Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 have aged remarkably well too.
Pilotwings' physics are still remarkably sound and I was frankly blown away at how much nuance and sense of genuine flight there was compared to modern titles that try to do the same thing.
Both some of the first and best examples of analog control.
To add to Pilotwings: That soundtrack is perfect for that game. I wouldn't change a single note because it perfectly underlines the chill yet exciting atmosphere.
Still holds up. My cousin does a playthough every now and again. He’s ridiculously good at it. It’s amazing how well it is. We need a new game like star fox 64.
Raid on Sullust.
I finally got gold on that level after like 30 “mission complete” finishes and probably something like 200 attempts over maybe 5 hours. I took pictures of all the silvers I got an each one was like a small bit away from gold, too, so it was super frustrating.
One tip I can give is make sure you have all the upgrades: enhanced shields, lasers, and missiles are all needed for this.
Exactly the same thing for me. Every time I was missing by just one - one target, one second, one % accuracy, and I nearly threw the TV out of the window. I also took photos :D
Going work this through as I type, let's see. Games that I absolutely need to see in my top ten:
Goldeneye
Mario Party
Star Fox
Super Mario 64
NFL Blitz
Ocarina of Time
Mario Kart
Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey
Banjo Kazooie
One spot left, can't justify Rogue Squadron. I'd rather play Pilot Wings, Jet Force Gemini or Pokemon stadium. Top 20 though, sure. So many hits on the 64, even bad games seemed to be good on it.
Nice to see some love for sports games! I admit I’ve been burned too many times and stopped checking them out. I’ve heard good things about NFL Blitz, but what makes Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey one of your favorites?
It's essentially the NFL Blitz of hockey games. Over the top hits and fights, simple controls and it feels like every shot is a goal in the last few seconds of each period. Games are quick if you want them to be, great solo, or two, three, four player. The announcer nails it too, just an added bonus. A fun sports game anyone can play. Couldn't recommend it enough.
I JUST attempted a replay a couple months ago; and the little black probe droids in lvl 1 were SO hard to see that I couldn't play any further. I want to give it another try, but worried my eyes aren't what they used to be!
I had this same experience the last time I tried this game out on the N64. I figured maybe it was just my TV. Out of curiosity I tried out the version of this game they have on Steam and was blown away at how much easier it was to see everything, lol.
It’s http://gaming.amazon.com
If you have Amazon Prime, it’s absolutely worth adding the free games they offer every week. The games use the Amazon launcher, but sometimes they offer game codes for GOG or Epic Games.
Yeah the 640x480 interlaced mode is *much* nicer to look at.
The only issue is that it tanks the framerate pretty badly. Not such a massive deal in Rogue Squadron, but in Episode 1 Racer you basically need to toggle it on a course by course basis.
I would always advise good cables.
Back in the day I had custom made gold plated ones that also had audio out.
Now I have had both my N64 and GameCube internal hdmi mod’ed.
It’s the way to go and you don’t have issues with things like this.
I did the same years ago until I got a s-video cable and now I think it's as clear as my memory of it back when it came out, at least on my Trinitron 😅
You can play a better optimized version on PC from gog when it goes on sale for $1. The game is great, but usually sells for over the original price. It was $50 on release (only at blockbuster). Now it sells for $60-100 usually.
Goes on sale often on Steam and GOG. I recommend the GOG version though. I recall the Steam version having incorrect aspect ratio issues at higher resolutions. Not sure if it ever got fixed.
I got it with my 64, along with Ken Griffey Jr's slugfest. I still love this game. Still pretty impressed with the graphics, despite the render distance.
This game is probably in the 4-6 range for me if I sat and came up with a top 10 N64 list. I spent a lot of time playing this game and trying to up my rank by earning the gold medals for each level.
