The best n64 game ever

Commonly regarded as one of the best platforming games of all time, The Great Escape followed the trend of bringing traditionally 2D franchises into the 3D world.

The plucky protagonist with a bunch of missing limbs translated to 3D with great success. A remake of the original NES Dr. Mario game, Dr. Mario 64 brought the addictive tile-matching puzzler to the N64 in For those unfamiliar with the game that sees the plumber turn into an unlicensed doctor, Dr.

Mario 64 is forced on a quest to catch the culprit who stole the extra special Megavitamins. In order to do that, you had to play a grid-based match four puzzler with multi-colored pills. You could also choose to play as the even less medically inclined Wario, for some reason. Ash was just getting the hang of becoming the very best when Professor Oak rang to tell him he had to go compete in the Puzzle League championship.

Essentially, a grid filled up with multi-colored blocks, and you had to align them into horizontal or vertical sets of three while the board constantly became more cluttered. Clear the board, and you win. The expanded grid presented a much more difficult task and was one of the earliest incarnations of a 3D grid-based puzzler done right.

Easily one of the most popular games for the N64, Mario Kart 64 is over-the-top kart racing at its finest. Players choose to race as Mario or any one of his colorful pals and rivals, before entering single-player Grand Prix tournaments or a wide range of multiplayer events.

Players could grab special power-ups which endowed their driver with a wide range of weapons and kart boosts. For instance, red shells would fire off and home in on the nearest competitor. Stars, on the other hand, would give players temporary invincibility and a speed boost. Like the games before it, what allowed Mario Kart to stand out was its addicting multiplayer gameplay.

It was the perfect combination of everything which kept bringing you back to Mario Kart While not the best racing game on N64, F-Zero X could claim the title of fastest and most intense. No one would call the transition to 3D pretty, however, as the game looked downright bland in many spots.

The racer more than made up for its relative drabness with its gameplay, though. In addition to these 30 racer free-for-alls, F-Zero X also had a degree of procedural generation in its track composition. When playing X-Cup, pieces and parts of tracks were spliced together to create a somewhat unique experience each time you load it up.

If you wanted speed and adrenaline on N64, F-Zero X was first in class. The pods had the ability to fly at speeds of more than miles per hour through a variety of different Star Wars- themed race tracks. The game provided a healthy offering of pod racers 23 and race tracks 25 , many of which required tournament victories to unlock. Anakin Skywalker proved a capable pod racer, but many of the unlockable characters possess attributes far superior. Though many Star Wars video games survive due to their namesake, Episode 1: Racer was one of those rare games which truly earned its popularity.

Like so many games on this list, Wave Race 64 offered N64 gamers an experience they had never had before. The game featured just four playable characters, each with their own predetermined racing style, to go along with eight different courses. In Championship mode, players raced through a selection of tracks and acquired points based on their finishing position. Depending on the level of difficulty, players amassed a certain number of points to avoid disqualification and ending the game.

The concepts were simple, but it took skill to beat the game on the harder difficulty levels. A final score came down to the number of hoops a racer jumped through, coupled with the number of successfully executed tricks.

Putting down your controller without achieving a new high score was much easier said than done once you popped the Wave Race 64 cartridge in. Piggy-backing off the success of Mario Kart 64 , Diddy Kong Racing took kart racing games to a whole new level with the addition of multiple vehicle types — namely airplanes, cars, and hovercraft. This was adopted by the Mario Kart series on later platforms. Although initially criticized as a Mario Kart knock-off, Diddy Kong Racing proved to gamers itself with its innovative mechanics and adventure mode, even setting a Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling game at the time.

It also introduced the world to Conker and Banjo, who would go on to star in their own classic games, also featured on this list. Set in the mythical land of Hyrule, players control the iconic Link as he sets out to rescue Princess Zelda and thwart the evil plans of Ganondorf. Though the plot sounds familiar, the game was anything but when it was first released back in From its revolutionary Z-targeting system to its context-specific button configurations, the title introduced a bevy of features which became standard for 3D games moving forward.

Heralded by many as one of the best — if not the best — Legend of Zelda games of all time, Ocarina of Time set gamers on a sprawling epic not previously seen in three dimensions. Ocarina of Time featured incredible dungeon design, an unforgettable cast of characters, and a storyline rife with an adventure that stands the test of time. Although players once again took the control of Link, absent are pivotal characters such as Zelda and Ganondorf.

The game also takes place in the land of Termina instead of Hyrule. The story finds Link in search of his spoiler alert departed fairy Navi, who left him at the conclusion of Ocarina of Time. After getting ambushed by Skull Kid and robbed of his horse and the Ocarina of Time, Link teams up with the fairy Tatl to seek revenge against Skull Kid. The duo travels to Clock Town in search of Skull Kid, only to find the town facing impending doom in just three days from a falling moon.

Link only can only achieve so much during the three days before he has to travel back in time and begin again from Day 1. This timer gave the game a unique and challenging rhythm. However, like most Mario games, players assumed the role of Mario and played through a variety of levels in an effort to rescue the kidnapped Princess Peach.

He makes several allies throughout each level, many of whom were foes in previous installments, each designed to help the titular character through a gauntlet of puzzles and obstacles. Fans of Super Mario 64 were no doubt shocked to find Paper Mario differed greatly from the former title, though once they understood the gameplay, it was easy to see how great the game actually was, and it has since spawned numerous sequels on other Nintendo platforms.

We believe all baseball games should have Ken Griffey Jr. Current page: Page 1. Our aim as the global GamesRadar Staff team is to take you closer to the games, movies, TV shows, and comics that you love. We want to upgrade your downtime, and help you make the most of your time, money, and skills.

