Top 125 Nintendo 64 Games Results Thread

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

12. Paper Mario

Paper Mario, known in Japan as Mario Story, is a role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was first released in Japan on August 11, 2000, in North America on February 5, 2001, and in Europe on October 5, 2001.

Paper this game sucks was a spiritual sequel to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the Super NES, and is the first game in the Paper Mario series of video games. It has had two sequels released; the first, for the Nintendo GameCube entitled Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and a second for the Wii entitled Super Paper Mario, which is designed as a platformer with role-playing elements.

The game's English title comes from its unique graphical style, reminiscent of older Mario titles, which features 2-D looking characters resembling paper cutouts contained within 3-D environments, with a full range of 3-D movement, hence the name.

The game was re-released on Wii's Virtual Console on July 13, 2007. The game has been in the Top 20 Most Popular Downloads on the North American Virtual Console since its release and was the Number 1 download when the Wii Shop Channel Updated on August 6, 2007. It was displaced by Super Mario Bros.

A distinguishing characteristic of Paper Mario is that, while the game features a 3D environment similar to that used in Super Mario 64, the characters are designed as flat two-dimensional sprites reminiscent of 16-bit Mario titles, creating the impression of the characters being paper figurines.

Another departure from previous Mario games and from RPGs in general is the game's narration. The story is divided into eight chapters and a prologue. The beginning of a new chapter is announced with a cutscene and a scene with a curtain opening, similar to in a theatrical production. When the chapter is completed, another cutscene is shown with the curtain closing. In between these chapters, interludes showing dialogue between other characters take place, advancing the story. These interludes are also times when the player takes control of Princess Peach and attempts to navigate the castle while avoiding being seen by Bowser's guards.

Paper Mario takes place in a "real world" environment, with many towns, castles, and areas of wilderness which can be identified as geographical locations. The game is set in the Mushroom Kingdom, which is divided into different regions through which Mario must traverse. Locations include a tropical island, a vast desert, a frozen mountain, a haunted forest, a paradise flower garden, Bowser's castle, and the inside of a toy box.

The action of Paper Mario is divided into two separate areas: the overworld and battle. The overworld is the area of the game in which the player navigates the game's locations, talks with characters, purchases items, and advances the plot. While in the overworld, Mario retains several basic actions including walking, running, and jumping. Other abilities include spinning, which speeds up Mario in conjunction with movement, hammering, which allows Mario to break certain obstacles that hinder progress, and the classic ground pound, which allows Mario to break through certain sections of floor. Many parts of the overworld require the player to solve puzzles, complete tasks for certain characters, or navigate platform-style areas in order to progress through the game.

Battles are accessed by making contact with enemies that are visible in the overworld. Each individual enemy in the overworld may actually represent several enemies to fight in the upcoming battle. The other area of the game in which action takes place is in battle against enemies. Much like in Super Mario RPG, the battles in Paper Mario rely on a cross between traditional turn-based RPG battle system and timed button presses or other such motions that allow for increased damage to enemies or reduced damage taken, a concept known in the game as the Action Command. Paper Mario builds on this concept, introducing a larger variety of moves and timed actions. Unlike in Super Mario RPG, the size of a party in battle is two, instead of three, with Mario and only one of his party members fighting against the enemies. Apart from starting the battle by touching the enemy, Mario and/or his team members can try and attack the enemy right off the bat. If successful, Mario will receive a "First Strike" which allows him to attack the enemies without using up a turn. On the other hand, enemies can also perform First Strikes on Mario and thereby get the first hit. Other from this, Mario and his team always get the first turn.

The story of Paper Mario begins with an introduction to Star Haven, a place where the seven Star Spirits reside and, using the Star Rod, an item with the power to grant any wish, grant the requests of those who wish upon the stars. The story's conflict begins when Bowser and his assistant Kammy Koopa invade Star Haven, steal the Star Rod and transform the seven Star Spirits into cards.

Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi, unaware of what has taken place, receive an invitation from Princess Peach to a party at her castle. Upon arrival, Mario retires from the guests to the back of the castle to pay a visit to Peach in private. Peach greets Mario and asks him to accompany her to her balcony. Before Mario and Princess Peach reach the balcony, a loud rumbling noise is heard. The Princess' castle is then lifted into the sky by a fortress that had been located underneath the ground below the castle. Bowser then enters the castle and reveals that he is once again attempting to kidnap Princess Peach. Mario does battle with Bowser, but fails because of the Star Rod's ability to make Bowser invincible. Bowser then knocks Mario out of the castle window.

Mario lands injured and unconscious in a grassy clearing. Projections of the seven Star Spirits appear above Mario and with the strength that remains within them, the Star Spirits give the wounded Mario the strength to survive via these projections. Soon after, a Goomba girl, named Goombaria, encounters Mario still unconscious and takes him to her village to heal. During his unconscious state in the village, Mario receives a vision from Eldstar, one of the Star Spirits, telling him to come to Shooting Star Summit as soon as possible, as the Star Spirits will be better able to communicate with him there. After arriving at Shooting Star Summit, the seven Star Spirits reveal to Mario what Bowser has done and tell him that the only way he will be able to defeat Bowser is to rescue all seven of them, each of whom has been placed under the care of Bowser's minions in a particular area of the Mushroom Kingdom, for only their combined power will be able to overcome that of the Star Rod.

Throughout his quest, Mario makes many friends and succeeds in rescuing the seven Star Spirits, who then open up a portal atop Shooting Star Summit providing access to Star Haven. Upon arriving there, the Star Spirits combine their power and grant Mario an ability called the Star Beam, which can negate the effects of the Star Rod, and also provide Mario with a flying machine for him to use to gain access to Bowser's flying fortress. Mario enters the fortress and confronts Bowser again, revealing to Bowser that he is now able to counter the Star Rod. Bowser, however, lures Mario to an area where a machine is kept that he uses to amplify his power to such an extent that he becomes resistant to the Star Beam. Princess Peach upon seeing this makes a desperate wish upon the stars in Mario's favor. As the Star Spirits gain their power from people's wishes, this wish provides them with enough power to increase that of the Star Beam, now called the Peach Beam (with a little help from Twink), allowing Mario to defeat Bowser and recover the Princess and the Star Rod. Bowser's castle and his device that was used to increase his power is destroyed causing him and Kammy Koopa to fall off the castle. The Star Spirits carefully put Peach's castle back in its original place. Twink says a tearful goodbye to Princess Peach before leaving to Star Haven.

Back at home, Mario has finished telling Luigi the story, when Parakarry arrives with a letter to Peach's castle. All of the party members that had joined Mario on his quest are also invited as the guests of honor. Upon entering the castle, Peach emerges, congratulating Mario and his friends for retrieving the Star Rod and defeating Bowser.

After a parade through the credits (led by Luigi), Mario takes Peach to his house to watch the fireworks, with the intro music playing lullaby-style.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

11. Perfect Dark

Perfect Dark is a 2000 first-person shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 game console. The game was developed and published by Rare, creators of the multimillion-selling GoldenEye 007, an earlier first-person shooter with which Perfect Dark shares many gameplay features. This game is also considered the spiritual successor to Goldeneye 007. The game was first released in Canada and the United States in May 2000, where it was greeted with critical acclaim; PAL and NTSC-J releases followed soon afterwards.

The game features a single-player mode consisting of seventeen missions in which the player assumes the role of special agent Joanna Dark, an operative for the fictional Carrington Institute, as she attempts to foil a conspiracy by rival corporation dataDyne. It also includes a range of multiplayer options, including co-operative and "counter-operative" modes in addition to traditional deathmatch settings. Technically, it is one of the most advanced games developed for the N64, with optional high-resolution graphics and Dolby Surround Sound.

In September 2000, a separate game starring agent Joanna Dark, also titled Perfect Dark, was released for the Game Boy Color. Although set in the same universe, it follows a separate storyline. With the use of the Transfer Pak, the Game Boy game allows certain features within the Nintendo 64 version to be unlocked. Perfect Dark Zero, a prequel to Perfect Dark also developed by Rare, was a launch title for the Xbox 360 in 2005. Perfect Dark: Initial Vector, a novel by Greg Rucka, was published later that year. A second novel, Perfect Dark: Second Front, followed in 2007.

Perfect Dark is set in the year 2023 against the backdrop of an interstellar war between two races: the Maians, who resemble the stereotypical "greys" of alien abduction folklore, and the Skedar, reptile-like extraterrestrials who can disguise themselves as humans, bearing similarities to Nordic aliens.

