Top 50 and Bottom 25 Nintendo 64 games list

[Rob2600]

Inspired by my Top 30 and Bottom 40 Wii games (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109135) thread:


According to Gamestats.com, Metacritic.com, and Gamerankings.com, here are the overall top 50 Nintendo 64 games:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 9.8
2. Goldeneye 007 - 9.6
3. Super Mario 64 - 9.5
4. Perfect Dark - 9.4
5. Banjo-Kazooie - 9.3
6. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - 9.3
7. Banjo-Tooie - 9.2
8. Paper Mario - 9.2
9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - 9.2 (also highly rated: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3)
10. Wave Race 64 - 9.1
11. Conker's Bad Fur Day - 9.1
12. Rayman 2: The Great Escape - 9.1
13. International Superstar Soccer '98 - 9.1 (also highly rated: International Superstar Soccer 64 and International Superstar Soccer 2000)
14. All-Star Baseball 2000 - 9.1 (also highly rated: All-Star Baseball '99 and All-Star Baseball 2001)
15. Madden NFL 2000 - 9.1 (also highly rated: Madden Football 64, Madden NFL '99, and Madden NFL 2001)
16. Beetle Adventure Racing - 9.1
17. NFL Blitz - 9.1 (also highly rated: NFL Blitz 2000)
18. Donkey Kong 64 - 9.1
19. Star Fox 64 - 9.0
20. Mario Golf - 9.0
21. Mario Tennis - 9.0
22. Blast Corps - 9.0
23. 1080 Snowboarding - 8.9
24. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - 8.9
25. WWF No Mercy - 8.8 (also highly rated: WCW/NWO Revenge and WWF Wrestlemania 2000)
26. Resident Evil 2 - 8.8
27. Excitebike 64 - 8.8
28. F-Zero X - 8.7
29. Tetrisphere - 8.7
30. Diddy Kong Racing - 8.7
31. NHL '99 - 8.6
32. FIFA '99 - 8.6 (also highly rated: FIFA Road to World Cup '98)
33. Sin and Punishment: Successor to the Earth - 8.6 (Japan and Wii Virtual Console only)
34. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - 8.6
35. Mario Kart 64 - 8.5
36. Worms Armageddon - 8.5
37. Space Station Silicon Valley - 8.5
38. Rocket: Robot on Wheels - 8.5
39. The New Tetris - 8.5
40. San Francisco Rush 2049 - 8.5
41. Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber - 8.5
42. F-1 World Grand Prix II - 8.5 (Europe only) (also highly rated: F-1 World Grand Prix)
43. Wipeout 64 - 8.5
44. Extreme-G - 8.5
45. Vigilante 8 - 8.4
46. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - 8.4
47. Ridge Racer 64 - 8.3
48. Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo - 8.3
49. Pilotwings 64 - 8.3
50. Pokemon Puzzle League - 8.2
(51. NBA Courtside 2: Featuring Kobe Bryant - 8.2)


What do you think? Is there a good variety of genres? Is there a good balance between hard core, casual, mature, and fun games?

For sports series, I listed the highest rated version followed by other highly rated versions in parentheses. That's fair, right? Otherwise, the list would've been full of Madden NFL games, All-Star Baseball games, etc.


By the way, this list is different from Joe's Top 25 Nintendo 64 (N64) Games (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1493) thread from 2002 in that it's based on published review scores only.

- - -

According to Gamestats.com, Metacritic.com, and Gamerankings.com, here are the overall worst 25 Nintendo 64 games:

1. Carmageddon 64 - 2.3
2. Superman - 2.5
3. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker - 2.5
4. The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction - 3.0
5. Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue - 3.0
6. Mike Piazza's Strike Zone - 3.3
7. Deadly Arts (a.k.a. GASP) - 3.4
8. Olympic Hockey '98 - 3.5
9. Dual Heroes - 3.6
10. Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals - 3.6
11. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero - 3.8
12. Daikatana - 4.0
13. ClayFighter 63 1/3 - 4.2
14. South Park Rally - 4.2
15. Nagano Winter Olympics '98 - 4.3
16. Blues Brothers 2000 - 4.3
17. Polaris SnoCross - 4.4
18. Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt - 4.5
19. Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 - 4.6
20. WCW Backstage Assault - 4.7
21. NBA In the Zone '98 - 4.8
22. World League Soccer 2000 - 4.8
23. WCW Nitro - 4.9
24. Rally Challenge 2000 - 4.9
25. War Gods - 4.9

[cyberfluxor]

Eh, it's a top list. All of the expectants are up there, hint: million sellers and pack-ins. So many rat on the N64 but there are a good chunk of games nearly anyone can enjoy.


