The advancements made in each gaming generation are truly remarkable. There are unprecedented levels of immersion that have helped video games become a staggering achievement in storytelling and community. Gamers are continually curious about what's around the corner in the industry, but it’s also important to remember both the triumphs and failures of past generations.
The Nintendo 64 was a pivotal console that first stoked the competitive flames between Nintendo and Sony. There's no shortage of groundbreaking N64 games like Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, and Super Smash Bros., but other games don’t fare nearly as well when they’re scrutinized under modern gaming expectations.
10 Too Many Quests And Content Turn Donkey Kong 64 Into An Aggravation
Release Date: 1999
Rare is a third-party developer that’s currently owned by Microsoft, but for decades they were responsible for some of the best Nintendo titles, especially during the Nintendo 64 era. Rare’s 3D platformers were praised, and some considered them superior to Super Mario 64.
Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel were groundbreaking games, but Donkey Kong 64 pushed these mechanics beyond their limit. The title was a laborious "collect-a-thon" that felt repetitive instead of intuitive. Despite being the most technically advanced of Rare’s N64 platformers, the abundance of Kongs and their comparable quests quickly wore thin.
9 Pokémon Stadium's Outdated Concept Is Now Increasingly Thin
Release Date: 1999
The Nintendo 64 has some early home console experiments with Pokémon spin-offs. Pokémon Snap, and Hey You, Pikachu! both attempt to reinvent the series, but Pokémon Stadium focuses on the series’ battle mechanics.
The real novelty in Pokémon Stadium and its sequel was the ability to transfer Pokémon from the Game Boy games over to the Nintendo 64. Returning to these titles becomes an incredibly limited experience, even with the roster of Pokémon available in the game.
8 Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire Suffers From Clumsy Controls
Release Date: 1996
Star Wars video games have been popular for decades and several titles tell stories that are set within the older Extended Universe canon. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire was one of the Nintendo 64's launch titles, and at the time, it felt like an immersive and expansive exploration of beloved Star Wars lore.
Shadows of the Empire admittedly has a lot of variety in its gameplay and level design, but it also suffers from clunky controls because it's one of the consoles first releases. Better Star Wars games that have come around only make Shadows of the Empire look worse in comparison.
7 The Bare-Bones Mega Man 64 Port Becomes Even Worse In Translation
Release Date: 2000
Mega Man 64 is Nintendo’s port of the original PlayStation’s Mega Man Legends, an ambitious pivot for the series that transforms the character and his world into a 3D sandbox environment. Mega Man Legends is a product of its time and many of its kinks get worked out in its sequel.
The issue with Mega Man 64 is that it’s a port that follows the PlayStation release three years later but doesn’t update it in any way. At the time, Nintendo 64 owners were grateful to experience this release, but it felt dated back in 2000 and it’s even clunkier two decades later.
6 Diddy Kong Racing's Hybrid Title Occasionally Spins Its Wheels
Release Date: 1997
Mario Kart 64 will forever be the perennial Nintendo 64 racing game, but Rare attempted something much more ambitious with Diddy Kong Racing, which combined the racing and adventure genres. It felt revelatory to have a racing game complete with a hub world, hidden collectibles, a slew of objectives to unlock, and even boss battles.
Today, Diddy Kong Racing’s repetitive nature and tacked on attempts at vehicle diversity become more obvious. The game’s Nintendo DS port smooths out any of the original title’s issues and takes modern racing games into consideration with its updates.
5 Kirby's 3D Debut In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Feels Too Sparse
Release Date: 2000
One of the biggest selling points with the Nintendo 64 is that audiences got a chance to experience 3D versions of some of their favorite Nintendo franchises. For some, like Mario and Zelda, this proved a game-changing experience. On the other hand, Kirby often thrived in a 2D side-scroller context.
Accordingly, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards feels like it's torn between two different gaming generations. It certainly succeeds as a 3D Kirby game, but it's an easy, simplistic experience, especially for a game released later in the console's life.
4 Nintendo’s Experiment Conker's Bad Fur Day Is A Mixed Bag
Release Date: 2001
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Conker is a Nintendo 64 character who first makes his debut as a cuddly character in Diddy Kong Racing. One of the console’s wilder ideas involves taking Conker and putting him in a M-Rated platformer that’s full of sex, violence, and adult humor.
Very few Nintendo 64 games are geared towards adults, which immediately makes Conker’s Bad Fur Day stick out. There’s definitely novelty in watching gratuitous Saving Private Ryan references play out, but the title increasingly empty beyond these silly gags. Its problems are endemic of Donkey Kong 64 and other late era Rare platformers.
3 Star Fox 64 Doesn’t Offer Enough To Some Audiences
Release Date: 1997
Star Fox is an acclaimed Super Nintendo title that took full advantage of the console’s Super FX chip to show what its 16-bit hardware could truly accomplish. Star Fox 64 was ostensibly a 3D, upgraded remake of the Super Nintendo game, and Star Fox 2 got shelved for the SNES so Star Fox 64 could live.
Star Fox 64 is an excellent N64 launch title that’s surprisingly deep with its challenges and ultimate paths. That being said, the game isn’t for everyone and some just don’t recognize why this title has become such a classic.
2 The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Is Outdone By Its Successor
Release Date: 1998
It might seem absolutely blasphemous to view The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time as an overrated Nintendo 64 game with diminishing returns. It’s undeniably a landmark achievement in gaming that countless games turned to for inspiration, and Zelda was never the same since.
However, its N64 successor, Majora’s Mask, is a much more polished title that’s able to build upon Ocarina of Time’s strong foundation. Ocarina of Time deserves accolades, but the original game still gets frustrating and long-winded in certain passages.
1 Yoshi's Story Is Cut Short With Its Limited Replayability
Release Date: 1997
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island’s pivot towards a Yoshi-centric platformer turned out to be a risk that paid off for the Super Nintendo. Rather than directly recreate that experience on the Nintendo 64, Baby Mario was removed from the equation so Yoshi could properly thrive.
Yoshi’s Story is fun and has an adorable aesthetic that would go on to become one of the franchise’s trademarks. However, it’s a surprisingly shallow game that can be cleared within a few hours. Yoshi’s Story feels like half of a great game that could go so much further.