On Earth, there is an on-going rivalry between two factions. The Carrington Institute, founded by Daniel Carrington, is officially an R&D centre but secretly operates an espionage group in league with the Maians. dataDyne, on the other hand, is a sinister defense contractor with a clandestine link to the Skedar. The player is cast as Joanna Dark, a new recruit to the Carrington Institute whose impeccable scores in training have earned her the codename "Perfect Dark".

The game begins with her mission to investigate suspicious reports from a dataDyne insider. In the process, she uncovers a conspiracy between dataDyne and the Skedar: the Skedar plan to steal an alien "megaweapon" from a crashed spacecraft on the Earth's ocean floor and use it to annihilate the Maians. When the President of the United States refuses to loan dataDyne the research vessel they need to retrieve the megaweapon, they plot to kill him and replace him with a dataDyne-grown clone. Unbeknownst to dataDyne, the Skedar also intend to test-fire the megaweapon on the Earth, destroying it in the process.

With the help of other Carrington agents and a Maian nicknamed Elvis, Joanna prevents the conspiracy by causing the weapon to self-destruct. She then helps the Maians launch a counter-attack, destroying the Skedar's "Battle Shrine" and eliminating their High Priest, thereby issuing Skedar morale a crippling blow.

Perfect Dark features many elements that are typical of a first-person shooter game, including a range of weapons to collect, enemies to defeat and distinct environments to explore. It is frequently described as a "spiritual sequel" to Rare's earlier first-person shooter GoldenEye 007, released in 1997. Although Perfect Dark is not set in the James Bond universe, the gameplay is extremely similar and it retains many of its predecessor's features, such as the ability to use stealth to tackle missions, and objectives that vary with the difficulty setting.

The weapons of Perfect Dark include handguns, rifles, submachine guns, a shotgun, rocket launchers, combat knives, grenade launchers, various explosives, and several fictitious extraterrestrial weapons. Almost all of the weapons in the game have two modes of fire: a primary mode in which the weapon is used in a typical fashion, and a secondary mode which tends to use the weapon in a more unconventional manner, such as pistol-whipping or proximity detonation. Players can carry an unlimited number of weapons, and certain guns can be used in duplicate, one in each hand.

The player can explore the Carrington Institute and take part in a number of tutorials and training activities. The most substantial of these activities is the firing range, in which the player's proficiency with each of the game's weapons is tested against specific targets. Completing these trials unlocks so-called "Classic Weapons", which are taken from GoldenEye 007.

In Perfect Dark's solo missions, the player controls Joanna through a series of levels collected together into missions. In each level, the player must complete certain objectives and then exit the stage. The requirements are varied, with many levels requiring the recovery and use of numerous high-tech gadgets. If Joanna is killed or fails an objective, the player must start the level again.

There are three distinct difficulty levels in the single player game: Agent, Special Agent and Perfect Agent. There are a number of differences between the difficulty levels, including the objectives that must be completed, the amount of ammunition available, and enemy accuracy and damage. On higher difficulties, the optional "auto-aiming", in which the game corrects slight aiming errors automatically, becomes less effective and bonus items such as protective shields are absent. Once the game has been completed on one difficulty level, the levels can be tackled in any order on the other difficulties (apart from the final mission of the main story arc, which can only be played at a given difficulty after all other missions have been beaten on that difficulty). If all the levels are completed on Perfect Agent difficulty, an additional setting becomes available; titled Perfect Dark, this mode allows the player to customise various aspects of enemies, such as their health, their aiming accuracy and the damage they inflict.

Four bonus missions may be unlocked by the player. One, "The Duel", is a holographic training simulation against three opponents, and is unlocked by completing all of the entry-level weapon challenges in the firing range. The other three bonus missions are unlocked by completing the game on each of the three standard difficulties, and allow the player to control other characters — Elvis, Mr Blonde and a Maian warrior — in scenarios parallel to the main narrative. The gameplay is essentially unchanged, with objectives to accomplish and enemies to battle, but these characters do have some special characteristics, such as Mr Blonde's cloaking device.

Additionally, the player can unlock cheats by beating the levels within certain time limits. Some cheats, such as "All Weapons", can alternatively be unlocked by using the Perfect Dark Game Boy Color game and Transfer Pak. The cheats range from "Perfect Darkness", which makes the level pitch dark but gives the player a pair of night vision goggles, to more traditional extras such as Infinite Ammo.

The game includes a co-operative mode in which two players, or one player and up to three computer-controlled players, tackle the missions together. If two humans play, the game uses a split screen display, with the option to split horizontally or vertically. Only one human player is required to survive the mission, although all the objectives must still be completed. Finally, there is a "Counter Op" mode, in which one player plays the missions as Joanna while the other takes over the role of an enemy — including their weaponry and low health — and attempts to stop her. The Counter Op player takes control of another enemy if they are killed, and cannot cause the mission to fail directly by, for example, killing Joanna's allies before she meets them.

The solo player areas feature numerous easter eggs and strange objects, areas and glitches to fuel the exploration efforts and wild speculation of many gamers. Rare staff have admitted that some of the oddities in the game were put there "for a laugh", and that the constant barrage of questioning emails they got were sometimes "a free source of amusement". Perhaps the most famous curiosity is the piece of cheese hidden on every level. These were intended to be collectable items, although the purpose of collecting them has never been revealed. This idea was scrapped, but the cheese remained.

The Combat Simulator is Perfect Dark's multiplayer mode. A game can be played with up to four human players and eight computer-controlled players. Again a split-screen is used if more than one human is playing. If three or four humans play, the screen is divided into quarters, with one quarter left blank if necessary

Players enter the game unarmed and with a certain amount of health. Weapons and ammunition are scattered around the level in preset positions. Once a player is killed, they are regenerated elsewhere in the level, once again unarmed. The overall objective of the game is determined by the scenario being played, of which there are six:

* Combat — The traditional deathmatch mode.
* Capture the Case — Perfect Dark's equivalent of Capture the Flag.
* Hold the Briefcase — Players must take a briefcase and survive with it for as long as possible. One point is received for every set number of seconds the case is held. If the player with the briefcase is killed, they drop the briefcase and it can be picked up by anyone else.
* King of the Hill — One area in the level is "the hill". Points are awarded for locating this region and staying there for a set number of seconds. Having been "captured" in this way, the hill moves to a new location, or if a certain game setting was set, the hill remains in the same spot while the timer resets.
* Hacker Central — Players must locate a data uplink and use it to hack a computer system; both items are randomly placed in the level. The data uplink is moved to a new location when the player carrying it is killed. When hacking the computer system, the player cannot use weapons, and cannot move from the terminal without breaking the link.
* Pop a Cap — Similar to "Assassination" type multiplayer games. One player is labeled as the target, and the other players go after him. If the target kills his hunters, he receives a point bonus. If the hunters kill the target, they receive a point, but they then become the targeted player. The term pop a cap is used in this game in reference to the slang term "pop a cap", which usually means to fire a gun or to participate in gun-wielding activity.

Aspects of each game can be customised, such as the chosen arena, the weapons available, and the winning conditions. Players can be grouped into teams or compete individually. In a team game, the players can optionally be shown coloured according to their team. Each game can be customised to a greater degree than was possible in GoldenEye 007's widely acclaimed multiplayer mode. For example, the earlier game only allowed players to specify a pre-set class of weapons, such as "Automatics", but in Perfect Dark, players can individually select the weapons to be included and where each should be located. Shields may be placed in any of the weapon slots or omitted entirely; GoldenEye 007's body armour was fixed in one position for each level.

Computer controlled bots, called "Simulants", can be included in the multiplayer game. The appearance, team affiliation, skill level and playing characteristics of each Simulant can be individually customised. For example, the VengeSim always pursues the player that killed it last, the FistSim will not fire guns but will attack with punches and thrown weapons, while the PeaceSim does not fight at all but merely tries to disarm the other players. Simulants can perform super-human feats on the highest difficulty settings, such as moving faster than the player can. During team matches, a human player can issue specific orders to the Simulants on their team, such as "Defend the Base".

The Combat Simulator includes thirty "Challenges", pre-set games against Simulants which may be tackled by one or more players. The Challenges cover a variety of game types, weapon arrangements and level setups. As a player completes them, additional features — including new weapons, player models and bot difficulties — are unlocked in the Combat Simulator. A complete list of features unlockable through this mode is available; see Combat Simulator Challenge Earnings.

