Given that it is a blatant Mario 64 clone (right down to the basic abilities, like crouch, backflip, and "butt stomp"), I personally would choose Mario 64 over Banjo. BUT, Banjo (the first, not so much the second) IS an excellent game. One of the best 3D platformers ever made (if you're going to copy, copy the best, right?). The graphics were some of the best on any system that gen, and there are some fun, inventive worlds going on (my favorites being the graveyard/haunted house and the snow areas).

On the negative side of things, this game also built on the somewhat annoying Rare "collectathon" gameplay that they originated in Donkey Kong Country 3. Except they turned that shit up to 11 here, as you collect no less than: Eggs, Honeycomb, Puzzle Pieces, Feathers, Music Notes, etc. etc. I certainly don't mind collecting things in games, in fact when DONE right, it can be fun. But I do feel Banjo, and subsequent Rare games, took the concept a bit overboard.

Overall, while not one of my personal TOP favorites, Banjo-Kazooie is a great game, and obviously one of the best on the console. N64 certainly lacked with some genres, but when it came to racers, sports titles, mutliplayer, and 3D Action/Platformers, it was King.

At the time of its release, Turok 2 was, as hard as it may be for some who were there to believe now, pretty much THE most advanced FPS game to exist, on any platform. For its time, it pretty much had THE best graphics of any FPS (with the Expansion Pak), and it absolutely had the best/most advanced game physics and AI.

The enemies were actually SMART, especially on higher difficulties, and would both actively avoid/dodge you, or actively hunt you through levels. I remember being wowed back then, by the fact that with few exceptions, EVERY arrow you fire, can be retrieved. That was mind-blowing.

For an FPS game, Turok 2 also has a pretty solid science fiction story (more elaborate than the likes of, say, Doom, Quake, Unreal, etc), and a decent variety in stages. This is one of the very few FPS games I've ever personally bought, and also one of the very few I've ever bothered to actually beat (along with Doom 64).

The (for the time) "odd" controls (which were basically a precursor to future "dual stick" set-ups) take a bit of getting used to, once you DO have them down, the game controls very well. They even included an OK deathmatch mode (which they later fleshed out into an entire game, Rage Wars). I always thought it was funny they included a weapon that is a send-up to the killer Orbs from the Phantasm horror films (complete with drilling into your head).

I would highly recommend this to FPS fans who have never tried it. Turok 1 and 3 are OK, but I feel confident calling Turok 2 genuinely one of the best FPS games ever made, and it's certainly one of the best N64 games.

This game is equal parts ambitious and admirable, as well as clunky and frustrating. It was (along with the first 64 Goemon game) Konami's first true foray into 3D, so its somewhat understandable that it's very rough around the edges, and that they struggled with certain elements of 3D gaming. Such as hit detection. And platforming physics. And 3D "camera" work.

When this game was in development, I clearly remember reading up on it, and even though I vastly prefer classic 2D gaming over 3D, I was still excited for it. The way Konami talked it up, it sounded like it was going to be amazing. It was going to be a HUGE adventure, with a prolonged OG Castlevania experience, making your way through the countryside (and a village), on your way to the Castle. The four playable characters were also supposed to be very diverse, each possessing elaborate abilities, such as Reinhardt having great whip control, Carrie being able to perform various magic spells, Cornell being able to wall jump and use cool martial arts moves, etc.

When the game finally came out, it was clear that Konami's developmental abilities, at least with this game, did not meet their ambitions. Because the finished product contained barely any of that. The "journey" from the countryside (no village) to the Castle, was very short. There were only two playable characters, Reinhardt and Carrie, and their abilities were VERY limited. Reinhardt can only whip in one direction (forward) and not very well. Carrie can ONLY shoot fireballs, no fancy levatation/etc. spells like developmental screens hinted at, etc. You have sub-weapons, like the classic knife and axe, but they too aren't SUPER effective. And of course, as previously mentioned, the camera, platforming physics and hit detection are all wonky. The game itself, in those terms, can be kinda frustrating to play.

On the POSITIVE side of things, however, again, Konami was clearly ambitious. There were things they did right, and fairly well. Chief among them being atmosphere, the game has tons of that. They set a very spooky vibe from the beginning, and the decent (though not GREAT like classic CV games) soundtrack really helps with that. Once you get in the Castle specifically, there are parts of it that are genuinely creepy. Almost like they were trying to make a CV game that was part "survival horror".

