22nd April 2012, 7:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 19th November 2013, 7:59 PM by A Black Falcon.)
All of the reviews are up now, but I still want to add to some of the completed reviews, so not all of them are as complete as I'd like them to be. Still, it's a pretty good list now I think, if not quite as complete as I want it to get.
Notes - I mention when games are available on other platforms. If I say nothing, the game is N64 exclusive as far as physical releases go (that is, I mention any PC, PS1, DC, etc. versions, but don't always mention Wii Virtual Console releases.). Most of the games that I have are exclusives because the N64 had a lot of exclusive games. The list is largely in alphabetical order, but I ignore that for series, so I have the three Rush games together and in order, for instance, and the Cruis'n games listed in release order.
I will list whether games save to cartridge or controller pak (memory card) because N64 controller paks don't hold much, and I think that it's important to know whether you'll need one for your game because of how much of a pain it can be. As a result I will also list how many pages each controller pak save game uses to save. Remember that each controller pak has 123 pages (blocks), and can have a maximum of 16 notes (files) saved to it. I also list if games have Expansion Pak support or not. I won't bother listing everything with Rumble Pak support, because most games from mid '97 on support it, and it's not that big of a deal either way.
Also, this list is a work in progress. I only have reviews for A to C so far, and some of these need improvement. I also do not have all Expansion Pak games marked yet.
Finally, review length and game quality have no relations, here. Don't assume that I think games are better just because I say more about them, it's rarely true. I say more about games that I have more to say about, or ones I think are lesser-known, mostly; it's nothing to do with quality.
Total - 144 games (I think, if I counted right)
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007: The World Is Not Enough - Good FPS from later in the N64's life. Good graphics, good gameplay, fun levels. The game is a blatant Goldeneye clone from Eurocom, but they did a fairly good job of it and the game's a pretty fun one. In high res this game really does look quite nice, this game probably has some of the best graphics in an N64 FPS. You have a nice variety of weapons and items to use too. This is a good game, recommended for N64 FPS fans and anyone who liked Goldeneye, particularly Goldeneye's single player mode (I haven't played this in multiplayer, so I don't know how it compares.). The game has great level designs as well, and every mission has the multiple objectives, gadgets, enemies, and trickery you expect from a Goldeneye sequel. The game plays even better than it looks, I would say. Note that the PSX title of the same name is from a different developer and is completely different, and worse. Four player multiplayer. Expansion Pak support. Controller Pak saving (2 pages).
1080° Snowboarding - I like this game less than many people, but it is okay. I don't know, I just find it a little boring... I've never stuck with it long enough to finish the game, and it's a pretty short game. It is a quality game though. The graphics are reasonably good. I wish that it was more of a racing game, though -- while there is one-on-one racing, 1080 has a strong focus on stunts, and I don't find stunts as fun as I do racing, in snowboarding games. Also, as I said, this game is short, probably even shorter than something like Wave Race 64. People who love it will find plenty of replay value I'm sure, but still, it won't take long until you see everything. Oh, even if I don't love this game nearly as much as many people did at the time, it's still better than most any Playstation or Saturn snowboarding game. Two player multiplayer. Oncart saving.
AeroFighters Assault - This is the closest thing the N64 has to a flight sim, and it's thoroughly mediocre and disappointing. It's an arcadey flight combat game probably closer to Rogue Squadron than a flight sim, which would be fine if the game was actually fun. Unfortunately, it's not. The graphics are average, and the game simply isn't much fun. It's a fairly short game, but it gets frustrating later on and probably isn't worth the time. This is a sequel of sorts to the great early to mid '90s shmup series Aero Fighters, but unfortunately this game is nowhere near as good as those, genre shift aside. At least the two player versus mode is okay. Two player multiplayer. Oncart saving.
Aero Gauge - Futuristic racing game where you fly through the air, instead of just hovering or driving on the ground. The graphics aren't very good, and look pretty outdated for a 1998 release. Lots of pixeley textures, the N64 can do much better than this. There's a lot of fog, too. The game has some good sized areas, but with all that fog around you really can only see what's close to you. They could have done better than this. The menus and interface are stylish and cool looking, though, and the music's fairly good, so some elements of the presentation are done well. This game got mostly poor reviews, and I can understand why, it is a flawed game. One thing to know is how to boost start; the game doesn't tell you how, you need the manual or internet, and you will never win a single race if you don't boost start every single time (hold down A+B before the race begins, let go of B after the announcer says 'set'). Turbo around corners (A+Z with left or right to powerslide; after powersliding let go of A and Z and then press A again to hopefully boost, if you did it right) is also important. There are no weapons or items in this game, and the six tracks are on the short side. The game mostly tries to make up for that with its very high difficulty level, which somewhat succeeds -- this is not an easy game. Unfortunately, the main result is just that it gets quite frustrating. I kind of like the game anyway, because flying racing games aren't very common and the game does some things right and is some fun to play, but I am a huge futuristic racing game fan. Non fans of the genre are unlikely to like the game, I think. Two player multiplayer. Oncart saving, with controller pak support for ghost saves (93 pages per ghost; like Mario Kart 64 the cart can't save any ghosts, only controller paks, and it takes most of a controller pak to save one.). Do not have a controller pak plugged into controller 1 unless you're using it to save replays.
Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage - This epic RPG was a late N64 release in 2001, got poor reviews, and was forgotten. Unfortunately this game will never get the sequel that the title suggests there should be. While Aidyn Chronicles has some serious bugs (it can corrupt your save files, for instance! ALWAYS keep backups!) and is in some ways a deeply flawed game (if a character dies they're dead forever; make use of the save anywhere feature and save often, loading if anyone dies. Apparently they were going to have resurrection, but it was too buggy so it was removed late in development. Also, the character art is pretty bad.), Aidyn Chronicles is also a great game unlike anything else on the N64. The game is a complex, deep Western RPG, and it is a slow paced game as well, so it will take a long time to get used to the game and even longer to finish. The world is large and fun to explore -- I love the big overworld, the N64 does fairly large worlds well and the system is being used well here. There's a lot to explore, and finding your way around and finding the secrets is great. The controls are great. I particularly like the use of the analog stick and C-buttons in the menus, it works very well. The detail put into the game really is impressive, from the magic system to the world to the game design. The combat engine was inspired by Quest 64's, except it's improved here. The battle system is a good, strategic system where all characters appear on a map, with movement circles. You move your characters around, attacking the enemies with weapons or magic when in range. You do more damage attacking enemies from behind. Magic requires reagents, so you can't just cast spells as much as you want -- you have to be judicious about your use of magic. Spells early on aren't just fireballs and stuff too, you'll need to think more in this game. Your starting spells are things like shield, vs. necromancy, weakness, and strength -- useful spells, but subtle compared to fireballs or even Magic Missile. It works though. Enemies are visible in the overworld, so there are no random battles, which is fantastic. The story isn't incredibly original, but it's a good epic story of your hero's rise. And for once, no burning village; the hero sets off on his journey for a reason that is just as good, but is a little more unique. Yeah, despite its big problems, I really like this game. Just be warned, it is long and slow. Oh, and the framerate is pretty slow, though steady, particularly in High Res mode. This bothers some people, but not me; at least it's steady and doesn't jump up and down. The slow pace of gameplay also helps make the framerate matter less. Overall, Aidyn Chronicles is an incredibly ambitious games, in some ways one of the system's most ambitious games. It fails as much as it succeeds, and is very much a love or hate game, but if you can get into it you might get hooked for a long time. I think it's good. Expansion Pak support (use High Res mode!). Controller Pak required to save (28 pages per save file). One player.
All-Star Baseball '99 - Decent baseball game from Acclaim from 1998. Decent gameplay and graphics, it's a fine baseball game for its generation. This was the first of three N64 All-Star Baseball games. I'd like to play this more, but don't have enough memory cards to have one dedicated just to this game... Controller Pak required to save (107 pages).
Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M. - Acclaim FPS. It got mediocre reviews, unlike Acclaim's other N64 FPSes, the Turok series. This is Acclaim's only N64 FPS that also was released on the Playstation (the first two Turok games had PC ports, but not PSX), but reviews of that port say that it's quite a bit worse than the N64 version. I believe it, the game, clearly running on the Turok engine, uses the power of the system and wouldn't downgrade well. I actually think this game is decent, despite the reviews. I love N64 FPS controls, Turok-style FPS controls are the best console FPS controls ever, in my sure to be lonely opinion. Armorines is a straightforward, linear FPS running in the Turok engine, where you shoot lots of bug alien invaders, solve some simple puzzles as you explore each area trying to figure out how to progress to the next one, and then shoot more bugs and move on. It's simple, but fun enough that I can defintely enjoy myself, and the graphics are reasonably nice though not the greatest. You can play as a male or female character, which is cool. The game has four player versus mode multiplayer, and a two player co-op option in the campaign, which is awesome. Expansion Pak support. Controller Pak required to save (1 page).
Army Men: Air Combat - Army Men Air Combat is a port of the Playstation game Army Men Air Attack. It is improved over the original version, with four player multiplayer, better graphics, and more. This series was 3DO's attempt to take on EA's Strike series, and I think it worked pretty well. This is probably one of the best Army Men games, and I like the game. You fly around, in a top-down perspective where you do not have actual 3d control (no control over height you're flying), shooting enemies and turrets, picking up powerups, etc. Graphics are nice enough, game is a lot of fun. The only real negatives are that it's a bit easy and too short, but it's fun while it lasts. I like this game more than the 4th gen Strike games, in fact, though it's a closer fight versus the 5th gen ones. None of those have a four player mode though... Four player multiplayer. Controller Pak required to save (1 page).
Automobili Lamborghini - Titus's first N64 racing game, Automobili Lamborghini is their second Lamborghini game, after Lamborghini American Challenge on the Super Nintendo. The game has nice graphics for a 1997 N64 game, but bland, generic gameplay that probably won't hold most people's interest for particularly long. The game has six or so tracks, a decent number for the time, and four player splitscreen, which is nice. There's only a somewhat barebones single-player game -- choose difficulty and tracks and go -- but while somewhat weak, it could be worse. Overall, the game is fun for a little while, but unfortunately it gets dull fast. There's not much variety here, average, mostly-arcadey controls and handling, and no special gimmicks to hold your attention. Still, it's not actually bad, just bland. I find the game fun for a while. Four player multiplayer, controller pak saving (7 pages).
Banjo-Kazooie - This game is one of the all-time classic 3d platformers, and it is indeed a great game. It isn't my favorite Rare 3d platformer, but it is a great one that deserves most of the praise it has recieved. The graphics are quite good, the game is well designed in both general game design and levels, and there's a lot to do. I do dislike how you have to re-collect notes and such each time you go into a level unless you get all of them, though. You can be in a level without a power you'll need to get all 100 notes, but you don't know it and start collecting them... only to realize some time later you wasted your time and will need to do it again later. It's quite annoying. Other than that though, this game is pretty good. Rare's first 3d platformer is still a great game. Like all of Rare's 3d platformers, BK has a lot of content and will take a good while to finish. It is also on XBox 360 Live Arcade, but I haven't played that version so I can't compare them. One player, on cart saving.
Banjo-Tooie - The sequel to the previous game, bigger and better than the first one in most respects. Tooie is a pretty good game. It doesn't repeat the first game's problems, and has some pretty cool levels too. It's not as original as the first game, though, and some people dislike the multiple characters you now have. I don't mind that, but I did find it kind of annoying at some points and haven't finished the game, despite owning it for many years (since 2002, precisely). The game has some framerate problems -- they simply tried too much for the unenhanced N64, I really wish that this game had had Expansion Pak support, I think it needed it. Some parts have some bad framerate drops. Still, the game is great overall. Like the first game it is also on XBox 360 Live Arcade, but I haven't played those versions so I can't compare them. Four player (battle mode and minigames for multiplayer), oncart saving.
BattleTanx - I did a thread about this game once. It's great fun, the first of 3DO's tank action games and is still well worth playing. While it's great overall, it does have some issues, most prominently the quite mediocre graphics. The game is short too, just like its sequel - this game won't take long to finish. There are only three kinds of tanks in the game, so there's not too much variety. The post-apocalyptic story is simple but effective, and it works as a setup. Multiplayer was the focus here, and it shows -- even the single player missions are all fought in the same levels as the multiplayer, large, square cities full of stuff to destroy and players starting at different points. The sequel would add much more level variety. Fortunately, it's still incredibly fun to drive around and shoot stuff. That's the core of Battletanx, and that's why it's great. Buildings crumble as you shoot them. Levels are large and a lot of fun to navigate and are full of enemies, obstacles, and buildings, many of which you can level. This game's good and well worth playing. Four player multiplayer (various versus modes). Controller Pak to save (1 page).