At the end of the match, the overall results are shown, alongside information about the individual players' performance. Color-coded "medals" are awarded to the winners in several categories: Accuracy, Head Shots, KillMaster (for achieving the most kills) and Survivor (for suffering the fewest deaths). The game also acknowledges, often humorously, other aspects of performance by awarding messages such as "Best Protected" (for people who frequently use body armour) and "Mostly Harmless" (for particularly ineffective players).

Players can keep track of their performance by creating and saving multiplayer profiles. Each profile contains a ranking, ranging from "Beginner: 21" to "Perfect: 1", which is determined based on the accumulation of certain statistics such as number of kills, time played and ammunition used. The number of medals earned is also counted. (See Combat Simulator milestones.) A player achieving the rank of "Perfect: 1" is given the message "Username: Entropic Decay, Password: Zero-Tau." Rare had originally intended these details to allow access to password-protected parts of the official Perfect Dark website, but these sections were never implemented.

Multiplayer profiles also allow players to customise their in-game appearance by selecting the head and body of any of the game's character models (excluding the Skedar), as well as several which do not appear in the single-player mode. A feature called "Perfect Head", which appeared in previews of the game but was not included in the final product, was intended to take player customisation further. This feature allowed the player to place a photograph of their choice onto their in-game character's face, via a Game Boy Camera combined with the Nintendo 64 Transfer Pak. The images taken would be uploaded to the cartridge and manipulated with a simple image editing program to adjust color and skin tone (as the Game Boy Camera was black and white) and add facial features such as facial hair. This texture could then be saved to either the cartridge or a Controller Pak and then loaded onto a player's character in multiplayer, thus creating a virtual representation of the player. Officially Rare said the feature was dropped due to "technical issues", but it is likely the real reason for the feature's removal was due to "sensitive issues" surrounding the ability to attack images of real people. While Rare stated the feature was completely removed from the game code, hackers using a GameShark eventually found text references to the feature such as the menu and related messages, however no code other than this remains.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Countdown Update Time.

125. Mission: Impossible
124. Wetrix
123. Cruis'n Exotica
122. Fighter's Destiny
121. Mace: The Dark Age
120. LEGO Racers
119. Castlevania
118. Beetle Adventure Racing
117. WCW Mayhem
116. South Park: Chef's Luv Shack
115. World Cup 98
114. Quake 64
113. Vigilante 8: Second Offense
112. Rainbow Six
111. South Park
110. Star Wars: Episode 1: Battle For Naboo
109. FIFA 98: Road To World Cup
108. War Gods
107. Battletanx
106. Wipeout 64
105. Castlevania: Legacy Of Darkness
104. Goemon's Great Adventure
103. AeroFighter Assault
102. Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey 98
101. F-1 World Grand Prix
100. Mega Man 64
99. Hydro Thunder
98. San Francisco Rush
97. Rampage World Tour
96. Bass Hunter 64
95. Robotron 64
94. Spider-man
93. Road Rash 64
92. Command & Conquer
91. Hybrid Heaven
90. Extreme G
89. Gex 64: Enter The Gecko
88. NBA Hangtime
87. Duke Nukem: Zero Hour
86. ClayFighter 63 1/3
85. Yoshi's Story
84. Sin & Punishment: Successor Of The Earth
83. Ridge Racer 64
82. Tetrissphere
81. Dual Heroes
80. Army Men: Sarge's Heroes
79. Mario Tennis
78. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
77. Madden NFL 99
76. Blast Corps.
75. Vigilante 8
74. Gauntlet Legends
73. Shadow Man
72. Pokemon Stadium 2
71. Cruis'n World
70. Re-Volt
69. NFL Blitz
68. NASCAR 99
67. Virtual Pro Wrestling 2
66. All Star Baseball 2000
65. Doom 64
64. NBA Showtime: NBA On NBC
63. San Francisco Rush 2049
62. Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage
61. Mischief Makers
60. Superman 64
59. International Superstar Soccer 64
58. All Star Baseball 99
57. Extreme-G 2
56. International Superstar Soccer 98
55. WinBack
54. Duke Nukem 64
53. Major League Baseball: Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.
52. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
51. Kirby: The Crystal Shards
50. Mario Party 2
49. Quest 64
48. Mario Golf
47. NFL Blitz 2000
46. Pokemon Puzzle League
45. Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer
44. Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Caliber
43. Bomberman 64
42. WWF Attitude
41. Mortal Kombat 4
40. Mortal Kombat Trilogy
39. Turok: Seeds Of Evil
38. Cruis'n USA
37. Micro Machines 64 Turbo
36. Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey
35. Mystical Ninja Featuring Goemon
34. Banjo-Tooie
33. Killer Instinct Gold
32. Mario Party 3
31. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
30. Harvest Moon 64
29. WCW vs. NWO: World Tour
28. Mario Party
27. Pilotwings 64
26. 1080 Snowboarding
25. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
24. Jet Force Gemini
23. F-Zero X
22. Resident Evil 2
21. Pokemon Stadium
20. Conker's Bad Fur Day
19. Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire
18. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
17. Donkey Kong 64
16. Wave Race 64
15. Pokemon Snap
14. Diddy Kong Racing
13. WWF Wrestlemania 2000
12. Paper Mario
11. Perfect Dark

Now for clue to the next five games.

* Gonna Play My Banjo

* Hulk Smash

* I Will Have My Revenge

* Mask The Pain

* Shopping Karts

[Gopher Mod]

Gonna Play My Banjo: Banjo-Kazooie
Hulk Smash: Super Smash Bros.
I Will Have My Revenge: WCW/nWo Revenge
Mask the Pain: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Shopping Karts: Mario Kart 64

Also, some sights into the Top 5 tell me that these four games are in there:

Star Fox 64
WWF No Mercy
Super Mario 64
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
And.... 1 I'm missing.

[Dave the Dave]

insomniac34 said:

aodpilot said:

DKR in my opinion could've been a great game if they hadn't decided to smack you around in the Adventure mode, specifically with the boss battles and the "collect the silver coins" thing

I was disappointed by the multiplayer myself. Not nearly as good as Mario Kart IMO. Still, the graphics were incredible for the time and I loved the different vehicles.

I loved the egg drop cahllenge in that game.

And on the hints..Mario cart, Banjo Kazooie and WCW/NWO revenge

[Insomniac]

coolrunner87 said:

Gonna Play My Banjo: Banjo-Kazooie
Hulk Smash: Super Smash Bros.
I Will Have My Revenge: WCW/nWo Revenge
Mask the Pain: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Shopping Karts: Mario Kart 64

And then the final five is, in no particular order:

Super Mario 64
GoldenEye 007
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
WWF No Mercy
Star Fox 64

[Free Hat]

coolrunner87 said:

Gonna Play My Banjo: Banjo-Kazooie
Hulk Smash: Super Smash Bros.
I Will Have My Revenge: WCW/nWo Revenge
Mask the Pain: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Shopping Karts: Mario Kart 64

Also, some sights into the Top 5 tell me that these four games are in there:

Star Fox 64
WWF No Mercy
Super Mario 64
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
And.... 1 I'm missing.

Goldeneye.

[Gopher Mod]

freehat said:

coolrunner87 said:

Gonna Play My Banjo: Banjo-Kazooie
Hulk Smash: Super Smash Bros.
I Will Have My Revenge: WCW/nWo Revenge
Mask the Pain: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Shopping Karts: Mario Kart 64

Also, some sights into the Top 5 tell me that these four games are in there:

Star Fox 64
WWF No Mercy
Super Mario 64
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
And.... 1 I'm missing.

Goldeneye.

DO'H! >_<;; Knew I forgot something.

[AFN: Judge Shred]

ghettooverlord said:

Sorry, bad example. I made a mistake.

I still stand that the Nintendo 64's library of games was horribly shallow. <3

Oh no doubt, but fact remains that the games that were good, were really freaking good, and the games that were ok, were pretty damned good too.

The bad was really freaking awful. There wasn't much middle ground.

[Sajoa Moe]

The Sullust level in Rogue Squadron was impossible to beat without infinite lives. You were always getting shelled with laser fire at every turn. Not to mention that you had to dive-bomb at the targets that you had to destroy, making it even harder.

[shiranui]

evrbody said:

The Sullust level in Rogue Squadron was impossible to beat without infinite lives. You were always getting shelled with laser fire at every turn. Not to mention that you had to dive-bomb at the targets that you had to destroy, making it even harder.