Coming soon: the overall worst Nintendo 64 games.

Can only guess what #1 is, right? I know most will say Daikatana, but I own and have played it. Although it sucks, it don't quite feel as though it's the worst for some reason.

[mercarian]

The worst N64 game IMHO is Superman 64. What a piece. The top gaming list too me is very good. N64 offers a really nice variety of games, while maintaining "funness."

[cyberfluxor]

The worst N64 game IMHO is Superman 64. What a piece.

With all of the crap I've heard of Superman 64, I fear bringing it into my car. I've avoided it each time it's been spotted in the wild. Why taint my other cartridges either? Maybe one day it'll come to me free and in a flaming basket.

[lendelin]

With all of the crap I've heard of Superman 64, I fear bringing it into my car. I've avoided it each time it's been spotted in the wild. Why taint my other cartridges either? Maybe one day it'll come to me free and in a flaming basket.

There is nothing wrong having and playing the worst games. :) I still regret that I didn't buy Superman 64 and Quest 64.. I made sure that I have Aquaman and Pulse Racer for the Xbox, great games. :)

I'm surprised that Starfox 64 isn't higher up in the list. The game was my favorite for the system, great shooter, well designed, and the replay value if you go after high scores is fantastic.

[Ed Oscuro]

Agreed, Star Fox 64 is one of the iconic games of our time. Sure it's "just" an upgraded SNES game, but oh man...plus the audios are classic. DO A ... you know the rest.

Interesting that we don't get into the 8.X scores until 23rd place. That's pretty darn decent - you can have a good sized N64 collection with nothing but 9.X scoring games.

I'm a bit disappointed that Extreme G 2 didn't get onto the list; although I got over my initial (mostly irrational) disappointment with the original going to it after XG2 (years and years after its release), I still think the sequel is better: Better feeling of speed, much better visuals, better bonus modes, and the weapons still aren't bad.

[Trevelyan]

The top 3 were my favorite's but deviating from rational integers only clouds a foggy console and the games that were released. I have played and enjoyed the majority here but would certainly rank games such as Mario Party, Harvest Moon, Star Wars: Episode I Racer & Top Gear Overdrive among them. Its still one of my favorite consoles however and i explained as much in the appropriate thread.


P.S. Get A Love: Panda Love Unit anyone? :eek: And did anyone play Jeopardy! on the N64! ROFL !

[Rob2600]

I just added the list of 25 worst Nintendo 64 games.


Can only guess what #1 is, right? I know most will say Daikatana, but I own and have played it. Although it sucks, it don't quite feel as though it's the worst for some reason.

Actually, there are 11 Nintendo 64 games that are worse than Daikatana. :)


I'm surprised that Starfox 64 isn't higher up in the list. The game was my favorite for the system, great shooter, well designed, and the replay value if you go after high scores is fantastic.

I completely agree. Star Fox 64 is one of my favorite video games ever. At one point, I had the enemy patterns memorized and could get medals on every stage in one try.


I'm a bit disappointed that Extreme G 2 didn't get onto the list

Actually, I'm surprised Extreme-G is as high as it is. I remember both versions being decent, but not superb. I'm also surprised Donkey Kong 64 is so high on the list. It was a great looking, well-produced game, but I don't think it deserved a 9.1.

Believe it or not, Super Smash Bros. scored a 7.9 overall...not quite high enough to make it onto the list. In fact, there are a lot of great games that didn't make the cut - 007: The World Is Not Enough, BattleTanx: Global Assault, Harvest Moon 64, Mario Party, Mortal Kombat 4, Pokemon Snap, Quake II, StarCraft 64, Top Gear Rally, etc.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Tetrisphere being rated above The New Tetris makes me sad.

4-player T.N.Tetris on N64 was great.

