[ad_1]
The following Nintendo Switch ’64 games list is compiled using the User Ratings (out of 10) given to each N64 game on Switch in the West. It should be noted that this ranking is not set in stone and will automatically fluctuate over time depending on assigned User Ratings (and new additions to the NSO library, of course, which we’ll add in due course).
Think a game below deserves to be higher up on the list? Simply click on the ‘star’ button and score it yourself — your personal rating could boost its placement in the overall ranking.
So, sit back and enjoy the best N64 games playable on Nintendo Switch…
29. Dr. Mario 64 (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
This puzzler is essentially a 64-bit remake of the original Dr. Mario and was never released in Europe or Japan (although it did appear in the Japan-only Nintendo Puzzle Collection on GameCube alongside Panel de Pon and Yoshi’s Cookie). Dr. Mario 64 is just Dr. Mario, but prettier than it had ever been; a solid puzzler with little to get too angry or excited about.
28. WinBack: Covert Operations (N64)
Publisher: Koei / Developer: Omega Force
We don’t know about you, but games like Operation: WinBack (as this was known in Europe and Australia) and Konami’s Hybrid Heaven occupied a the B-tier on our ‘to get’ lists back in the day — they looked interesting, but they were way down the list behind the first-party purchases and many of us simply never got around to catching up with them once the 64-bit generation came to an end.
While Koei’s third-person shooter wouldn’t go down in the annals of covert ops gaming as a classic, its cover system felt fresh back in 1999 and the ability to check out the game on Switch and place it in its historical context is most welcome.
27. Yoshi’s Story (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
Coming after the incredible (and incredibly beautiful) Yoshi’s Island on SNES, it’s no surprise that Yoshi’s Story rubbed some people the wrong way with its accessible, storybook approach and cutesiness. It’s certainly not the strongest or most complex 2D platformer you’ll ever play, but it’s brimming with the Yoshi series’ trademark charm and we’d say it’s worthy of reassessment if you’ve dismissed it in the past.
The N64 wasn’t blessed with an abundance of side-on platformers, but armed with the knowledge that this isn’t a 64-bit Yoshi’s Island, this is a great little game starring everyone’s favourite fruit-munching dino.
26. 1080° Snowboarding (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
A game which teaches the rewards of dedication and perseverance. Winning the race might look like the point of the game, but the real goal is there in the title — pulling a 1080°. It took some of us years, but we kept at it and — boom! — finally, we nailed it. The speed and precision were matched with beautiful visuals, with sunlight glistening off the piste and snow spraying up behind your board. 1080° Snowboarding‘s frame rate suffered accordingly, but its subtle controls enabled you to sharpen up shallow turns and gracefully arc across the course, and coupled with the visuals it conveyed a taste of the feeling you get from the real-life sport.
When you’re not falling on your arse, that is.
25. Pokémon Puzzle League (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo Software Technology
Pokémon Puzzle League is really just Panel de Pon / Tetris Attack with a Pokemon makeover. That’s not bad though, because it’s still the same brilliant block puzzler.
As opposed to Tetris, here the blocks slowly rise up from the bottom of the screen as you try to line up rows or columns of three identical blocks. On top of the addictive Panel de Pon puzzling, the game is based on the Pokemon anime, and aside from the obvious use of characters like Ash, Brock, and Misty, this also means that, yes, Pokémon Puzzle League has a ton of voice acting and music from the series and movies.
24. Excitebike 64 (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Left Field Productions
Canadian developer Left Field Productions, the team behind the fondly-remembered NBA Courtside games, was responsible for this brilliant entry in Nintendo’s motocross series. Shifting the gameplay from side-on to behind-the-rider 3D, it melded the careful pitch and throttle control of the original game with the subtle mechanics of N64 stablemates Wave Race 64 and 1080° Snowboarding to produce something just as deep, rewarding and addictive as those racers.
23. Pokémon Stadium (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
Pokémon Stadium was a home console companion piece that used the Transfer Pak to bring your Pocket Monsters over to your television, showcasing all 151 monsters from the original Game Boy titles in full-fledged 3D. Bringing a host of minigames to the party should you get bored of battling — hey, it can get a bit repetitive and lengthy — the awesome visuals, animations, and commentary here keep things lively. A previous iteration launched in 1998 in Japan which had only 40 Pokémon available to battle, but this version (released as Pocket Monsters’ Stadium 2 in Japan) launched internationally and featured the lot.
Pokémon Stadium is far tougher to recommend to anyone who doesn’t have a collection of critters on a Game Boy cart, but there’s plenty to love here if you’re an OG fan.
22. Jet Force Gemini (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Rare
An underrated entry in the Rareware library, Jet Force Gemini coupled cute design with chunky, gungy third-person blasting in a world-hopping quest to defeat insectoid overlord Mizar. Juno, Vela and trusty good boy Lupus’ adventure is not without flaws, but JFG is a surprisingly deep and satisfying one that’s worth investigating if you’re a Rare fan looking for gems that passed you by around the turn of the millennium.
21. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: HAL Laboratory
In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, HAL Laboratory managed to keep the core structure many knew and loved about the Kirby series while glossing it up with a shiny coat of polygonal paint for the new console generation.
Kirby’s 64-bit foray into the third dimension (well, kinda — it’s 2.5D, or on-rails 3D, if you prefer) stands out as one of the more unique entries in the series, feeling somewhat fresh in comparison to the many, many 2D Kirby platformers and still pleasurable to play to this day.
[ad_2]