I think I got as far as Taloraan (the Bespin Cloud City clone) without infinite lives in Rogue Squadron.

By the way, why is Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 not on the list even though I had it as one of my top games? The first one is there, though, but the second is better.

[Free Hat]

evrbody said:

The Sullust level in Rogue Squadron was impossible to beat without infinite lives. You were always getting shelled with laser fire at every turn. Not to mention that you had to dive-bomb at the targets that you had to destroy, making it even harder.

This is true. To this day, I have no idea how I beat that game. Supposedly, the last three levels, Sullust in particular, were rushed due to time constraints. What really annoys me though, is how so many reviewers complained about Rogue Leader's difficulty, despite the fact that it could be beaten in a couple of hours. It was like none of them had played the original.

[AFN: Judge Shred]

evrbody said:

The Sullust level in Rogue Squadron was impossible to beat without infinite lives. You were always getting shelled with laser fire at every turn. Not to mention that you had to dive-bomb at the targets that you had to destroy, making it even harder.

Eh, I beat it without cheats. The Gamecube game, that is another story.

[Sajoa Moe]

But then again, the cool thing about Rogue Squadron was the unlockable ships. You had the Falcon, a TIE Fighter, an Interceptor, and even a ship from Phantom Menace.

And sometimes when I was bored, I would take a TIE Fighter and strafe Mos Eisley.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

10. Banjo-Kazooie

Banjo-Kazooie is a platform and action-adventure hybrid video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 1998 for the Nintendo 64. The game is the inaugural release in the Banjo-Kazooie series. The game's story focuses on a bear named Banjo and a bird named Kazooie as they set out on a quest to rescue Banjo's sister, Tooty, who has been kidnapped by the witch Gruntilda. Along their journey, the two receive help from Mumbo Jumbo the shaman and Bottles the mole, as well as various other characters in smaller roles. Banjo-Kazooie went on to become one of the most popular games for the console.

Banjo-Kazooie was originally known by the project name Dream for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The project starred a boy named Edison, who owned a wooden sword and got into trouble with a group of pirates lead by Captain Blackeye. Dream was also scheduled to include a rabbit that looked like a man, a dopey dog and a bear that became Banjo.[1] After its code was transferred to the Nintendo 64, it was shown at the 1997 E3 as Banjo-Kazooie.

The game received a significant amount of hype partly due to being marketed as the game that would be to the N64 what Donkey Kong Country was to the SNES in terms of an advancement in graphics. It was originally supposed to be released as Nintendo of America's big holiday game for 1997 with a Taco Bell toy promotion lined up, but Rare needed to delay it several months. Instead, Diddy Kong Racing took its place, and with Banjo as a character in that game as well, it turned B-K into an incidental spinoff of the Donkey Kong franchise.

The story begins one day at Spiral Mountain, an area inhabited by Banjo, Kazooie, Bottles, and several other creatures, including giant hopping carrots and other vegetables. On that particular morning, while the sun is shining and the fauna are flourishing, Banjo lies snoring in his bed while Tooty is waiting for Banjo to "go on an adventure" with her.

Meanwhile, Gruntilda is hunched over her cauldron admiring her own beauty; even though she is the ugliest hag of all, she remains convinced that she is the loveliest in the land. Asking her magical cauldron, Dingpot, if she indeed is the fairest of all, assured that she will hear her own name, Dingpot answers that it is in fact not her, but Tooty who is the fairest in the land. Gruntilda is enraged by this and sets out to Tooty's house to kidnap her and steal her beauty.

Meanwhile, back outside Banjo's house, Tooty is talking to Bottles the mole when Gruntilda sweeps down and kidnaps Tooty, who does not go without a fight. Banjo, of course, sleeps through the whole thing (despite Kazooie continually yelling at Banjo to wake up), and only walks out of the house shortly after Gruntilda has flown away with Tooty. After hearing what transpired from Bottles, Banjo and his friend Kazooie begin their journey up Spiral Mountain and inside Grunty's Lair to save Tooty.

Along this journey they venture through different worlds, all branched off of Spiral Mountain. Some are cold and rigid, some hot and dry, some wet, some damp, and even some frightening. All the different worlds give the player a different mood on the game, in turn keeps the player in the game.

Banjo-Kazooie adopted many of its central game play mechanics from Nintendo's groundbreaking title Super Mario 64. For instance, the player must similarly explore non-linear 3D worlds and gather tokens in the form of jigsaws (like Super Mario 64's stars) to unlock new worlds. However, Banjo-Kazooie is often considered an evolution of Super Mario 64 as it introduced a number of innovative features. These included the ability for Banjo and Kazooie, with the aid of Mumbo's magical powers, to transform into other creatures such as a termite, crocodile, walrus, pumpkin, and bee; the ability for the characters to learn new moves (as taught by Bottles); the game's extensive use of textures for surfaces where other N64 games would have used plain colors, extensive lighting, and music that dynamically changes style in order to reflect the environment and dangers to the characters. The Banjo-Kazooie central theme music, heard in the main play area, changed to reflect the environment entrance (levels) the player was near, such as taking on music box instrumental-style play near the ice level entrance. The music's notes and play never changed though, producing a seamless integration into the new instruments without stopping the forever-looping song.

Like Super Mario 64 before it, the player proceeds through the game by finding tokens. There are three kinds of tokens that help the player progress through the game, namely jigsaw pieces, musical notes, and Mumbo's tokens. Jigsaw pieces open doors to new worlds by collecting enough to complete the corresponding jigsaw puzzle. There are ten Jiggies (as they are sometimes called) in each world: nine must be sought and found, and one is granted by finding all five Jinjos on each world. (Unlike Super Mario 64's stars, though, the player doesn't have to exit the world every time he collects a Jiggy.) Musical notes open magic note doors that allow Banjo and Kazooie to progress further into Gruntilda's lair. There are 100 notes in each world, and 900 total in the game. Mumbo's tokens grant the player magical transformations at Mumbo's hut when the player collects a sufficient amount. These transformations include termite, crocodile, walrus, pumpkin and bee.

Besides these primary tokens, players may also collect items which are used in performing certain moves. Bottles the Mole must teach Banjo and Kazooie the move before the item can be utilized. Items include blue eggs, red feathers and gold feathers, which can be held in quantities up to 100, 50 and 10, respectively. Blue eggs are fired as projectiles or ejected from Kazooie's rear, and bounce slowly until they either hit an enemy, or break on their own; red feathers are utilized in flight and flying attacks; and gold feathers are for the most powerful attack, Wonderwing, which uses Kazooie's wings to make her and Banjo invincible and can kill most any enemy, or at least protect the bear and bird. Furthermore, rarer temporary items can be found which have specialized use in puzzle-solving, namely wading boots, which enable the crossing of hazardous terrain, and running shoes, which grant extra running speed, often as part of a race or a time-based puzzle. Finally, there are power-ups such as extra lives, which look like golden Banjo statues and grant one extra life each, and honeycomb energy, which incrementally increases the player's health and can be found in each level. Collecting six hollow honeycomb pieces (called extra honeycomb pieces) gives the player a permanent increase of one honeycomb of health.

A large feature of gameplay is that the characters make limited speech-like sounds when they talk. The voices were not real speech, but rather a looping of voice-like sounds when text bubbles were displayed. This artistic choice was likely made due to memory limitations on Nintendo 64 cartridges; however, this added considerably to the atmosphere and uniqueness of the game.

Besides the technical aspects, Banjo-Kazooie's rich characters were what really made the game come alive. Gruntilda the witch always spoke in rhymes (which she would declare inexplicably as Banjo and Kazooie wandered about her lair), such as, "It really does sound quite absurd, adventure of a bear and bird!" Kazooie was always very annoyed at Bottles the Mole, and various other smaller characters made memorable appearances. One notable motif is that nearly all objects, including wrapped presents, mines, and vegetables, had eyes.

Stop 'N' Swop is a hidden feature in Banjo-Kazooie. Seven special items were discovered in the game that would be viewable in a menu titled "Stop 'N' Swop". Although Rare suggested that the feature would require a link between Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, Stop 'N' Swop never fully realized. The special items can still be collected in the game using a cheat cartridge or in-game cheat codes.

