Top Ten Nintendo 64 Games - written by JJ Hendricks

The Nintendo 64 had hundreds of games released since the system first went on sale in 1996. It can be hard to choose which games to buy. Below is a list of the top ten must own games for Nintendo 64 and why they should be in your collection.

10. Perfect Dark - The successor to Goldeneye 007. The developers kept the same great gameplay but added extra multiplayer features. Customizable bots to fight against if you didn't have enough friends. Six different multiplayer modes. Four human players and eight computer players playing at once. Perfect Dark is the best multiplayer first person shooter you will find.

9. Conker's Bad Fur Day - A surprise game for the Nintendo 64 because it wasn't focused on the typical young N64 audience. The game has cuss words and adult themes, but it is one of the funniest games ever released. And the gameplay is great too. The same developers who made Goldeneye and Perfect Dark also made Conker, so you know the multiplayer action is spot on.

8. Mario Golf - Play 18 holes with Mario and company. This arcade style golf game isn't the most realistic one you will find but it is fun for endless hours. Play single player and beat new characters in a round to unlock them. And then play against your friends with your newly unlocked characters. I personally played this game hundreds of hours when it first came out. A friend and I played a round of 18 ever day after school for a whole year. You know it must be good if it can keep someone coming back that long.

7. Star Wars Racer - A racing game based off the Star Wars Episode 1 racing scenes. Race in the same events Anakin did, plus many more. Choose different craft, some faster, some tighter on the corners and try to beat a galaxy's worth of competition. Any Star Wars fan will have fun with this one.

6. Super Smash Bros. - A simple, yet fun fighter with all the Nintendo characters. Fight as Mario or Bowser and even some of the more obscure Nintendo characters including Ness from the Earthbound series. The fighter just uses two buttons for the most part and the joystick so it is much easier to start playing than other fighters on the market.

5. Mario Party - The game that started the party genre for video games. A board game for your Television. Roll the dice and try to get around the board to collect stars. After every turn players play against each other or on teams to earn coins they can spend on special items. Great for four player action with your friends especially if you keep on losing the dice to your Monopoly set. You can't lose these dice.

4. Mario Kart 64 - A sequel to Super Mario Kart on Super Nintendo, Mario Kart 64 is faster than the original and in 3D. Try to race around the track and get to the finish first but watch out for attack items your opponents can use. Red Shells, Stars, and even the dreaded blue shell that will hit you anywhere on the track. This is the multiplayer game all my friends want to play when we play Nintendo 64.

3. Goldeneye 007 - Before Halo was released in 2001, Goldeneye was the best person shooter on the market. The best controls for any FPS with one joystick and a story line that follows the movie made this a great first person game and a fantastic multiplayer one as well.

2. Super Mario 64 - Mario 64 was the launch game for Nintendo 64 and brought Mario into full 3D for the first time. Consistantly rated one of the top ten games of all time for its contributions to gaming, this is a most own title for any gamer. The first 3D game with a free roaming camera, first game with use of the analog control stick so Mario can change his speeds. This is the game all 3D games are compared against.

1. Zelda Ocarina of Time - What Mario started Zelda Ocarina of Time perfected. This game is rated the best game of all time by countless magazines and websites because it was such a perfect transition for Zelda from 2D to 3D. Great gameplay, engaging story, and hours of entertainment. No wonder this has best review scores of all time.

With these ten games in your Nintendo 64 collection, you should keep entertained for endless hours and definitely enjoy your N64 system purchase.