6 essential N64 games we really want for an N64 Classic Edition
380877 12: Boxes of the Nintendo 64 video game system sit on the shelves October 26, 2000 at a Toys R Us store in El Paso, Texas. The Nintendo and Sega Dreamcast platforms are the main competition for the new Sony PlayStation 2 which went on sale October 26, 2000 across the United States. The PS2 is already in short supply because Sony had to cut the initial American shipments of the gaming platform in half. The company originally promised 1 million units, but chip shortages forced Sony to reduce that figure to 500,000. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Newsmakers)
With rumors swirling that there might be an N64 Classic on the horizon, here are six games that Nintendo hopefully includes as part of a collection.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Nintendo has neither announced nor confirmed the existence of an N64 Classic. However, Nintendo Life has reported on the existence of a new trademark surrounding the N64, which it speculates could signal an upcoming announcement (perhaps at E3?) of a miniaturized version of the late-’90s console.
In the spirit and hope that that’s the case, we’ve taken a trip down nostalgia lane here and chosen six games that should really appear on an N64 Classic.
By virtue of the limitation, we’ve had to leave off some essential games like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask as well as Mario Kart 64 and at the very least, Mario Party 3 (or Mario Party 2).
Super Smash Bros.
What better way to advertise the latest game in the series than by re-releasing the original? Super Smash Bros. has a Switch title on the way, ostensibly for this year, and while the classic may have what now seems like a tiny roster of 12 characters, that list includes Link, Samus, Mario, and Pikachu.
Of course, that would also probably mean that the N64 Classic, like its parent system, would have to support four players for maximum mayhem.
Paper Mario
This gem of a game has a timeless aesthetic and will guarantee hours of fun playtime. Paper Mario also leans more into the RPG side of things, letting Mario using the power of Star Spirits to cast strong spells or even heal himself and whichever of his partners is out at the time. Honestly, it’d be nice to go through the story again, framed like an actual book to match the aesthetic.
Banjo-Kazooie
The classic ’90s Collectathon brand has really seen better days, and those better days were basically this game and its sequel, Banjo-Tooie, also on the N64. Microsoft still owns Rare, but since Donkey Kong Country does appear on the SNES Classic, hope springs eternal that Banjo-Kazooie could do the same on an N64 Classic.