#40. Beetle Adventure Racing
February 28, 1999
Paradigm Entertainment
Electronic Arts
$54.99 on Amazon
On paper, a game about Volkswagen vehicles sounds like nothing more than a boring advertisement. But in 1999, the Beetle was a cultural touchstone. As a kid in the backseat, you couldn’t help but keep your eyes peeled wide open, scanning the streets for one so you could turn to your sibling and strike them in the shoulder whilst yelling “Punch Buggy!” And the video game that was delivered here managed to be one of the best racing games on the Nintendo 64. While the vehicle selection is obviously limited, the tracks are vibrant and long gauntlets stuffed with hidden shortcuts around every turn. Where the game really sings is in its Beetle Battle mode, pitting two to four players in a vehicular combat arena to six different colored ladybugs and then escape. Anyone who grew up playing this multiplayer staple will get filled with an anxiety-inducing yet thrilling state of panic when they read or hear the words, “HEAD FOR THE EXIT!” It’s also got a groovy, bass-heavy soundtrack that just slaps hard. — J. Tilleli
#39. Hey You, Pikachu!
October 30, 2000
Ambrella
Nintendo
$27.19 on Amazon
Right off the bat, the best thing about this game is Pikachu’s pointed finger on the box art. Until now, you’ve never really thought about whether he had digits, let alone if he could even curl them into a shape. Once you see it and zoom in, you will not be able to stop looking.
The premise of the game is communicating with a wild Pikachu using a device that Professor Oak is testing. In a wildly ambitious move, the game utilized a special microphone called the Voice Recognition Unit to ‘speak’ to the Pikachu and issue commands. Over time, you form a relationship with it and can play with it, even go fishing.
The thing is, after 365 play days, Professor Oak tells you that you have to release the Pikachu. When you don’t think about “Well what the fuck did I waste all of these hours on then?” it’s actually kind of nice. He goes back to the wild, where he belongs. In this particular world, you don’t have to worry about them leading a better life indoors because in this world, urban sprawl, pollution, and serial killers do not exist. He is back with his kind, hopefully, only this time he is armed with knowledge of things like how to fish, what ‘Thunderbolt’ means, and maybe what a forced ending of friendship not unlike The Banshees of Inisherin really feels like. — A. Oh
#38. Micro Machines 64 Turbo
March 24, 1999
Codemasters
Midway
$50.99 on Amazon
Codemasters is well-known today for its work on titles such as Dirt Rally, Grid, and the F1 series. If you’ve played those games, Micro Machines 64 Turbo may be a bit shocking in its bright, colorful whimsy. But don’t let its cuteness fool you — this game packs a punch with a challenging array of tracks and handling techniques.
It’s hard to say if the character designs in this game are terrible in a charming way, or just plain ol’ terrible. Dwayne looks about as cross-faded as he is cross-eyed, and I’m not sure I prefer the ones who make unsettling, ferocious eye contact. In the end I picked Spider, the pomp-sporting greaser with big shades, mostly because I didn’t need to see his face (and also because his leather jacket is sick). A small mercy.
Setting the homunculus drivers aside, MM64T has charming aesthetic that fully leans into the idea of tiny toy cars in a big world. Its track designs are far and away its strongest graphical charm point. Brake-Fast Bends, for one, is an aptly-named course that involves zooming across a breakfast table at Mach ten, complete with a box of Weetabix- sorry, I mean, “Weetees”. There’s also Interesting Voyage, which resembles a fifth grade science lab complete with puddles of chemical ooze. And of course, who can forget Baguette Balance, which gives you exactly what it says on the tin: the harrowing experience of dealing with the French. Oh, and also riding across a giant baguette.
Mechanically, MM64T is unique in that you cannot choose your car in each track during Challenge Mode, the game’s main Mario Kart style grand prix. Each vehicle has its own quirks, such as the tank capable of shooting bombs and the dump truck that has a hard backswing drift. The gamefeel has an impressive variety to it that compliments the absurdity of the track designs, especially when obstacles are introduced. Running into a puddle of honey that slows you down or driving through a pool of green ooze and setting yourself on fire adds another charming element of texture. As a function of its design, the game both forces and encourages you to learn its different handling styles to become a true master of the tiny car tourney. — L. Fisher
#37. Space Station Silicon Valley
October 21, 1998
DMA Design
Take-Two Interactive
$139.99 at Amazon
Jeez, with how loopy some of these Silicon Valley guys are, maybe we SHOULD put them all on a space station full of robotic animals, am I right? I mean, how many times has this happened to you, right? You’re flying your spaceship, like you do, when out of nowhere, you crash right into a space station! And you’re like, could I BE any more stranded? So now your robot has to explore a 3D space, solve some platforming puzzles, and take over the bodies of those robot animals, each of which has different abilities and weaknesses. Could he pick up a pizza on the way? I mean, come ON!!! But seriously folks, this is a quirky little game that’s flown under the radar, and deserves a second look. The developers went on to make a few games you might know called Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Grand Theft Auto V, and you can see some of the open world mechanics they’d become known for even in this N64 game. It’s a little crude, but still a good time. Hey, sounds like my EX-WIFE, AM I RIGHT FOLKS, AM I RIGHT? Ok, that’s it for me, Sebastian Maniscalco is up next. Tip your waitstaff! — S. Finkelstein