[Rob2600]

I have played and enjoyed the majority here but would certainly rank games such as Mario Party, Harvest Moon, Star Wars: Episode I Racer & Top Gear Overdrive among them.

Yes, I agree. As I wrote in my previous post, a bunch of great games received high scores, but not quite high enough to crack the top 50. Some of them were my favorites, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I could've made the list longer, but I think 50 is plenty.


Tetrisphere being rated above The New Tetris makes me sad.

4-player T.N.Tetris on N64 was great.

I know what you mean, but there's really only a 0.2 difference between both games (8.5 vs. 8.7). :)

I used to play Tetrisphere a lot. It's fun, but my favorite part about it was the music. It sounded really, really good.

[CelticJobber]

I think Banjo Kazooie is ranked a little too high, and Zelda: Majora's Mask is a little too low. IMHO, the original San Francisco Rush which isn't in the top 50 was better/more memorable than Beetle Adventure Racing. And I'm shocked that more of the AKI-developed THQ wrestling games didn't make the cut, as they were a major selling point for the N64 to a lot of people.

[Tony Lama]

Tetrisphere being rated above The New Tetris makes me sad.

4-player T.N.Tetris on N64 was great.

I love puzzle games and TETRISPHERE was okay. Never played THE NEW TETRIS. But I feel 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!

[kainemaxwell]

Wow, there's a game worse then Superman 64?! I didn't think it was possible.

[bangtango]

Inspired by my Best and Worst Wii games (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109135) thread:


According to Gamestats.com, Metacritic.com, and Gamerankings.com, here are the overall top 50 Nintendo 64 games:

1. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time - 9.8
2. Goldeneye 007 - 9.6
3. Super Mario 64 - 9.5
4. Perfect Dark - 9.4
5. Banjo-Kazooie - 9.3
6. The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask - 9.3
7. Banjo-Tooie - 9.2
8. Paper Mario - 9.2
9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - 9.2
10. Wave Race 64 - 9.1
11. Conker's Bad Fur Day - 9.1
12. Rayman 2: The Great Escape - 9.1
13. International Superstar Soccer '98 - 9.1
14. All-Star Baseball 2000 - 9.1
15. Madden NFL 2000 - 9.1
16. Beetle Adventure Racing - 9.1
17. NFL Blitz - 9.1
18. Donkey Kong 64 - 9.1
19. Star Fox 64 - 9.0
20. Mario Golf - 9.0
21. Mario Tennis - 9.0
22. Blast Corps - 9.0
23. 1080 Snowboarding - 8.9
24. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil - 8.9
25. WWF No Mercy - 8.8
26. Resident Evil 2 - 8.8
27. Excitebike 64 - 8.8
28. F-Zero X - 8.7
29. Tetrisphere - 8.7
30. Diddy Kong Racing - 8.7
31. NHL '99 - 8.6
32. FIFA '99 - 8.6
33. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - 8.6
34. Mario Kart 64 - 8.5
35. Worms Armageddon - 8.5
36. Space Station Silicon Valley - 8.5
37. Rocket: Robot on Wheels - 8.5
38. The New Tetris - 8.5
39. San Francisco Rush 2049 - 8.5
40. Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber - 8.5
41. F-1 World Grand Prix II - 8.5
42. Wipeout 64 - 8.5
43. Extreme-G - 8.5
44. Vigilante 8 - 8.4
45. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - 8.4
46. Ridge Racer 64 - 8.3
47. Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo - 8.3
48. Pilotwings 64 - 8.3
49. NBA Courtside 2: Featuring Kobe Bryant - 8.2
50. Pokemon Puzzle League - 8.2

What do you think? Is there a good variety of genres? Is there a good balance between hard core, casual, mature, and fun games?

For sports games, I only included the one with the highest rating. For example, several Madden NFL games received high scores, but I only included the highest one. Several All-Star Baseball games received high scores, but I only included the highest one...etc. That's fair, right?


By the way, this list is different from Joe's Top 25 Nintendo 64 (N64) Games (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1493) thread from 2002 in that it's based on published review scores only.