Characters:
* Banjo—a lovable, yet somewhat confused honeybear. The hero of this game.
* Kazooie—a Red Crested Breegull with a cutting wit. Banjo's partner in action and character foil.
* Mumbo Jumbo—a shaman that helps the duo by transforming them into various creatures.
* Bottles—a shortsighted mole, the neighbor of Banjo and Kazooie.
* Gruntilda Winkybunion—a witch that wants Tooty's beauty.
* Klungo—Gruntilda's servant, something like an Igor character.
* Tooty—Banjo's little sister, captured by the witch for her beauty and youth.
* Jinjo- Cute, little, lost animals who are to be found along the game.

Worlds Are:
Spiral Mountain
In Banjo-Kazooie Spiral Mountain acts as a training level. It's home to many characters, including Banjo and Kazooie. This is where a player must learn all the basic moves. Banjo's house lies on the outer part of Spiral Mountain. In addition, six honeycombs and two extra lives can be collected here. The object of this level is to gain basic knowledge of the game before storming Gruntilda's lair.

Gruntilda's Lair
This is the main area where most of the game time is spent. Bottles, Brentilda, and Grunty's minions can be found here. The lair also has four sets of cauldrons to allow Banjo and Kazooie to skip over parts of the lair when they find a pair of a matching color. Gruntilda's Lair also leads to the final fight, after breaking the spells of all the note doors. To open these doors, Banjo and Kazooie's accumulated note scores must be equal to or higher than the number on the door. Gruntilda's lair is huge, with many secret compartments and doors that lead to puzzles that can only be opened if the player collects enough Jiggies to fill the puzzle and unlock the level.

Other Worlds Are:
* Mumbo's Mountain: A small, jungle-themed world where getting acclimated to the game is the primary purpose. It is home to Conga the Gorilla, termites and Mumbo. In this level, Banjo and Kazooie learn many new techniques through the assistance of Bottles. It is also home to a bull which has relevance later in the game.
* Treasure Trove Cove: An island that hosts a landlocked ship, the Salty Hippo, and the nearly-indestructible shark Snacker; a lighthouse over a massive natural arch dominates the skyline. In this level flying pads and shock jump pads are introduced, and a character named Blubber, who appears in Banjo-Tooie, makes his appearance. It is the location of the sandcastle where cheat codes are entered.
* Clanker's Cavern: A world of flooded caves and disposal pipes. This world is also home to Clanker, a giant mechanical shark used as Gruntilda's garbage disposal; half of the Jiggies to be found in this level lie inside his elaborate innards.
* Bubblegloop Swamp: A swamp with dangerous piranha-infested waters, it's home to a fake giant crocodile and a living giant turtle. Inside the turtle are Tiptup and his turtle choir; the fake crocodile meanwhile houses a greedy crocodile named Mr. Vile.
* Freezeezy Peak: A snowy, mountainous world with a winter holiday theme whose focal point is an enormous snowman statue in the center; home to the twinklies, evil snowmen and Boggy's family, who also appear in Banjo-Tooie. It also holds the infamous ice key.
* Gobi's Valley: An Ancient Egyptian–themed desert world named after the camel Gobi, containing pyramids, quicksand, and a bear-modeled sphinx.
* Mad Monster Mansion: A horror-based world featuring frightening themes such as haunted houses, spooky mazes, ghosts, and tombstones; a toilet named Loggo also resides here.
* Rusty Bucket Bay: A world centered around a large cargo ship, called the H.M.S. Gruntilda (also known as the Rusty Bucket), docked amid polluted water. The port is surrounded by several warehouses which contain various useful items.
* Click Clock Wood: Centered around a giant tree in a forest, four different doors will allow Banjo and Kazooie to enter the world through four seasons in this classic level.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

9. Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on April 27, 2000, in North America on October 26, 2000, and in Europe on November 17, 2000. The game sold approximately 314,000 copies during its first week of sales in Japan and went on to sell three million copies total.

Majora's Mask is the sixth installment in The Legend of Zelda video game series, which began with The Legend of Zelda in 1986. It is the second Legend of Zelda video game with 3D graphics. Majora's Mask features a broader and darker story as well as deeper gameplay than its predecessor, Ocarina of Time. The protagonist of the series, Link, is placed in the land of Termina, rather than Hyrule, where most of the series is set. A mysterious mask-wearing imp known as the Skull Kid has persuaded the moon to abandon its orbit and crash into Termina. Link uses time travel to repeatedly live the three days prior to the crash in an attempt to prevent it.

The gameplay is centered around a repeatedly played three-day cycle and the use of masks, some of which are required to proceed and complete the game. A variety of songs control the flow of time and open passages to the four Temples that Link must complete. Unlike Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask requires the use of the Expansion Pak, which allows for a larger number of on-screen characters and improved graphics. Majora's Mask was generally received well by critics, who cited the graphic improvements as well as a deeper and darker storyline.

The gameplay in Majora's Mask expands upon that of Ocarina of Time; retaining puzzles based on the use of different weapons and music, while also including masks, character transformations, and the limit of a three-day cycle. As in previous installments of the series, Link has basic actions including walking, running, and limited jumping, and uses many items to battle enemies and to solve puzzles; the sword, shield and bow and arrows being the most commonly used. He has several sword techniques, and more can be learned throughout the course of play. Link can stun enemies with Deku Nuts, then inflict damage with another weapon. Bombs can be used to damage enemies and clear other obstacles, while the Hookshot is capable of latching onto an enemy and pulling it towards Link or for latching onto an object to pull Link himself to it.

Masks first appeared as a side-quest in Ocarina of Time, but play a more important role in Majora's Mask. Whereas Ocarina of Time has a few masks of which only one can be carried at a time, Majora's Mask has twenty-four masks, several of which are required to progress through the game.

Unlike previous Zelda titles, Link can transform at will into different species: the Deku Mask transforms Link into a Deku Scrub, the Goron Mask into a Goron, and the Zora Mask into a Zora. Each transformation grants unique abilities: the Deku Scrub can perform a spin dash, shoot bubbles from its mouth, skip on water a limited number of times (being incapable of swimming), and glide for a short time by launching from Deku Flowers. The Goron transformation can roll around at high speeds, punch with deadly force, stomp the ground with his massive body, enter lava without damage, and weigh down heavy switches with his girth. The Zora transformation can use its sleek body to swim rapidly, throw boomerang-like fins from his arms, generate a force field, and sink to walk on the floors of bodies of water. Many areas of the game can only be accessed by Link's use of these abilities.

Link and his three transformations receive different reactions from various non-player characters. For instance, the Goron and Zora are allowed to exit Clock Town, but the Deku Scrub looks like a child and the guards do not permit him to pass. Many animals also interact differently with all four forms of Link. For example, Link's normal form receives an indifferent response from dogs, which will go about their business as they would in Ocarina of Time. The Deku Scrub transformation, however, will be attacked if he goes near a dog, the Goron transformation will frighten the dog away, and the Zora transformation makes the dog chase him happily.

A special mask called the Fierce Deity's Mask can be obtained at the end of the game if all of the other masks have been located. The Fierce Deity's Mask transforms Link into a larger, more powerful version of himself, with characteristic face markings, malicious-looking white eyes, a silver tunic, and mystical torso armor. He also uses a large two-handed sword which is capable of shooting bursts of energy when targeting an enemy. To counter its power, the mask may only be used during boss battles. The Fierce Deity features the same voice as the adult form of Link from Ocarina of Time.

Aside from the transformation masks, many masks provide some sort of situational benefit. For example, the Great Fairy's Mask helps retrieve the stray fairies scattered throughout the four temples; the Bunny Hood allows Link to run faster; and the Stone Mask turns Link invisible to most non-player characters and enemies. Less valuable masks, however, are usually involved only in optional side-quests or very specialized situations. Examples are the Postman's Hat, which allows Link access to an item hidden in a mailbox, and Kafei's Mask, which initiates a long and complicated side-quest that offers several masks as prizes.

Majora's Mask is unique among Zelda games because it imposes a time limit; specifically, a time limit of three days game-time, which is the same as about one hour and 20 minutes in real time. Therefore, the player is forced to clear dungeons and accomplish tasks quickly. The player is reminded of how many "hours" remain at each sunrise and sunset. Link is able to return to the Dawn of the First Day by playing the Song of Time on the Ocarina of Time, which was given to him by Princess Zelda following the events of the previous game in the Zelda series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. If the player fails to return to the First Day before the three days end, the moon will crash into Clock Town, thus destroying Termina. Link will somehow return to the inside of the Clock Tower at the Dawn of the First Day after this catastrophe, where the Mask Salesman will ask him "You met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

A clock at the bottom of the screen tracks the hour and how much time is left. One hour in the game is approximately one real-time minute. Before the end of the seventy-two game hours, Link must return to the Dawn of the First Day to repeat the cycle. By doing so, Link is stripped of minor items collected during that cycle, including rupees, bombs and arrows, but major items such as masks, key event items, and weapons remain. If Link does not return and the Moon crashes, he will still return to the Dawn of the First Day, but more of his items will be gone. Only rupees can be saved from disappearing by putting them in a bank, which remain even after the cycle is reset because of the Stamp on his head.

