Nintendo 64 Game Recommendations?

[+GoldLeader]

The Nintendo 64 launched in North America 25 years ago today.

 

Anyone have any good game recs?

 

 

Now,  no disrespect intended,  because back in those days I was a huge PlayStation fan and I remember playing games like Twisted Metal 1-4, Castlevania: SOTN,  All the Resident Evil and Wipeout games,  Actual Platformers like the GEX and Pandemonium games, plus a host of RPGS like LUNAR, Arc the Lad, Final Fantasy, and the Suikoden series, Breath of Fire III, Legend of Dragoon, etc., and tons of Arcade ports...again,  all on my Mighty PlayStation!

 

So when the N64 launched I did not get one...Always figured I'd get one later;  Much later as it turns out.

 

Looking it up,  I got one in 2009.  ($91.50 with shipping for an N64, 3 controllers and 8 games in case anyone wondered).  Then I bought even more games.  I had some fun in the past, but ya know,  without opening the box, I don't even remember what color it is haha.  I know I had fun with Zelda, Mario Kart, and Mario 64.  And I know Donkey Kong in 3D was Not a good idea, since Donkey Kong from 1981 was just a lot more fun (IMHO).  And nowadays I do have an Everdrive so probably kind of have all the games,  but I was looking for game recommendations from people who've played the system a lot more than me.  Feel free to throw in memories from Back in the Day...

[BydoEmpire]

It's been so long since I sold my n64 collection and I've played anything on it, take this with a grain of salt, but I have very fond memories of:

• Jet Force Gemini
• Wave Race 64
• Star Fox
• Paper Mario (one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and none of the sequels were as good. 1000 Year Door was close, the Wii one sucked).
• One of the wrestling games (WCW vs. NWO?)
• The standards: Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye

Most of my great n64 memories are around having awesome multiplayer parties with Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Wave Race... even Gretzky Hockey.  It was an amazing system for that.  Some of the single player games like Jet Force Gemini were really good, though.

Edited September 29, 2021 by BydoEmpire

[+thegoldenband]

My tastes are weird, but I've had fun with some obvious candidates (Gauntlet Legends, Pilotwings 64, Mario Tennis), some less obvious ones (Chopper Attack, BattleTanx), and some really left-field games (Tigger's Honey Hunt, South Park, the Japanese-exclusive Bomberman compilation with an overworld).

 

Heck, I even enjoyed the much-maligned Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, though I still haven't beaten it.

 

So far I've steered clear of most of the famous N64 games, though I played a fair amount of GoldenEye back in the day, as well as some Banjo-Kazooie, Mario Kart 64, and Starfox 64. The Zelda and Mario games are on my "someday" list, but I don't really feel driven to play them.

 

A lot of N64 games give me motion sickness (simulation sickness), so I have to be choosy about what I play, or keep the sessions short. If you're prone to that, stay far away from Forsaken and Monster Truck Madness. Barf city.

[Tanooki]

I got the thing when it came out, still have the unit, but did have it modded with the UltraHDMI update because it's impossible to play a portion of the games on a LCD due to how it used tricks on the CRT to display some visual effects flat panels lack (a real bad one, Rogue Squadron where some stages are reduced to invisible walls to die on everywhere.)

I didn't get the PSOne+LCD combo until that came out, and I was at Midway in 2001.  No regrets. (and I still have that combo, not the original though) and it's right next to me on the desk here too.

 

N64 was an interesting beast, and thankfully you DO have the everdrive (I got one too, the beefy one that saves instantly etc.)  A fascinating note about the system, the US got about 300 games, but Japan oddly just didn't get that many more.  It didn't get some we did, and it got some I wish we did, a trade off, but also good as you're not missing much even if you lacked the kit.  Better yet with the KIT the better stuff has been translated to play too which is awesome.

 

N64 was lacking for 2D fighting games, but mostly RPGs big time including 2D actionRPGs(ie: SOTN style.)  But outside that, it had a good spread just less variety in the spread.  If you include racing and wrestling, sports annoyingly is like 35% of the library which sucks, but what isn't in that realm is great.  And even in that realm that was peak arcade racer and Nintendo had it, and wrestling hands down THE system to own for WWF and WCW awesomeness (and new Japan wrestling if you import.)

 

US side though I can list at least 50 games for you to enjoy, variety in there too, and I'm serious it's not inflated.  I will include imports, I own a couple, have had others.

