The gaming world has evolved within the past few years.  With many great releases like Killzone 2 or the very interesting games for the Wii, its hard to keep track of every great game.  In this edition of Face off we will be reminiscing about those good old days of single joysticks and bad graphics.  Yes, we’re talking about the Nintendo 64!  From a huge selection of N64 cartridges, here is my personal picks for the most enjoyable N64 games ever created.

Number One – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

Released in 1998, it is both a continuation of the ever so famous “Legend of Zelda” series, and a stepping stone in the the Role Playing game genre.  With a wide array of colorful characters and challenging foes, it is no surprise how successful this game grew to become.

With excellent game-play, the player has a nice mixture of main story line play, while having many mini-quests to give the player a “break” from the real boss. Whether you want to bomb some Dodango’s or go fishing in the pond, multiple paths await you.  In addition, every step you take leads to a new discovery and even shocking surprises (hint, Sheik is not whom he seems.)  To top it off, the game flows very well with the prequels, so fans of those already popular games love it even more.

Let us not forget about the beautifully rendered world.  By far one of the best graphical achievements of its time.  Hours of amazing content are guaranteed with this pick.

Number Two – Super Smash Brothers

Released in 1999, Super Smash Brothers was well known for its infamous commercial with the audio “Happy Together.”  The commercial was a hit, and so was the game.  The games success is attributed to it’s grahics (good for the times) and its fast paced action, which people loved.

With a wide variety of characters no single game is exactly the same.  Single player puts you in the shoes of the character of your choice as you go head to head (and in some cases, you vs 30) to take down the Master Hand.  When you’re done obliterating your enemies, or just feel like taking a break from the tournament, you can hook up a second controller and go multiplayer with a friend or three.  In multiplayer you can choose between free for all or team battle, which leave hours of competitive fun for the four people playing.

As an added bonus, after you begin unlocking characters you can also unlock their bio’s, giving a more insightful explanation of whom and where these characters are from.  The replay value is fantastic especially when with friends, this pick is definitely worth the purchase.

Number Three – Super Mario 64

Made in 1996,  shockingly with graphics that only rival that of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  The player takes the role as America’s favorite plumber, Mario, as he enters the crazy worlds that lie within paintings inside the castle where the princess is being held by Bowser.  As he collects up to 120 stars he eventually making his way to the defeat of Bowser, and the rescue of Princess Peach.  If you are determined enough to get all of the stars you might even meet Yoshi in this game.

The graphical aspect of the game was amazing, and it combined elements of puzzle with a free roam world.  The player must navigate around the worlds and defeat foes to acquire the stars hidden within.  Fans of the old Mario games were surprised at how different, yet so similar, the game ended up being.  With all of your favorite characters, including the pesky Ba Bombs.

This game is a classic, but what prevents it from taking second place for me is that around 60 stars it begins to get mildly repetitive.  Becoming pretty tedious in its path leading to all 120 stars (you can defeat Bowser well before accomplishing this task.)  Despite this set-back in my mind, Super Mario 64 will guarantee you a great play.

Number Four – StarCraft 64

Released in 2000, this was a re-make of the top selling computer game.  For all of you unfamiliar with StarCraft, it takes place in a foreign world, 3 races (Terran, Protoss, and Zerg) are fighting to conquer each other.  With 30 missions and your choice of 1 of the 3 races, this game has plenty of plot and replay value.

With AI, the player is guaranteed to face a challenge no matter what happens.  Many players lose in the end by making the mistake of attempting to win by brute force.  In order to succeed you must play strategically while also multitasking to maintain a healthy outpost while attempting to foil the enemies.  Although, if you are a lovers of brute force, you are not out of luck.  You can amass incredibly large armies of warriors in this game, and watch the onslaught unfold in front of you.  Everything from nukes to infested humanoids.

StarCraft 64 does have its dis-advantages however.  Because of its adaptation to the console, the game is not as user friendly, and the graphics are not as great.  The game can be extremely difficult and frustrating at times.  Although, the replay value is good, once you beat the game the player will begin to lose interest (as with most any game.)  Bottom line, if you are looking for a good challenge, hours of fun, and an amazing storyline this is the game to track down.

Number Five – Mario Kart 64

Released in 1997, Mario Kart 64 was a somewhat controversial game. Some people loved it, some people hated it, there was seldom an in between. Either way, the game was a best seller. Mario and his friends were on the track, and racing is all they did.  The game is no “Need For Speed” but the difficult tracks, hidden shortcuts, and powerful weapons give the game variety.  With different characters to choose from, each game can be determined by both skill and luck.  What gave the game its high rating was its weapon selection.  Each weapon can be attained by crashing into a rainbow colored diamond, after wards the player obtains something that would either benefit him/her, or negatively impact his enemies.  A good example of this was the lightning rod, which the player fired off, and momentarily made all of his enemies miniature.  This allowed them to be squashed while slowing them down at the same time.

Single player is rather dull in my opinion, and most people quit after beating the 4 tournaments.  However, playing with friends in multiplayer can give good times(winning), bad times(losing), but most importantly competition for hours.

As you can see of the giant selection of N64 games lying around on my shelf, these games by far have the highest value when considering all aspects of gameplay.  All of these games were arranged by pure opinion, combined with bits of information I had received from Wikipedia and Zeldapedia.  Special thanks to GameSpot who reminded me about Super Mario 64.