Nintendo 64, What's your favorite to play or to avoid in the under $20 crowd? (No first party, No Rare)

[Tanooki]

Topic says it all. I started picking up a few N64 games locally here the last couple of weeks when I found my LED TV somehow doesn't have fits with the N64 like my other TVs in the past have. For some reason it doesn't have darkness for shadows, overkill mudd in Hudson games, blurred out 2D graphics, scrambled high res stills, etc going on with it.

Mostly I've been picking up stuff I had before I enjoyed the most which so far have been Aerofighters Assault, Beetle Adventure Racing!, Blast Corps, Bomberman Hero, Mischief Makers, Perfect Dark and Top Gear Rally.

It got me thinking looking at some decent local shelves here and comparing online there are a LOT of non-sports games on N64 that get ignored for one reason or another. Some suck, some don't, but they don't get much comment or respect on or offline. Everyone wants to talk up the 1st and 2nd party games, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and not much else unless it's a falsely made rare game to get a lot of money out of it like Worms or Bomberman Second Attack.

Do any of you have any lesser known favorites that are worth it, or stuff you know are bonafide turds to avoid? Even I've noticed some really solid games maybe look bad, but the game play still shines through (chopper attack is decent for instance.) To make it interesting let's keep it at $20 or less per game.

[celerystalker]

I like Bomberman 64, as it's more puzzle than anything. If you want to import, Robot Poncots (or Ponkottsu) 64 is part of the Robopon series, and can use the transfer pak for some GB crossover goodness you may enjoy. I still like the Aki wrestling games as well. Wetrix was a fun puzzle game for me... you already mentioned Mischief Makers, which I loved... Star Soldier is pretty much your only real shooter option, and it's serviceable.

[retro junkie]

Some games that I have enjoyed, and still do, are
Hydro Thunder
Goemon's Great Adventure
Robotron 64
Super Robot Spirits 64 (Japan)
Cruis'n Exotica
Dark Rift
Fighting Force 64
Ridge Racer 64
Bust-A-Move 2
Wipeout 64
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Japan)
Star Wars Racer

[Tanooki]

I've always been curious about that Fighting Force game as I kept hearing it was like 3D Final Fight but never popped for it in all these years. Evangelion I have been too, but it looked like a language barrier. The local store that gets old games here got a stunningly nice CIB copy of it, but they want $80 which is not happening so when I go in and see it it's like a mean taunt. Good selections so far of good games, and I think Star Soldier is far better than just serviceable as I've held onto that one all these years even when I slimmed things down as it's fun -- also that opening on it was a cool intro with all the ship combat as it reminded me of like 3D demoscene stuff almost.

I'm wondering about certain games though like Aerogauge, Knife Edge, Dark Rift, and various others. I also know Quake 1, Quake 2 (not a port is my understanding) and Hexen made it over along with a pair of unique Duke games but I've never heard anyone's personal accounts of those. DOOM I have it's stunningly good and unique, not a port which a lot seem to think it is.

[Aussie2B]

Goemon's Great Adventure

Sadly it's more like a $40 game these days. But that's what I'd recommend otherwise. Easily one of the very best N64 games, in my opinion.

[Daria]

Shit... I only like 2 games on the system and neither fit the topic.

[goldenband]

Besides games already mentioned (e.g. Chopper Attack), I've enjoyed:

All-Star Baseball '99
Gauntlet Legends
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
Tigger's Honey Hunt

South Park gave me some amusement too, though it's very repetitive.

[Tanooki]

I heard Sub Zero was pretty bad but that was also years ago when the print gaming media was in the pocket of anything not Nintendo and found whatever good reason to dump on the 64 too. Wasn't that the non-fighting platformer? I had an interest in it then but was soured by all the whiny bad press it received.

Also I agree about Goemon and it's a shame it's semi-expensive now pushing original retail just for the game alone, perhaps the 3D pre-Ocarina of time style game is still within the range? I still think it's more fun than Ocarina too.

[goldenband]

I heard Sub Zero was pretty bad but that was also years ago when the print gaming media was in the pocket of anything not Nintendo and found whatever good reason to dump on the 64 too. Wasn't that the non-fighting platformer? I had an interest in it then but was soured by all the whiny bad press it received.

It is indeed a platformer, though it has plenty of battles that are somewhere between MK and a beat-'em-up. It has a bad reputation, but I found it perfectly playable and even fun, and it was one of the only N64 games that grabbed me while the system was on the market.

Two caveats, though -- I'm a fan of 2.5D platformers in general, and I haven't actually finished the game so if it all goes to hell in later levels, I wouldn't know. (I completed Very Easy and Easy, but those don't let you play the final levels of the game.)

[The Adventurer]

Winback (the closest we ever got to Metal Gear on N64)
Hybrid Heaven (under appreciated RPG)
Space Station Silicon Valley (A FANTASTIC platform puzzler)
Bomberman Hero (really, any of the N64 Bombermans)
Castlevania 64 (not actually as bad as you'd think)
WWF No Mercy (even if you don't give a shit about Wrassling)

[Aussie2B]

Also I agree about Goemon and it's a shame it's semi-expensive now pushing original retail just for the game alone, perhaps the 3D pre-Ocarina of time style game is still within the range? I still think it's more fun than Ocarina too.

Unfortunately Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon has climbed too, though it looks like it can be had for a little bit less than Goemon's Great Adventure. Which is kinda weird because I always hear people talk about Mystical Ninja a lot more, though I'm guessing Goemon's Great Adventure is the rarer game. Personally, I think Goemon's Great Adventure is the better game, but they're both fun.