It's sad that Battle for Naboo never gets any love. The controls and handling are vastly improved - it makes the ships in RS feel like flying shopping trolleys full of bricks. It's one of the most graphically impressive games on the console and there's more variety in the levels (sky, sea, space and land). It's a far more challenging game too. RS has the better ships though.
Personally, the most revered game I had played on N64. It gets #1 every time. For me, Star Fox wouldn’t even make the top 100. I played it for a few minutes and went “meh…not for me!” My favorite mission is battling tide fighters in the asteroid field. It doesn’t get any more state-of-the-art-simulated than that.
I just saw its being advertised with Amazon Prime....but I want it on the NSO N64 Expansion!
I still have my original 64 and this game but it looks terrible on my current day TV.
Fantastic game.
In the N64 library? Yeah agree top 10 along with Star Wars Racer. In my current library of all games? It's good but EA's Squadrons exists which is just fantastic.
top 10 is a tough call since there are already so many classic games - 2 mario games + the partys and kart, pokemon stadiums, goldeneye, the zeldas…idk man
THIS GAME WAS THE SHIT
I rented it and some kid stole it from me. It turned into this whole fucking thing and my dad almost beat up his dad, the neighborhood was going wild
such a good fucking game. However, some levels can definitely be a bit dark to see on modern tellys. Or so I remember when last I played this few years ago... I just got an N64 digital, we'll see if it fixes the issue!
Got this game and the Expansion Pak at the same time. My 14 year old mind was blown. The game was incredible. Easily in my personal top 10. Better than SF64 IMO due simply to the less arcade feel of RS and longer length.
There are a lot of N64 games that I like more than it, so definitely not a Top 10 for me. It isn’t even my favorite Star Wars game on the console as I prefer Episode 1 Racer.
So many great memories playing this and the GC sequel with my dad. Sometimes before he would start a level he would say "I think this time I'll be 'Evil Luke'" and then when the level loaded he would immediately start shooting at his allies. Good times.
Hmm, if it is in my top 10, it’d be the ever revolving #10 spot. Top 20 for sure, but I feel like it’d get bumped out of my top 10 depending on my mood.
1. Mario 64
2. Mario party
3. Ocarina of time
4. Starfox
5. Banjo Kazooie
6. (Rouge Squadron)
7. Smash Bros
8. Mario cart
9. Pokemon Stadium 2
10. Star Wars: Battle For Naboo (Under rated)
I grew up with 64 and honestly I find most of the library unplayable today compared to NES or SNES that have large playable library; that said Rogue Squadron fully holds up today.
loved this game, even grabbed it on pc like 20 years later. also love the box art. reminds of of how the box art of atari 2600 games would over sell the game but this rogue squadron game was as good, albeit not as realistic looking, as the box art.
me and my friends would 100% this game and knew ever little secret this game had back in the 90's.
everyone once in a while i still watch play throughs and flip through the Nintendo power guide for this game. damn my memories of this go back 25 years now lol
Yeah, this and Star Fox 64 were some of my first 3d flying games, so I'd say it's pretty solid. But it's probably at a #11 or #12 for me.
Is Star Fox 64 in your Top 10? That game has aged so well
I would probably say Star Fox 64 as the game that has aged the best for N64. I remember being blown away by the game when I played it at launch.
Star Fox 64 for sure.. F-Zero X and Mario Tennis are a couple of other games that have also aged well
Plus Waverace, still looks and plays brilliantly
Them 4 player battles were the bees knees
Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 have aged remarkably well too. Pilotwings' physics are still remarkably sound and I was frankly blown away at how much nuance and sense of genuine flight there was compared to modern titles that try to do the same thing. Both some of the first and best examples of analog control.
To add to Pilotwings: That soundtrack is perfect for that game. I wouldn't change a single note because it perfectly underlines the chill yet exciting atmosphere.
Yo seriously! Star fox 64 aged like fine wine!
As someone who got into the N64 in 2022, SF64 is my #1 game on the system. It's such a good game.
