Ahhh, the N64. Now that brings back memories. It was the first Nintendo console I owned, having bought it myself back when I was in junior high (prior to that I had to rely on the neighbor kid across the street). Definitely had its share of excellent games.
Here's some titles I'd definitely recommend:
*Super Smash Bros. Best "casual" fighting game series out there, in my humble opinion. The N64 version might lack many of the characters and features the later games have, but it makes up for it with the crowd's sheer enthusiasm. Seriously, the spectators are WAY more into the fights than in Melee or Brawl, and their roars and chants really get you psyched. Invite three friends over and revel in the manic chaos that unfolds.
*Mario Kart 64. Probably my favorite Mario Kart game. Again, invite some friends over and play a few Vs. and Battle rounds. I can guarantee you'll have a blast.
*Paper Mario. I'm probably going to catch some flak for what I'm about to say, but I like this game better than Super Mario RPG. In fact, it ranks in my top 5 RPGs of all time. Don't let its light and whimsical presentation scare you off. It combines light turn-based battle mechanics with old-school Mario sidescrolling and jumping elements to make one hell of a ride. The dialogue is often amusing or downright hilarious as well.
*Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. While not as deep or challenging as the X-Wing series of games, Rogue Squadron is a very enjoyable arcade-style flight game. This is set firmly in the "classic trilogy" era, so no Jar Jar Binks, midichlorians or whiny ***** Anakin here. When you're done with the game, you can go back and try to improve your score to unlock bonus missions and new vehicles to use. There's also lots of codes that do all sorts of strange and awesome stuff, from altering the main menu screen to allowing you to fly a Buick that could shoot cluster missiles.
*Star Fox 64. "Do a barrel roll!" This mostly on-rails flight shooter is a classic. It's gloriously campy in many respects, fully embracing the cliches and tropes of other sci-fi series. The voice acting is set firmly in the "so bad it's good" realm, spawning many phrases that have become immortalized as internet memes. Most importantly, it's a blast to play.
*Super Mario 64. I probably don't even need to mention this one, but here it is. Before Banjo-Kazooie and Ocarina of Time this was THE flagship title for the system. It still holds up surprisingly well to this day (aside for the occasional frustrating camera issues).
*Banjo-Kazooie. One of Rare's shining achievements back when it could practically do no wrong, this is a very enjoyable platformer. The levels were huge and varied, and the game as a whole was very lengthy (in a good way). One caveat though: this game gets REALLY hard towards the end.
EzraPound said:
Space Station Silicon Valley was made by DMA--who later made GTAIII--and is an incredibly good platformer.
Oh hey, someone else who knows about this game!
Yeah, Space Station: Silicon Valley is awesome. You control all sorts of robotic animals, each with their own special abilities and weapons. It has a somewhat subversive, almost gallows humor at times, and some of the animals are just plain weird, like a helicopter rabbit and a hyena that kills enemies by getting them to laugh themselves to death. It might be hard to find nowadays though, as it was pretty obscure even when it was new.
Those are just a few suggestions for you.
