The ten best Nintendo 64 games

We continue our review of classic consoles and the games that made them great. Today is the long-awaited Nintendo 64, a machine that tried to compete with the hurricane Playstation based on power and… cartridges, a strange combination that did not quite come together.

The machine was a Nintendo long time coming. By the time it did, between ’96 (Japan, the United States) and ’97 (Europe), its competitor, the new PSX, was almost two years ahead of it. The local group of initial developers and the policy of the Japanese company regarding quality standards meant that the number of games was not too vast. Even so, the genius of Miyamoto and the guys from RARE were in charge of placing not a few titles in the lists of the best video games of all time.

What was it about

I don’t think the premise of ‘Super Mario 64’ will surprise anyone, mainly because it’s the same as always. Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, and Mario must take the path, jump goes, jump comes, and pursue her rescue.

Those wonderful years

The fantastic thing about this game was precisely how that path was carried out in search of the princess. Rarely has a premiere title left critics and audiences alike so speechless. Responsible for the console’s delay, ‘Super Mario 64’ was presented to the world as the greatest exponent in game design, in the recreation of three-dimensional worlds, in the use of the analog stick. Even today, the mastery and challenge that he keeps inside are surprising. A timeless classic, without a doubt, one of the best games of all time.

What was it about

The evil Andross declares war, and the team of adventurers commanded by Fox McCloud is called upon to save the Lylat system from disaster. Thus begins a fantastic journey that will take these daring pilots to infiltrate hostile planets, cross asteroid fields, and cross the very fleet of enemy ships.

Those wonderful years

‘Lylat Wars,’ as it was called around these parts, was the sequel to the Super NES Starwing. If that one innovated by bringing the polygonal environment to consoles thanks to the Super FX chip, it introduced the vibration in the Rumble’s hand controller Pack. Fast, addictive, replayable to the maximum through its multiple paths, its validity remains intact; you have to try its brand-new release on Nintendo 3DS to realize it.

What was it about

The playable version of the James Bond movie of the same name. Interestingly, the digital Pierce Brosnan got better reviews than flesh and blood in this new adventure as Agent 007 on Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Those wonderful years

To take off his hat. RARE demonstrated with this game that FPS could work on the console, and it did so to such an extent that it is common to see ‘Goldeneye’ on the lists of the best video games of all time. Its four-game games were mythical, its level design exceptional, its objectives varying according to the level of difficulty… and all this control with a single stick! Its character as a cult game has led it to reincarnate in the current generation.

What was it about

The dream of every Nintendo fan (or even of every anti-fan Nintendo ): the fetish characters of the Kyoto company giving themselves off like crazy in themed settings.

Those wonderful years

Addictive like a few others, ‘Super Smash Bros.’ was Nintendo’s version of what we all understand as a fighting game. His vision was so particular that many refused to include him in this genre. It mattered little; the multiplayer fun was a fundamental delusion, with everyone trying to throw everyone off the stage. Do clueless still need a description? Well, here you have one: brand fighting game ACME.

What was it about

Trial races in the best tradition of speed games offered by Nintendo 64. Another classic that combines the essential Wave Race and 1080º Snowboarding.

Those wonderful years

‘Excite Bike 64’ was late. In 2001, with the Gamecube announced, the end of Nintendo 64 was in sight. ‘Excite Bike 64’ was challenging to master, demanding control, an excellent challenge for lifelong players. However, the shortage of titles and good reviews gave wings to this revision of that old and deceptively simple game NES.halengingnexcelln

What was it about

Joanna Dark, a gifted secret service agent, faced shortly a mysterious case that was growing in complexity and dimensions. From the particular to the universal, from a rescue in a building to the real struggle at the ends of the universe.

Those wonderful years

Lost the license of agent 007 in RARE, they were forced to create a new IP that would continue the findings of ‘Goldeneye.’ The result is immense, with a Nintendo 64 fuming trying to move everything that this cartridge kept. Not even the memory expansion that the game required was capable of smoothly displaying multiplayer four. ‘Perfect Dark’ is a big adventure that shoots up the virtues of its predecessor to infinity. Indispensable for its HD review for Xbox Live.

What was it about

Ahem, Baby Bowser has bundled her brown on the island of the Yoshis and has kidnapped the super happy tree. We will have to return our beloved surroundings to normal by engaging in a colorful adventure in the form of a book.

Those wonderful years

‘Yoshi’s Story’ was at the time a visual rupture of the caliber of Super Nintendo’s ‘Yoshi’s Island.’ Its beautiful graphics put aside what was learned in solid 3D adventures like ‘Super Mario 64’ or ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ to embrace a 2D lateral advance. It is a precious experiment that is kept hidden like a bit of a gem.

What was it about

The witch Gruntilda abducts Tooty because she is jealous of her beauty. With a machine, she tries to snatch it from her and be the coolest in the place. But of course, Tootty has a brother, Banjo, and this an inseparable friend, Kazooie, who will embark on a journey full of dangers to prevent Gruntilda from getting away with it.

Those wonderful years

After ‘Super Mario 64’, the way was marked; another thing is that the developers were able to create games at the height of the great work of Miyamoto. RARE accepted the challenge, and with ‘Banjo-Kazooie,’ he could generate a title worthy of being called Mario’s successor. With its personality, original characters that added skills, a vast amount of collectibles, and an exquisite technical level that boasted of textures, ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ continues to surprise today, and it continues to be a challenge to complete this enormous adventure. On Xbox Live, you can test it in HD.

What was it about

A Nintendo game with drunkenness, blood, chainsaws, excrement factories, bad-tempered teddy bears, tons of bad taste, black humor, and references A Clockwork Orange, The Exorcist, The Godfather, and Reservoir Dogs? Yes, gentlemen, that game exists.

Those wonderful years

‘Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a prank by Nintendo’s spoiled children, a carte blanche made from masterpieces that were returned stained with cow poop. But of course, its content was a bomb that Nintendo did not want the Spanish to explode in our faces. Here it was only tested by import fans, who were in charge of letting the rest of us know of the explicit content created by RARE.

What was it about

Talking about the Ocarina of Time plot at this point is like counting Little Red Riding Hood for the umpteenth time. Let’s say that there is a child without a fairy, a hero’s journey that takes him seven years into the future, a future in which the war against evil has already been lost.

Those wonderful years

‘The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’ became the definitive adventure when it was released. Its scope was enormous, the story’s structure sublime, the complexity of the dungeons maddening, the design of the world vibrant, its unforgettable secondary characters. Some elements of its game mechanics (such as the fixation of enemies or the route of the camera from the points of interest to our position) became a standard that continues to this day. The review that has been made recently for Nintendo 3DS is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself again in its wonderful world, this time more colorful, with a stable framerate, and with a beauty that the 3D effect is responsible for highlighting. A must.

So far, we have come. Nintendo 64, as you have seen, was an incredible machine that not only boasted of power. It standardized the use of the analog stick and vibration in the industry and marked the way forward in game design thanks to masterpieces such as ‘Mario 64’ ‘nd ‘Ocarina of Time.”Now itit’sime for you to rummage through the drawers of your memory, to use the comments to claim your favorite games on the platform so that you can recall those dialectical battles in which N64 and faced each other PSX. It is your turn.