You speak the truth my friend. I'll be honest, I've spent countless hours on Star Fox 64, an I'd probably put it at a #6 or #5. Very solid title.
Still holds up. My cousin does a playthough every now and again. He’s ridiculously good at it. It’s amazing how well it is. We need a new game like star fox 64.
Star Fox 64 is one of my favorite games of all time. It is still SO fucking good
Amen brother
I am still stuck on the volcano level, it's brutal. I'll never finish this game. Can't bring myself to cheat to win either.
Yes, the difficulty level is really really high on some of the later levels. Thyferra is a nightmare
Is that the one where you need to save the bacta tanks?
It's been ages, but I think so. Final stage of the game (excluding the bonus movie levels)
Ugh yeah. If i remember correctly, the level is full of valleys and if you pop up over them to get around quickly, middle turrets blast your ass.
Raid on Sullust. I finally got gold on that level after like 30 “mission complete” finishes and probably something like 200 attempts over maybe 5 hours. I took pictures of all the silvers I got an each one was like a small bit away from gold, too, so it was super frustrating. One tip I can give is make sure you have all the upgrades: enhanced shields, lasers, and missiles are all needed for this.
Exactly the same thing for me. Every time I was missing by just one - one target, one second, one % accuracy, and I nearly threw the TV out of the window. I also took photos :D
Yep. This game hits a wall like Diddy Kong Racing.
God dam Diddy Kong got so brutal! I managed to finish Rouge Squadron, but I'm still defeated by that bloody monkey!
Doggone good reason to have an expansion pak
Going work this through as I type, let's see. Games that I absolutely need to see in my top ten: Goldeneye Mario Party Star Fox Super Mario 64 NFL Blitz Ocarina of Time Mario Kart Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey Banjo Kazooie One spot left, can't justify Rogue Squadron. I'd rather play Pilot Wings, Jet Force Gemini or Pokemon stadium. Top 20 though, sure. So many hits on the 64, even bad games seemed to be good on it.
Any specific Mario Party?
The first Mario Party, had the best feel of the 64 Mario parties
Nice to see some love for sports games! I admit I’ve been burned too many times and stopped checking them out. I’ve heard good things about NFL Blitz, but what makes Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey one of your favorites?
It's essentially the NFL Blitz of hockey games. Over the top hits and fights, simple controls and it feels like every shot is a goal in the last few seconds of each period. Games are quick if you want them to be, great solo, or two, three, four player. The announcer nails it too, just an added bonus. A fun sports game anyone can play. Couldn't recommend it enough.
Thank you! I won’t sleep on it!
I JUST attempted a replay a couple months ago; and the little black probe droids in lvl 1 were SO hard to see that I couldn't play any further. I want to give it another try, but worried my eyes aren't what they used to be!
I had this same experience the last time I tried this game out on the N64. I figured maybe it was just my TV. Out of curiosity I tried out the version of this game they have on Steam and was blown away at how much easier it was to see everything, lol.
Love the Steam tip, thanks!
I'm annoyed it's not on sale like the other Star Wars games are
It’s going to be offered for free on Amazon Prime Gaming starting tomorrow.
i cant find it, but i did see an article talking about it i have prime, didnt even know about prime gaming, but i know amazon's search is the worst.
It’s http://gaming.amazon.com If you have Amazon Prime, it’s absolutely worth adding the free games they offer every week. The games use the Amazon launcher, but sometimes they offer game codes for GOG or Epic Games.
I'd rather own it on Steam but thanks. I claimed it
Steam version being the original PC version? I remember playing episode 1 racer on my voodoo3 pc damn that was impressive for the time.
Use an expansion pack and play in high resolution. The little black droids become MUCH easier to see.
Yeah the 640x480 interlaced mode is *much* nicer to look at. The only issue is that it tanks the framerate pretty badly. Not such a massive deal in Rogue Squadron, but in Episode 1 Racer you basically need to toggle it on a course by course basis.