BattleTanx: Global Assault - The sequel to the above game, and better than it in every way. The story is better, there are a lot more tanks to control, the campaign is longer (though still short and easy), there are more maps, there is a much greater variety of level designs, there are more multiplayer modes and mission types in single player, there are more control options, and more. I really loved this game, it's one of the best multiplayer games on the N64, and yes, I know that's saying a lot. My only complaint is that I wish there was a sequel, because this game ends with a cliffhanger that was never resolved. Bah! 3DO did make some more vehicluar action games after this, the two WDL games from 2000-2001 (both PS1 and PS2 exclusives, quite sadly), but they are entirely separate story-wise and do not continue this plot. Still though, BTGA is fantastic. It would have been nice to see actual height differences in the levels -- there are tunnels you can go down, and little hills, but no real rolling terrain -- but really, this game's very good and extremely fun to play. Of the multiplayer modes, the two player co-op campaign is really cool, and for versus play BattleLord mode (it's Capture the Flag, essentially) steals the show. That mode's so great I rarely even touch the others. You can play against any mixture of four human and computer players, can play 2v2 with one human and one computer on each team, and more. There was a later Playstation version of the game, but it's got new, worse prerendered FMV CG story scenes, entirely redesigned, smaller and less interesting (but more numerous, though it doesn't make up for the problems) levels (completely different level maps), and more. It's nowhere near as good as the N64 version and is two player only. N64 BTGA has a two player co-op campaign, and four player versus modes. Play the better BTGA game, this N64 version. Controller Pak to save (1 page).
Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs - This isn't like the '80s arcade classic, but instead is the only console game based off of the late '90s PC strategy/action series of the same title. The concept is that it is the Cold War, and the US and USSR are fighting a secret war on the moon between forces they have landed there. Yeah, it's a cool concept. :) Activision tried to bring back Battlezone, but as a strategy/FPS/RTS hybrid, like some titles from 3DO and Microsoft such as Uprising. There were two games on the PC, but only this one on consoles, which is an original title and not a port. The game is simplified from the PC original, understandably, given that it is on a console and needs to use a gamepad instead of keyboard and mouse -- the PC games had complex controls, using lots of keyboard keys for various stuff. You can drive around and shoot enemies, but you also have to build a base, build units, and give them orders in your efforts to defeat the enemy. The controls work on the N64, but are complex and they will take a while to get used to. Once you do though it's a pretty good game. The graphics are just average, and there is everpresent fog in the not-far-enough-away distance, but they do the job just well enough to do. There is also a shooting-only arcade mode, but the strategy mode is the core of the game. Four player multiplayer. Controller Pak required to save (1 page).
Beetle Adventure Racing - This is a very popular classic racing game from Paradigm and EA. The game plays like a hybrid between San Francisco Rush and Need for Speed, and is about as great as that sounds. I think that the Rush series is better than BAR, no question, but BAR is pretty good too. The tracks, while few, are huge and lots of fun to drive around and explore. The tracks in this game are absolutely full of shortcuts, so it will take a good amount of time to learn each one. The games' visuals are good as well. The game has plenty of replay value due to its high difficulty level, point boxes to find hidden all over the stages, and more. The multiplayer mode is disappointing, though. Race mode is two player only; only the not-that-great battle mode supports three or four players. Too bad. Also, the tracks sometimes feel like they are too long for their own good. The game's great fun at first, but by the later tracks, the long race times make failures frustrating -- at times one mistake can force you to restart the race or more. I never finished this game because, as good as it is, I got tired of it after a few tracks. Still, with good graphics, good controls, and lots to do, BAR is a great racing game. Controller Pak required to save (4 pages). Two player only in multiplayer race mode, four players in battle mode.
Big Mountain 2000 - This little-known skiing/snowboarding game is actually my favorite winter sports game on the N64. The developer, Imagineer, made some of the N64's more mediocre racing games -- MRC, GT64, Rally Challenge 2000 -- but this one is genuinely good. All four games are somewhat lacking in content, but this one's more fun while it lasts than the others. Big Mountain 2000 is a port of a Japanese release from 1998, so the graphics are not exactly the equal of other N64 games from 2000, but I think that the great gameplay makes up for it. BM2k is a simple, straightforward, and racing-centric skiing and snowboarding game -- this is not an SSX or even 1080 style trick-centric game, but a game that really is about the racing, and that's how I like it. The controls are just about perfect, and are exactly the way I would want them to be for a game of this kind. There is a very minimal trick component, where you can do tricks off of specific jumps if you want, but it doesn't get you anything of note and there is no stunt mode. I am entirely fine with this; I always prefer race to stunt mode in 1080 and SSX games. Indeed, the half pipes are usually my most hated "tracks" in those games. The game is somewhat short, with just four mountains, but that's still one more course than Imagineer's first two N64 racing games have, and there are three races on each mountain, so the game's not TOO short. You have a normal race down the mountain, Downhill, and two different races where you need to go between the flags, Slalom and Giant Slalom. The two have different flag and path layouts for each of the races of course. There is also a reverse mode, after you beat the normal, and you can choose a character and skiis or snowboards, though I didn't notice much of a difference between the two. I got hooked by this game and played it quite a bit until finishing it. It's fun to just race down the mountain. Two player multiplayer. On-cart saving. (Yes, it's one of those rare third-party N64 games with on-cart saving! Imagineer's other three N64 racing games don't have it, for sure.)
Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. - Arcade port fighting game from Midway, also ported to Playstation. This game, released in 1998, was Midway's one of Midway's later 3d fighting games, and unlike most other Midway fighters that generation, this one actually supports saving, which is great. Only this and MK4 do (and the DC version of MK4, MK Gold, doesn't either!). Anyway, in Bio Freaks, you've got everything you expect from a Midway fighting game, plus more -- it has ridiculous character designs, decent graphics for the system, multi-tiered arenas, fatalities, etc. The characters can fly too, so uniquely, it's got both air and ground combat. All characters have both projectile and melee attacks as well. It is a 5th gen 3d fighting game, though, so it's not exactly anywhere near the mark 6th gen 3d fighters hit. It's a bit slow for instance, like so many N64 games. Still, for an N64 3d fighter, not bad. There is also an in-game moves list, which makes this game one of the only N64 fighting games with that awesome feature! The gameplay's only above average -- it definitely is not exactly balanced, which hurts, and it's a bit slow -- but the featureset in the game is pretty good, and it is unique and at least somewhat fun. Two player. Controller pak to save (3 pages).
Blast Corps - Blast Corps is an early N64 Rare game. The game is both original and brilliant, and, despite the many incredible games that Rare made for the system, still stands as one of their best. The graphics are poor, first gen work, but the incredibly fun gameplay makes up for it. In Blast Corps, you have to destroy all the buildings that are in the way of a runaway nuclear missile carrier which cannot stop. If it hits anything, it explodes. You control a variety of different vehicles in your destructive work. The game is essentially an action/puzzle game, and figuring out the fastest and best way to beat each level is both a lot of fun and very challenging. There are medals, and you unlock bonus stages, and the ability to try for platinum medals, if you manage to get all the gold medals. Good luck there, the difficulty is crazy. In addition to the destroying, there are also occasional bonus stages where you do other stuff such as flying around with a jetpack-like thing, and some racing levels where you do some top down racing. It's a great, great game. Controller pak or internal save. One player. Note that the game will give an error message ("foreign object detected in controller pak port" or something) if you have a rumble pak plugged in, and you cannot access the internal save unless you do NOT have a controller pak plugged into controller one. Also, if the space is available, the game will automatically make four 10-14 page notes on your memory card to save onto. How nice. So, before playing Blast Corps, make sure to remove anything from your controller's accessory port! One player.
Body Harvest - Body Harvest is an interesting N64 on foot and vehicular combat game from the same studio as Grand Theft Auto. The game suffered years of delays, originally being planned as an early N64 game but not coming out until 1998. It also saw a publisher change, as Nintendo dropped the game during development and it was picked up by Midway. Fortunately they kept the on-cart saving. In the game, you, a time travelling soldier, have to fight off a bug alien invasion. What it it about N64 alien invasions so often being bugs... Starship Troopers influence I guess? Anyway, these bugs aren't just attacking, they're attacking throughout time! So, use your time machine and save all of the affected eras from the bugs, one after another. The graphics are first-generation poor, and the controls are just okay. The main hook is that you can control many different kinds of vehicles during the game, different ones during each time period. Like in GTA (except before any 3d GTA games), you can jump in and out of the vehicles at will. It's a good game, but I don't love it and always lose interest after a while. I haven't actually gotten too far in this game as a result. One player, on-cart saving.
Bomberman 64 - Bomberman 64 is the first Bomberman game of four on the N64, and it is to this day still the only full, Mario 64-inspired open 3d world Bomberman 3d platformer. All Bomberman 3d platformers after it followed much more linear designs, and the Gamecube ones don't even have 3d multiplayer, just the usual 2d grid stuff. Bomberman 64 was different. The game is very, very difficult, too difficult I would say, but it's a very good game. I do need to say though, the graphics are mediocre at best. Don't expect a lot from this game. It's just good enough to get by, but nothing above that. It's clearly first gen work. My other main complaint is that there is an entire sixth world in the main game that you can only access by getting ALL of the golden tickets (this game's equivalent to Mario 64's stars). ARGH! Some of those tickets are very hard to get... I've never seen world six. It's pretty annoying, I've heard it's cool. :( Even so though, I like the game a lot. The levels are fun to explore and well designed, and there's a lot to do in the game. This game is pretty good. The bossfights are a challenge too, but often fun. The multiplayer is great, too. The maps are actually 3d, and instead of cross explosions like classic Bomberman, are circular like in the single player game. This is the only 3d Bomberman game where normal bombs explode in circular blasts in multiplayer mode; The 2nd Attack also has 3d arenas, but cross bombs (super bombs excepted, those have round blasts), and the two GC/PS2 games have, as I said, the classic 2d style of gameplay only for their multiplayer, though their single players are (poor, subpar) linear-path 3d platformers. Thus in both single and multi player, Bomberman 64 is an original game unlike anything else in the series. 3d platformer and Bomberman fans who haven't played it should try it. Four players. On-cart saving, though if you want to save a custom multiplayer character (a unique look for your multiplayer character, made up of parts you unlock in the main game), you'll need to save that character to a memory card, so you can bring it to a friends' and use it there, I assume. Each of those character files are one page.
Bomberman Hero - Bomberman Hero actually started out as a Bonk game. When I learned this suddenly this game made a lot more sense to me, because at the time I thought that Bomberman Hero was pretty strange for a Bomberman game. It has no multiplayer, it's linear and you just follow a path instead of wandering around larger worlds like in Bomberman 64, and you mostly throw bombs instead of just dropping them. Well, it didn't start out as Bomberman. The game's alright, with some fun linear-cooridor 3d platforming challenge and Bomberman 64-esque boss battles. The graphics aren't much improved over Bomberman 64, but oh well. It's not the game people expected it to be, but it's an okay to good game even so. Oh, this is the only N64 Bomberman game to be released on the Wii Virtual Console, for whatever reason. It's too bad the two Bomberman 64 games weren't. One player, on-cart saving.
Buck Bumble - Buck Bumble is a 3d flight combat game where you control a heavily armed bee. You fly around, killing enemies and doing missions. The graphics are okay at best, nothing special, and the gameplay's no competition for Factor 5's Star Wars games. It's a good game I guess, though not great. This game has lots of fog. Way too much of it really, given the only average graphics. The N64 can do a lot better than this. Even so, for anyone who likes flight combat games, Buck Bumble is probably worth a look -- there aren't too many games like this on the N64, and even if it could be a better, the game is okay and definitely will provide plenty of challenge. Indeed, this game isn't easy. It's also got multiplayer, something Factor 5 didn't attempt. Four players, controller pak to save (3 pages).