- - -

According to Gamestats.com, Metacritic.com, and Gamerankings.com, here are the overall worst 25 Nintendo 64 games:

1. Carmageddon 64 - 2.3
2. Superman - 2.5
3. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker - 2.5
4. The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction - 3.0
5. Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue - 3.0
6. Mike Piazza's Strike Zone - 3.3
7. Deadly Arts (a.k.a. GASP) - 3.4
8. Olympic Hockey '98 - 3.5
9. Dual Heroes - 3.6
10. Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals - 3.6
11. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero - 3.8
12. Daikatana - 4.0
13. ClayFighter 63 1/3 - 4.2
14. South Park Rally - 4.2
15. Nagano Winter Olympics '98 - 4.3
16. Blues Brothers 2000 - 4.3
17. Polaris SnoCross - 4.4
18. Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt - 4.5
19. Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 - 4.6
20. WCW Backstage Assault - 4.7
21. NBA In the Zone '98 - 4.8
22. World League Soccer 2000 - 4.8
23. WCW Nitro - 4.9
24. Rally Challenge 2000 - 4.9
25. War Gods - 4.9

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. Only difference is that Piazza's game seems to have a lot of home runs, mostly of the 600 foot arcade style variety but it is a nice game.

I've never played Superman 64.

As for the wrestling games, I thought WCW/NWO Revenge had a much better roster than No Mercy and played just as well.

I also thought one or two of the QB Club games played better than Madden, solely on N64. I do think Resident Evil 2 should have ended up a little higher on the list, too.

[Doonzmore]

Can't say i disagree with the worst list. The only game noticably missing from the top list is Sin and Punishment if you're counting imports.

EDIT: Blues Brothers wasn't that bad. Two years late after the box office bomb and at the tail end of the Crash Bandicoot craze, but it played better than just about anything else Titus developed for the console. Except maybe Hercules.

[Daltone]

Fighting Force 64 should be somewhere around the bottom, I can't see it reviewed anywhere on Metacritic (the search doesn't come up with anything.) Carmageddon and Superman are both equally bad IMO.

Clayfighter isn't THAT terrible is it? I mean, it's bad, but it doesn't suck that much. Maybe I'm just being too lenient.

I would have liked to have seen Body Harvest somewhere in the top list.

[Rob2600]

I'm shocked that more of the AKI-developed THQ wrestling games didn't make the cut, as they were a major selling point for the N64 to a lot of people.

I know, but as I wrote in the original post, I only included the highest rated version of each sports series...otherwise, there would've been three versions of Madden NFL on the list, three versions of Askmik's wrestling games on the list, three All-Star Baseball games on the list, three Tony Hawk Pro Skater games on the list, etc.

I thought it was more fair this way. Yes? No?

[roushimsx]

It's a shame Stunt Racer 64 didn't fare better in reviews. It's by far my favorite racing game on the platform :(

It's also fun to note the extremely high average scores in the top 50. At least reviewers seem to be making more of an effort to shift the averages down and use the full scale now a days than they did back then, because back in the N64/PS1/Saturn/GBC era the whole "8 is awesome, 7 is crap" mentality was going full steam ahead.

[bangtango]

I know, but as I wrote in the original post, I only included the highest rated version of each sports series...otherwise, there would've been three versions of Madden NFL on the list, three versions of Askmik's wrestling games on the list, three All-Star Baseball games on the list, three Tony Hawk Pro Skater games on the list, etc.

I thought it was more fair this way. Yes? No?

I don't mind personally.

Of course that is no more (or less) fair than someone else taking the very same list and removing one Zelda, one Turok and several of the Mario games LOL

In all seriousness, though, you did the right thing by including the "highest" rated Madden, All Star Baseball, etc. Just so we can see what reviewers considered the "best" in each series. So I think you handled it very well actually.

[Rob2600]

IMHO, the original San Francisco Rush which isn't in the top 50 was better/more memorable than Beetle Adventure Racing.


It's a shame Stunt Racer 64 didn't fare better in reviews. It's by far my favorite racing game on the platform :(

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. There were many games I wanted to include in the list (Super Smash Bros., Goemon's Great Adventure, 007: The World Is Not Enough, Bust-a-Move '99, Snowboard Kids, San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing, etc.), but I stopped at 50.

One of these days I'll post a complete list of Nintendo 64 games and their overall ratings.


The only game noticably missing from the top list is Sin and Punishment if you're counting imports.

