RFGen's Top 20 N64 games

[bickman2k]

Are there any of the extra lists coming?

[EZ Racer]

So it was crazy at the top for the N64 list, and while not completely surprising, only 68 total games received a vote, even with 10 voters. Compare that with 98, 93, and 105 for the NES, SNES, and Genesis respectively.

Plenty of games still got some love, though-

Single Votes through 13th place

20th place

Cruisin USA
Tony Hawk Pro Skater- "The starting point in a fun series of skateboarding games."
Mystical Ninja- "This isn't a great game in any way, but it features some of the most exceptionally badly and hilariously translated dialog of any game in recent memory.  In fact, why haven't more people talked about this?  Slightly open world obviously inspired by Mario 64 (but with no camera controls) and some seriously wacky characters make this a game that you should at least try for thirty minutes.  I couldn't stop laughing."
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero- "I know this game does not get a lot of love but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It has its flaws and every one is warranted but I liked getting some backstory on the character and playing an action/fighting game.  This game isn't for everyone one, and if this was the 90's I would tell you to "rent" this one, but if you have a chance, try it out and see if you like it."
Kirby 64- "The Kirby formula of using power ups in different parts of the games to open up new levels and secrets is very addictive. This Kirby game is just a little slow pace and rough to go back to compared to most of the others which is why the lower rank."
Hydro Thunder- "-Another multiplayer racing title. Also the only console version that supports 4 players if I recall correctly. Of Midway's racing series on the console, I've always enjoyed Rush more (both in the arcade and at home), but Hydro Thunder is still a fun title to play when friends are over."

19th place

Mario Tennis
Pokemon Puzzle League- "Another game with FMV for the 64?! This is a Tetris Attack clone that looks great on the N64 and plays very well."
Duke Mukem 64- "While this is stripped down and censored version, it does have 4 player Dukematch and some new weapons and levels."
Rampage: Universal Tour- "I didn't like this one as much as World Tour, but it gave me more Rampage, and a heck of a lot more monsters to choose from."

18th place

Space Station Silicon Valley- "A quirky puzzle platform game that is just weird enough to keep your attention."
Turok 2- "When it was released Turok 2 was a stunner of a game.  Working at a game store, I remember the complaints against the original, but when we got our paws on part 2 everything just ceased.  It just looked so darn good!  I even remember gaming magazines in awe, showing screenshots with captions like "This is really what the game looks like" and stuff like that.  Not my favorite controls though."

17th place

Shadowgate 64
Ogre Battle 64
Hexen- "It's more or less a Doom clone but with a gothic fantasy setting. A decently fun game in its own right, but what really made this game stand out to me was the splitscreen co-op. I remember playing through the entire game with a friend and having a lot of fun with it."

No game received a single 16th place vote

15th place

Mischief Makers- "One of the most unique games I have ever played. Almost every stage is different from the one before it, and just when you think you've seen everything the game has to offer, it throws yet another curve at you. The controls can be a bit awkward, but once you get the hang of it, it's a fun ride."
Mortal Kombat 4- "A solid port of the arcade game."

14th place

Turok: Rage Wars
Rampage: World Tour- "Rampage is the first game I ever played on an arcade cabinet. At 8, my mom would let me have a buck in quarters, and go to the 7-11. It was there I would discover and fall in love with this strange game, that let you play as a monster, destroy a city, and eat people. It was a double whammy, as I was discovering Kaiju at the same time. Flash forward 10 years or so, and Midway would give me Rampage:WT. Same concept but so much better."

13th place

Dr. Mario 64
Killer Instinct Gold- "For a system with very few fighters (and even fewer good ones), they were fortunate to get a great sequel to Killer Instinct with Gold. It does what a sequel does best and doesn’t mess too much with a good thing. Just adds a few new characters and makes it looks and sound even better."

Much more to come...

[shaggy]

3 of mine gone.

[Disposed Hero]

That's two gone for me, one of which I'm not surprised by in the slightest.

[shaggy]

That's two gone for me, one of which I'm not surprised by in the slightest.

One I'm not surprised, the other two I would have thought at least one other person would have picked it.  Especially one of them.

[EZ Racer]

Single votes 11th or better

11th place

Vigilante 8- "While a great many of my N64 experiences were really about circumstance (I was working in a game store with little to do but games), Vigilante 8 was a game I sought out. See, I had bought, played, and loved a quirky combat-driving sim on PC called Interstate '76, and when I heard that the characters and cars had been ported to a new game on consoles, I knew I had to check it out. Of course this game is really nothing more than the N64 answer to Twisted Metal (and people would love or hate it based on that) and not my beloved alternate 1970's take on Mechwarrior, but for me the immediate recognition of the license was enough to hook me and keep me coming back."
Shadowman- "Based on a comic book, this game is a guilty pleasure for me. When Shadowman was released, I was a young adult, and craved the kind of dark story and content, that this game provided. While the controls and graphics might not stand out, compared to other N64 games, it still had enough fun to keep me in. One might say that this game almost incorporates a Metroidvania style, requiring you to backtrack, to get through sections. I thought the voice acting was amazing at the time."