Bust-A-Move '99 - BAM '99 is a port of the arcade game Bust-A-Move 3. It was also on PSX and Saturn. Compared to the other versions, the N64 has a plus and a minus. On the good side, the game has an N64-exclusive four player splitscreen multiplayer mode. There's no music in 3 or 4 player mode, but still it's and awesome feature to have, and this is still one of only a very few BAM games with a 4 player splitscreen mode. On the downside, some people will like the cart remixes of the music less than the CD audio on other versions. I think the music's fine, though, and love this game. It's easily one of the N64's best puzzle games. I love the characters in BAM2, it's my favorite BAM cast. I like the music and graphics. I love that BAM3 has more modes and options than most other BAM games -- there isn't just a puzzle mode, a versus mode, and an infinite mode or something, like BAM1, but a total of eight different modes -- in Arcade Puzzle, Arcade Vs. CPU, Arcade 2-P Versus, 4-P Versus (separate because in this mode the windows are much smaller and there's no music; with just two people play in arcade mode, not here.), Win Contest (another versus mode where you see how many CPUs you can beat), Challenge (another puzzle mode, try to meet some specific conditions to finish the stages. You are graded, see how well you can do!), a collection of 1024 puzzles made by Japanese fans that are included on the cart, and puzzle edit mode where you can make your own. In the series, only BAM4 (PC/PS1/DC) comes close to this game in features, and it doesn't have a four player mode. There are multiple graphic sets in this game for the bubbles too -- the game as at least three different looks in different modes and stages. This game has a lot of content, for sure, and will consume you for many hours. My only real complaint is that the save file is insanely large. What in the world HAPPENED here? Why is it 64 pages? BAM2 for Saturn's file is about 64 blocks, and that's out of 500... in a 32KB memory space. This game uses 64 pages of 123 on a 256KB space. Featurewise the games are very similar -- both have a puzzle edit mode with 16 user-creatable puzzles (Saturn exclusive in BAM2, but present in all versions I think of BAM3; N64 certainly has it at least), etc. The N64 game does have more modes and unlockables, but that should only account for a little more space, not the exponential increase in comparison it has. This is really the only blemish on an otherwise exceptional, incredibly addictive game. It's annoying, but doesn't ruin the game. This is one of my favorite puzzle games of all time. Four player multiplayer, controller pak to save (64 pages).
California Speed - California Speed is a port of the Midway/Atari Games arcade game of the same name. The game is essentially Atari Games' take on the Cruis'n USA concept, and repurposes the San Francisco Rush engine to run a Cruis'n-ish point-to-point racer with more Rush-like handling. While only moderately popular, I liked California Speed quite a bit in the arcades back when it came out. It's a somewhat easy game, but being a cross of Cruis'n, which are fun games, and San Francisco Rush, which is my favorite racing game series, I thought it was pretty good. On that note, the controls do feel a lot like a Rush game. The cars handle a lot like Rush cars, so don't expect to be able to turn on a dime. You'll need to learn the courses and prepare. I really like the Rush series' handling, so I think this is great. Fortunately, as I said, this game isn't that hard, and the courses are mostly straightforward. The graphics are okay too. There is fog in the distance, unfortunately, but it's far enough away to not be too bothersome, and I love many of the environments you race through. There really are some great tracks in California Speed. Some of my favorites are the roller coaster section of one track (it's really one of the more distinctive things in the game, in my opinion), the mall you go through in another track (straight from the country to a giant mall...), the part where you seem to be driving inside a giant computer circuitboard, or the alien ship. Yeah, I love the track designs here, the designers did a good job. The graphics are about the same as Rush 1 or 2 on the N64, or perhaps slightly improved over those, so they aren't great, but once you get used to the style it looks okay. Easy or no I like this game a lot, it's just so much fun to drive through the levels. There is some challenge later on, too -- the game's got a solidly lengthy single player mode to race though, with multiple circuits and modes, and three different sets of vehicles too. There are three or four different championships and several difficulty levels, so there's plenty of content if you like the game like I do. I just wish it had on-cart saving like the Cruis'n games do. Two player multiplayer, controller pak to save (35 pages).
Carmageddon 64 - Carmageddon 64 is widely hated, and indeed loathed, but I actually like this game. I can understand why people hate it, but I think it is actually a decent game in some respects, and it definitely can be fun. Based on one of the later Carmageddon games for the PC, Carmageddon 64 may not be as good as the original PC Carmageddon game -- and it isn't -- but neither were Carmagedodon's sequels, and Carmageddon 64 is not anywhere near as awful as reported. Really, in plenty of ways it's a decent game. As usual with Carmageddon, there are three ways to complete each level -- either finish three laps of the race by going through the checkpoints enough time (as always in the series there are no finishing places, or positions recorded. If you finish at all you win.), crush all zombies in the level (harder than it sounds), or destroy the other three cars and be the last car standing (yeah, only four cars in the race). This last one is often the easiest way to win, and the computers are aggressive and attack eachother constantly, so that's their tactic too. If you're following the checkpoints, though, do know that the checkpoints are VERY touchy -- pay attention, it's easy to miss a checkpoint if you were too far from the marker. I've had multiple times where I reach the next checkpoint, only to be told to go back because I missed the last one. The game has only three environments, but all three are huge, and contain a variety of different courses. Each level brings you through different areas of the environment, through different routes, and more, so they do feel different. Each layout is marked with arrow signs that you must follow. I find it easy enough to stay on course, but there are no rails, so you do have to pay attention. The handling is pretty much standard Carmageddon handling, so it feels somewhat Rush-ish, but not quite as well done. Handling is tricky, and I find myself regularly running into walls, but I think the controls are solid, overall; I don't have a problem with them. In narrow paths like you're often driving through in this game, it's understandable that it'd be tricky to stay on the track. It can be done, just drive more carefully and get used to the controls. The button combination to heal up your car some -- hold Z and then press R to heal a little, or hold Z and then double-tap R to fully heal -- is quite important, you take damage easily and will need to heal frequently. Fortunately, though healing costs money, you usually have plenty. The graphics are decent, and there are a fair number of "zombies" to run over. Silly console censorship, they're supposed to be people... it's more fun running over humans, but oh well. Sometimes you can complete whole races without seeing the zombies, but they are out there, 80-160 of them per course. Often they're hiding, though in some courses you'll run across plenty of them to easily squish. Fun stuff. Carmageddon 64 is clearly a somewhat low budget game, and needed some more bug testing for sure, so I can see why so many people hate it, but no, this is NOT the worst game on the N64, not by a longshot. I'm not sure what kind of score to give it, I could almost see anything from a B to a D, but I do know I'm entertained and will be playing this game more. Two player, controller pak saving (1 page).
Castlevania - The first 3d Castlevania game, this game has a pretty bad reputation. While I will agree that the early N64 graphics don't look that good (the graphics definitely are the worst thing about this game), the gameplay is better than the graphics. However, the improved version below makes this game outdated for all but its most hardcore fans. I will describe the game, but considering that LoD is pretty much the same thing but better, there's not much reason to get this. On its own though, Castlevania is a fairly impressive achievement in some ways. First, as should be expected from Konami, the music is fantastic. In addition, the levels are large and well designed. Castlevania for the N64 has elements of 3d platforming, 3d action, and adventure gaming in it, and the platforming and adventure elements are done especially well. As an action game it's probably not above average, but the game's focus is elsewhere so that's fine, in my opinion. I love the adventure game elements, this game has a great sense of suspense sometimes and the puzzles in the game are often challenging and fun. The game follows multiple routes with the two characters, who share some levels but each play some the other character doesn't. The little girl (mage) character is way better than the guy with the whip, because his weapon is short range while she can shoot far, which is a huge help in a 3d game. There are multiple endings too, depending on how long you took to finish it. The platforming controls are pretty good -- your character will grab onto any platform edge you get anywhere near while jumping, so absolute precision is, thankfully, not necessary. Overall, flawed but good. One player, controller pak (9 pages) to save. The Japanese version has on-cart saving, but like all Konami N64 games it was removed from the Western releases because Konami are cheap and annoying, apparently.
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness - I got this game in the mid '00s not expecting much, because of how much bad things I'd heard over the years about the N64 Castlevanias, but I was very pleasantly surprised, and I think this is a pretty good game. LoD is an improved version of the above title. Essentially, it is everything Castlevania for the N64 is, and more. It has better graphics, more stages, more playable characters, some level design changes, and more. The expansion pak support is an optional Hi Res mode; the framerate is lower, but the graphics look great. The graphics are improved over the first version even in low res mode, but high res is particulalry good looking. Many people dislike the slow framerate of hi res mode, but I think it's fine and always play LoD in high res. The new stages are great too. I love the new first level, on the ships; it's a better intro stage than that dark forest the original starts with (and that is level 2 this time), I think. Great boss too. The new characters change the game's progression. In LoD, first you play as Cornell. Cornell is a werewolf and is incredibly powerful; few bosses will be much of a challenge for wolf mode Cornell, so save your red gems for boss battles and then just destroy the bosses. :) This lets you focus on what's best about the game, the platforming and puzzles. Cornell is pretty cool, he's my favorite character in this game. This mode has only one ending and no time limit, and you go through all of the stages in the game. After you beat the game with Cornell, you unlock a second character. This guy has a time limit and has to find five children hiding in a certain set of stages you play through before time runs out. Do that and you unlock the original two characters from the first version, and can play through their two modes, much like the first game but with some minor changes here and there, so it won't be exactly the same experience, just similar. One player only, controller pak (17 pages) to save. Expansion Pak supported for a high-res mode. I always play with high res on, but people bothered by the framerate might want to disable it. The Japanese version has on-cart saving, but like all Konami N64 games it was removed from the Western releases because Konami are cheap and annoying.
Chameleon Twist - Chameleon Twist is a fun, but somewhat short and easy, 3d platformer. In this earlier N64 game (it's from 1997), you control a chameleon. Your character is a pretty cute big-head creature that only looks vaguely like a chameleon, but oh well. The main feature here is that your chameleon has a very long tongue, which you can use to grab onto things to swing yourself around, to attack, and more. The tongue mechanic is somewhat original and leads to some fun gameplay challenges, as you swing yourself around to figure out what to do. It's nothing deep and epic, but it is a fun little 3d platformer that I enjoy. Sure, the graphics are mediocre and it could be harder, but what's here is solid fun. Four player (multiplayer battle mode). On-cart saving (note that Chameleon Twist 2 does not have multiplayer or oncart saving, and requires controller pak save instead; reasons to prefer the first one!).
Charlie Blast's Territory - Charlie Blast's Territory is a small, low budget N64 puzzle game. It's a puzzle game of the "figure out how to solve it" variety, not the block dropping variety, and you have to figure out in each level how to destroy all the bombs, and thus the stage, in the 3d, tile grid design levels. You move Charlie around, pushing bombs to get them arranged correctly to blow up the stage with a single blow. The game is okay, but has a very simple look and you can tell that the cart size is small. The game's by Kemco, and is basically and N64 version of what was released on Playstation as "The Bombing Islands", except with the new character Charlie Blast as your character instead of Kid Klown and perhaps some different puzzles. One player. Saving is by password only. This is the only N64 game I know of with password-only saving. All others with password options also have controller pak support.
Chopper Attack - This is game is another Strike series clone on the N64, except this one is played from a behind-the-helicopter view instead of the 3/4ths overhead view of the Strike games and Army Men Air Attack. Despite the change in viewpoint, you have no more vertical control in this game than you do in those. That is, you have no control over vertical flying height. Once you accept that, this game's actually somewhat fun. You fly around, shooting enemies and turrets and buildings and such and accomplishing your objectives. Not bad. The graphics and sound are nothing special -- there are lots of big blurry textures here -- and nor is the gameplay really. Oh, and the game is short, it won't take long to finish. This game is average, but it's fun anyway. Despite the problems, it's an okay game overall. I never liked the 16-bit Strike games, but do like most of the 5th gen games of this style. One player, on-cart saving.
ClayFighter 63 1/3 - This is a fighting game, and the first of two N64 ClayFighter games. The game is okay, but not great. The graphics are amusing, in that ClayFighter style, and the 3d arenas are cool. There is 3d movement, so this isn't just a 2.5d game. I like that. There are combos, KI style, as well as special moves. THere are several hidden characters too, accessible by cheat codes. In addition to the ClayFighter characters, the other Interplay characters Earthworm Jim and Boogerman are also playable, which is cool. I don't like KI-style combo systems, but you don't need to know it to play this game. This isn't a great game, but it is stupidly amusing, which is about all you should hope for from something like this. Two player, no saving.
ClayFighter 63 1/3: Sculptor's Cut - This rental-only N64 game is somewhat rare and pricey as a result of its limited release, but I lucked into a cheap copy. Sculptor's Cut is a somewhat interesting modified version of the first Clayfighter 63 1/3 game. While the environments and characters are similar (all of the stages and characters from the first version return, and the story, such as it is, is not different), there are many changes, both minor and major. First, the game's now entirely 2.5d -- 3d movement has been removed, so gameplay is now on a 2d plane. That's disappointing, I liked the 3d movement of the first version. Now instead of having to maneuver people towards areas where stages change, you just push your opponent to the edge and you'll move in to them naturally. It makes stage changes easier, but overall wasn't a good change. On the other hand, four new characters have been added, which is great -- more characters is very nice, in a game like this, and the new characters are all great to see. But again on the other hand, there were yet more changes made in order to save space and simplify gameplay -- the KI-style combo system was mostly removed, leaving just moves, special mvoes, and super moves in place. Some returning characters have fewer moves, too. I never liked KI-style combo/combo breaker systems at all, so I think this was probably a good change (apart from the removed special moves), but I'm sure some people disagree. Overall, I don't know that this is worth the money -- there are as many negative changes as positive, and this is one of the pricier US releases. Still, it IS still to date the most recent Clayfighter game, and it does have four characters exclusive to this version, so series fans at least should certainly check it out. Fighting game fans who prefer 2d gameplay to 3d in their polygonal fighting games also might like this version more. Two player, no saving.
