I hope you are enjoying yourself doing whatever it is while you read this. Thanks for coming! Today we continue our adventures in N64 Land as we take a look at games 15-11 on my list. Remember, critical reception isn't super important here - although I will mention it from time to time. This is mainly for me to praise my favorites. If you love or hate my suggestions, I want to hear/read about it! And if you need to get caught up, go here for part 1 and here for part 2 (both links open in a new window). For now though, let's get on with the show!
15. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Kirby is a classic, I think everyone can agree. Who doesn't love hopping around as a pink ball of awesome literally eating your enemies? Not many, that's for sure.
This game is short, and not particularly difficult - especially compared to other Kirby titles. But it is super fun. The levels look great and offer unique challenges and, maybe the highlight of the game, you can absorb two powers at once!
I love this. You can either absorb two enemies at once or throw the "ability" (a colorful orb of sorts) at another enemy to combine them. One result:
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| Fire sword! |
I mean come on, how cool is that?
14. Spider-Man
If you enjoyed the cartoon from the 90's, but have never played this game, close your browser and go on a quest. Maybe that comparison doesn't make sense to you, but it's at least better than the "don't skip this because of the crappy movies" line I had originally.
Stan Lee voice-overs. Alternate costumes with sweet power-ups. A classic the-police-think-you-are-a-big-jerk-and-you-have-to-save-the-day-to-clear-your-name story. I love this game. No matter how many times I play it, I enjoy the Spidey quips and dropkicks. Lots of action, plenty to unlock (up top for replay value!), and - for the time - sweet graphics. All of that puts the webhead in the top 15. And did I mention a lot of the voice actors from that sweet cartoon we all loved reprise their roles? Yeah, that's a thing.
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| Plus, unlocking all of the sweet suits is always fun! |
13. Fighting Force 64
This game has a simple premise: pick a character and beat up everyone in your way. But sometimes, the simplest approach can work out very well. Despite not being highly rated, I think this game is great for what it is.
You have four choices for combat: Hawk, Mace (two all-around fighters), Smasher (the bruiser), and Alana (she has a sweet jump kick!). The goal is to stop the madman from taking over the world. During the game, you can pick up weapons - guns, bats, pipes - and use your environment to your advantage - throwing luggage in the train, for example. Again, it's simple. But it works and it's so fun, and much better with a buddy so let's do this thing!
12. Mario Party
This is one of the best games in the universe to find out how much your friends dislike you. Or at the very least, want to see you lose.
It's not much fun to play this game alone, even though there are a few mini-games for solo players. The all-out war of multiplayer is what makes this fun (and spawned the 78 sequels). You essentially play a board game with physical challenges at the end of each full turn. It is in these challenges that you learn of your need for better friends, or more practice to dominate.
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| Gotta be quick, Peach! |
Racing, digging for treasure, basketball (with bombs!). These are some of the friend-losing contests you need to play to win the coins (and earn your way to the stars) here. It's all-or-nothing in Free-for-all, 2-on-2, 1-on-3 fun. So grab your
11. StarFox 64
Stepping away from multiplayer - though it is in this game - let's talk about how great this "campaign mode" is. You control Fox McCloud, the leader of the Star Fox team. Your mission? To save the Lylat System from the evil Andross.
You do this mainly in your Arwing ship, but you also kill bad dudes in a TANK. Shooting lasers, droppin' bombs, saving the world: how can you go wrong? You can't. N64 wins again!
In addition to being a fun adventure, this game provides some wonderfully quotable dialogue, which my brother, best friend, and I repeat often. It's great, and so is this game. So go save the galaxy, and watch out for Star Wolf!
I'm sure this section will raise debate, which gets me even more excited to share the next one! Until then, keep playing games. Crap open a cold one!
Getting down to the nitty gritty! Can't wait to see your top 10!
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