Top 50 and Bottom 25 Nintendo 64 games list

[Rob2600]

the REAL tragedy is that POKEMON PUZZLE LEAGUE ranked 30th! I know it's really TETRIS ATTACK, but the fundamentals are still the same. PPL deserves to rank much higher.

Also, DR. MARIO 64 didn't make the list?! One of my favorites on the N64!

And I know I will lose credibility for saying this but I loved WAR GODS (ranked 25th on worst list). That game cracks me up!

Pokemon Puzzle League was one of my favorite Nintendo 64 games. It's a lot of fun. Dr. Mario received good scores (7.1 overall). I still have the NES version.

I haven't played War Gods in several years, but I remember it being decent...nowhere near as bad as reviewers made it out to be. Like the Mortal Kombat games, it was meant to be humorous.

Disagree with these

6. Mike Piazza's Strike Zone - 3.3
8. Olympic Hockey '98 - 3.5

Olympic Hockey 98 is as good as any of the Gretzky games. The only "bad" thing about it is that the game is a complete carbon copy of the two 3D Hockey games that came before it. Otherwise it plays fine.

Piazza's Strike Zone has crummy pitching controls but the hitting, fielding and home run derby components are all good. I thought it was better than N64 Griffey. ...

I also thought one or two of the QB Club games played better than Madden, solely on N64.

I agree with you about Olympic Hockey '98. I don't know what to do about that game. It received low scores, but it's identical to the Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey games, which received fairly high scores. Do I leave it on the list?

I've played every baseball game on the Nintendo 64 and I think the All-Star Baseball games and the Ken Griffey, Jr. games are the best ones. Mike Piazza's Strike Zone and Bottom of the 9th are somewhat decent, but the graphics are grainy and the animation is horrible.

NFL Quarterback Club '99 received an 8.0 overall, which is great, but not quite as high as some of the Madden or Blitz games. The graphics are incredible though...far, far better than any other sports video game at the time.

[Famidrive-16]

I dunno, I thought Carmageddon was dumb, mindless fun.

[Daltone]

I dunno, I thought Carmageddon was dumb, mindless fun.

It was OK on the PC, but did you not find the N64 version nigh-on unplayable?

[roushimsx]

San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing and Stunt Racer 64 received good scores (7.9 and 7.2 respectively), but not quite good enough to make it into the top 50.

7.9 / 7.2 in N64-era ratings is like a 6.9 / 6.2 in today's ratings.

[Rob2600]

7.9 / 7.2 in N64-era ratings is like a 6.9 / 6.2 in today's ratings.

With PlayStation games, yes, I agree...but with Nintendo 64 games, I don't think so. Reviewers inflated the scores for a lot of PlayStation games, but were usually tougher on N64 games.

For example, the Madden NFL games received higher scores on the PlayStation, even though the N64 versions had much better graphics and much faster loading times. It didn't make sense.

[DigitalSpace]

Just for the hell of it, here's what I think are the 10 best N64 games I own (based on personal preference):

1. Mario Kart 64
2. Super Mario 64
3. Paper Mario
4. Diddy Kong Racing
5. Goldeneye 007
6. Pokemon Snap
7. Beetle Adventure Racing!
8. Banjo-Kazooie
9. Harvest Moon 64
10. Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth

[bangtango]

With All-Star Baseball, Madden NFL, etc., they're basically the same experience every year, but with updated rosters and some minor tweaks. That's my reasoning.

By the way, every time I see your avatar, I think it's Steven Seagal for a second.

There is a fine art to each edition of Madden on N64. See, Emmitt Smith breaks tackles slightly better in some editions of Madden than he does in others. Likewise, his Dallas Cowboy teammates on the O-Line open bigger holes to rush through in earlier editions of the N64 Madden games but they do a better job of protecting the quarterback from the pass rush in later editions. Of course I am not being serious about any of this!

My avatar is Beau Starr, who played the sheriff in the horror sequel Halloween 4 (a favorite of mine).