Command & Conquer - C&C for the N64 is a remake of the PC original, except with 3d graphics. The live action FMV cutscenes have been removed, of course, in favor of static images, text, and some speech. That is too bad, C&C series FMV is always entertaining stuff. There's also no multiplayer, and the game only includes the original campaign, not either of the expansions, which were never released for N64. There are four additional N64-exclusive levels, though. The actual game's the same, though, except in 3d instead of drawn 2d. The visuals actually look pretty good, particularly in high res mode. The game looks and plays better than I expected, I wasn't expecting it to be good at all but it's actually fun and works reasonably decently. You can zoom in and out, so you can hopefully get it to the size you want. Small units are always an issue in C&C games, with all that tiny infantry, but they do what they can here. The 3d graphical redo is interesting and makes the game different enough to be worth a look, even if the gameplay is the same, and that gameplay functions about as well as can be hoped for on a console controller with analog stick. C&C for the N64 may or may not be worth playing, but at least they tried something a little different. One player, on-cart saving, Expansion Pak support.
Conker's Bad Fur Day - Rare's last N64 3d platformer, Conker's Bad Fur Day was long in development but worth the wait. Conker has impressive graphics, though it does have some framerate issues like Banjo-Tooie likely because it doesn't use the expansion pak. It also has great platformer gameplay, with the usual good Rare level design. This game is less about collecting than Rare's other 3d platformers; the game does have some, you are collecting items, but it's more straightforward than Rare's other 3d platformers. This game is streamlined versus the previous ones. I'm not so sure the change was a good one, I like the other three more overall, but it does make for something different and is a pretty good game as well. What Conker is best known for, however, of course, is its mature theme. This game's M rating is well earned. The game has a later Xbox remake, but while the graphics on the Xbox are better, the game is actually censored more on that platform -- many swears that are unbeeped on the N64 (the game is fully voiced) are censored on the Xbox. The game is full of dark, British humor and just crazy situations, perhaps most famously the Great Mighty Poo. Normally I am not one for poop jokes, but that whole bossfight, with an opera-singing giant poo monster fighting against Conker, who you defeat by throwing giant toilet paper rolls at it, was pretty awesome stuff. Not everyone is going to like the adult nature of the game, and this is not a game for kids, but it's a very good game all 3d platformer fans should try. Thanks to the lesser censorship the N64 probably has the better version, though it won't be cheap. Four player multiplayer (various modes, many of them shooter-style; the XBox version has different multiplayer content, so the two are not the same in that regard), on-cart saving.
Cruis'n USA - Cruis'n USA is a port of the 1994 arcade classic and one of the most successful arcade racing games ever. While the home ports have been hated almost since the release of the first one, this game for the N64, the arcade machines always have been very popular, both in the Cruis'n and followup (from the same people) The Fast & The Furious arcade games. Cruis'n USA is a simple racing game where you drive along long, often wide roads, tearing across America in your quest to become the first racer to go from San Francisco to Washington D.C.. The game clearly has a strong Outrun influence, except newer and American-made instead of Japanese. The arcade game was fun, but there are flaws in this home port. The N64 version is a straight arcade port, with absolutely no added features. This means that you simply access the hidden cars via cheat codes, not unlocking, and once you've beaten the main race mode there isn't much reason to revisit this game except to try to improve your times in the courses. That's disappointing, because while fun this game won't last long. Also, the multiplayer is two player only. At the time though, the biggest letdown was the graphics, people were expecting it to be arcade perfect but it's definitely not. There's fog and popup too. Still, there's enough fun here to make it worth a few bucks, and this was a very early N64 release. Two player, on-cart saving.
Cruis'n World - Cruis'n World is the second of the three N64 Cruis'n games. The gameplay is the same as ever, as you race along roads all over the world this time looking at the scenery, avoiding traffic, and winning races. All Cruis'n games were better in the arcades, but if you like simple racing games from the Outrun school, the Cruis'n games really aren't that bad. I at least find them fun. Though it is true that they're simplistic and boring after a little while, they're fun while they last and good for plenty of return plays later. It's the best reviewed game of the series and probably is the fans' favorite Cruis'n game. This N64 version can't match the graphics of the arcade, but it does add a lot of great features when compared to Cruis'n USA for the N64. First, the single player mode was significantly expanded in this game. Instead of just racing through all the tracks and that's it, multiple variants of each track have been added. In arcade mode you just play through the arcade game, but in the new mode you play several different variants of each track. You have to unlock the hidden cars, which there are a few of, as well, which is a nice improvement versus the original. It's great to see Cruis'n with more content. The new four player multiplayer mode is great too, and the visuals have been improved. However, there still is fog in the distance. Four player multiplayer, on-cart saving.
Cruis'n Exotica - Cruis'n Exotica is the last of the N64 Cruis'n games, and it has the most features, content, and options of the trilogy. It's a little less popular than World, though, for some reason. I think that Exotica is the best of the three, myself. I like some of the new options. It's good to have a Cruis'n game that will take longer to finish, if World greatly expanded versus USA Exotica greatly expands again. This time you have even more variants on each track, including drag races, which, if you do right, will earn you boosts you can use in the other tracks. In the Exotica mode, you race a drag race, circuit lap race, short race, and two part long race in each environment. You unlock hidden cars based on miles driven, too. It will take quite a while to unlock all of the cars. There are also several alternate graphics modes that can be unlocked, including one where everything uses negative colors and looks squished, and another one where everything is stretched out and crazy warped. It's hard to play in these graphics modes, but they're pretty amusing options. However, of course, the basic gameplay is as simple as ever. All Cruis'n games are simply about driving forward along the endless road, going as fast as you can, avoiding traffic, and trying to finish in first. They are very simple and straightforward racing games. Also, even in this third game there is still fog. I guess the system simply can't render farther out. Your vision goes far enough out for you to be able to see well, but things do appear in the distance and it is a little distracting. Four player multiplayer, on-cart saving.
Dark Rift - Dark Rift is a terrible 3d fighting game for the PC and N64 made by the same developer who had previously done Criticom on Playstation and Saturn. Trying to sell games by releasing your next game on different platforms which won't know of the kind of "quality" your games are, huh? I wonder if it worked... anyway, yeah, Dark Rift is bad. The game has okay graphics for its time, and it IS 3d and not 2.5d or something, but the gameplay is poor, the game is no fun, and the computer opponents are insanely hard. Seriously, beating this game once was a very, very stiff challenge, and not for any of the right reasons. The controls are mediocre, the enemy unfair, and you don't have much of a chance at victory. As far as N64 fighting games go, this is right at the bottom of the list, along with, or maybe even below (because that game might be even worse, but has more humor value) War Gods. Two player, no saving.
Destruction Derby 64 - DD64, the only racing game published and actually released by Looking Glass Seattle, is a somewhat interesting and fun, but flawed, N64 spinoff of Psygnosis' Destruction Derby series. This game shares the name and concept of the Playstation series, but has some important differences in gameplay and execution, some good and some bad. DD64 has eight tracks, four crash arenas, and a capture the flag arena, so there are a decent number of tracks. Graphically the game looks okay to good. The graphics are somewhat pixelated and grainy, but they look decently nice most of the time even so. The framerate feels a little low, too, but I did get used to it in not too long; still, I wish it was smoother. There is vehicle damage, which is fun to see. There could be even more (the doors don't seem tocome off...), but there's at least some. The most unique feature about this game is that instead of starting all the cars in a grid, the cars are started in three groups of four (or in one track two groups of six), at different points in the track and driving in different directions. In tracks with three groups, the player's group goes one way while the other two go the other. This concept is pretty cool, because it makes for a lot more crashing and banging than there would be if everyone was driving the same direction. However, having two groups going one way and you going the other unfairly breaks the game in your favor -- it's much harder for the cars in the two groups to compete, having only one group of cars to crash into instead of two. This design decision made a lot of the game pretty easy. In addition, once you die, the race ends in seconds -- no matter if you crashed out with 9 cars still going in the race and after only two checkpoints reached of the seven maximum allowed, it'll be done in instants and you'll do fine and maybe even win overall. It's kind of stupid, and makes most of the races FAR too easy through the first three of four circuits. Fortunately, the crash arenas, the one track with 6 cars in each direction, and the top difficulty level are more challenging, and the game is fun enough to be entertaining even if it's flawed. Driving around crashing into other cars is quite entertaining. I don't know if it's better than Destruction Derby 1 or 2 (far better graphics, but maybe not quite as good gameplay overall, and not nearly as hard), or the Dreamcast (but not PS1!) version of Demolition Racer -- it certainly can't match that great crash-racing game -- but even so it is a fun game. Four player multiplayer, on-cart saving.
Diddy Kong Racing - Rare's first attempt at a Mario Kart clone, DKR is a great game in its own right. The game's fully polygonal, unlike MK64, and has an extensive, challenging single player mode. Indeed, when I played this game back in 1999-2000, I found it TOO challenging -- I could never beat the first Wizpig battle at the end of the game, it's just insanely, insanely hard. There are a lot of tracks, a battle mode, decently good multiplayer, three vehicle types, andm ore. I love the planes, they're a lot of fun to fly around with. Overall, I think that Mario Kart 64, though much shorter, is a little bit better game. Even so, DKR is a fantastic, must-play title. There is a DS version, though it has a few changes; I haven't played it myself though. Four player multiplayer, on-cart saving.
Donkey Kong 64 - Unlike many people, I love this game. Indeed, DK64 is my favorite of the Rare 3d platformers on the N64. I got this game shortly after it came out in late 1999, and absolutely loved it. I played the game steadily through until I beat the game with every single golden bananna and got the best ending. DK64 has fantastic graphics, great level designs, a lot of variety, a huge number of things to do, a bunch of different fun minigames, unlockable versions of two classic games (Rare's Jetpack and Nintendo's Donkey Kong), and more. THere are five playable characters, and you do have to revisit each of the eight levels with each character, but you do different things with each one, so it works -- you're not just doing the same thing over and over, you're exploring new areas and doing new things with each character. Everything you collect with each character saves, so there's no repeat play required, unlike BK. The levels, characters, gameplay, graphics, music, bosses... everying about this game is just fantastic and among the best on the system. Four player multiplayer (battle mode; it's okay but kind of average), on-cart saving. Expansion pak required.
Doom 64 - Doom 64 is an N64-exclusive Doom game. It is not a port of the original Doom, but instead is a new game with an all-new set of 32 levels done by Midway. The graphics are great -- this game really looks quite good. The game's actually polygonal 3d, not raycasted fake 3d, so the environments actually look 3d, and can do things that Doom couldn't before like have a path you can walk on above another one, something impossible in the original Doom engine. The new levels have some challenging puzzles, lots of enemies, and impressive graphical enhancements versus the PC original. It's a challenging game, but rewarding. The game uses an atmospheric soundtrack, instead of the musical style of the original game, and while I do miss Doom's great soundtrack, the atmospheric sound does work well and fits the tense, dangerous world of Doom very well. Doom 64's biggest problem is the lack of multiplayer, which is quite unfortunate but isn't a deal-breaker. This game is definitely worth playing anyway. One player, password or controller pak saving (1 or 2 pages; if two or more pages are free it will create a 2 page file with 16 save slots, but if you have only 1 page free on a cart it will create a 1 page file with 8 save slots.)
Dr. Mario 64 - A late N64 release, one of Nintendo's last first party N64 games and a US-exclusive release on the N64, Dr. Mario 64 is a game many people never played. It wasn't released in Japan at all on the N64, though they did get a port of it in the Japan-only, but American (NST)-developed, Nintendo Puzzle Collection on the Gamecube, along with Panel de Pon 64 (the unreleased on the N64 Japanese version of Pokemon Puzzle League) and a new version of Yoshi's Cookie. As for the N64 version though, it's a great version of Dr. Mario that I think more people would love if they'd played it. This game's fantastic fun. The visuals remind me of Paper Mario -- the characters all look "flat" in the 3d map as they move around between stages. The game has a simple but good visual look, with plenty of style and good design. Actual gameplay is entirely 2d, an...
