Nintendo 64 was the system we never owned as kids. We became Play Station guys for that generation so most of our childhood N64 experiences were multiplayer ones, but we have played most of the best single player games on the system through the years.
I have a modest N64 collection now (pictured above) and I play the original system on a CRT or on a Retrotink 4k CE. The N64 is notorious for blurriness and all LCD and older scaler experiences were not very good. The Retrotink 4k’s CRT filter is a godsend for the system.
Other good options include a HDMI mod and FPGAs like the analogue 3D
Anyway, here is our top 10 N64 games of all time!

10. Pokemon Stadium 1 & 2

I know this is ridiculous, but in all honesty, playing the mini games from the Pokemon Stadium titles has given us some of our best N64 moments throughout all these years.
All the other game modes in Pokemon Stadium and the transfer pak bonuses are great additions too, but kicking back with the crew, maybe crack a few cold ones and shit talk in Pokemon Stadium has given us so many memories that it would simply be dishonest not to include the games on the list.
When you are tired of Mario Party 2 throw in one of the Stadium games and shoot the shit!

9. Sin & Punishment

A Japanese exclusive, Sin & Punishment represents something the N64 sorely missed at the time and that is arcade action! Not only that but this game is also one of the very few that utilize the weirdness of the N64 controller. Sin & Punishment is a sort of twin stick on-rails shooter, which was to me at the time a whole knew genre. You move with the d-pad(yes!) and aim with the analog stick. Shoot with Z and jump with L. So yeah, no A or B or C-buttons and you actually hold the left and middle handle of the controller.
All gimmicks aside this is fun, fast-paced and skill based arcade action. The game is short and sweet as a result but with 3 difficulty levels you can just enjoy the game or really challenge yourself in hard mode.

8. Super Smash Bros.

I am a big Smash Bros. guy. Once the top PR player in Smash Ultimate in Iceland, my famed career started here with Smash Bros. on he N64.
Smash Bros. Melee is obviously the more popular “retro” smash game but seeing where it all began is still a great novelty.
Look at that roster! 😀
Pick a character and show the Master Hand who is boss before you settle your own differences.

7. Conker’s Bad Fur Day

Rare were doing real magic on the N64! Conker’s Bad Fur day is a great platformer, but what makes it stand out is the crude English “adult” humor. Conker is not an innocent squirrel, he is a binge drinking, chain smoking, wise-cracking deuce who just wants to get home to sleep off his hangover. Don’t let anyone tell you that the humor is childish, you just have to be in the mood, like when you are watching a good episode of Tom & Jerry, it’s hilarious if you just let it be.
What holds this game back are some technical issues regarding framerate and some blurryness. The controls in some sections of the game can also be a bit annoying.
It is probably best to play this one on the Rare replay on the Xbox One to be honest, or maybe check out the Xbox remake if you don’t mind the new graphics and censorship.
Maybe try the unleased mode on the analog 3d if you have one.

6. Diddy Kong Racing

I never expected Diddy Kong Racing to be such a great single player game! Me and a pal cleared to story mode together (taking turns) and we had a great time. The challenge is there, and the racing is top notch.
In Diddy Kong Racing the best driver usually wins unlike a certain other more famous kart racer on the N64. So if you want to prove to someone you are the better kart racer, do it here.
The “boss races” in Diddy Kong Racing are fantastic and the one against the above pictured “Wizpig” is seemingly impossible at first but if you keep at it you will experience the satisfaction of beating him eventually.

5. Mario Party 2

Have you ever wanted to choke your best friend with the N64 controller cord? Well Mario Party 2 will create for you plenty of legit reasons to do so! Mario Party 2 is a refined Mario Party 1, so it won’t scar your palms like you were nailed to a cross over the weekend, though you might want to take the winner and nail him to a cross for his obviously illegitimate win.
A fantastic Party game for four and the perfect way to spend time with close friends and to bring new friends together.

4. Majora’s Mask

Ocarina of Time was amazing for the time, and while Majora’s Mask does not change up the formula per se it adds an atmosphere incomparable to any I have seen in a video game. The dungeons, premise and stories of the characters are beautifully eerie and amazingly takes on the subject of death, sadness and loneliness all wrapped up in a cool Zelda gameplay package. These days I prefer it over Ocarina of Time, and even so 4th might seem low, it’s probably because I favour the more open world Zelda games.
The original Zelda on NES and Breath of the Wild are my favourite Zelda games.

3. Mario Kart 64

We may be biased, but Mario Kart 64 is the best Mario Kart game ever released. Mario Kart 8 deluxe is a great Mario Kart game but the tracks, items and core characters of Mario 64 are just so fundamentally sound. The battle mode in Kart 64 just puts the one in 8 deluxe to shame.
The only drawback of Mario Kart 64 is that Mario GP is limited to 2 players and anything with 3 or 4 players eliminates the use of bots.

2. Super Mario 64

Mario 64 was the perfect start to the 3d era for Nintendo. The game blazed the trail for all 3d platformers that came after it and set the golden standard for precise controls, platforming and camera controls. Somehow, years after Mario 64 was released developers had trouble meeting these standards Mario 64 set for the industry which just tells us how impressive the game was. Entering the paintings and scouring the worlds of Mario 64 for stars is such a solid gaming experience and still is my favourite 3d Mario game.

1. Banjo-Kazooie

Banjo-Kazooie gets the nr.1 spot for its top tier platforming action and presentation that just oozes personality and humor. Banjo, Kazooie and other characters make this gaming experience so very special. The cherry on top is the amazing soundtrack by philanthropist and goofball Grant Kirkhope.
Banjo-Kazooie is the pinnacle of the collact-a-thon genre that has often been imitated but never bested, not even by its sequel. Collecting jigsaw pieces, notes and more is your objective with the end goal of saving Banjo’s sister from the evil but incompetent Grunthilda. This task never gets boring thanks to the vibrant worlds of Banjo and all the wacky stuff that happens along the way.
Play this game on the N64! If you die then you lose all your notes and have to start collecting them again. This was because of memory limitations of the N64 so the Xbox 360 version changed this and now your notes are always saved but that to us take all the challenge out of the game…. Go with the N64 version and good luck getting 100 notes on Rusty Bucked Bay!

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And that’s it!
Games that obviously could have made the list but we wanted to highlight other than the standard titles and with less redundancy in genres:

Ocarina of Time obviously it could take a joint 4th with Majora’s Mask
Banjo-Tooie and D64 are kinda long so we picked 2 other rare platformers that we consider to be more solid, quality over quantity experiences.
Goldeneye and Perfect Dark are great games, and while the multiplayer is still fun it is a bit obsolete. The single player campaigns are great, but there are other games we play more these days.
Pokemon Snap is short and sweet
Blast Corps is a hoot and Buck Bumble is a bee with a stingy boot