Top 5 Nintendo 64 Games

Retro Gamer posted a message on their forums asking members to submit their Top 5 Nintendo 64 games, with the possibility of your response being quoted in their magazine. I might be a bit late for that but I thought I'd share my top 5 with you all the same, enjoy...


1. Lylatwars/Starfox 64- A brilliant on-rails shooter that improves upon the SNES original in every way. There's a ton of replay value thanks to the varying pathways to take throughout the game, the alternate endings and simply playing to achieve the highest score. Not to mention the task of winning medals on each level to unlock the hard mode. There's also a great cast of memorable characters and multiplayer fun to be had as a bonus.
2. Super Mario 64- The game that set the standard for 3D platform games for generations to come. The level design is fantastic in that it's simply fun just to explore each level down it's last detail, and there's so many memorable moments to be discovered e.g. defeating Bowser in 3D for the first time. Mario himself was equipped with a wide variety of new skills to traverse his terrain and battle his enemies, along with some new power ups such as the Metal and Pixel caps. I feel I should also mention that Super Mario 64 has one of the best soundtracks of all time, my own personal favourite being the Dire Dire Docks theme.

3. WWF No Mercy- I think I played this none stop for about a year when it was first released thanks to the wealth of content that's available. There's a number of story modes based on the various titles that were around at the time, a survival mode where you have to eliminate as many wrestlers as you can and the exhibition mode where you can customise matches as you want. The create-a-wrestler feature was quite in-depth; setting a template for future titles in the series, and this alongside the wide selection of wrestlers from WWF/WWE's attitude era you really were spoiled for choice.

4. Goldeneye 007- Another title I couldn't stop playing once I got my hands on it. The single player mode follows the movie in great detail, with graphics that were quite brilliant for the time, and a soundtrack that kept you immersed in the James Bond universe from start to finish. The wealth of replay value is enormous thanks to the 'cheats' that you can unlock by finishing a level in a certain time, along with the another two hidden levels based on previous Bond movies. And if all this wasn't enough you had what was arguably the greatest multiplayer experience on the Nintendo 64.

5. Conker's Bad Fur Day- It was rude, crude, even violent, but still the funniest game on the system. After getting drunk at his local one night Conker the Squirrel wakes up in a field next to a scarecrow, and your job is to guide him back home while making some cash along the way. The game takes on a variety of genres and does them all surprisingly well, even making fun of other games and movies such as Resident Evil, Saving Private Ryan and the Matrix. The hilarious cast of characters will make you want to keep playing through the story until the very end, with Rareware thoughtfully including a menu so you can jump to a certain chapter whenever you want to revisit your favourite moments. The multiplayer is also superb with a seven different modes to choose from (I like Raptor the most), and support for four players plus AI controlled enemies.