TheNintendo 64is (today) recognized as one of the most influential consoles of all time, thanks to its incredible array of 3D releases that gave a glimpse of the gaming industry’s future. Moreover, the console provided some of the best games of all time with titles likeSuper Mario 64andThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,which blew away even the highest of expectations at both series' first attempt at 3D.
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Like any console, the N64 had its fair share of shortcomings, one of which being the disappointing runtimes of some games. Top releases likePokémon Snapcould befinished in just 4 hours,which often deters some people from revisiting the console today. However, this trend isn’t ever-present, as there is a wide range of N64 releases that offer solid runtimes of 20 hours and over.
10Space Station Silicon Valley - 20 Hours
Space Station Silicon Valleyis one of the many third-person platformers to have released on the N64. The genre was thriving in the late 90s following the enormous critical and commercial success of the aforementioned launch titleSuper Mario 64, which influenced a polethera of subsequent platformers.
Space Station Silicon Valleyis considered to be one of the better N64 3D platformers, exemplified by its83 critic score and matching 8.3 user score on Metacritic. The game differentiated itself from other platformers at the time with its British humor and key gameplay mechanic that let players control numerous different animals, each with their own playstyle.
9The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask - 20.5 Hours
In November 1998, Nintendo releasedThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which is still considered by some to be the greatest game of all time and remains thehighest-rated game on Metacritic with an eye-watering score of 99. So, when it came time to work on a sequel, it would have been very easy for Nintendo to simply make a basic sequel with minimal improvements, assured in the fact that it would still sell tons of copies purely for having the nameOcarina of Time 2.
Instead, Nintendo released one of the darkest, mostinnovative gamesin theLegend of Zeldafranchise withMajora’s Mask.The game implemented a 3-day cycle, interchangeable masks that changed Link’s appearance and playstyle, and tons of side quests that coincided with the 3-day cycle and encouraged players to fully explore and understand the world around them. When including side quests,Majora’s Masktakes an impressive 29.5 hours to complete,according to howlongtobeat.com.
8Paper Mario - 23 Hours
The originalPaper Mariowas originally released in the early 2000s and is still widely regarded as thebest entry in the spin-off franchise. Interestingly, the game was originally planned to beSuper Mario RPG 2,but this was changed following a decision to make the gamemore child-friendly, with an art style influenced byPaRappa the Rapper.
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ThePaper Marioseries has had numerous entries over the years, but none have managed to recapture the magic of the original game.
7The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 26.5 Hours
As mentioned before,The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeis still considered by some to be the greatest game of all time, which is an incredible achievement for a game released all the way back in 1998; especially when considering the many changes that the gaming industry has been through since that time.
Ocarina of Timeoffers one of the most well-rounded adventures ever released, with a solid story, memorable boss fights, excellent puzzles designs, andan enjoyable range of dungeons.
6Donkey Kong 64 - 29 Hours
Donkey Kongwas one of the many mascot platformers who left their side-scrolling days behind in the late 90s to try and replicate the success ofSuper Mario 64.
1999’sDonkey Kong 64was the character’s one and only voyage into theMario 64andBanjo-Kazooiestyle ofopen-level 3D platforming, which implies that the game was a failure, though this couldn’t be further from the truth.Donkey Kong 64provided a fantastic platforming adventure that would be even better remembered today if it wasn’t for how over-crowded the genre was at the time. Moreover, a 29-hour main story is extremely long for a platformer, a genre that usually comes in at around the 10-hour mark.
5World Driver Championship - 35 Hours
World Driver Championshipwas released in 1999 by Midway Games. The game was developed by Boss Game Studios, who were best known at the time for their work onTop Gear RallyandTwisted Edge Extreme Snowboarding.
World Driver Championshipwas fairly well-received, exemplified by its75 critic score and 8.2 user score on Metacritic. However, the game was largely overshadowed by the first twoGran Turismogames, which were released around the same time.
4Gauntlet Legends - 38.5 Hours
Gauntlet Legendsis a fantasy hack and slash game that was originally released as an arcade machine in 1998 before coming to Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1, and Dreamcast in the years that followed.
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Gauntlet Legendsmade use of the N64’s Expansion Pak accessory by letting up to four people play the game simultaneously and differentiated itself from previous entries in the series by giving players the ability to level up with experience points. These features may sound painfully mundane by today’s standards, but they were great selling points for the time.
3Harvest Moon 64 - 44 Hours
Harvest Moon 64is another game on this list that was released in 1999. The game is best known for its influence on the farm simulation genre today, with titles likeStardew Valley, Viva Piñata,andFarm Togetherall taking inspiration from the classic game.
Unfortunately,Harvest Moon64was held back by a few small issues such as visual glitches and repetitive soundtrack, though it’s still one ofthe greatest farming games of all timeand deserves respect for its influence on the genre.
2Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber - 45 Hours
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliberis a real-time tactical RPG that was initially released in Japan back in 1999 by Nintendo before being brought to North America the following year by Atlus USA. The strategy game was developed by Quest Corporation, who was best known at the time for their work on 1991’sMagical Chaseand 1993’sOgre Battle: The March of the Black Queen.
Ogre Battle 64received a solidcritic score of 82 on Metacriticand an excellent 8.9 user score which is only two points short ofOcarina of Time.
1StarCraft 64 - 50 Hours
Topping this list with a whopping 50-hour main story isStarCraft 64.The game was released at the back-end of the N64’s lifecycle in June-2000 and pushed the console to its limits with an incredible amount of content and an impressive range of units that could feature on the screen at one time.
StarCraft 64is essentially a port of the originalStarCrafton PC and Mac from 1998. Unsurprisingly, the strategy game works better with a mouse and keyboard than with an N64 controller, though the N64 version did improve upon the original with a cooperative mode that let two players control one force simultaneously with the use of the console’s Expansion Pak.
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