Notes - I mention when games are available on other platforms. If I say nothing, the game is N64 exclusive as far as physical releases go (that is, I mention any PC, PS1, DC, etc. versions, but don't always mention Wii Virtual Console releases.). Most of the games that I have are exclusives because the N64 had a lot of exclusive games. The list is largely in alphabetical order, but I ignore that for series, so I have the three Rush games together and in order, for instance, and the Cruis'n games listed in release order.
I will list whether games save to cartridge or controller pak (memory card) because N64 controller paks don't hold much, and I think that it's important to know whether you'll need one for your game because of how much of a pain it can be. As a result I will also list how many pages each controller pak save game uses to save. Remember that each controller pak has 123 pages (blocks), and can have a maximum of 16 notes (files) saved to it. I also list if games have Expansion Pak support or not. I won't bother listing everything with Rumble Pak support, because most games from mid '97 on support it, and it's not that big of a deal either way.
Also, this list is a work in progress. I only have reviews for A to C so far, and some of these need improvement. I also do not have all Expansion Pak games marked yet.
Finally, review length and game quality have no relations, here. Don't assume that I think games are better just because I say more about them, it's rarely true. I say more about games that I have more to say about, or ones I think are lesser-known, mostly; it's nothing to do with quality.
Total - 144 games (I think, if I counted right)
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007: The World Is Not Enough - Good FPS from later in the N64's life. Good graphics, good gameplay, fun levels. The game is a blatant Goldeneye clone from Eurocom, but they did a fairly good job of it and the game's a pretty fun one. In high res this game really does look quite nice, this game probably has some of the best graphics in an N64 FPS. You have a nice variety of weapons and items to use too. This is a good game, recommended for N64 FPS fans and anyone who liked Goldeneye, particularly Goldeneye's single player mode (I haven't played this in multiplayer, so I don't know how it compares.). The game has great level designs as well, and every mission has the multiple objectives, gadgets, enemies, and trickery you expect from a Goldeneye sequel. The game plays even better than it looks, I would say. Note that the PSX title of the same name is from a different developer and is completely different, and worse. Four player multiplayer. Expansion Pak support. Controller Pak saving (2 pages).
1080° Snowboarding - I like this game less than many people, but it is okay. I don't know, I just find it a little boring... I've never stuck with it long enough to finish the game, and it's a pretty short game. It is a quality game though. The graphics are reasonably good. I wish that it was more of a racing game, though -- while there is one-on-one racing, 1080 has a strong focus on stunts, and I don't find stunts as fun as I do racing, in snowboarding games. Also, as I said, this game is short, probably even shorter than something like Wave Race 64. People who love it will find plenty of replay value I'm sure, but still, it won't take long until you see everything. Oh, even if I don't love this game nearly as much as many people did at the time, it's still better than most any Playstation or Saturn snowboarding game. Two player multiplayer. Oncart saving.
AeroFighters Assault - This is the closest thing the N64 has to a flight sim, and it's thoroughly mediocre and disappointing. It's an arcadey flight combat game probably closer to Rogue Squadron than a flight sim, which would be fine if the game was actually fun. Unfortunately, it's not. The graphics are average, and the game simply isn't much fun. It's a fairly short game, but it gets frustrating later on and probably isn't worth the time. This is a sequel of sorts to the great early to mid '90s shmup series Aero Fighters, but unfortunately this game is nowhere near as good as those, genre shift aside. At least the two player versus mode is okay. Two player multiplayer. Oncart saving.
Aero Gauge - Futuristic racing game where you fly through the air, instead of just hovering or driving on the ground. The graphics aren't very good, and look pretty outdated for a 1998 release. Lots of pixeley textures, the N64 can do much better than this. There's a lot of fog, too. The game has some good sized areas, but with all that fog around you really can only see what's close to you. They could have done better than this. The menus and interface are stylish and cool looking, though, and the music's fairly good, so some elements of the presentation are done well. This game got mostly poor reviews, and I can understand why, it is a flawed game. One thing to know is how to boost start; the game doesn't tell you how, you need the manual or internet, and you will never win a single race if you don't boost start every single time (hold down A+B before the race begins, let go of B after the announcer says 'set'). Turbo around corners (A+Z with left or right to powerslide; after powersliding let go of A and Z and then press A again to hopefully boost, if you did it right) is also important. There are no weapons or items in this game, and the six tracks are on the short side. The game mostly tries to make up for that with its very high difficulty level, which somewhat succeeds -- this is not an easy game. Unfortunately, the main result is just that it gets quite frustrating. I kind of like the game anyway, because flying racing games aren't very common and the game does some things right and is some fun to play, but I am a huge futuristic racing game fan. Non fans of the genre are unlikely to like the game, I think. Two player multiplayer. Oncart saving, with controller pak support for ghost saves (93 pages per ghost; like Mario Kart 64 the cart can't save any ghosts, only controller paks, and it takes most of a controller pak to save one.). Do not have a controller pak plugged into controller 1 unless you're using it to save replays.
Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage - This epic RPG was a late N64 release in 2001, got poor reviews, and was forgotten. Unfortunately this game will never get the sequel that the title suggests there should be. While Aidyn Chronicles has some serious bugs (it can corrupt your save files, for instance! ALWAYS keep backups!) and is in some ways a deeply flawed game (if a character dies they're dead forever; make use of the save anywhere feature and save often, loading if anyone dies. Apparently they were going to have resurrection, but it was too buggy so it was removed late in development. Also, the character art is pretty bad.), Aidyn Chronicles is also a great game unlike anything else on the N64. The game is a complex, deep Western RPG, and it is a slow paced game as well, so it will take a long time to get used to the game and even longer to finish. The world is large and fun to explore -- I love the big overworld, the N64 does fairly large worlds well and the system is being used well here. There's a lot to explore, and finding your way around and finding the secrets is great. The controls are great. I particularly like the use of the analog stick and C-buttons in the menus, it works very well. The detail put into the game really is impressive, from the magic system to the world to the game design. The combat engine was inspired by Quest 64's, except it's improved here. The battle system is a good, strategic system where all characters appear on a map, with movement circles. You move your characters around, attacking the enemies with weapons or magic when in range. You do more damage attacking enemies from behind. Magic requires reagents, so you can't just cast spells as much as you want -- you have to be judicious about your use of magic. Spells early on aren't just fireballs and stuff too, you'll need to think more in this game. Your starting spells are things like shield, vs. necromancy, weakness, and strength -- useful spells, but subtle compared to fireballs or even Magic Missile. It works though. Enemies are visible in the overworld, so there are no random battles, which is fantastic. The story isn't incredibly original, but it's a good epic story of your hero's rise. And for once, no burning village; the hero sets off on his journey for a reason that is just as good, but is a little more unique. Yeah, despite its big problems, I really like this game. Just be warned, it is long and slow. Oh, and the framerate is pretty slow, though steady, particularly in High Res mode. This bothers some people, but not me; at least it's steady and doesn't jump up and down. The slow pace of gameplay also helps make the framerate matter less. Overall, Aidyn Chronicles is an incredibly ambitious games, in some ways one of the system's most ambitious games. It fails as much as it succeeds, and is very much a love or hate game, but if you can get into it you might get hooked for a long time. I think it's good. Expansion Pak support (use High Res mode!). Controller Pak required to save (28 pages per save file). One player.
All-Star Baseball '99 - Decent baseball game from Acclaim from 1998. Decent gameplay and graphics, it's a fine baseball game for its generation. This was the first of three N64 All-Star Baseball games. I'd like to play this more, but don't have enough memory cards to have one dedicated just to this game... Controller Pak required to save (107 pages).
Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M. - Acclaim FPS. It got mediocre reviews, unlike Acclaim's other N64 FPSes, the Turok series. This is Acclaim's only N64 FPS that also was released on the Playstation (the first two Turok games had PC ports, but not PSX), but reviews of that port say that it's quite a bit worse than the N64 version. I believe it, the game, clearly running on the Turok engine, uses the power of the system and wouldn't downgrade well. I actually think this game is decent, despite the reviews. I love N64 FPS controls, Turok-style FPS controls are the best console FPS controls ever, in my sure to be lonely opinion. Armorines is a straightforward, linear FPS running in the Turok engine, where you shoot lots of bug alien invaders, solve some simple puzzles as you explore each area trying to figure out how to progress to the next one, and then shoot more bugs and move on. It's simple, but fun enough that I can defintely enjoy myself, and the graphics are reasonably nice though not the greatest. You can play as a male or female character, which is cool. The game has four player versus mode multiplayer, and a two player co-op option in the campaign, which is awesome. Expansion Pak support. Controller Pak required to save (1 page).
Army Men: Air Combat - Army Men Air Combat is a port of the Playstation game Army Men Air Attack. It is improved over the original version, with four player multiplayer, better graphics, and more. This series was 3DO's attempt to take on EA's Strike series, and I think it worked pretty well. This is probably one of the best Army Men games, and I like the game. You fly around, in a top-down perspective where you do not have actual 3d control (no control over height you're flying), shooting enemies and turrets, picking up powerups, etc. Graphics are nice enough, game is a lot of fun. The only real negatives are that it's a bit easy and too short, but it's fun while it lasts. I like this game more than the 4th gen Strike games, in fact, though it's a closer fight versus the 5th gen ones. None of those have a four player mode though... Four player multiplayer. Controller Pak required to save (1 page).
Automobili Lamborghini - Titus's first N64 racing game, Automobili Lamborghini is their second Lamborghini game, after Lamborghini American Challenge on the Super Nintendo. The game has nice graphics for a 1997 N64 game, but bland, generic gameplay that probably won't hold most people's interest for particularly long. The game has six or so tracks, a decent number for the time, and four player splitscreen, which is nice. There's only a somewhat barebones single-player game -- choose difficulty and tracks and go -- but while somewhat weak, it could be worse. Overall, the game is fun for a little while, but unfortunately it gets dull fast. There's not much variety here, average, mostly-arcadey controls and handling, and no special gimmicks to hold your attention. Still, it's not actually bad, just bland. I find the game fun for a while. Four player multiplayer, controller pak saving (7 pages).
Banjo-Kazooie - This game is one of the all-time classic 3d platformers, and it is indeed a great game. It isn't my favorite Rare 3d platformer, but it is a great one that deserves most of the praise it has recieved. The graphics are quite good, the game is well designed in both general game design and levels, and there's a lot to do. I do dislike how you have to re-collect notes and such each time you go into a level unless you get all of them, though. You can be in a level without a power you'll need to get all 100 notes, but you don't know it and start collecting them... only to realize some time later you wasted your time and will need to do it again later. It's quite annoying. Other than that though, this game is pretty good. Rare's first 3d platformer is still a great game. Like all of Rare's 3d platformers, BK has a lot of content and will take a good while to finish. It is also on XBox 360 Live Arcade, but I haven't played that version so I can't compare them. One player, on cart saving.
Banjo-Tooie - The sequel to the previous game, bigger and better than the first one in most respects. Tooie is a pretty good game. It doesn't repeat the first game's problems, and has some pretty cool levels too. It's not as original as the first game, though, and some people dislike the multiple characters you now have. I don't mind that, but I did find it kind of annoying at some points and haven't finished the game, despite owning it for many years (since 2002, precisely). The game has some framerate problems -- they simply tried too much for the unenhanced N64, I really wish that this game had had Expansion Pak support, I think it needed it. Some parts have some bad framerate drops. Still, the game is great overall. Like the first game it is also on XBox 360 Live Arcade, but I haven't played those versions so I can't compare them. Four player (battle mode and minigames for multiplayer), oncart saving.
BattleTanx - I did a thread about this game once. It's great fun, the first of 3DO's tank action games and is still well worth playing. While it's great overall, it does have some issues, most prominently the quite mediocre graphics. The game is short too, just like its sequel - this game won't take long to finish. There are only three kinds of tanks in the game, so there's not too much variety. The post-apocalyptic story is simple but effective, and it works as a setup. Multiplayer was the focus here, and it shows -- even the single player missions are all fought in the same levels as the multiplayer, large, square cities full of stuff to destroy and players starting at different points. The sequel would add much more level variety. Fortunately, it's still incredibly fun to drive around and shoot stuff. That's the core of Battletanx, and that's why it's great. Buildings crumble as you shoot them. Levels are large and a lot of fun to navigate and are full of enemies, obstacles, and buildings, many of which you can level. This game's good and well worth playing. Four player multiplayer (various versus modes). Controller Pak to save (1 page).