We always aim to entertain, inform, and inspire through our mix of content - which includes news, reviews, features, tips, buying guides, and videos. Get the best gaming deals, reviews, product advice, competitions, unmissable gaming news and more! Page 1 of 2: Page 1 Page 1 Page 2. GamesRadar Staff. In the s, the top dogs were Nintendo and Sega. Each had their own slew of games, competitively priced consoles, and iconic mascots to push product.

After years of stiff competition, Nintendo would ultimately come away as the winner, making Sega a friendly business partner as opposed to fierce rival. What led Nintendo to victory over Sega in the long run? Part of it was an evolving cultural environment.

The 90s was packed with in-your-face edginess in youthful rebellion. Sonic the Hedgehog, in many ways, was the embodiment of this culture. Behind the scenes, they were quietly working on their own console, and when they revealed at the CES, Nintendo abruptly ended their contract with Sony. Sony would beat Nintendo early on by introducing the first truly 3D games, and its host of exclusive titles made it a tempting offer for gamers looking for the latest and greatest.

In response, Nintendo released the Nintendo 64, or N64, in There are lots of reasons that make the Nintendo 64 a great console. For one, it was the only console at the time that allowed up to four players.

This made it the perfect console for friends and family members to connect and play together. And Nintendo supported this feature with standout titles like Super Smash Bros. This was also a time when Nintendo had some of the biggest game studios in the world working with them.

These games and several others were, by and large, masterpieces that would influence the gaming world for years to come. Even Hey You, Pikachu , a wildly flawed game, had its own sense of charm. Plus, you get to pet Pikachu in it. The N64, in short, is a console that impacted children and adults across the world, and it's home to some of the absolute best games ever made.

Nintendo would never be able to quite recapture that magic again until almost 20 years later with the Nintendo Switch, despite the charm and wonder of the GameCube , Wii, and Wii U. In its heyday, N64 owners were graced with a ton of new and innovative accessories to go along with the groundbreaking console. The N64 expansion pack was an accessory that increased the graphic power of the console. This meant that games could be enjoyed in higher definition. The game had to be compatible with the hardware in order to function properly.

It was a genius development by Nintendo which offered consumers the choice to enjoy games in more detail. Although mostly optional, two of the best N64 games, in particular, necessitate the use of the expansion pack. The marketing tactics behind the rollout of the N64 were fantastic.

Nintendo could not have done a better job marketing the console and its accessories to consumers. One of the strokes of genius came in the form of offering the console in various colors.

The N64 was available in standard grey upon release. Throughout the years, Nintendo rolled out several additional colors including some special edition consoles which totaled approximately They also released several special edition consoles with themes of iconic games such as Pokemon.

The color variations allowed traditional consumers to display their individuality through their color choice. It also created a frenzy amongst collectors who desired to own every color version possible. Moreover, game cartridges also took on different color schemes at times.

Unfortunately, there are no N64 games available via the Nintendo Switch online service. Nintendo Switch Online is a service that grants users access to various iconic Nintendo games of the past. Luckily there have been talks to introduce N64 games via Nintendo Switch Online.

Today it is incredibly difficult to enjoy the best N64 games due to the scarcity of the console and games. However, having them available virtually can essentially solve this problem. Despite being beloved by Nintendo fans, the N64 was not considered a console that earned high sales numbers.

Although it gave us classics such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64, commercially the console failed to perform as Nintendo would have hoped. The N64 sold approximately The N64 ranks second amongst the fifth generation of video game consoles. Ultimately these numbers are skewed by the fact that the PlayStation was released in while the N64 was released in This list is sure to surprise a few Nintendo fans who have their own interpretation of the best N64 games.

In fifth place, we have the original Super Smash Bros. The game sold 5. This may surprise some considering it is considered one of the best video games of all time. GoldenEye shockingly comes in at third place with 8 million units sold. Although this game deserves credit for being the best shooter of its time, third place on this list may seem high to some. This boosted its sales numbers. In second place we have Mario Kart 64 with 9. Finally rounding out the list is Super Mario 64, yet another bundled game that sold We hope you like the items we recommend!

Eternal is such a far cry from Doom that they could be two different series entirely! It takes the multiplayer mode from Doom 3 all the way to 11 by giving players the ability to play as Doomguy or a demon while battling for the safety or destruction of Earth.

Final Doom takes the 5th spot in this list of the best Doom games of all time. Regardless, this was always one of the best PS1 games in my collection and brought extra add-ons to a classic franchise that we all loved.

Final Doom is essentially Doom 2: Hell on Earth with some extra bits added in for good measure. It plays exactly the same and features the same main 32 levels, but boasts better graphics and a much more advanced gameplay experience. Many of you reading this list of the best Doom games probably never even know that this existed, but it was one of the best things download on old flip phones back in With new weapons and enemies, this mobile game actually managed to hold its own with the other games in the franchise, despite the fact that all the action happened on a tiny screen!

This is a quintessential Doom title with a difference. Turn-based battles and a plot yes, an actual plot! I mean really chat, picking up useful information that will help you progress and to find all the good items. Doom 64 is one of the best N64 games ever made, and the new Switch port keeps all of the same nostalgic vibes that shipped with the original game… mainly because it looks pretty much the same as it did back in !

Whether you plump for the 25th anniversary port or the original N64 game, this polished version of Doom 3 tells another awesomely-gory tale of Hell vs Humans in a fight to the death.

Ok, I take it back; you need the Switch game in your life if only for experiencing this game in handheld mode while kicking back on the sofa!