3D Platformers - Mario 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day, beyond that if you're ok with LOTS of collecting, anything Rare did before Conker ( Banjo/Tooie, even DK64), Bomberman(64, 64 2nd attack, Hero), Rayman 2, Chameleon Twist, Glover, others depending on taste

FPS games - Doom 64, Turok 1+2, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, both Quakes, Hexen, Duke Nukem, and the other Bond 007 games

Racing - F-Zero, Hydro Thunder, Crus'n USA(series), Top Gear Rally 1+2+Overdrive, Ridge Racer 64, Beetle Adventure Racing, X-Treme G(1+2), World Driver Championship(kinda like GT), Wave Race 64, MarioKart, Wipeout64, Snowboard Kids 1+2

Arcade style action - Robotron 64, Rampage World Tour1+2, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 1+2, Gauntlet Legends, Star Soldier Vanished Earth, Namco Museum, Midways Arcade Hits

Adventures: Castlevania Dark Legacy, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, both Goemon games, Zelda OoT, Kirby 64, Mischief Makers, Mega Man 64, Resident Evil 2, Nightmare Creatures, Star Wars Shadow of the Empire, Yoshi's Story, Shadowman, Jet Force Gemini, Hybrid Heaven

Flight: Star Wars Rogue Squadron, Pilotwings, Aerofighters Assault, Chopper Attack, Starfox 64

Sports: Mario Golf and Tennis, your pick of WWF/WCW wrestling game they're all good, the pro stuff if you're a fan for hockey, baseball, football, basketball, fishing, soccer, golf, and snowboarding

Brawlers/Fighting -- Batman Beyond, Fighting Force, various Midway 2D/3D fighters(MKT, MK4, Wargods, etc), Smash Bros, Transformers, Killer Instinct Gold

 

There are the pokemon games: Puzzle League, Stadium 1+2, and Snap

The only RPGs worth playing/mention are Ogre Battle, Quest 64(yes it's good) and Paper Mario -- throwing in Harvest Moon 64 here too

 

 

Imports I'd strongly recommend Bangaioh, Sin&Punishment, Puyo Sun, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Custom Robo v1 and v2, Wonder Project J2(has full english translation, play this seriously), the original Doubutsu Mori(Animal Crossing), Sim City 2000, Densha de Go, Raguka Kids, Dezaemon64,  Tetris 64 w/biofeedback sensor, Last Legion UX, (confusingly also named) Bomberman64(2D traditional bomberman), and the Super Robot Wars games.

 

 

I know this was long and it took me some time with interruptions, but I feel this is probably still missing a few someone will bring up, like Diddy Kong Racing I left off, but it gives a feel for a lot of choices that don't suck and are at worst B efforts, but a lot of A to AAA titles.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by Tanooki

[+GoldLeader]

2 hours ago, BydoEmpire said:

It's been so long since I sold my n64 collection and I've played anything on it, take this with a grain of salt, but I have very fond memories of:

• Jet Force Gemini
• Wave Race 64
• Star Fox
• Paper Mario (one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and none of the sequels were as good. 1000 Year Door was close, the Wii one sucked).
• One of the wrestling games (WCW vs. NWO?)
• The standards: Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye

Most of my great n64 memories are around having awesome multiplayer parties with Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Wave Race... even Gretzky Hockey.  It was an amazing system for that.  Some of the single player games like Jet Force Gemini were really good, though.

I do like that it has 4 controller ports...I even have 4 of those steering wheel controllers so if I ever have friends... Hehaa.

[+GoldLeader]

26 minutes ago, thegoldenband said:

My tastes are weird, but I've had fun with some obvious candidates (Gauntlet Legends, Pilotwings 64, Mario Tennis), some less obvious ones (Chopper Attack, BattleTanx), and some really left-field games (Tigger's Honey Hunt, South Park, the Japanese-exclusive Bomberman compilation with an overworld).

 

Heck, I even enjoyed the much-maligned Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, though I still haven't beaten it.

 

So far I've steered clear of most of the famous N64 games, though I played a fair amount of GoldenEye back in the day, as well as some Banjo-Kazooie, Mario Kart 64, and Starfox 64. The Zelda and Mario games are on my "someday" list, but I don't really feel driven to play them.

 

A lot of N64 games give me motion sickness (simulation sickness), so I have to be choosy about what I play, or keep the sessions short. If you're prone to that, stay far away from Forsaken and Monster Truck Madness. Barf city.