#36. Mortal Kombat 4
June 23, 1998
Eurocom
Midway
$84.99 on Amazon
Despite being in 3D, this is the best way to get your ‘classic’ Mortal Kombat fix on the Nintendo 64. Mortal Kombat Trilogy might have been more appealing on paper, but MK4 was able to achieve series hallmarks that Trilogy couldn’t on the system, like fluid character animations and getting Goro’s big ass in there. And while the polygonal fighters take some getting used to, you can still high punch the shit out of the opponent on an easier difficulty, which adds some valuable familiarity to the potentially jarring new visual style. Ed Boon, John Tobias, and company threaded the needle here and made something that felt like Mortal Kombat to longtime fans but still was a step into the third dimension. It delivered, and the series continues releasing 3D entries to this day, unlike other franchises that took a 64-bit whack at it like Castlevania, Mega Man, Bomberman, Paperboy, and, uh, Tetris. — M. Roebuck
#35. Star Wars Episode 1: Racer
May 18, 1999
LucasArts
LucasArts
$14.24 on Amazon
I’ve spent most of my life hating the Star Wars prequel trilogy, so I can only react with disgust as I start to see a critical reassessment slowly taking hold. But even if I still think the movies were deplorably bad, I concede that two good things did come of the whole exercise: the badass poster where Jake Lloyd’s shadow is Darth Vader and Star Wars Episode 1: Racer. A game with a real sense of speed, Racer features longer levels, more strategy, and deeper customization than most other entries in the genre from this time. The only thing that always really irked me is that only Sebulba’s pod has the ability to attack. You’re telling me you couldn’t have other pods deploy Eopie farts towards their competitors? Meesa pissed. — J. Danek
#34. NFL Blitz 2001
September 14, 2000
Midway
Midway
$59.99 on Amazon
More polish, including a sorely needed instant replay mode, as well as the new ability to pry your opponent’s facemask off and pummel them mercilessly until you decide they’ve had enough. No, just kidding, but there’s still all the late hits and lack of penalties that make this a great fast-paced game that ultimately probably didn’t need to have four versions released on the Nintendo 64 if the differences were going to be this minimal. Hey, what are you doing when you get done reading this list? Do you want to go get a burrito? — M. Roebuck
#33. Pokémon Snap
March 21st, 1999
HAL Laboratory
Nintendo
$50.24 on Amazon
Not exactly the kind of spin-off you’d expect from Pokémon on the N64. This is the same system that gave us Pokémon Stadium and Hey You, Pikachu! and while the latter wasn’t exactly great, it seemed logical for the franchise. Who would’ve expected a Pokémon photography simulator to ever see the light of day? Moreso, who would’ve expected it to be this good? Pokémon Snap is a charming and novel game that lets you see Pokémon as you’ve rarely seen them before — as animals! Real, living, breathing organisms that behave like a lot of the creatures you could expect to see on a safari in real life. Perhaps the idea of taking pictures as a gameplay loop doesn’t sound exhilarating, but Pokémon Snap thrives on the back of its IP, more than just take pictures of Pokémon, you can interact with them and prompt certain reactions from them by throwing apples or playing your flute. Pokémon Snap lets you force a Charmeleon into evolution by knocking into a volcanic pit with a Pester Ball and it lets you use an Electrode to unlock a whole new level by triggering its explosion just as you get close to a wall of rocks you otherwise couldn’t pass. It’s fueled by the endless potential of its IP, and thrives on the back of its moments, of which it has many both memorable and surprising. — Brad Waters
#32. NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC
November 16, 1999
Erocom
Midway
$33.99 on Amazon
One of the most fun sports games on the system. In addition to the polished Midway arcade gameplay and added NBA on NBC license and presentation , the ability to create or choose a character and level them up as you beat all 28 teams makes this feel like less of a coin-op port and more of a proper console game with high replayability. Plus, on a system mostly bereft of RPG experiences, leveling up the Phoenix Suns’ gorilla mascot into a generational powerhouse was one of the top five role playing experiences I’ve had during this deep dive. What’s unfortunate about this game is that being the fourth entry in the NBA Jam/NBA Hang Time series, it feels like Midway still wanted to incorporate new things, but by this point they were adding elements that were counterproductive to the whole style. Free throws? In an NBA Jam game? Eat shit. — M. Roebuck
#31. Pokémon Stadium 2
March 26, 2001
Nintendo EAD
Nintendo
$139.99 on Amazon
Haha, I bet you suckers who bought Pokémon Stadium 1 feel pretty silly now! Pokémon Stadium 2 is essentially the same game as the first, only now you’ve got all of the new ‘mons from Gold and Silver to pit against each other in full 3D! There’s a new crop of minigames too, which are the real reason to play these games. You could spend an entire night just playing Egg Emergency. The core of the game is still the battles, though. It’s so fun to pull up the roster of Rental Pokémon and just take a bunch for a spin. But why are the battle animations so slow? It takes forever to get through a 3v3 match. These games are completely obsolete now that Pokémon just is in 3D, but I’ll always have a soft spot for good ol’ Pokémon Stadium 2. — S. Finkelstein
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