BattleTanx: Global Assault - The sequel to the above game, and better than it in every way. The story is better, there are a lot more tanks to control, the campaign is longer (though still short and easy), there are more maps, there is a much greater variety of level designs, there are more multiplayer modes and mission types in single player, there are more control options, and more. I really loved this game, it's one of the best multiplayer games on the N64, and yes, I know that's saying a lot. My only complaint is that I wish there was a sequel, because this game ends with a cliffhanger that was never resolved. Bah! 3DO did make some more vehicluar action games after this, the two WDL games from 2000-2001 (both PS1 and PS2 exclusives, quite sadly), but they are entirely separate story-wise and do not continue this plot. Still though, BTGA is fantastic. It would have been nice to see actual height differences in the levels -- there are tunnels you can go down, and little hills, but no real rolling terrain -- but really, this game's very good and extremely fun to play. Of the multiplayer modes, the two player co-op campaign is really cool, and for versus play BattleLord mode (it's Capture the Flag, essentially) steals the show. That mode's so great I rarely even touch the others. You can play against any mixture of four human and computer players, can play 2v2 with one human and one computer on each team, and more. There was a later Playstation version of the game, but it's got new, worse prerendered FMV CG story scenes, entirely redesigned, smaller and less interesting (but more numerous, though it doesn't make up for the problems) levels (completely different level maps), and more. It's nowhere near as good as the N64 version and is two player only. N64 BTGA has a two player co-op campaign, and four player versus modes. Play the better BTGA game, this N64 version. Controller Pak to save (1 page).
Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs - This isn't like the '80s arcade classic, but instead is the only console game based off of the late '90s PC strategy/action series of the same title. The concept is that it is the Cold War, and the US and USSR are fighting a secret war on the moon between forces they have landed there. Yeah, it's a cool concept. :) Activision tried to bring back Battlezone, but as a strategy/FPS/RTS hybrid, like some titles from 3DO and Microsoft such as Uprising. There were two games on the PC, but only this one on consoles, which is an original title and not a port. The game is simplified from the PC original, understandably, given that it is on a console and needs to use a gamepad instead of keyboard and mouse -- the PC games had complex controls, using lots of keyboard keys for various stuff. You can drive around and shoot enemies, but you also have to build a base, build units, and give them orders in your efforts to defeat the enemy. The controls work on the N64, but are complex and they will take a while to get used to. Once you do though it's a pretty good game. The graphics are just average, and there is everpresent fog in the not-far-enough-away distance, but they do the job just well enough to do. There is also a shooting-only arcade mode, but the strategy mode is the core of the game. Four player multiplayer. Controller Pak required to save (1 page).
Beetle Adventure Racing - This is a very popular classic racing game from Paradigm and EA. The game plays like a hybrid between San Francisco Rush and Need for Speed, and is about as great as that sounds. I think that the Rush series is better than BAR, no question, but BAR is pretty good too. The tracks, while few, are huge and lots of fun to drive around and explore. The tracks in this game are absolutely full of shortcuts, so it will take a good amount of time to learn each one. The games' visuals are good as well. The game has plenty of replay value due to its high difficulty level, point boxes to find hidden all over the stages, and more. The multiplayer mode is disappointing, though. Race mode is two player only; only the not-that-great battle mode supports three or four players. Too bad. Also, the tracks sometimes feel like they are too long for their own good. The game's great fun at first, but by the later tracks, the long race times make failures frustrating -- at times one mistake can force you to restart the race or more. I never finished this game because, as good as it is, I got tired of it after a few tracks. Still, with good graphics, good controls, and lots to do, BAR is a great racing game. Controller Pak required to save (4 pages). Two player only in multiplayer race mode, four players in battle mode.
Big Mountain 2000 - This little-known skiing/snowboarding game is actually my favorite winter sports game on the N64. The developer, Imagineer, made some of the N64's more mediocre racing games -- MRC, GT64, Rally Challenge 2000 -- but this one is genuinely good. All four games are somewhat lacking in content, but this one's more fun while it lasts than the others. Big Mountain 2000 is a port of a Japanese release from 1998, so the graphics are not exactly the equal of other N64 games from 2000, but I think that the great gameplay makes up for it. BM2k is a simple, straightforward, and racing-centric skiing and snowboarding game -- this is not an SSX or even 1080 style trick-centric game, but a game that really is about the racing, and that's how I like it. The controls are just about perfect, and are exactly the way I would want them to be for a game of this kind. There is a very minimal trick component, where you can do tricks off of specific jumps if you want, but it doesn't get you anything of note and there is no stunt mode. I am entirely fine with this; I always prefer race to stunt mode in 1080 and SSX games. Indeed, the half pipes are usually my most hated "tracks" in those games. The game is somewhat short, with just four mountains, but that's still one more course than Imagineer's first two N64 racing games have, and there are three races on each mountain, so the game's not TOO short. You have a normal race down the mountain, Downhill, and two different races where you need to go between the flags, Slalom and Giant Slalom. The two have different flag and path layouts for each of the races of course. There is also a reverse mode, after you beat the normal, and you can choose a character and skiis or snowboards, though I didn't notice much of a difference between the two. I got hooked by this game and played it quite a bit until finishing it. It's fun to just race down the mountain. Two player multiplayer. On-cart saving. (Yes, it's one of those rare third-party N64 games with on-cart saving! Imagineer's other three N64 racing games don't have it, for sure.)
Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. - Arcade port fighting game from Midway, also ported to Playstation. This game, released in 1998, was Midway's one of Midway's later 3d fighting games, and unlike most other Midway fighters that generation, this one actually supports saving, which is great. Only this and MK4 do (and the DC version of MK4, MK Gold, doesn't either!). Anyway, in Bio Freaks, you've got everything you expect from a Midway fighting game, plus more -- it has ridiculous character designs, decent graphics for the system, multi-tiered arenas, fatalities, etc. The characters can fly too, so uniquely, it's got both air and ground combat. All characters have both projectile and melee attacks as well. It is a 5th gen 3d fighting game, though, so it's not exactly anywhere near the mark 6th gen 3d fighters hit. It's a bit slow for instance, like so many N64 games. Still, for an N64 3d fighter, not bad. There is also an in-game moves list, which makes this game one of the only N64 fighting games with that awesome feature! The gameplay's only above average -- it definitely is not exactly balanced, which hurts, and it's a bit slow -- but the featureset in the game is pretty good, and it is unique and at least somewhat fun. Two player. Controller pak to save (3 pages).
Blast Corps - Blast Corps is an early N64 Rare game. The game is both original and brilliant, and, despite the many incredible games that Rare made for the system, still stands as one of their best. The graphics are poor, first gen work, but the incredibly fun gameplay makes up for it. In Blast Corps, you have to destroy all the buildings that are in the way of a runaway nuclear missile carrier which cannot stop. If it hits anything, it explodes. You control a variety of different vehicles in your destructive work. The game is essentially an action/puzzle game, and figuring out the fastest and best way to beat each level is both a lot of fun and very challenging. There are medals, and you unlock bonus stages, and the ability to try for platinum medals, if you manage to get all the gold medals. Good luck there, the difficulty is crazy. In addition to the destroying, there are also occasional bonus stages where you do other stuff such as flying around with a jetpack-like thing, and some racing levels where you do some top down racing. It's a great, great game. Controller pak or internal save. One player. Note that the game will give an error message ("foreign object detected in controller pak port" or something) if you have a rumble pak plugged in, and you cannot access the internal save unless you do NOT have a controller pak plugged into controller one. Also, if the space is available, the game will automatically make four 10-14 page notes on your memory card to save onto. How nice. So, before playing Blast Corps, make sure to remove anything from your controller's accessory port! One player.
Body Harvest - Body Harvest is an interesting N64 on foot and vehicular combat game from the same studio as Grand Theft Auto. The game suffered years of delays, originally being planned as an early N64 game but not coming out until 1998. It also saw a publisher change, as Nintendo dropped the game during development and it was picked up by Midway. Fortunately they kept the on-cart saving. In the game, you, a time travelling soldier, have to fight off a bug alien invasion. What it it about N64 alien invasions so often being bugs... Starship Troopers influence I guess? Anyway, these bugs aren't just attacking, they're attacking throughout time! So, use your time machine and save all of the affected eras from the bugs, one after another. The graphics are first-generation poor, and the controls are just okay. The main hook is that you can control many different kinds of vehicles during the game, different ones during each time period. Like in GTA (except before any 3d GTA games), you can jump in and out of the vehicles at will. It's a good game, but I don't love it and always lose interest after a while. I haven't actually gotten too far in this game as a result. One player, on-cart saving.
Bomberman 64 - Bomberman 64 is the first Bomberman game of four on the N64, and it is to this day still the only full, Mario 64-inspired open 3d world Bomberman 3d platformer. All Bomberman 3d platformers after it followed much more linear designs, and the Gamecube ones don't even have 3d multiplayer, just the usual 2d grid stuff. Bomberman 64 was different. The game is very, very difficult, too difficult I would say, but it's a very good game. I do need to say though, the graphics are mediocre at best. Don't expect a lot from this game. It's just good enough to get by, but nothing above that. It's clearly first gen work. My other main complaint is that there is an entire sixth world in the main game that you can only access by getting ALL of the golden tickets (this game's equivalent to Mario 64's stars). ARGH! Some of those tickets are very hard to get... I've never seen world six. It's pretty annoying, I've heard it's cool. :( Even so though, I like the game a lot. The levels are fun to explore and well designed, and there's a lot to do in the game. This game is pretty good. The bossfights are a challenge too, but often fun. The multiplayer is great, too. The maps are actually 3d, and instead of cross explosions like classic Bomberman, are circular like in the single player game. This is the only 3d Bomberman game where normal bombs explode in circular blasts in multiplayer mode; The 2nd Attack also has 3d arenas, but cross bombs (super bombs excepted, those have round blasts), and the two GC/PS2 games have, as I said, the classic 2d style of gameplay only for their multiplayer, though their single players are (poor, subpar) linear-path 3d platformers. Thus in both single and multi player, Bomberman 64 is an original game unlike anything else in the series. 3d platformer and Bomberman fans who haven't played it should try it. Four players. On-cart saving, though if you want to save a custom multiplayer character (a unique look for your multiplayer character, made up of parts you unlock in the main game), you'll need to save that character to a memory card, so you can bring it to a friends' and use it there, I assume. Each of those character files are one page.
Bomberman Hero - Bomberman Hero actually started out as a Bonk game. When I learned this suddenly this game made a lot more sense to me, because at the time I thought that Bomberman Hero was pretty strange for a Bomberman game. It has no multiplayer, it's linear and you just follow a path instead of wandering around larger worlds like in Bomberman 64, and you mostly throw bombs instead of just dropping them. Well, it didn't start out as Bomberman. The game's alright, with some fun linear-cooridor 3d platforming challenge and Bomberman 64-esque boss battles. The graphics aren't much improved over Bomberman 64, but oh well. It's not the game people expected it to be, but it's an okay to good game even so. Oh, this is the only N64 Bomberman game to be released on the Wii Virtual Console, for whatever reason. It's too bad the two Bomberman 64 games weren't. One player, on-cart saving.
Buck Bumble - Buck Bumble is a 3d flight combat game where you control a heavily armed bee. You fly around, killing enemies and doing missions. The graphics are okay at best, nothing special, and the gameplay's no competition for Factor 5's Star Wars games. It's a good game I guess, though not great. This game has lots of fog. Way too much of it really, given the only average graphics. The N64 can do a lot better than this. Even so, for anyone who likes flight combat games, Buck Bumble is probably worth a look -- there aren't too many games like this on the N64, and even if it could be a better, the game is okay and definitely will provide plenty of challenge. Indeed, this game isn't easy. It's also got multiplayer, something Factor 5 didn't attempt. Four players, controller pak to save (3 pages).