I was deciding whether or not to include Sin and Punishment, but I decided not to since it was only released in Japan. Maybe I should now that it's available on the Wii Virtual Console.


I don't mind personally.

Of course that is no more (or less) fair than someone else taking the very same list and removing one Zelda, one Turok and several of the Mario games LOL

In all seriousness, though, you did the right thing by including the "highest" rated Madden, All Star Baseball, etc. Just so we can see what reviewers considered the "best" in each series. So I think you handled it very well actually.

Thanks. I think the Mario games, Zelda games, Turok games, etc. are a different situation because each version is a new, different adventure. 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.

[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! :D

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 LOL

[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 LOL

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 (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/160/160078p1.html):

"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 (http://ign64.ign.com/articles/150/150029p1.html):

"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.

[Night Driver]

I was deciding whether or not to include Sin and Punishment, but I decided not to since it was only released in Japan. Maybe I should now that it's available on the Wii Virtual Console.41. F-1 World Grand Prix II - 8.5

This one was a Europe-only release (AFAIK), so if you're not counting imports like Sin and Punishment, then you might want to remove it from your list.

Perhaps you could substitute the original F-1 World Grand Prix (I), which was released in the USA. It's good enough to be on a top-50 N64 games list. Actually, it's my favorite N64 game. ;)

[rpepper9]

Seems like half the games on the "worst" list are games that make use of some licencing. Like the Olympics or Mike Piazza or Rugrats. Those games usually are the worst, due to the fact that the licensed characters are the selling point of the game, not the gameplay or even the graphics.

[Zebbe]

Wow... One third party game on the top 10. I wonder if that says more about the console players or the support of it.

[Slate]

With all of the crap I've heard of Superman 64, I fear bringing it into my car. I've avoided it each time it's been spotted in the wild. Why taint my other cartridges either? Maybe one day it'll come to me free and in a flaming basket.

You got me thinking of making a movie, Back to the Future 2 style, About someone burning a copy of superman 64.

[Famidrive-16]

Vigilante 8 was a pile of dung also

I love this game, my dad and I still pull out the 64 every once in a while to blast each other to bits in it. The sequel was real bad, though.

[tom]

Goldeneye is way too high, coming second. It was alright at the time, but we had better on PC already during that period.

You can see a lot of awful titles on the 'Best' list between 20 -50, that just shows as with the Jaguar, it's very difficult to even choose the 'Best' for the N64 when making those 'Best of Top 50' lists with so many below average titles.

[Rob2600]

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.

That's great. I hope your child has fun with them. I think The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, Wave Race 64, and 1080 Snowboarding are masterpieces.


41. F-1 World Grand Prix II - 8.5

This one was a Europe-only release (AFAIK), so if you're not counting imports like Sin and Punishment, then you might want to remove it from your list.

Good point. I just added Sin and Punishment to the list in the original post, which knocked Pokemon Puzzle League out of the top 50. That's too bad because it's a very fun game. Sin and Punishment is too, though.

I also made some adjustments to the way I listed sports games.


Goldeneye is way too high, coming second. It was alright at the time, but we had better on PC already during that period.

In 1997, Goldeneye 007 was great. It still is. Besides, even if there were better games on the PC back then, so what? This is a list of the best Nintendo 64 games.


You can see a lot of awful titles on the 'Best' list between 20 -50, that just shows as with the Jaguar, it's very difficult to even choose the 'Best' for the N64 when making those 'Best of Top 50' lists with so many below average titles.

I disagree. Overall, I think it's a strong list and many of the titles still hold up very well. Which of the top 50 do you think are awful?

[Zebbe]

Where are the RPGs on this list? The SNES had many RPGs so I think the 64 should have many RPGs as well. Even my Sega CD had more RPGs, and that was an addon. Maybe there are more RPGs on the 64DD addon?

[Rob2600]

Where are the RPGs on this list? The SNES had many RPGs so I think the 64 should have many RPGs as well. Even my Sega CD had more RPGs, and that was an addon. Maybe there are more RPGs on the 64DD addon?

