The following list of Nintendo Switch ’64 games was compiled using the user ratings (out of 10) given to each N64 game on the Switch in the West. It should be noted that this ranking is not set in stone and will automatically vary over time based on assigned user ratings (and new additions to the NSO library, of course, which we’ll be adding in due course).
Think the game below deserves to be higher on the list? Simply click the ‘star’ button and rate yourself — your personal rating could improve its overall ranking.
So sit back and enjoy the best N64 games that can be played on Nintendo Switch…
29. Dr. Mario 64 (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Programmer: Nintendo
This puzzle is essentially a 64-bit remake of the original Dr. Maria was never released in Europe or Japan (although it only appeared in the Japanese Nintendo Puzzle Collection on the GameCube alongside Panel de Pon and Yoshi’s Cookie). dr. Mario 64 is just Dr. Mario, but cuter than he’s ever been; a solid puzzler with little to get too angry or excited about.
28. WinBack: Covert Operations (N64)
Publisher: Koei / Programmer: The Omega Force
We don’t know about you, but games like Operation: WinBack (as it was known in Europe and Australia) and Konami’s Hybrid Heaven occupied the B-tier of our ‘to get’ lists back in the day — they looked interesting, but were way down on ranks behind first-party purchases and many of us simply never caught up after the 64-bit generation came to an end.
Although Koei’s third-person shooter wouldn’t go down in the annals of covert ops games as classicits cover system felt fresh back in 1999 and being able to check out the game on Switch and place it in its historical context is welcome.
27. Yoshi’s Story (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Programmer: Nintendo EAD
Coming in the wake of the incredible (and incredibly beautiful) Yoshi’s Island on the SNES, it’s no surprise that Yoshi’s Story rubbed some people the wrong way with its accessible storybook approach and cuteness. It’s certainly not the strongest or most complex 2D platformer you’ll ever play, but it’s packed with the Yoshi series’ trademark charm, and we’d say it’s worth a second look if you’ve dismissed it in the past.
The N64 wasn’t blessed with an abundance of side-platforming, but it was armed with the knowledge that this it is not 64-bit Yoshi’s Island This is a great little game starring everyone’s favorite fruit-munching dino.
26. 1080° Snowboarding (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Programmer: Nintendo EAD
A game that teaches the rewards of dedication and perseverance. Winning the race may seem like the point of the game, but the real goal is in the title — to pull 1080°. It took some of us years, but we kept at it and – boom! — we finally succeeded. Speed and precision are paired with beautiful visuals, with sunlight glinting off the track and snow splashing behind your board. 1080° Snowboarding’s frame rate suffered accordingly, but its subtle controls allowed you to sharpen shallow turns and gracefully arc across the course, and together with the visuals it delivered a taste of the feeling you get from the real sport.
When you’re not falling on your ass, that is.
25. Pokémon Puzzle League (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Programmer: Nintendo software technology
Pokémon Puzzle League is really just Panel de Pon / Tetris Attack with a Pokemon makeover. That’s not a bad thing though because it’s still the same brilliant block puzzle.
Unlike Tetris, here the blocks slowly rise from the bottom of the screen as you try to line up rows or columns of three identical blocks. On top of the addictive Panel de Pon puzzle, the game is based on the Pokemon anime, and aside from the obvious use of characters like Ash, Brock, and Misty, this also means that, yes, Pokémon Puzzle League has a lot of voice. acting and music from series and movies.
24. Excitebike 64 (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Programmer: Left Field Productions
Canadian developer Left Field Productions, the team behind the fondly remembered NBA Courtside games, is responsible for this brilliant entry in Nintendo’s motocross series. Shifting the gameplay from side-scrolling to driving 3D, it combined the original game’s careful tilt and throttle control with the subtle mechanics of N64 stablemates Wave Race 64 and 1080° Snowboarding to produce something as deep, rewarding and addictive as those racers.
23. Pokémon Stadium (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Programmer: Nintendo EAD
Pokémon Stadium was a home console companion piece that used the Transfer Pak to bring your Pocket Monsters to your television, displaying all 151 monsters from the original Game Boy titles in full 3D. Bringing plenty of minigames to the party if you get tired of the combat — hey, it can get a little repetitive and time-consuming — great visuals, animations, and commentary keep things lively here. The previous iteration launched in 1998 in Japan which only had 40 Pokémon available for battle, but this version (released as Pocket Monsters Stadium 2 in Japan) launched internationally and contained quite a few.
Pokémon Stadium is far more difficult to recommend to anyone who does not work have a collection of creatures on the Game Boy cart, but there’s a lot to love here if you’re an OG fan.
22. Jet Force Gemini (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Programmer: Rarely
An underrated entry in Rareware’s library, Jet Force Gemini fused cute design with chunky, fiery third-person shooting in a bouncy mission to defeat the insect lord Mizar. The adventure of Juno, Vela, and trusty good guy Lupus isn’t without its flaws, but JFG is a surprisingly deep and satisfying adventure worth exploring if you’re a Rare fan looking for gems that passed you by at the turn of the millennium.
21. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
Publisher: Nintendo / Programmer: Laboratory HAL
In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, HAL Laboratory has managed to retain the core structure that many have come to know and love from the Kirby series while giving it a shiny coat of polygonal paint for a new generation of consoles.
Kirby’s 64-bit foray into the third dimension (well, let’s say — that’s 2.5D, or on-rails 3D if you prefer) stands out as one of the more unique entries in the series, a bit fresh compared to many, a lots of 2D Kirby platformers and still enjoyable to play to this day.
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