I appreciate and respect what they were going for, and in all honesty, deserved criticisms aside, this is FAR from a bad game. It definitely needed more time in the oven, and they either shouldn't have been so ambitious with their original ideas, or should have taken more time to implement them correctly. They would later release an improved "special edition" of this game, called "Legacy of Darkness", that is a SLIGHT upgrade, but really doesn't fix the game's issues. It mainly just added back in some version of the additional characters/content the game was originally supposed to feature in the first place.

Castlevania 64 is a rough, unrefined effort. But it should get points for earnestly trying. I still consider it, personally, to be a better 3D Castlevania than the ones on PS2 or PS3. I would love for them to remake this, and actually make it the game it should have been, that they intended it to be. Then again, I'd love for them to actually make/release Castlevania: Resurrection, which I was greatly looking forward to on Dreamcast. Neither will ever happen, of course.

This game is worth checking out if you never have, as the story is decent, the setting/atmosphere is pretty great, and it's a decent, but deeply flawed first 3D Castlevania effort.

The Clayfighter series has always been a mixture of cleverness, creativity, and absolute frustration. The latter comes from the fact that in the first two games in the series, the AI is an absolute son of a bitch. It actually almost makes the Mortal Kombat 3 AI seem somewhat fair, by comparison (not quite, but you get the point).

The original version of this game, Clayfighter 63 1/3 (an homage to the titles of the Naked Gun movie sequels), was perfectly fine, and overall still played better, in my view, than Clayfighter 1 and 2. But, it was also a bit stripped, because they "had" to cut certain characters, etc. This "Blockbuster Exclusive" (which I later came to own, and VERY sadly last year had to sell) version, was an overall improvement, and added in most of the characters they "had" to leave out.

The game most closely mimics/mocks the Killer Instinct series this time around, as they added a very KI-like combo system, complete with funny versions of all the different combo "type" announcements KI has. For instance, doing a simple 3-hit combo in this game, the announcer will cry out "Little Girly Combo!". The characters are also pretty hilarious, and while the animation could/should have been better, the claymation sprites still look pretty great. Much like KI Gold, the backgrounds are polygonal 3D, instead of drawn 2D like the older games, something I'm not sure was a great decision. But it doesn't really effect the overall game.

The cast of characters is very diverse and colorful, even including Interplay stalwarts Boogerman and Earthworm Jim. I wish they would have added back in some (or all) of the characters they left out from CF1 and CF2, but the cast you get here is still pretty great, with hilarious characters like Sumo Santa, Houngan the Voodoo witch doctor, and Kung Pow. The gameplay isn't top tier, but its fun, and the AI isn't NEARLY as much of a dick as the earlier games in the series. It's one of the better fighters on N64, and if you can manage to find a copy these days that costs less than a million dollars, congratulations!

This game is, in my humble estimation, THE best Doom game ever made. It was the last of the proper "corridor FPS" Dooms to be made, really. And in my view, the ultimate evolution of that formula. I never cared much (at all) for Doom 3, and never tried the ones that came later. To me, THIS is Doom in all its glory, and what it should be.

I liked Doom and Doom 2 well enough, but when my friend and I rented this, it blew me away. For the time, even with at-the-time "dated" FPS design, the game took serious advantage of the N64's capabilities, with extremely good dramatic/spooky lighting effects, more clever/varied level designs than the earlier entries (IMO), and a positively haunting soundtrack.

Whereas the OG games had some generic rock going on, which I never felt truly fit the atmosphere of Doom, D64 has ZERO music. Instead, it has what you'd call "Atmospheric Sound Effects", from spooky demonic/ghostly sounds, to in later stages (in "Hell") hearing what sounds like babies crying in the distance, things like that. That, coupled with silence in these dark and creepy stages, REALLY added to the overall experience. Playing the game by yourself, late at night, in the dark, could actually get pretty creepy!

The graphics, beyond nice textures and lighting effects (superior to the previous games), also featured all new pre-rendered sprites for the enemies. Very of them were FULLY redesigned (except for the Imps), which would make purists happy. But the sprites really did look better, and the style lent a more "3D" look to them as they turned this way and that. I'm glad they went with this look, instead of trying to remake the enemies as clunky polygons.

But perhaps the most impressive thing about this game, is that it ISN'T merely a mishmash of Doom 1 and 2 stages. It's actually an entirely new game, (at the time) completely exclusive to the N64! It even has a brand new demonic "laser" weapon, and a completely original last boss. As far as I'm concerned, this is the TRUE "Doom 3".

