I'd have to say this is the system's best arcade style racer. Ridge Racer 64 isn't really a true port of any of the earlier games, Nintendo's NST division (also responsible for the later GameCube racers 1080 Avalanche and Wave Race: Blue Storm) pretty much created this game from the ground up themselves, merely taking the course layouts from Ridge Racer, and Ridge Racer Revolution. Ridge Racer 64 plays in a very different manner to those games, feeling a little more over-the-top and bombastic, with much more ludicrous (and fun) drift mechanics, and a more clean, almost bordering on cartoony art style, it sometimes feels like the love child of Ridge Racer and Sega's Daytona. On top of the old courses you get an excellent brand new area (Desert) with three more exclusive courses. In the battle of the Ridge Racers I'd have to say that the PS1s Type 4 is the better game, but honestly this is such a different experience that there's no reason to choose one over the other, Type 4 was focused on unlockables and content, whilst this is a more challenging game which aims at a more traditional difficulty curve.

What a genius concept for a puzzle game! a truck containing nuclear missiles is out of control and you have to clear a path for it using an assortment of vehicles (including giant robots) before it crashes. This game really manages to build up the tense action, and stands as one of the more original titles in the N64's library.

1080 was one of the most important, if not the most important snowboarding game of the so called 5th generation. Most of the other snowboarding games of this period were very lightweight on physics, 1080 on the other hand went to town on making sure that the physics, handling, and general feel of the board were just right, really trying to recreate the feeling of traveling over different types of snow. Its a rewarding game that requires a lot of careful precision, having much more of a sim-ish feel than its later GameCube sequel.

Before this arrived I don't think anyone would've believed such an accurate port of Resident Evil 2 could be possible. The game was very much designed around the strengths of the PS1 and CD format, so fitting all that data onto a cartridge had to be a real feat of design. Resident Evil 2 was one of the premier survival horror games of its generation, it has you making your way though a city shooting at zombies and solving puzzles, making sure to conserve ammo and health along the way. The N64 port handles itself very well, the fmv quality is lower here than in the PS1 version, but some of the areas have had a resolution increase (expansion pak required), and the game now has surround sound, overall its around par with the PS1 version but with tradeoffs.

It's all well and good jumping around solving puzzles and collecting stars and such but sometimes you just want an uncomplicated, enjoyable platform romp, and that's exactly what Rayman 2 delivers. The game is just full to the brim with classic, straightforward 3D jumping action, and the new gameplay mechanics (such as the awesome grappling hook) really add to the experience and help to make sure you're never less than fully engrossed. This N64 version was one of the original releases (this and the PC version came out first), it holds up very well (much better than the PS1), and pushes the hardware, but the later Dreamcast version was admittedly a little better.

This is an inspired update of the SNES classic. Star Fox is a rail shooter that has you piloting a variety of vehicles, from spaceships, to tanks and submarines along a set path blowing up everything that stands in your way. The game plays beautifully, with inspired, memorable boss battles, and level designs that never become repetitive. Replayability is also high due to the inclusion of an addictive combo-based medal system whereby you can acquire medals by hitting certain points thresholds for each level (points go up if you blow up multiple enemies with each shot), as reward for hitting these targets you unlock extra modes, such as the fun (but lightweight) 4-player battle mode included with the game.

With Banjo Kazooie Rare took what was laid down in Mario 64 and built on that foundation, adding an interesting 2-in-1 character design (later used in the Ratchet and Clank series), more focus on proper characterisation, with Banjo and Kazooie really having personalities of their own, and a presentation that was well beyond that of that launch title classic. So why is it lower? the decisive factor for me is the lack of clues in BK, its a small point but I find you tend to get stuck a little more often here than in in Mario 64.

Whilst not looking like the most attractive of racers for its time, what F-Zero X lacks in the graphics department it more than makes up for in the adrenaline fueled white-knuckle speed department, and the lack of graphical detail helps to keep that speed running at a super smooth framerate. Track designs here are inspired, with loads of tubes and corkscrews to race on, and through, the music is great, and there's loads of content and modes to keep racing fans happy. Another first class racer from Nintendo.

Everybody knows about GoldenEye, probably the N64's biggest killer app of the time (the game was just so far ahead of every other console FPS out there that it ruled the roost for years!). This milestone release amazed gamers with it's stealthy gameplay and multitude of different weapons and features, not to mention the massive amount of replayability it had in the form of an addictive 4-player splitscreen deathmatch mode (a feature that had been previously nonexistent). These days however I find the game a little bit dated due to a few weak level designs, and some dodgy enemy AI, and its also my belief that its unofficial sequel, Perfect Dark, had a lot of major improvements made to what was pioneered here, I've dropped it a few places due to these reasons.

Here's yet another racing classic for N64, cementing just how strong the system was for that particular genre. Wave Race was a truly amazing game when originally released, in no small part due to the undeniably brilliant (for the time) water effects, which added a new depth to the control and feel of the game, but also due to some extremely well-judged gameplay, and an enduring sunny, summer vibe that shines through. Definitely one of my personal favourites in the racing genre.