Bust-A-Move '99 - BAM '99 is a port of the arcade game Bust-A-Move 3. It was also on PSX and Saturn. Compared to the other versions, the N64 has a plus and a minus. On the good side, the game has an N64-exclusive four player splitscreen multiplayer mode. There's no music in 3 or 4 player mode, but still it's and awesome feature to have, and this is still one of only a very few BAM games with a 4 player splitscreen mode. On the downside, some people will like the cart remixes of the music less than the CD audio on other versions. I think the music's fine, though, and love this game. It's easily one of the N64's best puzzle games. I love the characters in BAM2, it's my favorite BAM cast. I like the music and graphics. I love that BAM3 has more modes and options than most other BAM games -- there isn't just a puzzle mode, a versus mode, and an infinite mode or something, like BAM1, but a total of eight different modes -- in Arcade Puzzle, Arcade Vs. CPU, Arcade 2-P Versus, 4-P Versus (separate because in this mode the windows are much smaller and there's no music; with just two people play in arcade mode, not here.), Win Contest (another versus mode where you see how many CPUs you can beat), Challenge (another puzzle mode, try to meet some specific conditions to finish the stages. You are graded, see how well you can do!), a collection of 1024 puzzles made by Japanese fans that are included on the cart, and puzzle edit mode where you can make your own. In the series, only BAM4 (PC/PS1/DC) comes close to this game in features, and it doesn't have a four player mode. There are multiple graphic sets in this game for the bubbles too -- the game as at least three different looks in different modes and stages. This game has a lot of content, for sure, and will consume you for many hours. My only real complaint is that the save file is insanely large. What in the world HAPPENED here? Why is it 64 pages? BAM2 for Saturn's file is about 64 blocks, and that's out of 500... in a 32KB memory space. This game uses 64 pages of 123 on a 256KB space. Featurewise the games are very similar -- both have a puzzle edit mode with 16 user-creatable puzzles (Saturn exclusive in BAM2, but present in all versions I think of BAM3; N64 certainly has it at least), etc. The N64 game does have more modes and unlockables, but that should only account for a little more space, not the exponential increase in comparison it has. This is really the only blemish on an otherwise exceptional, incredibly addictive game. It's annoying, but doesn't ruin the game. This is one of my favorite puzzle games of all time. Four player multiplayer, controller pak to save (64 pages).
California Speed - California Speed is a port of the Midway/Atari Games arcade game of the same name. The game is essentially Atari Games' take on the Cruis'n USA concept, and repurposes the San Francisco Rush engine to run a Cruis'n-ish point-to-point racer with more Rush-like handling. While only moderately popular, I liked California Speed quite a bit in the arcades back when it came out. It's a somewhat easy game, but being a cross of Cruis'n, which are fun games, and San Francisco Rush, which is my favorite racing game series, I thought it was pretty good. On that note, the controls do feel a lot like a Rush game. The cars handle a lot like Rush cars, so don't expect to be able to turn on a dime. You'll need to learn the courses and prepare. I really like the Rush series' handling, so I think this is great. Fortunately, as I said, this game isn't that hard, and the courses are mostly straightforward. The graphics are okay too. There is fog in the distance, unfortunately, but it's far enough away to not be too bothersome, and I love many of the environments you race through. There really are some great tracks in California Speed. Some of my favorites are the roller coaster section of one track (it's really one of the more distinctive things in the game, in my opinion), the mall you go through in another track (straight from the country to a giant mall...), the part where you seem to be driving inside a giant computer circuitboard, or the alien ship. Yeah, I love the track designs here, the designers did a good job. The graphics are about the same as Rush 1 or 2 on the N64, or perhaps slightly improved over those, so they aren't great, but once you get used to the style it looks okay. Easy or no I like this game a lot, it's just so much fun to drive through the levels. There is some challenge later on, too -- the game's got a solidly lengthy single player mode to race though, with multiple circuits and modes, and three different sets of vehicles too. There are three or four different championships and several difficulty levels, so there's plenty of content if you like the game like I do. I just wish it had on-cart saving like the Cruis'n games do. Two player multiplayer, controller pak to save (35 pages).
Carmageddon 64 - Carmageddon 64 is widely hated, and indeed loathed, but I actually like this game. I can understand why people hate it, but I think it is actually a decent game in some respects, and it definitely can be fun. Based on one of the later Carmageddon games for the PC, Carmageddon 64 may not be as good as the original PC Carmageddon game -- and it isn't -- but neither were Carmagedodon's sequels, and Carmageddon 64 is not anywhere near as awful as reported. Really, in plenty of ways it's a decent game. As usual with Carmageddon, there are three ways to complete each level -- either finish three laps of the race by going through the checkpoints enough time (as always in the series there are no finishing places, or positions recorded. If you finish at all you win.), crush all zombies in the level (harder than it sounds), or destroy the other three cars and be the last car standing (yeah, only four cars in the race). This last one is often the easiest way to win, and the computers are aggressive and attack eachother constantly, so that's their tactic too. If you're following the checkpoints, though, do know that the checkpoints are VERY touchy -- pay attention, it's easy to miss a checkpoint if you were too far from the marker. I've had multiple times where I reach the next checkpoint, only to be told to go back because I missed the last one. The game has only three environments, but all three are huge, and contain a variety of different courses. Each level brings you through different areas of the environment, through different routes, and more, so they do feel different. Each layout is marked with arrow signs that you must follow. I find it easy enough to stay on course, but there are no rails, so you do have to pay attention. The handling is pretty much standard Carmageddon handling, so it feels somewhat Rush-ish, but not quite as well done. Handling is tricky, and I find myself regularly running into walls, but I think the controls are solid, overall; I don't have a problem with them. In narrow paths like you're often driving through in this game, it's understandable that it'd be tricky to stay on the track. It can be done, just drive more carefully and get used to the controls. The button combination to heal up your car some -- hold Z and then press R to heal a little, or hold Z and then double-tap R to fully heal -- is quite important, you take damage easily and will need to heal frequently. Fortunately, though healing costs money, you usually have plenty. The graphics are decent, and there are a fair number of "zombies" to run over. Silly console censorship, they're supposed to be people... it's more fun running over humans, but oh well. Sometimes you can complete whole races without seeing the zombies, but they are out there, 80-160 of them per course. Often they're hiding, though in some courses you'll run across plenty of them to easily squish. Fun stuff. Carmageddon 64 is clearly a somewhat low budget game, and needed some more bug testing for sure, so I can see why so many people hate it, but no, this is NOT the worst game on the N64, not by a longshot. I'm not sure what kind of score to give it, I could almost see anything from a B to a D, but I do know I'm entertained and will be playing this game more. Two player, controller pak saving (1 page).
Castlevania - The first 3d Castlevania game, this game has a pretty bad reputation. While I will agree that the early N64 graphics don't look that good (the graphics definitely are the worst thing about this game), the gameplay is better than the graphics. However, the improved version below makes this game outdated for all but its most hardcore fans. I will describe the game, but considering that LoD is pretty much the same thing but better, there's not much reason to get this. On its own though, Castlevania is a fairly impressive achievement in some ways. First, as should be expected from Konami, the music is fantastic. In addition, the levels are large and well designed. Castlevania for the N64 has elements of 3d platforming, 3d action, and adventure gaming in it, and the platforming and adventure elements are done especially well. As an action game it's probably not above average, but the game's focus is elsewhere so that's fine, in my opinion. I love the adventure game elements, this game has a great sense of suspense sometimes and the puzzles in the game are often challenging and fun. The game follows multiple routes with the two characters, who share some levels but each play some the other character doesn't. The little girl (mage) character is way better than the guy with the whip, because his weapon is short range while she can shoot far, which is a huge help in a 3d game. There are multiple endings too, depending on how long you took to finish it. The platforming controls are pretty good -- your character will grab onto any platform edge you get anywhere near while jumping, so absolute precision is, thankfully, not necessary. Overall, flawed but good. One player, controller pak (9 pages) to save. The Japanese version has on-cart saving, but like all Konami N64 games it was removed from the Western releases because Konami are cheap and annoying, apparently.
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness - I got this game in the mid '00s not expecting much, because of how much bad things I'd heard over the years about the N64 Castlevanias, but I was very pleasantly surprised, and I think this is a pretty good game. LoD is an improved version of the above title. Essentially, it is everything Castlevania for the N64 is, and more. It has better graphics, more stages, more playable characters, some level design changes, and more. The expansion pak support is an optional Hi Res mode; the framerate is lower, but the graphics look great. The graphics are improved over the first version even in low res mode, but high res is particulalry good looking. Many people dislike the slow framerate of hi res mode, but I think it's fine and always play LoD in high res. The new stages are great too. I love the new first level, on the ships; it's a better intro stage than that dark forest the original starts with (and that is level 2 this time), I think. Great boss too. The new characters change the game's progression. In LoD, first you play as Cornell. Cornell is a werewolf and is incredibly powerful; few bosses will be much of a challenge for wolf mode Cornell, so save your red gems for boss battles and then just destroy the bosses. :) This lets you focus on what's best about the game, the platforming and puzzles. Cornell is pretty cool, he's my favorite character in this game. This mode has only one ending and no time limit, and you go through all of the stages in the game. After you beat the game with Cornell, you unlock a second character. This guy has a time limit and has to find five children hiding in a certain set of stages you play through before time runs out. Do that and you unlock the original two characters from the first version, and can play through their two modes, much like the first game but with some minor changes here and there, so it won't be exactly the same experience, just similar. One player only, controller pak (17 pages) to save. Expansion Pak supported for a high-res mode. I always play with high res on, but people bothered by the framerate might want to disable it. The Japanese version has on-cart saving, but like all Konami N64 games it was removed from the Western releases because Konami are cheap and annoying.
Chameleon Twist - Chameleon Twist is a fun, but somewhat short and easy, 3d platformer. In this earlier N64 game (it's from 1997), you control a chameleon. Your character is a pretty cute big-head creature that only looks vaguely like a chameleon, but oh well. The main feature here is that your chameleon has a very long tongue, which you can use to grab onto things to swing yourself around, to attack, and more. The tongue mechanic is somewhat original and leads to some fun gameplay challenges, as you swing yourself around to figure out what to do. It's nothing deep and epic, but it is a fun little 3d platformer that I enjoy. Sure, the graphics are mediocre and it could be harder, but what's here is solid fun. Four player (multiplayer battle mode). On-cart saving (note that Chameleon Twist 2 does not have multiplayer or oncart saving, and requires controller pak save instead; reasons to prefer the first one!).
Charlie Blast's Territory - Charlie Blast's Territory is a small, low budget N64 puzzle game. It's a puzzle game of the "figure out how to solve it" variety, not the block dropping variety, and you have to figure out in each level how to destroy all the bombs, and thus the stage, in the 3d, tile grid design levels. You move Charlie around, pushing bombs to get them arranged correctly to blow up the stage with a single blow. The game is okay, but has a very simple look and you can tell that the cart size is small. The game's by Kemco, and is basically and N64 version of what was released on Playstation as "The Bombing Islands", except with the new character Charlie Blast as your character instead of Kid Klown and perhaps some different puzzles. One player. Saving is by password only. This is the only N64 game I know of with password-only saving. All others with password options also have controller pak support.
Chopper Attack - This is game is another Strike series clone on the N64, except this one is played from a behind-the-helicopter view instead of the 3/4ths overhead view of the Strike games and Army Men Air Attack. Despite the change in viewpoint, you have no more vertical control in this game than you do in those. That is, you have no control over vertical flying height. Once you accept that, this game's actually somewhat fun. You fly around, shooting enemies and turrets and buildings and such and accomplishing your objectives. Not bad. The graphics and sound are nothing special -- there are lots of big blurry textures here -- and nor is the gameplay really. Oh, and the game is short, it won't take long to finish. This game is average, but it's fun anyway. Despite the problems, it's an okay game overall. I never liked the 16-bit Strike games, but do like most of the 5th gen games of this style. One player, on-cart saving.
ClayFighter 63 1/3 - This is a fighting game, and the first of two N64 ClayFighter games. The game is okay, but not great. The graphics are amusing, in that ClayFighter style, and the 3d arenas are cool. There is 3d movement, so this isn't just a 2.5d game. I like that. There are combos, KI style, as well as special moves. THere are several hidden characters too, accessible by cheat codes. In addition to the ClayFighter characters, the other Interplay characters Earthworm Jim and Boogerman are also playable, which is cool. I don't like KI-style combo systems, but you don't need to know it to play this game. This isn't a great game, but it is stupidly amusing, which is about all you should hope for from something like this. Two player, no saving.
ClayFighter 63 1/3: Sculptor's Cut - This rental-only N64 game is somewhat rare and pricey as a result of its limited release, but I lucked into a cheap copy. Sculptor's Cut is a somewhat interesting modified version of the first Clayfighter 63 1/3 game. While the environments and characters are similar (all of the stages and characters from the first version return, and the story, such as it is, is not different), there are many changes, both minor and major. First, the game's now entirely 2.5d -- 3d movement has been removed, so gameplay is now on a 2d plane. That's disappointing, I liked the 3d movement of the first version. Now instead of having to maneuver people towards areas where stages change, you just push your opponent to the edge and you'll move in to them naturally. It makes stage changes easier, but overall wasn't a good change. On the other hand, four new characters have been added, which is great -- more characters is very nice, in a game like this, and the new characters are all great to see. But again on the other hand, there were yet more changes made in order to save space and simplify gameplay -- the KI-style combo system was mostly removed, leaving just moves, special mvoes, and super moves in place. Some returning characters have fewer moves, too. I never liked KI-style combo/combo breaker systems at all, so I think this was probably a good change (apart from the removed special moves), but I'm sure some people disagree. Overall, I don't know that this is worth the money -- there are as many negative changes as positive, and this is one of the pricier US releases. Still, it IS still to date the most recent Clayfighter game, and it does have four characters exclusive to this version, so series fans at least should certainly check it out. Fighting game fans who prefer 2d gameplay to 3d in their polygonal fighting games also might like this version more. Two player, no saving.