 

I actually do get motion sick sometimes from playing certain games, especially if I'm tired and/or have a few beers in me.   I used to come back home late from the bar sometimes and throw in Twisted Metal.  OOF!  Soon my go to game before bed was LUNAR instead haha.

[+GoldLeader]

29 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

I got the thing when it came out, still have the unit, but did have it modded with the UltraHDMI update because it's impossible to play a portion of the games on a LCD due to how it used tricks on the CRT to display some visual effects flat panels lack (a real bad one, Rogue Squadron where some stages are reduced to invisible walls to die on everywhere.)

I didn't get the PSOne+LCD combo until that came out, and I was at Midway in 2001.  No regrets. (and I still have that combo, not the original though) and it's right next to me on the desk here too.

 

N64 was an interesting beast, and thankfully you DO have the everdrive (I got one too, the beefy one that saves instantly etc.)  A fascinating note about the system, the US got about 300 games, but Japan oddly just didn't get that many more.  It didn't get some we did, and it got some I wish we did, a trade off, but also good as you're not missing much even if you lacked the kit.  Better yet with the KIT the better stuff has been translated to play too which is awesome.

 

N64 was lacking for 2D fighting games, but mostly RPGs big time including 2D actionRPGs(ie: SOTN style.)  But outside that, it had a good spread just less variety in the spread.  If you include racing and wrestling, sports annoyingly is like 35% of the library which sucks, but what isn't in that realm is great.  And even in that realm that was peak arcade racer and Nintendo had it, and wrestling hands down THE system to own for WWF and WCW awesomeness (and new Japan wrestling if you import.)

 

US side though I can list at least 50 games for you to enjoy, variety in there too, and I'm serious it's not inflated.  I will include imports, I own a couple, have had others.

3D Platformers - Mario 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day, beyond that if you're ok with LOTS of collecting, anything Rare did before Conker ( Banjo/Tooie, even DK64), Bomberman(64, 64 2nd attack, Hero), Rayman 2, Chameleon Twist, Glover, others depending on taste

FPS games - Doom 64, Turok 1+2, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, both Quakes, Hexen, Duke Nukem, and the other Bond 007 games

Racing - F-Zero, Hydro Thunder, Crus'n USA(series), Top Gear Rally 1+2+Overdrive, Ridge Racer 64, Beetle Adventure Racing, X-Treme G(1+2), World Driver Championship(kinda like GT), Wave Race 64, MarioKart, Wipeout64, Snowboard Kids 1+2

Arcade style action - Robotron 64, Rampage World Tour1+2, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 1+2, Gauntlet Legends, Star Soldier Vanished Earth, Namco Museum, Midways Arcade Hits

Adventures: Castlevania Dark Legacy, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, both Goemon games, Zelda OoT, Kirby 64, Mischief Makers, Mega Man 64, Resident Evil 2, Nightmare Creatures, Star Wars Shadow of the Empire, Yoshi's Story, Shadowman, Jet Force Gemini, Hybrid Heaven

Flight: Star Wars Rogue Squadron, Pilotwings, Aerofighters Assault, Chopper Attack, Starfox 64

Sports: Mario Golf and Tennis, your pick of WWF/WCW wrestling game they're all good, the pro stuff if you're a fan for hockey, baseball, football, basketball, fishing, soccer, golf, and snowboarding

Brawlers/Fighting -- Batman Beyond, Fighting Force, various Midway 2D/3D fighters(MKT, MK4, Wargods, etc), Smash Bros, Transformers, Killer Instinct Gold

 

There are the pokemon games: Puzzle League, Stadium 1+2, and Snap

The only RPGs worth playing/mention are Ogre Battle, Quest 64(yes it's good) and Paper Mario -- throwing in Harvest Moon 64 here too

 

 

Imports I'd strongly recommend Bangaioh, Sin&Punishment, Puyo Sun, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Custom Robo v1 and v2, Wonder Project J2(has full english translation, play this seriously), the original Doubutsu Mori(Animal Crossing), Sim City 2000, Densha de Go, Raguka Kids, Dezaemon64,  Tetris 64 w/biofeedback sensor, Last Legion UX, (confusingly also named) Bomberman64(2D traditional bomberman), and the Super Robot Wars games.

 

 

I know this was long and it took me some time with interruptions, but I feel this is probably still missing a few someone will bring up, like Diddy Kong Racing I left off, but it gives a feel for a lot of choices that don't suck and are at worst B efforts, but a lot of A to AAA titles.