If you're a die-hard RPG fan and dislike every other genre, then the Nintendo 64 is definitely not for you. There are only a few N64 games listed as RPGs:

Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage - 5.1
Harvest Moon 64 - 8.0
Hybrid Heaven - 7.0
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber - 8.5
Paper Mario - 9.2
Quest 64 - 6.3

[Sothy]

Top 3 N64 games


1 Pilot Wings 64
2 Blast corp.
3 Goldeneye

[Nukie]

Didn't Goldeneye help to solidify the fps on consoles? It was a great game back then, and I just had a night of multi-player fun, which included Goldeneye.

[Atari 5200]

Goemon's Great Adventure = greatest game ever!!!!!!!!!!

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Where are the RPGs on this list? The SNES had many RPGs so I think the 64 should have many RPGs as well. Even my Sega CD had more RPGs, and that was an addon. Maybe there are more RPGs on the 64DD addon?


If you're a die-hard RPG fan and dislike every other genre, then the Nintendo 64 is definitely not for you. There are only a few N64 games listed as RPGs:

Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage - 5.1
Harvest Moon 64 - 8.0
Hybrid Heaven - 7.0
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber - 8.5
Paper Mario - 9.2
Quest 64 - 6.3

Wouldn't Gauntlet Legends qualify as an RPG? I don't know it's rating though. The worst N64 game I can recall playing in recent memory is Castlevania 64- which was too difficult initially that after a dozen tries to get past a very early part of the game- I threw it down in frustration.

[tag274]

The Army Men game was ok, I kinda liked Batman Beyond too! lol

[BydoEmpire]

More proof that the n64 was unfarily criticized for having "only a handful of good games." There was a little magic in that curvy, dark gray box, particularly if you had friends to play with.

My personal top 5 in no particular order.
Goldeneye 007 - multiplayer staple for several years at parties, excellent 1p, too.
Paper Mario - fantastic writing, creative and fun RPG. Best of the series, imho.
Mario Kart 64 - took Mario Kart to the next level, great multiplayer.
Super Mario 64 - stunning at the time, and a groundbreaking game.
Wave Race 64 - no one had done anything like it, and it was fun, deep and addicting

[Viraneth]

Carmageddon is fun imo.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards should be on that list.

One of the BEST N64 games.

I'd also include SSB, Doom, and anything that was ported from PC that was already awesome :D

[rkotm]

Best:
Of course Zelda OOt, Mario 64, and Mario Kart 64.
Turok, the first one. The atmosphere, and cheats, along with the hilarious enemies. Spirit mode+rocket Launcher=how high can you make them fly??
Goldenye, nuff said.
Mario party 1-3, fun fun fun.
Star Wars, Shadows of the Empire-The settings, although tank like controls, this game is a must to play. Probably my favorite star wars game. Scary bosses(at least in 97) like the trash compactor boss.It was fun to explore.
OF COURSE Goemon. MUST PLAY. NAOW.
Doom64-*smile smile* i anticipated its release, and it delivered, i was a Doom fanatic, and the creepy ambience and enemies were great.

Worst:
Daikatana, epic lulz, bland, generic FPS.
War Gods. Extremely generic characters, generic everything.
Yoshis' Story-A very mediocre game that was aimed at beginners, and failed..without Yoshi and the great SMW2 level design, its just Yoshi in bland sidescroller.
All the sports games, (okay, maybe not 1080 and Ken Griffey)
Perfect Dark-Rare tried to make a follow up to a very very successful N64 title of theirs(Gold- something or other), and it just came off as boring and just lost the touch Bond had.

and plenty other trash. it had about a 40(good)/60(bad) ratio..

[j_factor]

Carmageddon is fun imo.

The N64 version? Seriously?

[emceelokey]

More proof that the n64 was unfarily criticized for having "only a handful of good games." There was a little magic in that curvy, dark gray box, particularly if you had friends to play with.

My personal top 5 in no particular order.
Goldeneye 007 - multiplayer staple for several years at parties, excellent 1p, too.
Paper Mario - fantastic writing, creative and fun RPG. Best of the series, imho.
Mario Kart 64 - took Mario Kart to the next level, great multiplayer.
Super Mario 64 - stunning at the time, and a groundbreaking game.
Wave Race 64 - no one had done anything like it, and it was fun, deep and addicting

Your top 5 are all first party games and that was pretty much the case with the n64. It had killer first party games and a handful of great 3rd party games and everything else hovers from good to bad.