Command & Conquer - C&C for the N64 is a remake of the PC original, except with 3d graphics. The live action FMV cutscenes have been removed, of course, in favor of static images, text, and some speech. That is too bad, C&C series FMV is always entertaining stuff. There's also no multiplayer, and the game only includes the original campaign, not either of the expansions, which were never released for N64. There are four additional N64-exclusive levels, though. The actual game's the same, though, except in 3d instead of drawn 2d. The visuals actually look pretty good, particularly in high res mode. The game looks and plays better than I expected, I wasn't expecting it to be good at all but it's actually fun and works reasonably decently. You can zoom in and out, so you can hopefully get it to the size you want. Small units are always an issue in C&C games, with all that tiny infantry, but they do what they can here. The 3d graphical redo is interesting and makes the game different enough to be worth a look, even if the gameplay is the same, and that gameplay functions about as well as can be hoped for on a console controller with analog stick. C&C for the N64 may or may not be worth playing, but at least they tried something a little different. One player, on-cart saving, Expansion Pak support.
Conker's Bad Fur Day - Rare's last N64 3d platformer, Conker's Bad Fur Day was long in development but worth the wait. Conker has impressive graphics, though it does have some framerate issues like Banjo-Tooie likely because it doesn't use the expansion pak. It also has great platformer gameplay, with the usual good Rare level design. This game is less about collecting than Rare's other 3d platformers; the game does have some, you are collecting items, but it's more straightforward than Rare's other 3d platformers. This game is streamlined versus the previous ones. I'm not so sure the change was a good one, I like the other three more overall, but it does make for something different and is a pretty good game as well. What Conker is best known for, however, of course, is its mature theme. This game's M rating is well earned. The game has a later Xbox remake, but while the graphics on the Xbox are better, the game is actually censored more on that platform -- many swears that are unbeeped on the N64 (the game is fully voiced) are censored on the Xbox. The game is full of dark, British humor and just crazy situations, perhaps most famously the Great Mighty Poo. Normally I am not one for poop jokes, but that whole bossfight, with an opera-singing giant poo monster fighting against Conker, who you defeat by throwing giant toilet paper rolls at it, was pretty awesome stuff. Not everyone is going to like the adult nature of the game, and this is not a game for kids, but it's a very good game all 3d platformer fans should try. Thanks to the lesser censorship the N64 probably has the better version, though it won't be cheap. Four player multiplayer (various modes, many of them shooter-style; the XBox version has different multiplayer content, so the two are not the same in that regard), on-cart saving.
Cruis'n USA - Cruis'n USA is a port of the 1994 arcade classic and one of the most successful arcade racing games ever. While the home ports have been hated almost since the release of the first one, this game for the N64, the arcade machines always have been very popular, both in the Cruis'n and followup (from the same people) The Fast & The Furious arcade games. Cruis'n USA is a simple racing game where you drive along long, often wide roads, tearing across America in your quest to become the first racer to go from San Francisco to Washington D.C.. The game clearly has a strong Outrun influence, except newer and American-made instead of Japanese. The arcade game was fun, but there are flaws in this home port. The N64 version is a straight arcade port, with absolutely no added features. This means that you simply access the hidden cars via cheat codes, not unlocking, and once you've beaten the main race mode there isn't much reason to revisit this game except to try to improve your times in the courses. That's disappointing, because while fun this game won't last long. Also, the multiplayer is two player only. At the time though, the biggest letdown was the graphics, people were expecting it to be arcade perfect but it's definitely not. There's fog and popup too. Still, there's enough fun here to make it worth a few bucks, and this was a very early N64 release. Two player, on-cart saving.
Cruis'n World - Cruis'n World is the second of the three N64 Cruis'n games. The gameplay is the same as ever, as you race along roads all over the world this time looking at the scenery, avoiding traffic, and winning races. All Cruis'n games were better in the arcades, but if you like simple racing games from the Outrun school, the Cruis'n games really aren't that bad. I at least find them fun. Though it is true that they're simplistic and boring after a little while, they're fun while they last and good for plenty of return plays later. It's the best reviewed game of the series and probably is the fans' favorite Cruis'n game. This N64 version can't match the graphics of the arcade, but it does add a lot of great features when compared to Cruis'n USA for the N64. First, the single player mode was significantly expanded in this game. Instead of just racing through all the tracks and that's it, multiple variants of each track have been added. In arcade mode you just play through the arcade game, but in the new mode you play several different variants of each track. You have to unlock the hidden cars, which there are a few of, as well, which is a nice improvement versus the original. It's great to see Cruis'n with more content. The new four player multiplayer mode is great too, and the visuals have been improved. However, there still is fog in the distance. Four player multiplayer, on-cart saving.
Cruis'n Exotica - Cruis'n Exotica is the last of the N64 Cruis'n games, and it has the most features, content, and options of the trilogy. It's a little less popular than World, though, for some reason. I think that Exotica is the best of the three, myself. I like some of the new options. It's good to have a Cruis'n game that will take longer to finish, if World greatly expanded versus USA Exotica greatly expands again. This time you have even more variants on each track, including drag races, which, if you do right, will earn you boosts you can use in the other tracks. In the Exotica mode, you race a drag race, circuit lap race, short race, and two part long race in each environment. You unlock hidden cars based on miles driven, too. It will take quite a while to unlock all of the cars. There are also several alternate graphics modes that can be unlocked, including one where everything uses negative colors and looks squished, and another one where everything is stretched out and crazy warped. It's hard to play in these graphics modes, but they're pretty amusing options. However, of course, the basic gameplay is as simple as ever. All Cruis'n games are simply about driving forward along the endless road, going as fast as you can, avoiding traffic, and trying to finish in first. They are very simple and straightforward racing games. Also, even in this third game there is still fog. I guess the system simply can't render farther out. Your vision goes far enough out for you to be able to see well, but things do appear in the distance and it is a little distracting. Four player multiplayer, on-cart saving.
Dark Rift - Dark Rift is a terrible 3d fighting game for the PC and N64 made by the same developer who had previously done Criticom on Playstation and Saturn. Trying to sell games by releasing your next game on different platforms which won't know of the kind of "quality" your games are, huh? I wonder if it worked... anyway, yeah, Dark Rift is bad. The game has okay graphics for its time, and it IS 3d and not 2.5d or something, but the gameplay is poor, the game is no fun, and the computer opponents are insanely hard. Seriously, beating this game once was a very, very stiff challenge, and not for any of the right reasons. The controls are mediocre, the enemy unfair, and you don't have much of a chance at victory. As far as N64 fighting games go, this is right at the bottom of the list, along with, or maybe even below (because that game might be even worse, but has more humor value) War Gods. Two player, no saving.
Destruction Derby 64 - DD64, the only racing game published and actually released by Looking Glass Seattle, is a somewhat interesting and fun, but flawed, N64 spinoff of Psygnosis' Destruction Derby series. This game shares the name and concept of the Playstation series, but has some important differences in gameplay and execution, some good and some bad. DD64 has eight tracks, four crash arenas, and a capture the flag arena, so there are a decent number of tracks. Graphically the game looks okay to good. The graphics are somewhat pixelated and grainy, but they look decently nice most of the time even so. The framerate feels a little low, too, but I did get used to it in not too long; still, I wish it was smoother. There is vehicle damage, which is fun to see. There could be even more (the doors don't seem tocome off...), but there's at least some. The most unique feature about this game is that instead of starting all the cars in a grid, the cars are started in three groups of four (or in one track two groups of six), at different points in the track and driving in different directions. In tracks with three groups, the player's group goes one way while the other two go the other. This concept is pretty cool, because it makes for a lot more crashing and banging than there would be if everyone was driving the same direction. However, having two groups going one way and you going the other unfairly breaks the game in your favor -- it's much harder for the cars in the two groups to compete, having only one group of cars to crash into instead of two. This design decision made a lot of the game pretty easy. In addition, once you die, the race ends in seconds -- no matter if you crashed out with 9 cars still going in the race and after only two checkpoints reached of the seven maximum allowed, it'll be done in instants and you'll do fine and maybe even win overall. It's kind of stupid, and makes most of the races FAR too easy through the first three of four circuits. Fortunately, the crash arenas, the one track with 6 cars in each direction, and the top difficulty level are more challenging, and the game is fun enough to be entertaining even if it's flawed. Driving around crashing into other cars is quite entertaining. I don't know if it's better than Destruction Derby 1 or 2 (far better graphics, but maybe not quite as good gameplay overall, and not nearly as hard), or the Dreamcast (but not PS1!) version of Demolition Racer -- it certainly can't match that great crash-racing game -- but even so it is a fun game. Four player multiplayer, on-cart saving.
Diddy Kong Racing - Rare's first attempt at a Mario Kart clone, DKR is a great game in its own right. The game's fully polygonal, unlike MK64, and has an extensive, challenging single player mode. Indeed, when I played this game back in 1999-2000, I found it TOO challenging -- I could never beat the first Wizpig battle at the end of the game, it's just insanely, insanely hard. There are a lot of tracks, a battle mode, decently good multiplayer, three vehicle types, andm ore. I love the planes, they're a lot of fun to fly around with. Overall, I think that Mario Kart 64, though much shorter, is a little bit better game. Even so, DKR is a fantastic, must-play title. There is a DS version, though it has a few changes; I haven't played it myself though. Four player multiplayer, on-cart saving.
Donkey Kong 64 - Unlike many people, I love this game. Indeed, DK64 is my favorite of the Rare 3d platformers on the N64. I got this game shortly after it came out in late 1999, and absolutely loved it. I played the game steadily through until I beat the game with every single golden bananna and got the best ending. DK64 has fantastic graphics, great level designs, a lot of variety, a huge number of things to do, a bunch of different fun minigames, unlockable versions of two classic games (Rare's Jetpack and Nintendo's Donkey Kong), and more. THere are five playable characters, and you do have to revisit each of the eight levels with each character, but you do different things with each one, so it works -- you're not just doing the same thing over and over, you're exploring new areas and doing new things with each character. Everything you collect with each character saves, so there's no repeat play required, unlike BK. The levels, characters, gameplay, graphics, music, bosses... everying about this game is just fantastic and among the best on the system. Four player multiplayer (battle mode; it's okay but kind of average), on-cart saving. Expansion pak required.
Doom 64 - Doom 64 is an N64-exclusive Doom game. It is not a port of the original Doom, but instead is a new game with an all-new set of 32 levels done by Midway. The graphics are great -- this game really looks quite good. The game's actually polygonal 3d, not raycasted fake 3d, so the environments actually look 3d, and can do things that Doom couldn't before like have a path you can walk on above another one, something impossible in the original Doom engine. The new levels have some challenging puzzles, lots of enemies, and impressive graphical enhancements versus the PC original. It's a challenging game, but rewarding. The game uses an atmospheric soundtrack, instead of the musical style of the original game, and while I do miss Doom's great soundtrack, the atmospheric sound does work well and fits the tense, dangerous world of Doom very well. Doom 64's biggest problem is the lack of multiplayer, which is quite unfortunate but isn't a deal-breaker. This game is definitely worth playing anyway. One player, password or controller pak saving (1 or 2 pages; if two or more pages are free it will create a 2 page file with 16 save slots, but if you have only 1 page free on a cart it will create a 1 page file with 8 save slots.)
Dr. Mario 64 - A late N64 release, one of Nintendo's last first party N64 games and a US-exclusive release on the N64, Dr. Mario 64 is a game many people never played. It wasn't released in Japan at all on the N64, though they did get a port of it in the Japan-only, but American (NST)-developed, Nintendo Puzzle Collection on the Gamecube, along with Panel de Pon 64 (the unreleased on the N64 Japanese version of Pokemon Puzzle League) and a new version of Yoshi's Cookie. As for the N64 version though, it's a great version of Dr. Mario that I think more people would love if they'd played it. This game's fantastic fun. The visuals remind me of Paper Mario -- the characters all look "flat" in the 3d map as they move around between stages. The game has a simple but good visual look, with plenty of style and good design. Actual gameplay is entirely 2d, an...