[jjgames]

The top 50 list is good. No big surprises there. I was surprised that Superman 64 was not the lowest rated game though. I thought it was panned by most critics as one of the worst games of all time.

[jahvybe]

How is it that Diddy Kong Racing is higher on the list than Mario Kart?

I don't know why but I can't make myself like Diddy Kong Racing. I really can't stand to play that game, but I love Mario Kart.

Please tell me why I should love this game, I really want to. It just seems really awkward to controll compared to Mario Kart and I don't know maybe I just suck at it but I rock at Mario Kart.

[Trevelyan]

I much prefer MK in single-player and multi-player modes but enjoyed DKR because of its variation and additional features, for example the planes, bosses and additional multiplayer modes. Although different to MK, it felt like (to fully complete, anyway) an advanced version which required more time and energy to get good at and thus became more rewarding. I really felt satisfied when I got to the point I could whoop TT's times', more so than I ever did in MK which I did not find challenging.

Please tell me why I should love this game, I really want to. It just seems really awkward to controll compared to Mario Kart

DKR is a hard one to love in my opinion, but 'I don't think its an unplayable abomination' (please! dont quote me on this!) TBH thinking about playing can seem like a laugh but sometimes I shudder... they really overdid the cutesey-wutesey plot and characters. You have a point but I think the difference's are more subtle than you imply.

[NE146]

I think Banjo Kazooie is ranked a little too high,

No way man.. Banjo Kazooie is definitely one of the all time best N64 games. Probably even the top 5.

Now that being said, Banjo Tooie is ranked too high. And DK 64 is DEFINITELY too high. That turd needs to drop

[j_factor]

It's weird to go back and see what was highly rated back in the day, compared to current opinion. Donkey Kong 64? Yuck. Reminds me of games like Battle Arena Toshinden getting positive reviews. Or Sega GT.

[otaku]

this brings back some fond memories. Man I loved the 64 played the hell out of it mostly with a room full of friends.

[mailman187666]

I never played carmageddon 64, I only played it for the PC back then. What was wrong with the 64 version?

[Kevin H]

Worst to me. Superman and Beast Wars. hands down

[Greg2600]

Argh! Rush 2049 on the list, but no Rush 2! Major beef with that. Rush 2 was the best racing/stunt game I've ever played. Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine belongs there, and Beetle Adventure Racing is a hunk of trash. Vigilante 8 was a pile of dung also, and where is Mission Impossible, which had a better single player mode than Goldeneye?

As for the bad list, Blues Brothers I rented once, wow what a joke. WCW Backstage Assault could have been the best wrestling game on the entire system, if they had just included a wrestling RING! WCW Nitro was so bad I returned it the next day after buying it.

[Ed Oscuro]

...and where is Mission Impossible, which had a better single player mode than Goldeneye?

Well, um, it does now, really? I thought it was just your average 3rd person action adventure game with some gimmicky arcade-style stun items (like the fire extinguisher) thrown in for good measure. I remember being really excited about that game from the NP preview way back when; like it was going to be Morrowind or something. I enjoyed it greatly - who can forget the great Sloborskiya - however it's spelt - March - but it reminds me of another game (which I might have already mentioned in this very post) that tries to do everything and consequently does a lot rather blandly. Unfortunately, MI just doesn't have the longevity, overall polish, or deep gameplay to do it in an outstanding or even especially competent fashion.

It's still a highly underrated game, though, I'll give it that!

[Rob2600]

How is it that Diddy Kong Racing is higher on the list than Mario Kart?

I don't know why but I can't make myself like Diddy Kong Racing. I really can't stand to play that game, but I love Mario Kart.

I also prefer Mario Kart 64, but Diddy Kong Racing is a polished, well produced game. It's a good example of the Nintendo 64's graphical and audio capabilities.