 

 

 

Thanks for the well done list Tanooki!   I'll definitely be checking out a bunch of of these!

 

 

[Punisher5.0]

Here are some of my favorite N64 games:

 

Resident Evil 2:  The best game in the franchise imo and my favorite version

 

Episode One Racer: Still one of my favorite racing games ever

 

Quake 2: The controller was made for a game like this

 

Doom 64: My favorite Doom game but might need a mod to make it playable

 

Duke Nukem64: I love the graphics on this game. I think it was the only version to use sprites and polygons 

 

Shadows of the Empire

 

Mario Party 2

 

[Razzie.P]

Eh… I thought it kind of stunk. ?  N64 and the PS1 teamed up to drive me straight to PC gaming, and I didn’t come back to consoles until a bit into the next gen.  People always saying "that didn't age well..." and I'm like "nah... it was shit in real time, too."   Then they call me a dick and we all go home with hurt feelings.  ☹️

 

 

 

But even though I wasn’t a fan of the system overall, I did love a few games, even if they were all kinds of rough and clunky.

 

I enjoyed the Indiana Jones game, in all it’s clunky “this kinda stanks” glory.   

I LOVED Castlevania and Legacy of Darkness (still do) but man, they’re rough.

 

Ogre Battle 64 was legit great.  It wasn’t even one of those “I love it despite…” kind of things.  It’s just awesome.

Blast Corps was pretty special.

And Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a blast, but we're back to the “I love it, but it’s rough to play.
 

 

 

[Razzie.P]

3 hours ago, BydoEmpire said:

• Paper Mario (one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and none of the sequels were as good. 1000 Year Door was close, the Wii one sucked).

I played 1000 Year Door 1st, and I'm ALWAYS disappointed whenever I play any of the sequels because, even though I like them, they never come close to matching the awesomeness of 1000 Year Door.   Oddly,  though, the only one of the series I haven't played is the original on N64, even though I own it.   I think I need to give that one a go.

[electricmastro]

Aside from the Nintendo-published ones:

 

[Hwlngmad]

The N64 titles I have enjoyed a lot thus far include:

- NFL Blitz

- Hydro Thunder

- Mario Golf

- CyberTiger

 

Definitely I need to try more games, but it is a fun system to explore and get into for sure.

[youxia]

Space Station Silicon Valley. Wonderful bizarro-fest from the creators of GTA.

[digdugnate]

It seems lots of folks say 'Goldeneye' but I never really could get into it when I played it.  I liked 'Perfect Dark' way better for controls, audio/visuals, and story (such as it were); it was more fun to play multiplayer, too, for me.

 

Barring like Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time (which didn't age well to me, but played the heck out of it when it came out):

 

Mario Golf and Donkey Kong 64 were really good, I thought..  Pokemon Stadium if you like Pokemon games was a lot of fun (plus you could add your own from R/B/maybe Y).  We had a blast with the Mario Party titles for the N64 since it made awesome use of the multiplayer stuff.  Gauntlet Legends was awesome. 

 

 

[Tanooki]

N64 gets a lot of disrespect, not all of it deserved.  Sure, crap on it for some tools over abusing the AA, that's fair.  Definitely the limited storage.

But the rest is largely not warranted, even the controller.  Sure looking back now, I guess, since dual analogs stuck, but this was an era where 1 joystick was normal, and only normal on old 80s consoles, or in the earlier/mid 90s as an accessory you bought on the side.  That's why it is how it is, you choose your poison...analog or digital.

 

Despite the many times over smaller library compared to PS1, CDs...ahem, cheaper... the good to crap ratio is largely in N64 favor to have a considerable amount of the library without having bad titles, kind of a rarity.

[profholt82]

Game Sack on youtube has done a couple of N64 overview videos that are worth checking out, particularly the 2nd one. They cover quite a few games, and the quality is excellent. 

[electricmastro]

As much as other might recommended the Destruction Derby games on PlayStation over Nintendo 64, I still think this one is worth looking into: 

 

[danny_galaga]

On my own I really like playing 1080, wave race and pilot wings. With friends it's gotta be Mario kart or Goldeneye ?

[Mikebloke]

The problem with the N64 is that titles like Goldeneye were great at the time - especially pre-2 analogue sticks. It was definitely one of my favourite games at the time, but now... now its just awful, comical but in a bad way.

