo Kazooie
3. Super Smash Bros
4. Goldeneye
5. Mario Party 2
6. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
7. Paper Mario
8. Banjo Tooie
9. Star Fox 64
10. Conker's Bad Fur Day

Majora's Mask is a masterpiece of how to use the uniqueness of gaming to create a narrative, it's on a rare level of artistry in games IMO.

[DJChameleon]

Conker's Bad Fur Day! omfg. It's such a cult classic but I never played it. I've only seen video footage of it. I also missed the whole Paper Mario train.

I know there are a few Paper Mario games on the Switch. I'm going to get those one day and try them out.


I never got into Smash. I'm not really a big fighting game fan though. Which reminds me on N64 I did have Killer Instict though which I hated that they would punish me for cheesing. They punish people for doing the same move over and over again.

[Guybrush]

No way!? You weren't impressed with Zelda until Wind Waker? I didn't even care for Wind Waker all that much. I have never finished that game to this day. It was okay but meh.

I was a bit late to those titles and had already played other classics like very notably Half-Life for PC. Nintendo 64 was quite early in that trend where they were 3D-izing every franchise, like how they made 3D sequels for Simon the Sorcerer (!) and Worms 3D, etc. I wasn't a fan because 2D games looked great and early 3D games often looked kinda shitty. It was a transitional period. On PC, the technology made leaps every year, so to me the N64 quickly became very outdated.

Wind Waker had more timeless graphics and it was the first time I really got a sense of exploring an ocean. It captured some of the feel of being out and about in a small boat, a feat that is of course done even better today in games like Sea of Thieves. Being such a sucker for anything marine, I found it absolutely fascinating and still have love for it.

[Key]

I didn't play much Nintendo 64 as I was almost exclusively a PC gamer when the N64 was popular, but I DID play a couple of titles that I remember fondly. They were Super Mario 64 and Goldeneye.

I have played a bit of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask as well, but didn't finish either of them. I actually preferred A Link to the Past for the SNES 😄

I wasn't very impressed with Zelda until Wind Waker for the GameCube.

I played Wind Waker when it came out on the Gamecube originally and absolutely loved it. It's weird to think that at one point Wind Waker was terrible in the eyes of Nintendo fans but over the years it seems to have completely taken a full turnaround and now people love it.

No way!? You weren't impressed with Zelda until Wind Waker? I didn't even care for Wind Waker all that much. I have never finished that game to this day. It was okay but meh.

I agree with you on A Link to the Past being far superior than both of those N64 classics that people love so much. If I had to choose between Ocarina and Majora's Mask I would go for Ocarina. Even though I had the strategy guide for both because I just loved doing that back in the day. Getting guides with the games, I had to lean heavily on the guide for Majora's Mask more and that makes it the worse game imo. It is way too confusing without it.

I loved N64 growing up but I will keep my list to a light top 5. I played way more than just those in my top 5 and have fond memories of other games but I will stick to just five for now.

1. GoldenEye (Getting friends into the same room to play multiplayer for hours on end was so much fun and endless laughter. Even more so when you would screen snipe.)
2. Perfect Dark
3. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
4. Bomberman 64
5. Donkey Kong 64(I remember they used this game to introduce the expanded memory option thing)

I loved Majora's Mask for its complexity but I can definitely understand why a lot of people didn't like it or simply couldn't get into it. Those expecting Ocarina of Time II were also probably very disappointed but overall I found it to be a better experience, for me.

I liked the N64 a lot, I was at the peak of my gaming hobby in the late 90s and early 2000s so I'm actually qualified to talk about video games for once, who'd have thunk it? This isn't really in order of quality aside from the first two.

1. Zelda: Majora's Mask
2. Banjo Kazooie
3. Super Smash Bros
4. Goldeneye
5. Mario Party 2
6. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
7. Paper Mario
8. Banjo Tooie
9. Star Fox 64
10. Conker's Bad Fur Day

Majora's Mask is a masterpiece of how to use the uniqueness of gaming to create a narrative, it's on a rare level of artistry in games IMO.

Banjo-Kazooie rpznt! Also good call of Conker's Bad Fur Day. I absolutely loved that game.

[SGR]

Wind Waker used to be underrated - now it's overrated. One of the weakest 3D Zelda games (granted, that's a strong group of games).

