Over the past few weeks, I have highlighted games on the NES, SNES, and Game Boy that are still worth playing today. But all of those platforms predate me, so this time, I'm talking about the Nintendo 64. This is the first video game console I remember owning, and I grew up with it for a long time. Games like Super Mario 64, Pokémon Stadium, and Goldeneye 007 defined my childhood.

But I don't want to talk about those games here. Those are massively popular, and as per usual, I want to highlight titles that I believe are severely underappreciated and that even a lot of Nintendo 64 owners may not have played or fully appreciated. Yes, there's a good chance you've played some of these, but I tried to skip over the most obvious picks to highlight some slightly lesser-known titles.

10 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

One of the more unique Kirby games

Kirby games are never unpopular per see, but I definitely feel like Kirby 64 is one of the least discussed titles in the series, and that's a bit of a shame because it had a fairly unique idea for the time. At the time, most Nintendo 64 games were being made in full 3D, but Kirby stuck with its classic 2D roots, only with a new twist.

In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, the pink puff ball can absorb enemies' powers as usual, but it can also combine those powers for some additional means of defeating enemies and discovering secrets within each level. For example, combining the Snow and Spark power-ups resulted in Kirby turning into a fridge that could spit out items to attack enemies. It was a pretty unique idea that Kirby didn't do again until 2018's Kirby Star Allies.

While it's not the best in the series, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is definitely still worth checking out. It's available on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription plan, so it's pretty easy to access legitimately.

9 Banjo-Kazooie

Remember when these games were still made?

It would be a bit of a stretch to call this a hidden gem considering Banjo-Kazooie is talked about pretty regularly to this day, but the franchise as a whole is pretty much dead, and it's worth revisiting today to remind us of what we've lost. Banjo-Kazooie is one of the many Nintendo 64 games developed by British studio Rare, and it's one of the earlier examples of a 3D collect-a-thon — a game where the main purpose is to collect specific objects to unlock the path to progression to the next level.

What makes Banjo-Kazooie so special is the fact that, in addition to well-executed platforming and collecting mechanics, it offers a pretty strong brand of humor, with frequent bickering between characters and strong personalities. This is something Rare did very well, as seen in many other games from the company in this era, including the sequel, Banjo-Tooie, which is also on the Nintendo 64.

Both of these games are available on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack plan, so there's no reason not to check them out.

8 Ridge Racer 64

Nintendo actually made this one

Ridge Racer is a fairly popular franchise by Bandai Namco, and generally, most games are developed by the company. But for the Nintendo 64, Bandai licensed the brand out to Nintendo who made the game on its own, finally pulling it away from the PlayStation exclusivity it had until that time (outside of arcades).

Ridge Racer 64 is a great entry in the series, providing a fast racing experience that lacks the immense difficulty of something like F-Zero X. It's also a bit more grounded in terms of the vehicles you use since they're just cars and not some kind of hovercraft. Plus, considering it's on the Nintendo 64, this is a pretty impressive game graphically.

Outside of a poor port to the Nintendo DS in 2004, this game had never been re-released, but in 2025, Nintendo finally managed to add it to the Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription, so you can finally replay this one easily.

7 Perfect Dark

Old-school controls aside

Goldeneye 007 was a huge step forward for first-person shooters at the time, but following it up with a sequel would have been impossible considering the licensing issues. So, developer Rare created its own IP based on the same general formula with Perfect Dark. Gameplay-wise, Perfect Dark is very similar to Goldeneye 007, but it features an all-new character with Joanna Dark, and a new plot and setting, and some advanced tech that required the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak add-on to fully realize.

Growing up with Goldeneye, that gameplay loop is still so enjoyable to this day, even compared to more modern first-person shooter titles, and an evolution of that formula is a recipe for success, in my opinion. The game has you carry out a series of missions to progress through the campaign, and one interesting system that's brought over from Goldeneye 007 is the idea that in higher difficulties, you actually have more objectives to complete in each mission, rather than just facing tougher enemy AI. It makes the game much more replayable as you become more skilled, keeping it fresh with each run.

Perfect Dark has been remade for the Xbox 360 since Microsoft's acquisition of Rare, but you can also still play the original on the Nintendo Switch if you have the appropriate NSO subscription.

6 Tetrisphere

Tetris was used for everything back then

Nintendo had the license to make Tetris-branded games back in the 90s, and the company made sure to make use of it every chance it got. On the Nintendo 64, that included Tetrisphere, a 3D game that has you combine blocks to destroy them as you attempt to reach the core at the center of a level.

Unlike most Tetris games, where the goal is to fill a line of blocks to get them to disappear, Tetrisphere has you match three blocks of the same type to destroy them, and combining this with chain reactions helps clear the stage. You'll need to place blocks and move them around to destroy them more effectively, so some of the basic ideas of Tetris still apply, but this is a very different game, and we wouldn't blame you if you skipped it back in the day. But it's worth a shot, if you can find a way to play it.