Once the cycle restarts, all of Link's actions from the previous cycles are undone, including any progress in uncleared dungeons, and he may need to do them again. However, if a dungeon has been cleared, Link retains the key item won in that dungeon, and can rematch the boss if desired—a first for a Zelda game.

Link is not the only character who is concerned with time. Non-player characters have schedules they follow during the cycle and most of them are in need of help in some way. Using a notebook called the Bombers' Notebook given to him in Clock Town, Link can keep track of the schedules of multiple people and identify the crucial points at which he may intervene to assist. By timing his actions to arrive at the correct moment and resolve problems ranging from providing a soldier with medicine to reuniting an engaged couple, Link can earn masks and other beneficial items to aid him. Often, certain events will only be possible on certain days, and only if other events have already happened. These times and conditions are tracked in the Bomber's Notebook.

Link can also manipulate time's flow by changing how he plays the Song of Time. If Link plays each note twice, he will play the "Song of Double Time", and move ahead to the beginning of the next morning or evening (at six o'clock AM or PM). If he plays the Song of Time backwards, the "Inverted Song of Time" will cause time to move at half-speed, doubling the amount of time Link has before having to return to the First Day.

This is not the first Zelda game with an emphasis on time. In Ocarina of Time, there are a series of stones that tell the time if struck by a sword, and certain locales vary from day to night. The clock stops when Link enters a town or dungeon. Additionally, a Japan-only game for the Satellaview system called BS Zelda no Densetsu featured a real-time clock that affected in-game events.

The game takes place in Termina, the majority of the Ocarina characters were reused in Majora's Mask with slight differences. For example, the younger and older versions of Malon from Ocarina of Time appear as sisters named Romani and Cremia living on a farm on Milk Road. Also, the unnamed red-head whose Cucco could be retrieved for a reward in Ocarina of Time, is a resident of Clock Town named Anju, and is a key element to a very intricate side-quest. Several other characters were also reused in Majora's Mask, some of which include the Ocarina vagrant, who administrates the Clock Town bank, The gravekeeper Dampé, who runs the Graveyard in both games, three Ingos, two who runs a rival ranch and even steals from Romani Ranch and the leader of the Traveling group of performers, and the Ocarina carpenters, whose occupations remain the same. Also, the Windmill musician is used in the game. He has the same occupation, but for a different use. Its name is derived from the Latin terminare meaning "to end", presumably a reference to the land's fated destruction unless Link intervenes.

Termina resembles an ancient city-state. The lively central city of Clock Town governs the surrounding area, but in the four cardinal directions there are regions outside the jurisdiction of the central city.

Civil human activity is concentrated in Clock Town and (less so) in Romani Ranch, although there are small numbers spread throughout the other regions as well. Goron activity is centered in the Goron Village in the Northern Mountains. The Zoras' turf ranges all across the bay, but is centralized in Zora Hall. The Gerudo are seldom seen outside of their fortress on the coast of Great Bay. Deku businessmen and mad Dekus are spread sparsely across the land of Termina, but Dekus are typically found only in the Southern Swamp and the Deku Palace. The defunct kingdom of Ikana is inhabited mainly by the undead, except for a ghost researcher and his daughter, as well as a thief named Sakon.

The land of Termina contains a wide variety of terrain. Clock Town lies at the center of Termina and is the place Link starts from when he returns to the beginning of the three-day cycle. The centerpiece of Clock Town is the large clock on Clock Tower that counts down the three days before the Carnival of Time. Termina Field surrounds Clock Town; beyond lie a swamp, a mountain range, a bay, and a canyon in each of the four cardinal directions. The main portion of the game features Link traveling to dungeons in these areas and defeating the boss within.

To the south of Clock Town is the Southern Swamp. The resident Deku population has set up a hereditary monarchy within the confines of the jungle-like area. The most prominent feature of this area is the Woodfall Temple, an ancient shrine that has fallen into disuse and now plays home to various monsters (including the masked jungle warrior, Odolwa) that have been poisoning the local swamp. North of Clock Town is the Snowhead mountain range where the Gorons live. Though normally temperate, the area has been experiencing an unusually long winter caused by a recently-frozen Goht in Snowhead Temple. The western area of Termina is the Great Bay. The Zoras live here along with a society of Gerudo pirates. A giant fish, Gyorg, in the Great Bay Temple is causing a large number of storms and contaminating the water. The Ikana Canyon lies to the east. It is a desolate and barely inhabited area filled with the wandering spirits of the dead. A pair of giant insects known as Twinmold from the Stone Tower Temple is casting an evil aura over the land.

The Carnival of Time is central to the Terminan calendar. On this day, people wear handmade masks for good luck and walk along a walkway from the festival tower to the Clock Tower, where they sing an ancient song to the Four Giants to wish for a good harvest and luck in the year to come. Anju's Grandmother tells Link that if a couple dedicates two masks to the sun and the moon and get married on the day of this annual festival, their marriage will be a prosperous and a happy one.

Majora's Mask begins with Link riding his horse Epona through a forest after the events of Ocarina of Time, where he is ambushed by a Skull Kid wearing a mask and his fairy friends, Tatl and Tael. They steal Epona and the Ocarina of Time from Link and run to a cave; Link follows and is turned into a Deku Scrub by the Skull Kid. The Skull Kid runs away with Tael, leaving Tatl behind after a door closes in front of her. She cannot open it and apologizes to Link, offering to help restore his natural form.

Link follows the Skull Kid through the cave to Clock Tower in Termina. He meets the Happy Mask Salesman, who says he can help Link if he retrieves the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask from the Skull Kid. They exit the Clock Tower in the center of Clock Town, which is preparing for its annual festival, the Carnival of Time. Link learns the moon in the sky has abandoned its orbit, and will crash into Termina in three days. He confronts the Skull Kid and Tael at midnight of the third day at the top of Clock Tower. He cannot take the mask, but he retrieves the Ocarina of Time and plays the Song of Time to send him back to when he first arrived in Termina.

Link sees the Happy Mask Salesman, who teaches him the Song of Healing. It returns Link to his human form, leaving him the Deku Mask. The Happy Mask Salesman tells Link that Majora's Mask grants its wielder's wishes, but possesses them with an evil, apocalyptic power. The ancient ones, fearing catastrophe, "sealed the Mask in shadow forever", to prevent its misuse. This tribe vanished and the origin and nature of the Mask was lost. The Skull Kid, possessed by Majora's Mask, is responsible for the moon threatening to destroy Termina.

Link travels between the four major lands of Termina: a poisonous swamp, an icy mountain, a murky bay, and a haunted canyon. Link enters a dungeon in each, defeating a boss that gives Link the power of one of the four giants that can save Termina. When all four have been completed, Link calls the giants, who halt the moon's passage towards Termina. Majora's Mask rises from the Skull Kid and enters the moon. With the help of Tatl, Link follows and defeats Majora's Mask. The Four Giants return to their sleep and Tatl and Tael reunite with the now-freed Skull Kid. The Happy Mask Salesman takes Majora's Mask, saying that the mask has been purified and its evil power has been destroyed. Link rides away on Epona and returns to Hyrule as the Carnival of Time begins. The game ends with a post-credits scene depicting a drawing on a tree stump of Link, Tatl, Tael, the Skull Kid and the four giants with Saria's song played briefly in the background.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

8. Super Smash Bros.

Super Smash Bros., known in Japan as Nintendo All-Star! Great Fray Smash Brothers, is a crossover fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory, Inc. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 console. It was first released in Japan on January 21, 1999, and released on April 27, 1999 in North America, followed by November 19, 1999 in Europe.

Players are able to choose from up to twelve characters (four of whom need to be unlocked) from various games in Nintendo's history, such as Mario, Link, Pikachu, and Kirby.

Super Smash Bros. was the first game in the Super Smash Bros. series. It was followed by the very successful Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo GameCube and the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii.

