10 Nintendo 64 Games You Probably Haven't Played (But Should)

The Nintendo 64 practically defines the word "underrated classic" as it is both of those words in every sense of the world. While most people had switched from Nintendo at this point over to Sony and their Playstation system, the N64 did hold many wonders. Thing is, you've already been beaten over the head with Goldeneye, Mario and Zelda. Here's 10 N64 games you probably HAVEN'T played, but definitely should.

1 Beetle Adventure Racing

To put it simply, it's a Need for Speed game. For whatever reason, the venerable racing series never made it over to the N64, even though if there was one genre the system had more than enough of, it was racing games. Made by the same people and with the same basic engine, BAR got great reviews but the initial buzz faded after people found more franchise games to play. The only cars in the game are all Volkswagon Beetles (though there are several variations) and the tracks are all outlandish and fantastical. The game is also memorable for it's great soundtrack, something you can't say of many N64 games.

2. The New Tetris

Speaking of soundtracks, here's another great one. The New Tetris had some amazing tunes, which is a departure from the usual public-domain mining that Tetris games have. Other than that it's just Tetris, though it has some nifty features, many modes and 4 player support. You won't get a gimmicky bio-monitor (a precursor to the ridiculous Wii Vitality Sensor?), but the gameplay is solid and you can enjoy some crazy ethnic music while playing. This is my personal favorite version of Tetris.

3. CastleVania

Yeah, I know you heard it was bad but if you keep listening to everything people said then you probably are too busy playing fucking Halo to be reading this. I covered this in my "Black Sheep Games that Don't Suck" or whatever I called it. I'll reiterate the same points here. The game got good reviews, then suddenly everyone turned on it like ravenous zombies. First impressions are usually the truest though, and it's a decent game, though it got eclipsed by Legacy of Darkness a mere year later. Worth a try though.

4. Doom 64

One of the earliest N64 games and it was ignored by many. The mainstream gaming community ignored it because of poor reviews and Doom fans said it was too dark and scary to be doom, which is so funny that my fucking spleen just exploded out of my ass. Doom 64 is great, and it's easily my favorite Doom game once you get the PC version. The N64 game is no slouch however, and is best played with the lights out.

5. Mortal Kombat 4

This is the only game on my list that isn't a N64 exclusive (Doom's PC version is not official) as it is based on an arcade game and is also on Playstation. The PS1 version is okay, though the N64 version is a lot better. This is also another one I mentioned in my Black Sheep article (which you should really read if you haven't.) MK4 was a lot better than the first 3 games, as it started to cast off the depressingly generic gameplay model that they'd used. Some of the features from 3 are there, though it doesn't suck ass like 3 does. Usually I lament a series going from 2D to 3D but MK did it well, and the digitized bullshit was getting old anyway.

6. Xena Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate

This simple fighter, which has a lot of characters from the show as well as 4 player support is surprisingly good for something you'd think would be an instant trip to the bargain bin. The N64 didn't have a whole lot of great fighting games, and you probably passed over this one without thinking twice. Well back up, because the game is actually quite fun.

7. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Maybe you felt you had outgrown Kirby when this came out, but despite great reviews and positive word of mouth, the game came and went. I recently tried it out and it's wonderful. Yes, it's cute as fuck, something that poor N64 owners were dogged with as the PS1 crowd mocked them for the Nintendo being "kiddie". But then again those are the same idiots who bought Tomb Raider cuz "dude that chick is hot" and then actually thought it was a good game. So that will teach you to listen to people.

8. Yoshi's Story

There's no getting around this one though, the game is definitely for kids. It's easy as hell, you can probably beat it in less than 15 minutes. However there's a lot of charm here, with the game's unique graphics, the challenge of finding every single melon and just the simple joys of playing a well put together game that is simply fun.

9. The World Is Not Enough

Yes, yes we all know GoldenEye was great and bla bla bla yadda yadda T-shirt.

Well okay, get over it, this game is also quite good. I think there's a PS1 game based on TWINE but I also believe it's unrelated. This game actually did a few things GoldenEye didn't do, such as let Bond both jump and duck, something you kinda take for granted. I'd love to be able to mention the game without some sheep yelling out how GoldenEye is better before I get the words out of my mouth. But just because another game is better doesn't mean there's anything wrong with this one.

10. Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!

What can I say? If you liked Bomberman 64 (and you're an asshole if you don't) Then you need to try this. The reason you didn't is pretty simple, it came out pretty damn close to the end of the system's lifespan.