Favorite Video Games: Nintendo 64

Continuing the stroll down video game memory lane, we now come to the years of the Nintendo 64. The final cartridge system, and my final run on a Nintendo. Many, many good hours were spent playing this system. Both single player games, and multi-player battles with my brother (and occasionally sister). This is certainly one of my favorite systems ever. The controller was unique for its time, and the entry into 3D gaming was awesome. Now that the fanboy gushing is over, let's get on with the countdown.

5. Super Mario 64

Mario's first stint in the 3D realm was outstanding. The control scheme was excellent, the level design was phenomenal, and putting on the winged hat and flying around was so enjoyable. An amazing game at anytime, and even more impressive for a launch title.

4. Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark (tie)



Due to the similarity of these two games, I've opted to give them the number 4 spot. These two games mark my first foray into console first person shooters. This genre of game is now my favorite type (along with sports). Both games had excellent single players, but really shined in multi-player. I remember vividly playing Perfect Dark with my brother and sister against a Perfect Bot and trying to stay alive...really funny stuff.

3. Star Fox 64
I enjoyed Star Fox for the SNES, but the difficulty of the game kept me from loving it. This version however, was super fun to play. One of the few games I can (or at least could) beat on one life. The fact that how you played levels actually affected how the story progressed was unique and made certain choices that much more important. Awesomely fun.

2. Zelda: Ocarina of Time
It is really hard not to put this game at number 1. This really represented my first (and only) journey through Hyrule, and I loved every minute of it. This game was darn near perfect. Good puzzles, excellent fighting, and superb story. From start to finish, an amazing adventure. I definitely played through this game more than once.

And the reason Zelda isn't at number 1....

1. Mario Kart 64
They honestly don't make games any better than this. Probably the best racing game ever put on a console. The AI was appropriately difficult, the tracks are ingenious, and best of all, the battle mode! I'm not sure how many hours my brother and I played this game in battle mode. Avoiding red turtle shells, flooding the level with green shells, and the suspense when we were both down to one balloon. The best Mario Kart to date (granted I've not played the Wii version, but I can't imagine it beats this one). Best game ever for the N64.

Honorable mentions: Mario Golf, Wrestlemania 2000, and Star Wars: Rouge Squadron.

I fondly look back on the N64, and sometimes wish to find games as enjoyable as they were on this system.

Stay tuned, up next...the Playstation 2.