Super Smash Bros. uses a battle system different from the average fighting game. Choosing from a variety of characters, two to four players fight on various different stages, all while trying to knock their opponents off the stage. Instead of using health bars like other fighting games, the game features percentage meters. At the beginning of the match, the meters start at zero percent. As the characters take damage, the percentage meter goes up, causing the characters to fly farther back each time when hit. When a character is knocked off the stage, they lose either a life or a point depending on the mode of play. The characters can attack each other with a variety of different fighting moves. Each character can perform an array of attacks when prompted with the press of a button in conjunction with a tilt of a control stick. In addition to basic attacks, such as punches and kicks, characters have access to more powerful smash attacks as well as three special character-specific moves.

There are nine playable stages: eight based on each of the starting characters (such as Princess Peach's Castle for Mario, Hyrule Castle for Link, Zebes for Samus and Sector Z for Fox) and the unlockable Mushroom Kingdom. The stages are three dimensional arenas (although players cannot move with depth, save for a few types of dodges) that are mostly based on levels from the represented series of the game. They range from floating platforms (Donkey Kong's Kongo Jungle for example) to stationary land stages (e.g. the Mushroom Kingdom). Each stage has a boundary that cannot be passed, or the character will be "KO'd", thus losing a life and counting as a "fall" against that player. The characters can make use of a variety of weapons, ranging from projectiles to melee weapons. Some examples are pokeballs that have a pokemon come out to help you for a period of time and food which replenishes health. Each item has a different effect on the characters around it. Some heal a single character, while others hurt any character in its vicinity. Single items and crates and barrels, which often contain an assortment of items, fall onto the stage randomly throughout the battle.

The game's single-player mode always follows the same series of opponents, although the player can choose from five difficulty levels, Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. Bonus stages in the single player mode include a "Break the Targets" stage and a "Board the Platforms" stage - each of which is specialized for the player character - as well as a "Race to the Finish" stage, which is the same regardless of the player character. Also included in the game is a Training mode, where a single player can practice his or her skills in any of the playable stages, and practice areas for each of the character-specialized Break the Targets and Board the Platforms stages. The end of single player ends when you defeat "Master Hand", although if you have met a certain requirement, you may fight a bonus character. If victorious, you unlock the character. For example, the first time one beats the game, Jigglypuff may be unlocked.

In multiplayer mode up to four people can play, with the specific rules of each match predetermined by the players. In "Time Battles", each player can be knocked out an infinite number of times. When the predetermined fight-time is up, scores are determined by subtracting a player's falls from their KOs, and a winner is determined. If there is a tie, the contenders are returned to the fighting stage and put on 300% damage, which means any smash attack will knock one out, so as to quickly determine the winner. In "Stock Battles", each player can be knocked out a fixed amount of times, and there is no time limit. The winner is thus selected by process of elimination.

Team Battles of the stock and time modes are also selectable. These have the same rules as the above modes, but players instead choose their teams and work cooperatively to win the match. Members of the same team color (red, blue, green) are normally unable to cause damage or flinch each other by direct combat; however, friendly fire can be turned on in the options menu so that team members are able to hit each other. When the match is over, KO totals are added up for each member of a team and taken as a whole, and then a winning team is declared. In a team stock match, when one member of a team has lost the total allotted number of lives, they are permitted to use a life from a teammate's stock, provided that they have more than one life left themselves.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

7. WCW/NWO Revenge

WCW/nWo Revenge is the sequel to the 1997 game WCW vs. nWo: World Tour. Like the previous game it featured AKI's revolutionary grappling system, heavily improved graphics, a better championship mode, and a large roster of wrestlers (real and fictional).

At the time of the game's release the Monday Night Wars were starting to go in the WWF's favor. Despite this WCW/nWo Revenge was generally recognized as the best wrestling game of 1998, and at the time, the greatest wrestling game ever released.

Revenge's main competition that year was WWF War Zone by Acclaim. Ultimately though, War Zone possessed somewhat clunky controls, bad collision detection, a lack of impact on grappling moves and generally awkward animations. The Revenge/War Zone comparison is actually a perfect example of the old debate in videogames regarding graphics vs. gameplay, with Revenge having semi-comparable graphics and much better gameplay.

The Revenge grappling system was part of what ensured the game's success and popularity. The graphics were improved from World Tour's, and for the first time THQ introduced actual arenas into games, such as Monday Nitro and Starrcade. The game also had an expansive collection of wrestlers, as almost every WCW/nWo wrestler of the time was included in the game. The Championship Mode enabled the player(s) to select a belt and then fight various wrestlers until eventually the player(s) would defeat the reigning champion.

1998's WCW/nWo Revenge was the direct sequel to 1997's WCW vs nWo World Tour, and possessed certain tweaks and additions. Some additions included wrestler entrances, a larger roster, ringside valets and managers, brighter more colorful graphics, a cartoon referee modeled after WCW referee Mark Curtis, and real TV and PPV arenas. In addition, there were new gameplay mechanics such as more frequent reversals, the introduction of multiple reversals, tall wrestlers stepping over the top rope, being able to run into the ring, and being able to slide out of the ring.

New post match features included replays of the last moments of the match, as well as a scoring system for wrestlers' performance. During gameplay, you could for the first time "steal" your opponents taunts, as well as perform your "down" taunt more easily. Also, certain wrestlers could not go to the top rope unless they were in "special" mode (the time when a player's spirit is maxed out and can perform their finishing maneuvers).

In addition, Revenge introduced a combo system where some wrestlers could do a combination attack followed by a move. The system was criticized as doing more harm than good as it was awkward to use, and eliminated half of a wrestler's strong front grapple moves. Subsequently, the combo system was excluded from WWF WrestleMania 2000 and No Mercy.

The game saw many new moves added since World Tour, as well as existing moves improved or made more accurate. For instance, in World Tour, Kevin Nash's finishing move was a generic powerbomb, (which made little sense since for comparison, Chris Benoit had a kneel-down double under-hook powerbomb for a weak move.) In Revenge, it was unmistakably the Nash's Jackknife Powerbomb, complete with trademark Nash flourishes during execution. Other moves which were improved included the "Stinger Splash", the "Outsider's Edge", and the "Diamond Cutter". Also, certain characters like the aforementioned Chris Benoit were given their real finishing moves for the first time. Added since World Tour were such superstars as Bret Hart, Bill Goldberg, and Chris Jericho. One notable omission however, who actually was in World Tour, is Ric Flair who was fired from WCW for no showing an episode of WCW Thunder in early 1998 although he would be rehired by WCW late in the year. By then though, Revenge was in the final stages of production and it was too late to add Flair to the game.

Arenas:
* WCW Monday Nitro
* WCW Starrcade 1997
* WCW Halloween Havoc 1997
* WCW Bash at the Beach 1998
* WCW Souled Out 1998
* WCW SuperBrawl VIII

Titles:
* WCW World Heavyweight Championship
* WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
* WCW World Television Championship
* WCW Cruiserweight Championship
* WCW World Tag Team Championship

Revenge featured about 63 WCW and nWo wrestlers divided into either factions (nWo White, nWo Red, Raven's Flock) or divisions within WCW (WCW 1-4). Generally speaking, wrestlers were placed in the WCW divisions based on their position in the company, with top-tier main eventers making up WCW 1, the mid-card wrestlers in WCW 2, and low-card wrestlers forming WCW 3. WCW 4 is reserved for cruiserweights. Note that WCW 1-4 are not actual factions.

Additionally, Revenge featured several non-WCW/nWo wrestlers, mostly from Japan, in the form of two "fictitious" wrestling federations: EWF (Empire Wrestling Federation) and DAW (Dead or Alive Wrestling, originally featured in World Tour as DOA). In light of copyright concerns, the names and appearances of these wrestlers were changed, but their movesets remained intact.