It's also a much deeper racing game than Mario Kart 64, which is what I don't like about it. With Mario Kart 64, I can turn it on, participate in a few races, and turn it off. There's no adventure mode, boss battles, hidden keys, or silver coin challenges to get in the way. Some people prefer that level of depth though.

Banjo Kazooie is definitely one of the all time best N64 games. Probably even the top 5.

Now that being said, Banjo Tooie is ranked too high. And DK 64 is DEFINITELY too high. That turd needs to drop

Banjo-Kazooie is in the top five! It's another polished game with high production values that shows off the Nintendo 64's capabilities, but to me, Super Mario 64 and Rayman 2: The Great Escape are more interesting.

I think Rare implemented a little bit too much collecting and back-and-forth travel in Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie and it completely abused that style of play in Donkey Kong 64. Donkey Kong 64 is one of the Nintendo 64's best technical showcases, but despite being a solid game, it isn't compelling or intriguing.

I never played carmageddon 64, I only played it for the PC back then. What was wrong with the 64 version?

According to IGN's review:

"what was an enjoyable PC title is ruined as a N64 game thanks to shoddy execution resulting in a truly disgusting frame rate, Vaseline-drowned textures, crazy control, and zombies that spew green pixels and disappear in a flash after being run over. Basically, everything that made the title fun for PC players has been sacrificed in the transition to Nintendo 64, including the appealing demented theme of the franchise. It's sad really.

I never thought it would happen, but there is now actually a game on the market that's impressively worse than Superman 64 - and it's again from Titus Software. Well done old pals! Carmageddon for PC - a fun little racer - hits the N64 as a ruined, broken, sloppy, worthless port that really only serves one purpose: to remind players just how important time and effort are when porting a franchise"

Argh! Rush 2049 on the list, but no Rush 2! Major beef with that. Rush 2 was the best racing/stunt game I've ever played. Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine belongs there, and Beetle Adventure Racing is a hunk of trash. ...

where is Mission Impossible, which had a better single player mode than Goldeneye?

The overall scores:

San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing - 7.9
Rush 2 Extreme Racing U.S.A. - 7.4
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine - 7.5
Mission: Impossible - 6.9

Other than Mission: Impossible, those are very good scores, but again, not quite good enough to crack the top 50. I remember Mission: Impossible was in development for three years. Every few months, there was another delay. Had it been released when it was supposed to in early 1997 - several months before Goldeneye 007 - it might have received higher scores. Instead, it was released in mid 1998, a year after Goldeneye 007, and it just couldn't compete. To quote IGN's review:

"Mission: Impossible, after years in development, isn't the 'Goldeneye killer' we had all hoped for. ... the game doesn't play nearly as good as it sounds on paper and doesn't look nearly as good as it did in renders. ... what once looked like the game to rival GoldenEye 007 and Metal Gear Solid, emerges as an unbalanced action-adventure teetering between greatness and mediocrity."

I think Beetle Adventure Racing is very good. It was developed by Paradigm Simulations (now Paradigm Entertainment), the same people who made Pilotwings 64, the two F-1 World Grand Prix games, and most recently Stuntman: Ignition.

WCW Backstage Assault could have been the best wrestling game on the entire system, if they had just included a wrestling RING!

I never understood that: a wrestling game without a ring. It seems like a horrible Power Stone imitation with professional wrestlers.

[kainemaxwell]

It's also a much deeper racing game than Mario Kart 64, which is what I don't like about it. With Mario Kart 64, I can turn it on, participate in a few races, and turn it off. There's no adventure mode, boss battles, hidden keys, or silver coin challenges to get in the way. Some people prefer that level of depth though.

Agreed. Much as I liked Diddy kong Racing, the aspect of having to go back and finish a race and getting x items kinda turned me off to it.

[jdc]

When I sold my N64 collection, I kept everything that was done by Rare, and a few others like OoT. They were my single greatest pleasure in being an N64 gamer. There was nothing quite like waiting for the new Rare release. Now I get to watch my 6 yr old find the same magic in them that I did.