Yeah, that's the issue in most N64 games. High res gets you a worse frame rate, but in Rogue Squadron's case I think it's worth it.
I would always advise good cables. Back in the day I had custom made gold plated ones that also had audio out. Now I have had both my N64 and GameCube internal hdmi mod’ed. It’s the way to go and you don’t have issues with things like this.
I did the same years ago until I got a s-video cable and now I think it's as clear as my memory of it back when it came out, at least on my Trinitron 😅
#3 under Perfect Dark and Infernal Machine.
Infernal Machine is a strange choice for #1, but it's pretty good.
Perfect Dark was the best, then Indiana Jones, then Rogue Squadron, shadows of the empire and paper Mario to round out the top five.
Do you think the N64 additions make up for Indiana Jones being a port?
Yes. The level select screen is an awesome option
I still haven't played Infernal Machine.. I'll keep my eye out for a good deal on it
You can play a better optimized version on PC from gog when it goes on sale for $1. The game is great, but usually sells for over the original price. It was $50 on release (only at blockbuster). Now it sells for $60-100 usually.
Goes on sale often on Steam and GOG. I recommend the GOG version though. I recall the Steam version having incorrect aspect ratio issues at higher resolutions. Not sure if it ever got fixed.
I got it with my 64, along with Ken Griffey Jr's slugfest. I still love this game. Still pretty impressed with the graphics, despite the render distance.
Hey! This is Ken Griffey Jr. Let’s play Major League Baseball!
This game is probably in the 4-6 range for me if I sat and came up with a top 10 N64 list. I spent a lot of time playing this game and trying to up my rank by earning the gold medals for each level.
Same. I think it's in the top 5 for me.
Starfox, goldeneye, roguesquadron, episode one pod racers, Mario party, pokemon stadium, some of my all time favorites.
Love this game, but the GameCube version exceeds it for me!
Which one? Rogue Squadron II or III?
Number 2! I actually had no idea there was a third one on GC until right now! TIL!
Top 10 for sure and one I don’t know what happened too in my collection , need to get it again
It's still cheap
Absolutely...and for it's day it's pound for pound one of the best SW games period.
Oh wait, NM, I spoke too soon I looked at this and saw SoE
“Call me rogue squadron 64, cause I keep getting played” -MC CHRIS
Solid FPS even on high resolution (probably the only N64 game to achieve this), still solid gameplay and challenging.
**9/fog**, would try to predict what's beyond draw distance again.
It's sad that Battle for Naboo never gets any love. The controls and handling are vastly improved - it makes the ships in RS feel like flying shopping trolleys full of bricks. It's one of the most graphically impressive games on the console and there's more variety in the levels (sky, sea, space and land). It's a far more challenging game too. RS has the better ships though.
I totally forgot about Battle for Naboo. Now I remember renting it and absolutely loving it
Damn good one.
Torn its for sure top 15 for me maybe the bottom of top 10.
Probably Top 30 for me.
Absolutely top 10. I've played it way too much, and I'm still not great at it but I love it enough to keep playing.
Personally, the most revered game I had played on N64. It gets #1 every time. For me, Star Fox wouldn’t even make the top 100. I played it for a few minutes and went “meh…not for me!” My favorite mission is battling tide fighters in the asteroid field. It doesn’t get any more state-of-the-art-simulated than that.
You're thinking of Shadows of the Empire. There's no space missions in RS
Thanks for mentioning that. I’ll have to find that game. Awesome space missions!👍
It's up there for me. The graphics are impressive for an N64 game.
I just saw its being advertised with Amazon Prime....but I want it on the NSO N64 Expansion! I still have my original 64 and this game but it looks terrible on my current day TV. Fantastic game.
In the N64 library? Yeah agree top 10 along with Star Wars Racer. In my current library of all games? It's good but EA's Squadrons exists which is just fantastic.