The ONLY criticism this game deserves, outside of not having multiplayer (which it didn't need), is that for some reason the otherwise excellent developers chose to make the game SUPER dark. As in even if you put the game up to its BRIGHTEST option settings, it can still be hard to see. They REALLY cleaned that up in the more recent re-release on various platforms. Something I wish they'd done for the N64 original. Because otherwise? This game is Doom personified.

This game is equal parts a mixed bag, and wonderful.

One the one hand, the "shake mechanic" and overall gameplay aren't necessarily my favorite. The game is hardly "perfect", and certainly could have played smoother, or had some more interesting level designs.

On the OTHER hand, on a system that had all but abandoned 2D gaming (to my great sorrow), here was a game that helped illustrate WHY they shouldn't have. The game is mostly 2D, with prerendered graphics, though there are some stages, and even bosses, that have polygonal elements. But it is a pure side scroller, and while it's not THE most beautiful game (Yoshi's Story looked better, well, at least the sprites did), it still helped to illustrate what games like Symphony of the Night had already proven. That there was still a LOT that 2D gaming had to offer, and with more powerful 32/64 bit hardware, there was a lot more that 2D games could do than we had yet seen, be it graphics or inventive level designs, etc.

This game isn't amazing, by any means, but I was still very fond of it, and it was one of the handful of N64 games I actually owned myself in the late 90s, on my original system. There is still a good amount of fun to be had, once you get used to the gameplay, and it's still one of my favorite N64 titles.

This was a rental, I sadly didn't own it when it was new. But out of all the games my friends and I played on N64, this was one of the ones that impressed me most. More fun, in my opinion, than Wipeout, on par I think with F-Zero X, this game was a refreshing and unique spin on the "futuristic racer" mold. The "gravity bikes" was a nice take, especially with force fields, and the game has an excellent sense of speed. I had a great time playing this on that first rental, and it remains one of my favorite N64 games.

Sadly, while I had been SUPER stoked for Extreme G 2 to come out, upon renting it, I was VERY disappointed. I don't know what they did, whether it was trying to fit too much graphical detail into too fast of a game, or what, but not only did it just feel undercooked compared to the first, but it honestly made me feel motion sickness trying to play it, which was super weird, and very unpleasant.

But the FIRST game is excellent, and should definitely be played, if you never have!

They never did put a Need for Speed game on N64, which always pissed me off back then. But they DID put this, made by the same basic people, and I'm glad they did. It's a very fun game, controls great, looks great, sounds great. Decent sense of speed, cool cars (even among the limited "one car type" set), very elaborate and imaginative tracks. They even managed to add a "battle" mode that is somewhat fun!

One of the N64's strong points, were racing games. That was one genre it definitely didn't lack. In fact, were it not for PS1 having so many Need For Speed and Ridge Racer games, I'd be willing to say the N64 was THE system to own for racing fans. And among such lofty company as Mario Kart 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Top Gear Overdrive, Extreme G, Wave Race 64, Cruis'n World, Star Wars: Pod Racer, etc., THIS is easily one of the very best on the console.

So many people talk up/reference No Mercy, as if they've never even heard of this game. And while No Mercy is certainly good, arguably a SLIGHT upgrade over this graphically, etc., in my opinion, having played/owned both, WM 2000 is the better game. To my memory the career mode was just more interesting/fun to play, and I put a TON of time into this game, creating made up characters, trying my best to add existing wrestlers into the game, etc.

The N64 was the first console I ever bought myself, with money from my first real summer job, and while I sadly didn't have it for TOO long (teenage idiocy), for the year and a half/two years that I DID have my original N64, this was one of my most played games on it, by far.

It's slow and a bit clunky these days, even compared to the game I eventually moved on to (Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain on PS2). BUT, for its era, it's still a phenomenal game. Best wrestling game on N64 (or perhaps from that entire console generation), and one of the best games on the system.

Yet another great example that the N64 COULD do great, practically arcade perfect ports for many games, if developers actually tried. If you're wondering why Cruis'n World is SUCH a better game on N64 than Cruis'n USA (or Mortal Kombat Trilogy, for that matter), it's because those were developed by Williams, and this was developed by Eurocom. HUGE difference, as Eurocom had a track record for actually putting in effort, and being a studio that usually turned out high quality games.

In partial fairness to Williams, I'm certain that they were pressured/rushed into getting USA and MKT done as quickly as possible, to have them available within N64's launch window. But I still maintain that World is excellent by comparison, BECAUSE Eurocom made it. In fact, this game was originally supposed to release on the N64 in 1997, but it was delayed all the way until September 1998, which while it sucked waiting for it, it was a good decision, as they clearly took the time needed to make it GOOD.