10th place

San Francisco Rush 2049- "Along with the other games in the Rush series on the console, my brothers and I played these games constantly. I really enjoyed the customization aspect as well as the stunt mode. Whenever we went to the arcade, we'd always make sure to play the arcade cabinet version of this game."

9th place

Body Harvest- "This is a fun, though not terribly good, action-adventure game.  It is a little bit harder to classify than some games of its day, but for the most part you are moving around the stages, moving constantly from vehicle to vehicle to see what they can do, and kill aliens.  This is one of the titles where the gameplay outclassed the graphics, meaning that at the time I had no issues forgetting what a muddy mess I was looking at, mainly because I saw a new car or tank to play with behind a building.  I guess it was no mistake then when I latched hard onto the same kind of think when DMA Designs (later Rockstar North) would develop the GTA games."

8th place

Forsaken 64- "An amazing port of the PC 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) shooter with the strangest marketing (that anyone working a game store at the time could testify to).  It gave me the ability to place this amazing game when I didn't have the PC to run it on, and man is it fun.  Makes me dizzy sometimes as you fly through tunnels, dodging and juking to avoid and return enemy fire, but a ton of fun.  Not too much to say about it, but maybe avoid if you are sensitive to motion sickness."

7th place

WCW/NWO Revenge- "This was my favorite wrestling game until the early WWF Smackdown games on PS1 dethroned it. My friends and I poured a ton of hours into this."

6th place

NFL Blitz 2001- "Really, the series could be all over this list, but this is the version I played the most. A very close arcade conversion with 4 player support makes it a blast for a group!"

5th place

Nightmare Creatures- "I am one of the people that can, without fear or discrimination, say that I loved the first Nightmare Creatures game on PSX.  So what does this version offer?  Analog control and an increased draw distance, while not compromising on the atmospheric soundtrack, which is all I really need.  It still retains all of the annoyances and quirks that detractors have used against it, and thus isn't a game that one could recommend to people.  But I totally dig it!"

4th place

Mario Party 3- "Same formula, the third time around, but still good. This one really seemed to kick up the CP's, which made it sort of a human vs computer dynamic, rather than a free-for-all. Plenty of rounds played with good friends, having laughs well into the night."


That's it for the single vote getters, but lots of game got 2 or 3 lower rank votes.

[Disposed Hero]

That's another one out for me! Three total so far.

[bombatomba]

[Crabmaster2000]

I'm only 2 down total so far! Best I've done for any system so far.

[shaggy]

No more out for me!

[shaggy]

Shadowman- "Based on a comic book, this game is a guilty pleasure for me. When Shadowman was released, I was a young adult, and craved the kind of dark story and content, that this game provided. While the controls and graphics might not stand out, compared to other N64 games, it still had enough fun to keep me in. One might say that this game almost incorporates a Metroidvania style, requiring you to backtrack, to get through sections. I thought the voice acting was amazing at the time."

Damn it, I forgot about this game!  I love it.  I would have probably put this in my top 10.  Dammit!

[singlebanana]

Shocked that Mischief Makers or Ogre Battle didn't crack the Top 20. Should be an interesting list. Looking forward to hearing about some worthy titles I may not own for this system.

[MaterialHandlerMike]

Shadowman- "Based on a comic book, this game is a guilty pleasure for me. When Shadowman was released, I was a young adult, and craved the kind of dark story and content, that this game provided. While the controls and graphics might not stand out, compared to other N64 games, it still had enough fun to keep me in. One might say that this game almost incorporates a Metroidvania style, requiring you to backtrack, to get through sections. I thought the voice acting was amazing at the time."

Damn it, I forgot about this game!  I love it.  I would have probably put this in my top 10.  Dammit!

That was me.

[Disposed Hero]

So guys, what are some of your favorite soundtracks/tunes for the system? I'm going through various soundtracks while trying to put music to the top 20 video and am discovering some really great stuff!

[Crabmaster2000]

So guys, what are some of your favorite soundtracks/tunes for the system? I'm going through various soundtracks while trying to put music to the top 20 video and am discovering some really great stuff!

Banjo Kazooie comes to mind right away for its music. Otherwise nothing jumps out at me.