Looking at today's prices makes me glad that I splurged a little, spending more than I would on the average used game (more than I spend on the average new game, for that matter), to get a CIB copy of Goemon's Great Adventure a year or two after it came out for about 30 bucks.

[Nathan Dunsmore]

007: The World is Not Enough
Spiderman
Tarzan
Road Rash 64
NFL Blitz - Any year
NBA Showtime
NBA Hangtime
Roadsters
Shadowman
Top Gear Hyperbike
Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness
Fighter's Destiny 1 and 2

[Gentlegamer]

I approve of this "budget collector" topic, I've been wanting to get into more N64. And I'm cheap.

[Bobo Mcloud]

Almost anything by iguana on the 64 was pretty quality, shadowman was epic.

[Tanooki]

I approve of this "budget collector" topic, I've been wanting to get into more N64. And I'm cheap.

That is exactly why I limited it to a $20 cap. I've seen posts about N64 over the years at gamefaqs, NWR, even NA and usually it always circles the same toilet -- What did Nintendo release? What did RARE release? What is a collectard made non-rare overpriced title that's at least $50+ dollars suddenly making it good to justify paying that much. That I wanted to avoid. Easily we could have had anything from those 2 developer plus stuff like Worms, Bomberman Second Attack and so on and that defeats the purpose.


I like these lists of games, if anyone cares to or has the time, I'm curious why some of them are listed? In a system loaded with 3D fighters and a huge supply of racing games what makes something like Roadsters or Top Gear Hyperbike worth it, or why Fighters Destiny is better to get than MK4 or other arcade converts like War Gods?

I can name some games I don't currently have, but when I had a good shelf load of N64 games before I couldn't use it right for years (until now) I enjoyed. In no real ideal order...
- World Driver Championship (Can be had for like $5 if that) It's a wannabe gran turismo game with less customization, BOSS studios made it who did the Top Gear games, has an insane handling, control and graphics engine and is fun.
- Robotron 64. 3D, kind of like the arcade, but it's mindless fun that goes for hours if you can keep yourself alive, and also a $5 title.
- Turok (first one) - Has some overkill fogging, but that aside really nice enemies, good stage design, solid challenge, and fairly unique taking down dinosaurs and stuff, DOOM like with keys and items to grab.
- Star Wars Ep 1 Racer - Even if you dislike the movie (most did) it's a really beautiful and fast solid racing game, total non-mario kart too, lots of courses and tournaments to clear
- DOOM 64 and oddly I've seen many pass it off thinking it's a PC port, it's not. Totally unique, even taps the Doom Bible to add the missing laser weapon you piece together to use on a nasty final boss, epic fun.
- Nightmare Creatures - Yes it's on PS1, it's also inferior on there. N64 has better attention to detail, better camera and control, it came out after so things got more ironed out, spooky fun and quite dark game.
- Resident Evil 2 - Again a PS1 game, and other than the very compressed video, better on N64 too. Higher res textures, larger more complex 3D models, multiple blood colors, and other tweaks.

The Midway arcade/dreamcast conversions are all 4 very solid on the N64 -- Both Ready 2 Rumble Boxing(prefer #1), Hydro Thunder and Gauntlet Legends. Alone or with friends they're awesome. The boxing game is like a weird punch out like experience but yet not as the perspective is different. Hydro Thunder is just fast, beautiful, turbo required and can be arcade cheap but it's fun one to just keep retrying to clear and has fun unlockable boats. Gauntlet really needs no explanation and it works surprisingly well on the N64 even with full player support going, and unlike Dark Legacy the levels are in a logical order and isn't too long to get boring.


This is moderately off topic, but I've been thinking since I no longer have or will ever have a Wii or likely a WiiU again I lost access to Sin & Punishment. I don't want to chop up my N64 slot port for games, $30+ seems steep on ebay but what can I do for an adapter?

[Aussie2B]

If it's only for one game, you could just as well swap the back of a Japanese cart with the back of a US cart, if you have the bit to open them up.

[The Adventurer]

Avoid Aerofighters Assault. I was obsessed with getting my hands of that game when I was a teen, because the idea of flying around fighter planes in 3D was really cool to me coming off Pilotwings 64. But as soon as I got it I realized it was kind of not very good. A few months ago I went back to figure out why I rejected it so strongly, and it's because its framerate is ungodly bad.

You're better off just playing Aircombat/Acecombat on PS1


Other cheap platformers probably worth looking at....

Glover
Buck Bumble
Gex 2 & 3
Chameleon Twist 1 & 2
Rocket Robot on Wheels

[Tanooki]

I actually like Aerofighters, just picked it back up over the weekend for $5. Same thing with Top Gear Rally for that price, and $10 for a CIB Perfect Dark. All of those I think are good ideas.

Glover which you listed is pretty unique and fun, and I think it was fairly overlooked, but not too badly as a sequel was made but canceled.

[A.C. Sativa]

Not sure if any of them are under $20, but all the AKI wrestling games are pretty great.

[celerystalker]

This is moderately off topic, but I've been thinking since I no longer have or will ever have a Wii or likely a WiiU again I lost access to Sin & Punishment. I don't want to chop up my N64 slot port for games, $30+ seems steep on ebay but what can I do for an adapter?

I just use a Game Shark to play Sin & Punishment. It works fine, and you can get one for pocket change.