Released in 1996, the Nintendo 64 was a gaming system that popularized 3D video games and gave us some of the most memorable games of all time. We all remember the very best offerings the system gave us, like Super Mario 64, GoldenEye, Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, and Mario Kart 64. Each of these titles fundamentally changed gaming for the better, introducing new concepts, graphics, and formats into fan favorite franchises. GoldenEye influenced first person shooters, and Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time pioneered the three dimensional world building in console games that has become such a huge part of modern video games.

We remember these games, not just because of their legacy, but because they were extremely fun to play at the time of their release. These were the games we all owned a copy of and played endlessly throughout our childhoods. But what about many of those other games for the Nintendo 64 that you undoubtedly played over the years? There are likely more than a few that were frequent rentals at Blockbuster. You may have forgotten the name of some of these games, but you’ll remember playing them as soon as you see the box art.

25 This One Was A Bit Too Easy

If you were someone who was into Nintendo’s signature franchises, at some point you rented Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards to play at home, even if you didn’t end up owning it. The 2000 game continued many of the popular elements of the Kirby series, allowing Kirby to inhale enemies and objects and combining powers. This time, though, the game took place in a 3D rendered world.

It was criticized for its fairly easy gameplay, but received overly positive reviews from reviewers. Strangely, it was the only Kirby game made for the Nintendo 64, as the series would focus on handheld gaming for years. It took a long time to get another traditional Kirby game on a home console, so for a while this was the series’ crowning achievement.

24 A Talking Gecko Has Never Been So Fun

In 1998, Crystal Dynamics unleashed Gex: Enter the Gecko, the 3D sequel to the side-scrolling Gex from 1995. This game was developed on the same engine as the company’s Tomb Raider games, which set it up for success. It was released on basically every platform at the time, including PlayStation, N64, Game Boy Color, and even for PC. You know you played it at some point.

The game and the series surrounds a wisecracking talking gecko, which was actually cutting edge in terms of voice acting in video games at the time. If you were a kid in the late ‘90s, this game was probably the edgiest piece of entertainment you were allowed to enjoy. It’s too bad the series only lasted one more game.

23 This One Was Very Much Not Mortal Kombat

In 1994, Rare attempted to capitalize on the exploding popularity of fight games with their Super Nintendo release Killer Instinct. Did a lot of the same things Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter did for the genre, and ultimately got lost in the fight, but it had it’s own appeal. This led to an arcade sequel Killer Instinct 2, which was ported to the Nintendo 64 as Killer Instinct Gold.

Unfortunately, many felt that the port didn’t improve upon the original version, and some felt it was actually a downgrade. As a result, Killer Instinct Gold did not sell as well as the original version and the series was effectively halted. If only Rare could have gotten this sequel game right, we could still be playing Killer Instinct installments.

22 Winter Sports Were Never This Popular

1080 Snowboarding is without a doubt the best snowboarding game ever created, though it’s probably hard to find many other contenders in the category. Even if you weren’t interested in snowboarding or any winter sports at all, 1080 Snowboarding was a game that actually made racing games (non-Mario Kart division) fun to play.

It wasn’t just fun, it was well made too. The 1998 release was developed by Nintendo under the watchful eyes of Shigeru Miyamoto himself and went on to win an award. Unfortunately, the sequel to the game, released on the GameCube, didn’t do very well and the series was overshadowed by the SSX franchise. If you didn’t play this game as a kid, you missed out on what a snowboarding game could be.

21 This One Was Better Off Staying An Arcade Game

You probably remember playing Mace: The Dark Age in a local arcade, or at the bowling alley over its home console version. Released in 1997 by Atari and then ported to the Nintendo 64 by Midway Games, it was one of many games attempting to add something to the fighting game genre. Unfortunately, it didn’t really add all that much and everyone quietly forgot all about it.

Like any of the games hoping to capture some of the magic of Mortal Kombat, it had gory fatalities, but nothing inherently unique. None of the characters were especially memorable, except for Lord Deimos on the box art. There were, however, a few bizarre secret characters, including an actual chicken and a dwarf in a robotic fighting suit.

20 He's Much Bigger In Japan

Not all video game series see the same success throughout the world. The Ganbare Goemon series has been a long-running success in Japan, however, only several titles made it overseas for a North American release. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon for the Nintendo 64 was one of those games. You probably remember it because of the child-like ninja on the cover of the box.