NWO Hollywood
* "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan
* The Giant
* Brian Adams
* Scott Hall
* Scott Norton
* Buff Bagwell
* Eric Bischoff
* Scott Steiner
* Curt Hennig

NWO Wolfpac
* Kevin Nash
* Sting
* Lex Luger
* "Macho Man" Randy Savage
* Konnan

Raven's Flock
* Raven
* Lodi
* Scotty Riggs
* Sick Boy
* Reese
* Kidman

WCW 1 (Heavyweight & High Card Wrestlers)
* "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
* "Diamond" Dallas Page
* Goldberg
* Bret Hart
* Chris Benoit
* Rick Steiner
* Fit Finlay
* Booker T

WCW 2 (Mid-Card Wrestlers)
* Saturn
* Disco Inferno
* Jim Neidhart
* The British Bulldog
* Glacier
* Meng
* Van Hammer
* Kanyon / Mortis

WCW 3 (Low Card Wrestlers)
* Yugi Nagata
* Larry Zbysko
* The Barbarian
* La Parka
* Stevie Ray
* Wrath

WCW 4 (Crusierweights)
* Chris Jericho
* Eddie Guerrero
* Psychosis
* Rey Mysterio, Jr.
* Dean Malenko
* Juventud Guerrera
* Ultimo Dragon
* Chavo Guerrero, Jr.
* Alex Wright

EWF
* AKI Man / THQ Man (Mitsuharu Misawa, although loosely.)
* Shogun (Toshiaki Kawada)
* The Executioner (Kenta Kobashi)
* Dr. Frank (Jumbo Tsuruta)
* Jekel (Dr. Death Steve Williams)
* Maya Inka Boy (Akira Taue)

DAW
* Hawk Hana (Genichiro Tenryu)
* Kim Chee (Koji Kitao)
* Dake Ken (Atsushi Onita)
* Brickowski (Mil Máscaras)
* Ming Chee (Tarzan Goto)
* Han Zo Mon (Hayabusa)

Managers/Valets
Note: Managers and valets are not conventionally playable characters (with the exception of Eric Bischoff) though they can be controlled by plugging in a third and/or fourth controller. They are not an actual faction within the game.
* Jimmy Hart
* Kimberly Page
* Miss Elizabeth
* Vincent
* Rick Rude
* Dusty Rhodes
* Sonny Onoo

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

6. Mario Kart 64

Mario Kart 64 is a racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released on December 14, 1996 in Japan, February 10, 1997 in North America, and June 24, 1997 in Europe. On January 26, 2007 Mario Kart 64 was released on Nintendo's European Virtual Console service for the Wii. It was also released on the American service on January 29, 2007. In production, its original name was Mario Kart R.

Mario Kart 64 is the sequel to Super Mario Kart for the SNES. Changes from the original include the move to 3D computer graphics and the inclusion of four player support. Players take control of characters from the Mario universe, who race around a variety of tracks with items that can either harm an opponent or aid the user.

The move to three dimensional graphics allowed for track features not possible with the original game's Mode 7 graphics, such as changes in elevation, bridges, walls and pits. However, the characters and items remained 2D pre-rendered sprites. Music for the game was composed by Kenta Nagata. The introduction music for Mario Kart 64, which is loosely based on the original Super Mario Kart theme tune, was remixed and used in the music video game Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix for the Nintendo GameCube.

The game is compatible with the N64 Controller Pak, but only to save track ghosts in the Time Trial mode. All other data are stored in-cartridge.

Players choose from a roster of eight characters that vary in weight, speed, and acceleration. Available are Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario and Toad. These characters race in a variety of tracks based upon different locations in the Mario world. Each track has a unique shape, and can contain various obstacles, hazards, and short cuts. Eight characters participate in each race. Up to four of them can be human characters, while the rest are computer controlled for one to two player only. Three and four player races have no computer controlled racers.

On a track, various actions can be performed to change the flow of a race. Items can be acquired by hitting an item box, a rainbow-colored box with a spinning question mark. The items' uses include acting as projectiles to impede the opponent, speed up the user, or stop opponents through other means. One can earn a small turbo boost by drifting, which one can perform by hopping and tilting the control stick back and forth three times. However, AI-controlled racers do not use any kind of shell (Mario Kart: Double Dash changed this).

There are various modes of play such as the Mario Grand Prix where one or two human players compete with computer players in a group of eight around a series of four courses per cup - Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, and Special Cup respectively. A player selects one of the four cups at the beginning of the game as well as a difficulty level, measured by engine size (50, 100 or 150 cc). After a gold trophy has been acquired for each cup on the 150 cc level, the Extra difficulty level is playable, where the tracks are mirrored. The player can also race on a track alone while recording a time (Time Trial mode), and trying to beat this time on subsequent races. There are two modes where players can face each other. One is just a generic race, while the other is a battle mode where players compete in one of four special arenas filled with item boxes; each player has three balloons attached to their kart which are lost if any damage is done to the kart, with the winner being the last remaining player. If three or four players are participating, then the first one or two players out have their karts transform into bombs on wheels that can crash into the remaining karts. One of the major flaws of the gameplay revols around the computer "cheating". When hit with weapons the computer characters can stop for half a second and then continue at full speed.This is at odds with a player controlled character being thrown into the air and coming to a complete stop. Also the computer often catches up with the player controlled character, regardless of the lead the player has developed

Mario Kart 64 has eight drivers from which the players can choose. Koopa Troopa and Donkey Kong Junior, both of whom appeared in Super Mario Kart, did not return for Mario Kart 64, and were replaced by Donkey Kong and Wario. In pre-release screenshots, a Magikoopa (possibly Kamek) was playable, but before the game's final release the Magikoopa was replaced by Donkey Kong.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Countdown Update Time.

125. Mission: Impossible
124. Wetrix
123. Cruis'n Exotica
122. Fighter's Destiny
121. Mace: The Dark Age
120. LEGO Racers
119. Castlevania
118. Beetle Adventure Racing
117. WCW Mayhem
116. South Park: Chef's Luv Shack
115. World Cup 98
114. Quake 64
113. Vigilante 8: Second Offense
112. Rainbow Six
111. South Park
110. Star Wars: Episode 1: Battle For Naboo
109. FIFA 98: Road To World Cup
108. War Gods
107. Battletanx
106. Wipeout 64
105. Castlevania: Legacy Of Darkness
104. Goemon's Great Adventure
103. AeroFighter Assault
102. Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey 98
101. F-1 World Grand Prix
100. Mega Man 64
99. Hydro Thunder
98. San Francisco Rush
97. Rampage World Tour
96. Bass Hunter 64
95. Robotron 64
94. Spider-man
93. Road Rash 64
92. Command & Conquer
91. Hybrid Heaven
90. Extreme G
89. Gex 64: Enter The Gecko
88. NBA Hangtime
87. Duke Nukem: Zero Hour
86. ClayFighter 63 1/3
85. Yoshi's Story
84. Sin & Punishment: Successor Of The Earth
83. Ridge Racer 64
82. Tetrissphere
81. Dual Heroes
80. Army Men: Sarge's Heroes
79. Mario Tennis
78. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
77. Madden NFL 99
76. Blast Corps.
75. Vigilante 8
74. Gauntlet Legends
73. Shadow Man
72. Pokemon Stadium 2
71. Cruis'n World
70. Re-Volt
69. NFL Blitz
68. NASCAR 99
67. Virtual Pro Wrestling 2
66. All Star Baseball 2000
65. Doom 64
64. NBA Showtime: NBA On NBC
63. San Francisco Rush 2049
62. Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage
61. Mischief Makers
60. Superman 64
59. International Superstar Soccer 64
58. All Star Baseball 99
57. Extreme-G 2
56. International Superstar Soccer 98
55. WinBack
54. Duke Nukem 64
53. Major League Baseball: Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.
52. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
51. Kirby: The Crystal Shards
50. Mario Party 2
49. Quest 64
48. Mario Golf
47. NFL Blitz 2000
46. Pokemon Puzzle League
45. Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer
44. Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Caliber
43. Bomberman 64
42. WWF Attitude
41. Mortal Kombat 4
40. Mortal Kombat Trilogy
39. Turok: Seeds Of Evil
38. Cruis'n USA
37. Micro Machines 64 Turbo
36. Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey
35. Mystical Ninja Featuring Goemon
34. Banjo-Tooie
33. Killer Instinct Gold
32. Mario Party 3
31. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
30. Harvest Moon 64
29. WCW vs. NWO: World Tour
28. Mario Party
27. Pilotwings 64
26. 1080 Snowboarding
25. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
24. Jet Force Gemini
23. F-Zero X
22. Resident Evil 2
21. Pokemon Stadium
20. Conker's Bad Fur Day
19. Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire
18. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
17. Donkey Kong 64
16. Wave Race 64
15. Pokemon Snap
14. Diddy Kong Racing
13. WWF Wrestlemania 2000
12. Paper Mario
11. Perfect Dark
10. Banjo-Kazooie
9. Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
8. Super Smash Bros.
7. WCW/NWO Revenge
6. Mario Kart 64

Now for clue to the next five games.

* Andre The Giant Is An Unlockable Character

* Do A Barrel Roll

* Name's Bond......James Bond

* Thank-a You So Much For-a Playing My Game

* Time Is On Your Side