A few of my favorite game for the N64 were
- Killer Instinct Gold
- WWF No Mercy
- Blast Corps
- Conker

[Zora Mystery]

Didn't Goldeneye help to solidify the fps on consoles? It was a great game back then, and I just had a night of multi-player fun, which included Goldeneye.

It also showed that movie based games didn't always suck, they are just never done very well.

[basetornado]

The 3 games I loved on the 64 were Goldeneye, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros which was better then some games put out now so where the hell is it.

[Ryaan1234]

Goemon's Great Adventure = greatest game ever!!!!!!!!!!
I wouldn't say the greatest game ever. Maybe the greatest 2.5D 2 player co-op game ever.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

N64 is probably my 2nd favorite console of the 32/64bit era, with Saturn being my No. 1.

There are some very good major titles, some great cult classics and some are just amusing for the kitschy goodness they have to offer like Cruisin' USA.

Among my favorites is Mischief Makers. I've seen people give it mediocre ratings and I just don't understand. It was one of my favorites back in the day and is still a favorite of mine even now, being unique and charming. I also loved Chameleon Twist 1 and 2 which are similarly (though much more harshly) panned, and I enjoy them immensely. Maybe not the best games ever, but Mischief Makers definately deserves to be on there.

Otherwise, I agree with the lists.

[o.pwuaioc]

Why is Ogre Battle so low, and how did it score lower than mediocre racing games like San Francisco Rush? That game was easily in the top 10, for me personally in the top 5 or 3.

[wiggyx]

Inspired by my Top 30 and Bottom 40 Wii games (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109135) thread:


According to Gamestats.com, Metacritic.com, and Gamerankings.com, here are the overall top 50 Nintendo 64 games:


9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - 9.2 (also highly rated: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3)
12. Rayman 2: The Great Escape - 9.1
13. International Superstar Soccer '98 - 9.1 (also highly rated: International Superstar Soccer 64 and International Superstar Soccer 2000)
14. All-Star Baseball 2000 - 9.1 (also highly rated: All-Star Baseball '99 and All-Star Baseball 2001)
15. Madden NFL 2000 - 9.1 (also highly rated: Madden Football 64, Madden NFL '99, and Madden NFL 2001)
17. NFL Blitz - 9.1 (also highly rated: NFL Blitz 2000)
23. 1080 Snowboarding - 8.9
25. WWF No Mercy - 8.8 (also highly rated: WCW/NWO Revenge and WWF Wrestlemania 2000)
31. NHL '99 - 8.6
32. FIFA '99 - 8.6 (also highly rated: FIFA Road to World Cup '98)
40. San Francisco Rush 2049 - 8.5
42. F-1 World Grand Prix II - 8.5 (Europe only) (also highly rated: F-1 World Grand Prix)
43. Wipeout 64 - 8.5
44. Extreme-G - 8.5
45. Vigilante 8 - 8.4
47. Ridge Racer 64 - 8.3
50. Pokemon Puzzle League - 8.2
51. NBA Courtside 2: Featuring Kobe Bryant - 8.2


What do you think? Is there a good variety of genres? Is there a good balance between hard core, casual, mature, and fun games?

I don't think any of these would make it into my top 50. A sports game has to be seriously amazing to make it onto any "top" list IMO, and NONE of these are.

Rayman 2 was OK.
Wipeout was fun, but not special.
Extreme G was a mediocre Wipeout clone.
Wrastlin' games. No.
Rush 2049?! That doesn't compute.
Vigilante 8. Meh.
Ridge Racer should be reserved for PS launch titles. The only way that series caries on at all is because it's ALWAYS the 1st racing game out of the gate for Sony's machines. EVERYTHING else that comes after is about 10 times more interesting.
Really, Pokemans? Maybe if I were 5 when the N64 came out I'd have some nostalgia for it, but I wasn't.

Otherwise the list matched my opinions pretty closely.

[Manhattan Sports Club]

By the way, where the hell are the N64 Bombermans? Those games were killer.