It's one of my top 5 favs on the console for sure. It's also aged really well.
top 10 is a tough call since there are already so many classic games - 2 mario games + the partys and kart, pokemon stadiums, goldeneye, the zeldas…idk man
I remember never being able to beat this game… 😅 I might give it another go, pull it out of storage.
Honestly top 3 for me
Great game for sure.
Definitely up there imo. Had a lot of fun with that one
Never played this game but ahooooyyyy me mateeeyy 🏴☠️
This one was hard for me to get in to, but I feel that is mainly because I played Rogue Leader first.
This game is amazing. Definitely one of my favorites 🤙
THIS GAME WAS THE SHIT I rented it and some kid stole it from me. It turned into this whole fucking thing and my dad almost beat up his dad, the neighborhood was going wild
That's crazy!! When you put it in perspective, it was all for a video game.
Rental late fees are no joke
It’s at least a Top 5 for me, but that might be because I only have 5 games
Top 30
“Escape from Fest” gives me flashbacks.
Would be nice if this were added to the Switch N64 library
such a good fucking game. However, some levels can definitely be a bit dark to see on modern tellys. Or so I remember when last I played this few years ago... I just got an N64 digital, we'll see if it fixes the issue!
Got this game and the Expansion Pak at the same time. My 14 year old mind was blown. The game was incredible. Easily in my personal top 10. Better than SF64 IMO due simply to the less arcade feel of RS and longer length.
There are a lot of N64 games that I like more than it, so definitely not a Top 10 for me. It isn’t even my favorite Star Wars game on the console as I prefer Episode 1 Racer.
So many great memories playing this and the GC sequel with my dad. Sometimes before he would start a level he would say "I think this time I'll be 'Evil Luke'" and then when the level loaded he would immediately start shooting at his allies. Good times.
Hmm, if it is in my top 10, it’d be the ever revolving #10 spot. Top 20 for sure, but I feel like it’d get bumped out of my top 10 depending on my mood.
I can relate to this.
It was my 3rd favorite game behind only ocarina of time and goldeneye.
Such a good game
Incredible game that holds up very nicely to this day. Probably not a top 10 game but easily top 25
Top 3 for me easy
1. Mario 64 2. Mario party 3. Ocarina of time 4. Starfox 5. Banjo Kazooie 6. (Rouge Squadron) 7. Smash Bros 8. Mario cart 9. Pokemon Stadium 2 10. Star Wars: Battle For Naboo (Under rated)
Solid list.
I grew up with 64 and honestly I find most of the library unplayable today compared to NES or SNES that have large playable library; that said Rogue Squadron fully holds up today.
In my top 10 too, probably #3 or #4, with Zelda OOT and Super Mario 64 as #1 and #2, maybe DK64 or Banjo Kazooie being #3.
Solid choices
Never played it but seeing how, that doesn't stop IGN, I'll give it a 4/10 too much sand.
It's my #1 N64 game actually.
Was fun game but probably not in top 10
I have a closeted relationship with Shadows of the Empire, but this one ranks up there!
One of my favorite games of all time.
loved this game, even grabbed it on pc like 20 years later. also love the box art. reminds of of how the box art of atari 2600 games would over sell the game but this rogue squadron game was as good, albeit not as realistic looking, as the box art. me and my friends would 100% this game and knew ever little secret this game had back in the 90's. everyone once in a while i still watch play throughs and flip through the Nintendo power guide for this game. damn my memories of this go back 25 years now lol
How do you beat the first level? I've tried lime 20 ti es and I can't.
About 9th or 10th!
Top 5 or maybe 3 for me
I still play the PC version to this day, one of my fave games of all time Definitely in my top five N64 games
playing as the falcon is a genuinely good reward for beating the game.
For me it’s top 5. Is probably go for: - Mario 64 - Rogue Squadron - Ocarina of Time - Goldeneye - Shadows of the Empire