My primary problems with it:

• Too much open sea and takes too long before you get a proper fast travel - I swear over 25% of the game is spent putting your ship on cruise control while you try to get to where the action is across a mostly empty sea - with that same (eventually infuriating) song replaying over and over and over
• The triforce shard fetch quest right near the end is complete ass. As a kid, I thought I was about to get to the end of the game and fight Ganondorf, but oh no, now I have to get a bunch of stupid MacGuffins spread all across the bottom of the sea based on map locations - complete momentum killer

[SGR]

Top 10 N64 games off the top of my head:

• Mario 64
• Zelda Ocarina of Time/Majoras Mask
• Mario Party 2
• Paper Mario
• Mario Kart 64
• Killer Instinct Gold
• Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
• Donkey Kong 64
• Space Station Silicon Valley
• Doom 64

Honorable mentions: Pokemon Stadium, Star Wars Episode 1: Racer, Yoshi's Story, Gauntlet: Legends

[DJChameleon]

Top 10 N64 games off the top of my head:

• Mario 64
• Zelda Ocarina of Time/Majoras Mask
• Mario Party 2
• Paper Mario
• Mario Kart 64
• Killer Instinct Gold
• Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
• Donkey Kong 64
• Space Station Silicon Valley
• Doom 64

Honorable mentions: Pokemon Stadium, Star Wars Episode 1: Racer, Yoshi's Story, Gauntlet: Legends

I love your whole honorable mentions list except for Yoshi's Story. I spent so many hours pod racing in that Star Wars game.

[Lexi Darling]

Top 10 N64 games off the top of my head:

• Mario 64
• Zelda Ocarina of Time/Majoras Mask
• Mario Party 2
• Paper Mario
• Mario Kart 64
• Killer Instinct Gold
• Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
• Donkey Kong 64
• Space Station Silicon Valley
• Doom 64

Honorable mentions: Pokemon Stadium, Star Wars Episode 1: Racer, Yoshi's Story, Gauntlet: Legends

Man, I loved the Gex games as a kid, though I played them on PS1. I heard they're being remastered/re-released, I hope they leave in all the hilariously dated 90s pop culture references.

[SGR]

I love your whole honorable mentions list except for Yoshi's Story. I spent so many hours pod racing in that Star Wars game.

That Star Wars game was the shit, and I don't even like Star Wars. I haven't bothered to re-purchase it, but if you've got a PS4/5, it appears it's available to purchase there. Part of me feels like my memories of it will undoubtedly be better than the reality of it if I played it again.

Man, I loved the Gex games as a kid, though I played them on PS1. I heard they're being remastered/re-released, I hope they leave in all the hilariously dated 90s pop culture references.

Gex 3 was the only one I ever had opportunity to play, but I saw that about the remaster/re-release. Definite purchase for me - I can't wait to see how the gameplay looks. I'm not sure if they'd be better off leaving the dated 90s pop culture references, or refreshing it so the pop culture references are modern. Depends on how committed their writers are, I suppose. I don't know of any modern game, much less a platformer/collectathon that makes as many pop culture references as Gex does.

Hell, a lot of games don't even do pop culture references anymore. The funniest recent reference in a video game I can remember is when the most recent Paper Mario (Origami King) made a Hitler reference, which caught me completely off guard and had me in fits of laughter moreso for the fact that the Nintendo writers had the gall to put that in.

Maybe leave the 90s pop culture references in the remaster and if the remaster sells well, release a new Gex with new references? I'd be down for that.

And I want a new Duke Nukem game.

[Guybrush]

And I want a new Duke Nukem game.

I haven't tried them and it's not exactly the same, but I've been wondering if the Serious Sam franchise might scratch this itch.

It seemed like a cheap copy back in the day when it first appeared, but I see they've kept making them.

There's also the Shadow Warrior reboot.

And Doom, but something about Doom feels a little hollow to me despite the slickness.

[SGR]

I haven't tried them and it's not exactly the same, but I've been wondering if the Serious Sam franchise might scratch this itch.

It seemed like a cheap copy back in the day when it first appeared, but I see they've kept making them.

There's also the Shadow Warrior reboot.

And Doom, but something about Doom feels a little hollow to me despite the slickness.

The original two DOOM games are masterpieces, that gameplay loop is addicting even today.

I can't say that I've ever played Serious Sam, I'll have to check them out. I did start playing the Shadow Warrior reboot a few years back, but for some reason, I stopped playing it. Perhaps I should revisit it.

[Guybrush]

The original two DOOM games are masterpieces, that gameplay loop is addicting even today.

I can't say that I've ever played Serious Sam, I'll have to check them out. I did start playing the Shadow Warrior reboot a few years back, but for some reason, I stopped playing it. Perhaps I should revisit it.

Of course I played the shit out of Doom 1 and 2. It's everything after that feels a little hollow, although I still finished the 2016 game. I started on Doom Eternal, but I kinda lost motivation somewhere after the first boss fight.