[TunaPhish]

What's funny to me is how the second best N64 game according to all these critics is Goldeneye. While that may have been the case back in 1998 (and I would still have disagreed) when I go back and play it now, it really doesn't hold up well. The FPS genre has come so far since then that Goldeneye seems very bareboned. So, this makes me question: how would we rank the best N64 games (http://nintendoenthusiast.com/article/best-n64-games/) now according to current standards? The metacritic rankings only reflect the standards of when those games were released. However, many of them still play extremely well (e.g. Majora's Mask) while others were only revolutionary for their time but wouldn't be considered great if released in this day and age.

[A Black Falcon]

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

The N64 game plays fine! I'm not sure why reviewers all called it the worst N64 game ever.

[A.C. Sativa]

WCW Nitro should have been higher. Or lower, whatever...

That game is a shitpile.

[SparTonberry]

Pokemon Puzzle League is good but missing one important feature: I'm okay with the music and the sound effects but there needed to be an option to mute just the voices. "I'm gonna win!" STFU Ash! :P

[wayultratech]

Great lists!!

Mischief Makers in my opinion should've gotten more love, but it's nice to see Worms on the top 50. Rakuga Kids is awesome as well, as are Snowboard Kids 1 and 2.

[wiggyx]

What's funny to me is how the second best N64 game according to all these critics is Goldeneye. While that may have been the case back in 1998 (and I would still have disagreed) when I go back and play it now, it really doesn't hold up well. The FPS genre has come so far since then that Goldeneye seems very bareboned. So, this makes me question: how would we rank the best N64 games (http://nintendoenthusiast.com/article/best-n64-games/) now according to current standards? The metacritic rankings only reflect the standards of when those games were released. However, many of them still play extremely well (e.g. Majora's Mask) while others were only revolutionary for their time but wouldn't be considered great if released in this day and age.

I imagine pretty much all of the sports games would be gone (save for the "soft" sports titles like Tony Hawk).

I feel that Mario 64 is still the best 3D Platformer out there. For me, it's sad that one of the first 3D platformers ever is still the best. Even more recent Mario games just don't compare (IMO).

[Daltone]

The N64 game plays fine! I'm not sure why reviewers all called it the worst N64 game ever.

Wow, I don't remember writing that!

It has been a good few years since I've played the N64 version. In that time I've had the Andriod port of Carma and the one off GoG. I remember the N64 version feeling slow and the world being very empty. Somehow that took the fun out of it for me. It's not the worst N64 game ever. Superman is a bad, bad game, despite the best intentions of its developers.

[Neb6]

I used to play Tetrisphere a lot. It's fun, but my favorite part about it was the music. It sounded really, really good.

You should have heard the soundtrack that he WANTED to put on there. It was awesome. Unfortunately, the management wouldn't let him use that set of tracks, so he wrote the ones you hear in the game. Now if that had been a disc-based system, both sets of music would have been included.

[A Black Falcon]

The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction is beyond dire. I played it some today, and it's now the worst N64 game I have ever played, hands down. Irredeemably terrible game. The graphics are okay, but the horrifically bad gameplay is beyond saving. I'm not sure if I've ever played an N64 game that was this bad before... even War Gods was moderately amusing in multiplayer, and that was probably my previous worst choice. Some of those 'bottom 25' games, like Carmageddon 64 (as I said) or Rally Challenge 2000 are actually good games (yes, Rally Challenge 2000 is good! Not great, but good.). Polaris SnoCross, Dual Heroes, and Clayfighter 63 1/3 are okay games as well. Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction, however, sadly, is most DEFINITELY not. Quite the opposite -- it's unbelievably bad for an N64 game. The controls are awful, the gameplay is awful, the game system si broken, the arenas are poorly thought out... it does everything utterly wrong apart from those acceptably okay graphics.

As for Superman, I still haven't played that yet...


Wow, I don't remember writing that!

It has been a good few years since I've played the N64 version. In that time I've had the Andriod port of Carma and the one off GoG. I remember the N64 version feeling slow and the world being very empty. Somehow that took the fun out of it for me. It's not the worst N64 game ever. Superman is a bad, bad game, despite the best intentions of its developers.
The N64 version is kind of slow, but still, I think it's plenty fun... the levels are large, there are a bunch of routes, the challenge level is decent, it can be fun if you like having some exploration in your racing (since figuring out the routes is of course always part of the game)... sure, it's not as good as the first game for PC for sure, but it's not THAT bad.