Because the Tetris license is a bit tricky these days, there's no official way to replay this one, but if you're willing to look around online, you can probably find a way to play it on your computer.

5 Ogre Battle 64

An underappreciated RPG

RPGs really weren't as widely popular back in the day as they are now, especially on the Nintendo 64 which focused a lot more on multiplayer games. But Ogre Battle 64 was a pretty great one that didn't get as much attention as it deserved, and it didn't even release in Europe.

Now, I can't pretend I'm much of a tactical RPG fan and this title was voted in by one of my colleagues at XDA, but this is high-quality tactical RPG that was very well received by critics back in the day. It puts you in charge of batallions with up to 50 troops. Each troop can have different classes and using the right troops in the right position is crucial to win in battle. The game's systems are fairly complex and hard to get to grips with, but if you give it some time, you'll have a blast working your way through the enemy forces.

Ogre Battle 64 has been re-released in the past, but it's not currently available via legitimate means on console, so you may have to do some digging to play it.

4 Wave Race 64

Water racing never looked so good

Now we're speaking my language. Wave Race 64 is the only game on this list that I grew up with, and I did not appreciate it enough back then, but replaying it today, it's super impressive. This is a jet ski racing game on the Nintendo 64, and graphically, it's incredibly impressive what Nintendo was able to achieve with this hardware. The water looks and feels surprisingly realistic and it can send you for a loop sometimes, crashing into objects that are partially underwater, or giving you boost to jump over other obstacles.

Wave Race 64 also looks great overall, and it has some voice clips with surprisingly decent quality for the time. There aren't a ton of courses to play on, but between the racing championships and the stunt mode, you have quite a bit to do here, and it all plays fantastically. Unlike what would happen in the sequel, Wave Race 64 has fantastic controls and never feels unfair. And while it doesn't have the visual variety of more modern games, courses still look fairly different (I still love Sunset Bay and its orange water).

Wave Race 64 is available on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion pack service, so there's no reason not to check it out.

3 Mischief Makers

A side-scrolling platformer

Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Kazooie — the Nintendo 64 wasn't starving for 3D platformers, but when it comes to 2D ones, it was a different story. Thankfully, Mischief Makers exists to fill that gap. Unfortunately, it doesn't get the respect it deserves.

This is a relatively short game, but the 2D platforming mechanics make this a very fun one to blast through if you have spare time for a couple of days. There's a good bit of action and combat, and you can see the talent from the team at Treasure, which had also made other excellent games like Gunstar Heroes on the Sega Genesis. There isn't a whole lot to say about this one other than the fact that it's a fun game.

Mischief Makers is another title that hasn't been properly re-released since its original debut, but it definitely deserves your attention, and it won't take too much of your time. You'll have to look for a way to play it unofficially, though, since there's no official re-release.

2 Diddy Kong Racing

Nintendo's other other forgotten racing game

Mario Kart's success has left many other Nintendo racing series behind. F-Zero, Wave Race, and of course, Diddy Kong Racing are all victims of Mario's success. This game is actually pretty similar in nature to Mario Kart, being a more party-oriented racing game with fun characters, but it has a few standout elements.

For one thing, the graphics on this one are a bit more impressive seeing as the playable characters are all rendered in proper 3D, instead of using 2D sprites at different angles like Mario Kart 64 and there's quite a lot of visual variety. Plus, what really makes this one special is that it actually has a compelling single-player focus with a campaign and missions, something Mario Kart only did once with its DS entry and never again.

While Diddy Kong Racing got a remake on the DS, many consider it to be worse than the original. Hopefully this one will also come to the NSO subscription at some point, but for now, you'll have to look for less official means to do it.

1 Sin & Punishment

You can still play this Japan exclusive

Sin & Punishment is a game that deserves much more recognition than it gets. This game never released outside of Japan, but a sequel did release on the Wii many years later, and that was an international launch. But neither game was exactly a huge sales hit, and the series has unfortunately been dormant ever since.

This is an on-rails shooter, not unlike Star Fox, but with more interesting gameplay overall. You mostly play on foot and move your character left and right while aiming with the reticle, so your range of movement is a bit more limited, but you can move and aim independently, which makes for more complex and engaging gameplay. The game is also very visually impressive for the Nintendo 64, with plenty of frantic action.

While this game initially didn't leave Japan, Nintendo has added it to the international catalog on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription, so now's the time to experience this overlooked gem.

The Nintendo 64 deserved better

Nintendo really struggled to get sales going with the Nintendo 64, and while there were a lot of software droughts, the console received quite a lot of great games that unfortunately many didn't get to experience because of the generally negative perception of the console, especially in comparison to Sony's PlayStation.

Thankfully, that legacy isn't lost and a lot of these games are still available to play officially. And the ones that aren't have been preserved by fans, so it's always a good time to go back and experience gaming history with some of these games.