Nintendo 64 Console (Charcoal Grey) (Nintendo 64) [N64]

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At that time, competing systems from Sony and Sega (the PlayStation and Saturn, respectively) were using CD-ROM discs to store their games. These discs are much cheaper to manufacture and distribute, resulting in lower costs to third party game publishers. As a result many game developers which had traditionally supported Nintendo game consoles were now developing games for the competition because of the higher profit margins found on CD based platforms. Invited to Princess Peach's castle, Mario discovers that she has once again been kidnapped by Bowser and his minions. However, something has changed... This time the adventure is in 3D! Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) and Nintendo Account required for online play. Not available in all countries. Internet access required for online features. Terms apply. nintendo.com/switch-online Goldeneye 007 is an excellent game too, evolving first-person shooters from "kill everything on sight, get out of the maze", to something closer to action-adventure games, focused on completing different tasks in each level. Rare's greatest achievement in the N64, IMO.

Perfect Dark, while pushing the machine to its limits, stands upon the shoulders of Goldeneye - it didn't have to break as much new ground as Goldeneye did, and therefore is inferior IMO, but it's still a great game, easily within the Top 10 for the console.

It would be easy to dismiss 1999’s Beetle Adventure Racing as a cynically-motivated licensed game created only to showcase Volkswagen’s New Beetle, released the previous year. To do so would be to overlook a key moment in the evolution of racing games that has led us to where we are today with the more playful Need for Speed or Forza Horizon games. As great as Goldeneye 007 was, Rare managed to top it in every way with Perfect Dark three years later. When Perfect Dark arrived on N64 in 2000, it was the best first-person shooter a console had ever seen -- as close to perfect as was probably possible on Nintendo’s aging 64-bit system. Dozens of exciting weapons were at players’ disposal, including several inventive guns like the FarSight XR-20, an x-ray railgun. The highly tweakable Combat Simulator provided the pinnacle of split-screen gaming at the turn of the century. Get four friends together, throw in a few of the various bots that each had their own playstyles, and that was many, many nights of gaming sorted. Fun fact: Rogue Squadron was released shortly before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and Lucasfilm gave the team the design for the Naboo Starfighter to use in game, but it had to stay secret for six months after launch to coincide with the movie’s release. - Adam Bankhurst 9. Wave Race 64

I'd probably swap the places of Banjo-Tooie and Banjo-Kazooie. There's something about the second that makes me prefer it over the first. Maybe it's the fact that the notes are permacollected, unlike in Kazooie. In addition to a sundry of platformers and racers, Nintendo 64 was home to some really interesting experiments in genres more commonly found on PCs... or nowhere at all. Remember, Animal Crossing started on N64 - albeit only in Japan. But it was the real-time strategy genre that saw some very unique and memorable experiences on N64. We’d be remiss to not give an honorable mention to the excellent controls of StarCraft 64 -- but our console RTS heart of course firmly belongs to O gre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber. That necessity to reinvent the game from scratch is what I think makes it the console's greatest achievement. I mean, it's not the first 3D game, but it sure has influenced 3D gaming through the years. Pre-dating the seminal SSX by two years, 1080 Snowboarding was a rare example of Nintendo taking a swing at a more serious sports game and delivering something special. While its graphics were utterly gorgeous, its focus on realism made it truly stand out. Much like Wave Race 64 managed to convey the feeling of water, this captured the feel of moving over (and sometimes through) snow in ways that hadn’t been seen before.In addition to the CD-ROM add on, Sony would release a combination Super NES/CD-ROM system in one unit, which would have been called the PlayStation. Initially, Nintendo's abandonment of the joint project caused Sony to consider halting their research, but ultimately the company decided to use what they had developed so far and make it into a complete, stand alone console. This led to Nintendo filing a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and attempted, in U.S. federal court, to obtain an injunction against the release of the PlayStation, on the grounds that Nintendo owned the name. The federal judge presiding over the case denied the injunction. I think the merit of Super Mario 64 is that it had to basically rewrite core Super Mario gameplay, mostly on two things: health bar, and power-ups now being crucial to get stars. Super Mario 64 has a more "strategic", puzzle-solving gameplay compared to the "hop 'n' bop" obstacle courses that 2D Super Mario games are made of, where power-ups give an optional advantage to beat the levels. On the other hand, the open-world level design could be seen as a natural extesion of SMB3 and SMW's overworld maps: instead of worlds with different levels, it has courses with different stars, and a hub world hosting those courses - it's an already existing idea taken one step further.

Banjo-Tooie was up against some beloved platformers in our selection process including Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Donkey Kong 64, both from Tooie’s developer, Rare. But Tooie’s platforming, augmented by goofy transformations and endless new moves, was refined compared to DK64, and its explorable areas dwarfed Conker, giving it the edge. - Samuel Claiborn 24. Pokemon Stadium 2 Despite the controversies, the N64 still managed to support many popular games, giving it a long life run. Nintendo 64 took second place for its generation of consoles while the PlayStation finished first, with 40% and 51% of the market respectively. Much of this success was credited to Nintendo's strong first-party franchises, such as Mario and Zelda, which had strong name brand appeal yet appeared exclusively on Nintendo platforms. The N64 also secured its share of the mature audience thanks to GoldenEye 007, Resident Evil 2, Shadow Man, Doom 64 and Quake II. To truly understand the importance of Banjo-Kazooie, all you have to do is look at the thrilled reception to the addition of the weird yet charming bear/bird combo to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s hallowed roster, over 20 years after its initial release. Why? Banjo-Kazooie has withstood the test of time as both a character duo and a game. Following the game-changing release of Super Mario 64, Rare took what was so special about that game and built upon it to create a timeless and hilarious adventure with an unlikely crew.That's my Top 3: Super Mario 64 first, Ocarina of Time second, and Goldeneye 007 third. All three giants of gaming, among several other great games (both Banjos, Star Fox 64, Diddy Kong Racing, etc.). So happy anniversary to the Nintendo 64, home to such gaming masterpieces. And happy anniversary to Super Mario 64, one of the most important games in Nintendo's entire history, up there with the likes of Super Mario Bros 1 and 3, the first Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past, and the arcade Donkey Kong.

Though built in the same engine as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask introduced a whole new realm of notable set pieces, quirky characters, and unforgettable gameplay mechanics in the form of the famous three-day time-loop and two-dozen transformative masks. Mature themes abounded in every heart-wrenching side-story, which may have overshadowed the core storyline of the upcoming end of the world if not for the massive, threatening moon overhead. The looming sense of doom instilled a sense of urgency and importance to every task, and since only so much could be accomplished in three days, it left players with a dilemma of who to help - even if it would all be for naught if the falling moon could not be stopped before the timer ran out. It’s telling that one of the main selling points of the upcoming AEW video game is that it will be largely inspired by WWF No Mercy, even going as far as bringing its director, Hideyuki Iwashita, on board for its development. Why? No Mercy represented the pinnacle of an era of wrestling video games. Its simple fighting mechanics made it super easy for even casual wrestling fans to jump in, select their favorite wrestler, and have a great time with minimal onboarding.Star Fox 64 is one of the N64's defining games. It's not just the pinnacle of the series; it’s also arguably one of the best shoot 'em ups ever made. Star Fox has tried ever since to capture just what made Star Fox 64 so special, but it's doubtful that it will ever be able to recreate the raw spectacle that was Star Fox 64 in 1997.