 

Perfect Dark I would say is certainly more future proof. Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 included. Diddy Kong Racing I would argue is the best racing game on the system, Tanooki mentioned it at the end that someone will mention it, that would be me! Lol. There's also Lylatwars / Starfox 64 which I think is still passible. Paper Mario is definitely fun, if you've played the SNES Mario RPG game then its definitely one to play.

 

Personally I find Holy Magic Century / Quest 64 a bore, but other people rave about it. Speedrunning and challenge runs are more exciting to watch online though. I've heard good things about Ogre Battle 64, but can't remember if it plays well on my PAL machine (due to the nature of the console, like having no SCART/RGB support, is that NTSC roms give a NTSC signal, meaning I can't directly plug it into a TV, I need to capture it first via my laptop to get colour).

 

Most of the other games I loved at the time, like Blast Corps, Zelda, Bomberman 64 etc is painful to play today.

 

I would say the best thing you can do with a romcart is try each game and give it ten minutes, if you don't like it move on. In some cases, you might have played as much of it as you'll ever want to. Of all of Nintendo's consoles, I would say the games of the N64 is the most 'Atari' like of turn on and play. It doesn't have a lot of games that have a lasting effect, even when compared to the Wii shovel ware. Thank God Final Fantasy VII released on PS1, and in Europe.

 

 

[Trinity]

I sold my N64 bitd to help pay for my first PC. I'm still thinking on buying one again just to play Star Fox64 again.

[IntelliMission]

Wow, I didn't know Destruction Derby 64 was so much different than the PS1 games... The roads instead of race tracks and the techno music make it a different game and it also appears to have much easier controls. It feels more like a Need for Speed clone. Check this video of Destruction Derby 2 and compare.

 

I only had a PS1 back in the day, but years later I started to appreciate the multiplayer approach (and inability to fill a game with long and boring FMV sequences). This console is the only one where you can play a 4 player split screen version of Duke Nukem 3D (by the way, someone should have hacked the censored parts of the ROM at this point?).

[+GoldLeader]

9 hours ago, Mikebloke said:

 

Most of the other games I loved at the time, like Blast Corps, Zelda, Bomberman 64 etc is painful to play today.

 

I would say the best thing you can do with a romcart is try each game and give it ten minutes, if you don't like it move on. In some cases, you might have played as much of it as you'll ever want to. Of all of Nintendo's consoles, I would say the games of the N64 is the most 'Atari' like of turn on and play. It doesn't have a lot of games that have a lasting effect, even when compared to the Wii shovel ware. Thank God Final Fantasy VII released on PS1, and in Europe.

 

 

 

When I first got the ED64,  That was my Exact thought!  Just play each game for a few...And I started that way...

 

Not that it was a bad way to go or anything.  I think what was missing,   The spark I live for with games,  was hearing some stories about what it was like Back in the day.  I kind of wanted to get that experience,  even if just vicariously...*

 

Obviously I can't go back in time and do it differently, nor would I... I could imagine a different turn of events, (A different earlier timeline) where, say,  I bought a NEO GEO and (Hmmm)... 2 games.  And (I would have) thought God I LOVE VIEWPOINT!   But then I look at my mountain of PlayStation Games, which I own To This Day, (even the much maligned at the time PS1 version of Viewpoint is among them LOL) and I'm still Very Happy with how I did it...

 

Truly,  I thank everyone who has responded to this thread!  Also, it just looked to me like there weren't too many N64 threads or maybe I just didn't know where to look...

 

 

*I clearly have a very romanticized view of video games.  (And that may not be the best wording, but it's close haha).  For some people the question is simply "Is this game any good?"  For me I think more about the context...Was the game good in its day?  What memories and stories are evoked with this game?  How was the original console, the original controllers, Hell,  the smell of the plastic and what it looked like in your setup?  What was the artwork on the box?,...What was going on in the world at the time of this game?   It's like, hearing an 80's song on the radio.  Anyone can say "Yes I like that song." or "I hate it!",  but for me, it's not Just a song.  It's going to evoke memories of the time.  We drove muscle cars and listened to heavy metal, and went to arcades.  And,  I remember school dances.  Keyboard sounds were coming along nicely and fitting into popular music. MTV was a thing and they showed these things called videos...And so on...

[Reaperman]

N64 is the system that made me start disliking mascot games, but it's *the* system for arcade racing:

 

Rush 2 Extreme Racing is the one not to miss, and I think the only one I have that hasn't been mentioned. It's an N64 exclusive, there's not an arcade version or even a poor GBC game, and some people (not me) even argue that it's the best Rush game. (I'm a rush 2049 guy)

 

Beetle adventure racing, Extreme G, Star Wars ep1 racer, f-zero (wow!), california speed are all great too.