Reaching a worldwide audience in 1998, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon combined platform gaming and action adventure to create a unique experience that proved to be popular enough. The game, and the overall franchise, is noted for its humorous elements while also making gameplay a fun and enjoyable experience. Goemon has been adapted in anime and manga, which just goes to show you just how much more popular it is over in Japan.

19 It Was Just One Of Many Games In The Series

Remember how big the Duke Nukem series was during the 1990s? Before the series was completely ruined by Duke Nukem Forever in 2011, the franchise was remembered as an adult-themed Doom clone thanks to Duke Nukem 3D from 1996. One game that got lost in the mix, though, was Duke Nukem: Zero Hour from 1997.

This game, Duke Nukem 3D, and Duke Nukem: Critical Mass were the only games in the series to be released on a Nintendo game console. Zero Hour saw the title character travel through different time periods. The game was also noted for having a multiplayer mode. If you were a fan of the Duke Nukem series, you probably played this at some point. It’s easy to forget about after all these years, though.

18 A Good One Among The Greats

If you owned a Nintendo 64 in the 1990s, you might remember a little game called Jet Force Gemini. It was a 3D video game that combined the action-adventure and shoot ‘em up genres to create one successful product. While some felt that the controls were difficult to get a handle on, most fans looked past that and found enjoyment in the overall gameplay.

Back in 1999, when Jet Force Gemini saw release, Rare was know as one of the greatest video game developers in the industry. The company had already created Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and many other successful games by this point. Jet Force Gemini never got the same recognition, but it has certainly been remembered fondly by those who played it.

17 Do You Think The Company Regrets This One?

Yes, there have been many Castlevania video games over the years, but this one is easily identifiable thanks to the big CGI werewolf on the cover of the box. Castlevania 64 was released in 1999, but just a few months later, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness made available as an expanded version of the first game. It functioned as both an expansion and a remake of the first title, improving the game’s graphics and adding alternate level designs.

Despite the fact that you play as a werewolf Cornell, the game ultimately garnered average reviews. In the end, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness was omitted from the series’ official chronology for several years before eventually making its way back into official continuity. It wasn’t too well regarded, but it was well-remembered.

16 How Did This Game Get Made?

At some point, Midway decided it was a good idea to expand the Mortal Kombat franchise into genres that were outside the realm of simple fighting games. It was this line of thinking that led to the release of Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, a traditional action-adventure game starring Sub-Zero, in 1997.

The game takes place prior to the events of the first game in the series and was met with mostly negative reviews. You would think this brush with failure would ensure that Midway would stick to making fighting games, however, the company would still try again. In 2000, Mortal Kombat: Special Forces was released, which managed to take the heat off the Sub-Zero game as the worst installment of the Mortal Kombat series of all time.

15 This Was One Ugly Looking Game

In the sea of Mortal Kombat imitators, one that has long sunk to the ocean floor and been forgotten was Midway’s own Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. It was a game released in 1998 that pitted horrifying genetically altered human-monsters against each other, each with weapons fused right onto their bodies. The game was bad and the characters were ugly. For an extra laugh, the title of the game is an acronym for Biological Flying Robotic Enhanced Armored Killing Synthoids, which are just a bunch of words strung together.

Midway actually intended for Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. to be an arcade release, which makes a lot of sense if you’ve ever played this one. While the games was eventually cancelled, the ports for Nintendo 64 and PlayStation went on ahead and were released anyway.

14 You Could Actually Talk To The Game

Hey You, Pikachu! will forever be remembered as the video game from 2000 that allowed you to actually talk to the game. This was like the only video game that used the Voice Recognition Unit accessory microphone that let players directly communicate with Pikachu in the game. It was a cool little feature, but it was too far ahead of its time to be implemented successfully.

As a result, the game received mixed reviews, but more importantly, the Nintendo 64’s VRU was criticized for only recognizing higher pitched voices, like that of a child. Years later, Nintendo was able to actually implement a microphone into their gaming console with the release of the DS. There have been a few spiritual successors, but it’s too bad the company never attempted another Hey You, Pikachu!

13 Who Even Thought Of This?

Glover isn’t a video game starring Donald Glover, although that would be pretty cool. No, this is a game about a sentient glove who has to get a ball to the goal over and over in each new level. It was released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64, and it received mostly mixed reviews. Likely because people were too confused by the concept, but also because it wasn’t a very good game.

Despite all this, there’s definitely a chance you played this game at some point. It was weird week and you needed something to do that weekend, so Glover ended up coming home with you. There was a planned sequel called Glover 2, which would have even included a multiplayer mode, but that ended up getting cancelled.

