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This month marks the 25th anniversary of the Nintendo 64's North American launch, so what better time to reminisce about the House of Mario's first bold foray into three thrilling dimensions. While the rival CD-based PlayStation was 32-bit, the cartridge-based N64 made a selling point out of doubling that number—even going so far as to name the console after it.
This was a time when bits really meant something, even though no one really knew what they were, and a console twice as powerful as Sony's all-conquering machine was a killer motivation to buy it. The N64 made its US debut on September 29, 1996, four months after it launched in Japan, and it went on to sell 33 million units worldwide.
If recent rumours are to be believed, the N64 may be getting a new lease of life courtesy of Nintendo Switch Online. Currently, signing up to the Switch's online service gets you access to classic NES and SNES games—and it seems the N64, as well as the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, might be joining them.
Very few classic Nintendo 64 games have been given re-releases or remasters, so this would be a perfect opportunity to dive back into that amazing library of games. But what games should Nintendo bring to the Switch? Similar to the current NES/SNES library, I'd like to see a mix of well-known blockbusters and deeper cuts.
N64 hidden gems
Everyone knows Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, and GoldenEye are great N64 games, so let's take those as read. But here are some lesser known—or at least not as widely played—games that I'd love to see make an appearance at some point on this rumoured N64 virtual console.
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Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
This distinctly Japanese 3D platformer has a great sense of humour, a sublime soundtrack that includes some full-on musical numbers, and a vivid world stuffed with towns, NPCs, and secrets. It has one of the all-time great ensemble casts too, particularly the bumbling Ebisumaru. Oh, and you can turn into a giant roller-skating robot, because why not.
Sin and Punishment
It's tempting to include cult Treasure shooter Mischief Makers in a feature like this, but Sin and Punishment is just as worthy of adoration. This arcade-style rail shooter—a Treasure/Nintendo co-production—is a little too short, clocking in at around 2 hours. But it more than makes up for it with its snappy controls and beautiful anime-style visuals.
Tetrisphere
Imagine Tetris, except the board is a three-dimensional sphere that you can rotate. Congratulations, you've just imagined Tetrisphere. Of the many attempts to reinvent Tetris over the years, this is one of the most fun and imaginative—although it does strip away some of the original's simplicity by changing a few mechanics to factor in the new 3D board.
Blast Corps
Your job in this early Rare game is using a variety of vehicles to prevent a runaway nuclear missile carrier from crashing and exploding. The highlight of your garage is undoubtedly the dump truck, which you can use to powerslide through buildings, reducing them to rubble and clearing a path for the carrier. A supremely fun physics-based puzzle game.
Space Station Silicon Valley
Developed by Grand Theft Auto creator DMA Design, this platformer famously bombed commercially, but is widely regarded as one of the N64's most unique games. Playing as a robot called Evo, you traverse the titular space station—a high-tech amusement park—taking control of animals and using their unique special abilities to solve puzzles.