The game has close to arcade perfect graphics, good sound, good controls, up to 4-player multiplayer (one of N64's greatest strengths in an era when NONE of the competition, until Dreamcast in late '99, had out-of-the-box 4 player capability). Eurocom even went the extra mile, and added an additional hidden track, the Moon, as well as a Championship Mode, which allows you to play circuit versions of the tracks, instead of the "road" versions from the arcade.

It's a fun game on its own merits, and I would easily call it one of the best racing games, on a console that had a wealth of good racing games.

I was never NEARLY as enamored as many were with this game, and I'm not super nostalgic for it, even though I was still pretty young (teens) when it came out. Part of the reason for that, is that I've always preferred 2D Mario, and 2D gaming in general. So I wasn't madly in love with Mario's jump to 3D, as personally I would have been happier with a 2D "Super Mario Bros. 5" instead. The OTHER major reason, is that a couple of my friends played the damn game SO much (including at demo kiosks in stores, before the system had even LAUNCHED), that I frankly just got burnt out on seeing it. I played through and beat it myself, eventually, but I had already seen most of it, so my friends kinda "ruined" it for me.

That said, it IS still a wonderful game. As much as I hear some people complain about the dated blocky graphics and the camera, etc., in all blunt honesty outside of its direct clone Banjo-Kazooie, this is basically THE best 3D platformer that would come along, in my opinion, until Mario Galaxy over a decade later. Meaning I don't think there was a single 3D platformer, on any system, that controlled, had better physics/mechanics, or certainly better CAMERA (3D games had notorious bad cameras forever, many still do), than Mario 64.

This game was the blueprint for 3D gaming, as much as Super Mario Bros. was for 2D gaming, and that's not up for debate. Nintendo hasn't always been perfect (in fact they've gotten far less so as time goes on), but when it comes to literally shaping video games as an art/entertainment form, they've probably done more than any single company. Super Mario Bros., Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Super Metroid, A Link to the Past, those games alone did SO much to show the way for other games, its insane. And Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time can also be counted among those, for the 3D era.

Hardly one of my FAVORITE games, but I still give it 4 stars because it deserves it. I like it, and I would be super on board with them giving it a full on HD remake. In fact, the one remade stage in Mario Galaxy 2, honestly made me wish they had just made a full Mario 64 remake on Wii with Galaxy graphics, instead of Galaxy 2. If you want great 3D platforming, it doesn't get too much better than this.

In SOME ways, this is, IMO, the best MK3-ish experience you're going to get. The graphics are pretty much arcade perfect, and there's NO annoying load times or loading limitations (such as with Shang Tsung on PS1). The game plays great, with the exception of MK3's obnoxious AI of course. And it has a nice array of characters.

The only reason I don't give it a 4 (besides the obnoxious AI, which the developers REALLY could have taken the time to mellow out on easier settings), is that the sound sucks. Early on, Playstation fanboys of course, used this as a reason why N64 sucked, because the PS1 (and Saturn) versions of MKT had great CD sound/music. But the thing is, while N64 DIDN'T have CD sound, the hardware wasn't the reason MKT had terrible sound. There are many 64 games that prove the system could do great sound when developers actually TRIED, such as Shadow of the Empire, Star Fox 64, Goldeneye, Tetrisphere, Beetle Adventure Racing, NBA Hangtime, Top Gear Overdrive, etc. The devs were just rushed/lazy with the sound aspect of this game, plain and simple. For an N64 game to literally sound like the SNES Ultimate MK3 is unacceptable.

Outside of sound, I would say that this version of the game stacks up against the PS1 version pretty well. In fact I'd say it has more pros than cons, version Playstation. The PS1 game TECHNICALLY has "more characters", in that you can play MK1/2 versions of characters like Kano, Raiden, Goro, etc. But honestly, while being able to play Goro and Kintaro in MKT on 64 would have been nice, the others are completely throwaway. The PS1 version also has a character called "Chameleon", which switches between the look/abilities of the various male ninjas, whereas the N64 version has "Kameleon", which switches between the three female ninjas. So which you think is better between the two, is a matter of taste. That character, again, is fairly throwaway.

All in all, I definitely think that MKT on N64 could/should have been better than it is. BUT, having said that, outside of the shitty sound, it IS about as good a version of MK3/Trilogy as you're going to get. And behind Killer Instinct Gold, it's probably the 2nd best fighter on the system. It really makes me wish Capcom and SNK had bothered porting some of their arcade fighters to N64, as it absolutely could have done them, and they could have been superior to the Playstation (IE NO load times, etc.). Alas.