12 You Probably Forgot About This One

Sunsoft’s 1997 release Chameleon Twist followed the adventures of a chameleon who must use his tongue to to get through different bizarre levels and fight enemies. It was ignored by most video game critics because it was just too weird to take seriously and too hard to figure out. The controls were so challenging that the game actually included practice courses just so the player could figure out how to play.

Despite these controls that were difficult to operate correctly, the game was unique enough to mass somewhat of a cult following. A sequel called Chameleon Twist 2 was released in 1998, but it changed the character designs and eliminated the multiplayer mode. In the end it’s mostly become forgotten in the annals of video game history.

11 Will We Ever See This Game Again?

Hitting shelves in 1997, Mischief Makers was a familiar sight on display at the local rental store in the late ‘90s. The game was well-received and is memorable for its unique 2.5D style of gaming that places 2D gameplay over a 3D background. It involves a robotic maid trying to save her creator through 52 levels that combine action and puzzle-solving gaming themes.

The makers of Mischief Makers tried to do a lot of innovative things with the new technology on the Nintendo 64. Some of it was praised, but the game’s low difficulty and brevity had it face more criticism than it maybe deserved. In recent years, people have looked back on the game favorably and have desired either a follow up or a remake of the original game.

10 This Was The Best Wrestling Game Around

Before we had realistic wrestling games with accurate body collision technology and impressive graphics, we had WCW vs. nWo: World Tour. The release was given positive reviews thanks to its simplified mechanics compared to Acclaim’s own series of games. It also introduced THQ’s critically acclaimed grappling system, which was used to create a series of wrestling games.

The title focused on the WCW vs. nWo storyline, but it also contained several different factions of wrestling promotions, including made up ones based on the real life Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and International Wrestling Grand Prix from Japan. Many of the wrestlers from these groups were real wrestlers from the Japanese version of the game given new names, so that’s why you never heard of any of them.

9 A Different Kind Of Arcade Experience

Before Atari Games went under in 2003, the company released Gauntlet Legends, the 1998 addition to the popular Gauntlet video game series. As an arcade game, Gauntlet Legends was a unique multiplayer dungeon crawler, allowing players to gain passwords and essentially save the game, which is a rarity in the genre. This allowed gamers to pick up where they left off over long periods of time.

The game was ported to all the home consoles and received solid ratings across the board. Gauntlet Legends proved to be the last installment of the series from Atari before Midway Games picked it up. The series has seen several installments since Legends was released, but the fate of the franchise is in the hands of WB Games Inc.

8 Who Knew Boat Racing Could Be So Cool?

In the years before Midway Games went bankrupt, the company created many racing games as part of their Thunder series. The games were released in arcade and home console versions, but one game in particular stood out among the others. The title Hydro Thunder made speed boat racing actually fun to play.

Hydro Thunder was well received and was ported to every available home console gaming system imaginable by 2000. Despite the game’s success, Midway would fall into financial troubles soon after and cease operations by the end of the decade. Microsoft went on to create the sequel Hydro Thunder Hurricane in 2010. If Midway could have stuck around, the company may have been able to turn boat racing into an actual video game sub-genre.

7 This One Was A Blockbuster Classic

Cartoon racing games became a big deal in the ‘90s with the success of Mario Kart 64 and Diddy Kong Racing. Snowboard Kids was basically described as Mario Kart with snowboards as the game featured weapons to attack other players with. It became a staple of the video game rental shelves, often seen collecting dust next to more popular games. You could identify it by the kid’s giant nose on the box art.

Still, it was reviewed favorably and found its own success after its North American release in 1998. The series continued with Snowboard Kids 2 in 1999 and SBK: Snowboard Kids in 2005 for the Nintendo DS. Unfortunately, snowboarding never really became as popular as the more universal go karting racing game style.

6 This Game Should Have Gotten More Attention

Although it doesn’t get nearly enough of the attention it deserves, the Ogre Battle series was one of the best RPG game series around. After Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen for the Super Nintendo found worldwide success in 1995, a new title called Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber was able to make it even better in 2000.

The game was well received at the time of release and has held up well in the years following. Unfortunately, the series ended soon after when Quest was acquired by Square and Atlus went out of business. Yasumi Matsuno, the creator of the series, went on to develop the Final Fantasy Tactics game series. It’s too bad we won’t be seeing any more installments of Ogre Battle any time soon.