Rush 2049 and Hydro Thunder are also excellent, but maybe best experienced on Dreamcast. (I think ep1 racer is actually better on N64 vs DC)

F-zero also has a nice makeover hack called F-zero climax which sprinkles in some flavor from the 3rd gba game. It's more F-Zero, which is what the world needed.

 

Otherwise, playstation fans might like N64's take on Ridge Racer or Wipeout. Ridge Racer 64 offers an especially interesting (to me) choice of control schemes because for whatever reason they all handled differently.

 

oh and for non-racers, don't forget Doom64, though I argue the switch version is a better choice--I suppose steam's is good too, but there was something (I can't remember) that I didn't like about its joystick control options.

Edited October 2, 2021 by Reaperman

[DragonGrafx-16]

1 hour ago, GoldLeader said:

 

When I first got the ED64,  That was my Exact thought!  Just play each game for a few...And I started that way...

 

Not that it was a bad way to go or anything.  I think what was missing,   The spark I live for with games,  was hearing some stories about what it was like Back in the day.  I kind of wanted to get that experience,  even if just vicariously...*

 

Obviously I can't go back in time and do it differently, nor would I... I could imagine a different turn of events, (A different earlier timeline) where, say,  I bought a NEO GEO and (Hmmm)... 2 games.  And (I would have) thought God I LOVE VIEWPOINT!   But then I look at my mountain of PlayStation Games, which I own To This Day, (even the much maligned at the time PS1 version of Viewpoint is among them LOL) and I'm still Very Happy with how I did it...

 

Truly,  I thank everyone who has responded to this thread!  Also, it just looked to me like there weren't too many N64 threads or maybe I just didn't know where to look...

 

 

*I clearly have a very romanticized view of video games.  (And that may not be the best wording, but it's close haha).  For some people the question is simply "Is this game any good?"  For me I think more about the context...Was the game good in its day?  What memories and stories are evoked with this game?  How was the original console, the original controllers, Hell,  the smell of the plastic and what it looked like in your setup?  What was the artwork on the box?,...What was going on in the world at the time of this game?   It's like, hearing an 80's song on the radio.  Anyone can say "Yes I like that song." or "I hate it!",  but for me, it's not Just a song.  It's going to evoke memories of the time.  We drove muscle cars and listened to heavy metal, and went to arcades.  And,  I remember school dances.  Keyboard sounds were coming along nicely and fitting into popular music. MTV was a thing and they showed these things called videos...And so on...

Funny you mention Viewpoint. There was going to be a Viewpoint game on the N64 obviously called Viewpoint 64. Probably would have been the second shmup on N64, other than Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth, if it was released. Funny that there was also an Aerofighters game on N64 but it wasn't a shmup but a 3D flight combat game (bleh). 

[+GoldLeader]

16 minutes ago, Reaperman said:

N64 is the system that made me start disliking mascot games, but it's *the* system for arcade racing:

 

Rush 2 Extreme Racing is the one not to miss, and I think the only one I have that hasn't been mentioned. It's an N64 exclusive, there's not an arcade version or even a poor GBC game, and some people (not me) even argue that it's the best Rush game. (I'm a rush 2049 guy)

 

Beetle adventure racing, Extreme G, Star Wars ep1 racer, f-zero (wow!), california speed are all great too.

Rush 2049 and Hydro Thunder are also excellent, but maybe best experienced on Dreamcast. (I think ep1 racer is actually better on N64 vs DC)

F-zero also has a nice makeover hack called F-zero climax which sprinkles in some flavor from the 3rd gba game. It's more F-Zero, which is what the world needed.

 

Otherwise, playstation fans might like N64's take on Ridge Racer or Wipeout. Ridge Racer 64 offers an especially interesting (to me) choice of control schemes because for whatever reason they all handled differently.

 

oh and for non-racers, don't forget Doom64, though I argue the switch version is a better choice--I suppose steam's is good too, but there was something (I can't remember) that I didn't like about its joystick control options.

 

I'm with ya on being a Rush 2049 fan!  I played the hell outta that on Dreamcast,  Mostly the Stunt Mode which I thought was a great game in its own right and I always wish someone had done a full game more like that...

 

I've been meaning to check out the Rush games on N64.