
Since this article was originally published back in November 2021, the Switch Online Expansion Pack offering has expanded with a decent spread of N64 classics — 26 in total at the time of writing. From the games on our initial wishlist, 1080 Snowboarding, Excitebike 64, GoldenEye 007, Jet Force Gemini, Mario Party 3, Pilotwings 64, and Wave Race 64 have all launched on the subscription service.
That's a tidy selection, but there are still plenty of 64-bit gems we'd love to see come to NSO. Therefore, we've overhauled the article below, removing the arrivals and fleshing out the wishlist with some new, equally deserving candidates. We've also added a new poll at the end — let us know which of these you'd most like to see come to Switch.
The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack launched back in 2021, and not without its share of critics. Despite some emulation flaws and an inability to change button mapping in the app, however, it has nevertheless been rather fun to revisit some familiar (and less familiar) Nintendo 64 gems on the Switch. Of course, we always want more.
Beyond the initial offering, Nintendo delivered additional games in the following months, but we feel a lot of really good and interesting games are still absent. Are they longshots? Perhaps, but we're holding out hope that a good handful of the games below may find their way to Switch. There are a few obvious ones, too, which are surely on Nintendo's to-do list.
We've added a poll at the end, too — let us know which games you'd like to see. So, let's get to it.
Banjo-Tooie (N64)
Following the James Cameron school of thought for sequels, Banjo-Tooie takes a 'more is more' approach, with larger worlds, a host of minigames, an expanded moveset (including new first-person sections), Mumbo Jumbo as a playable character, bosses, and a multiplayer mode, plus the ability to separate the dynamic duo at certain times.
Although it arguably flirts with DK64-style excess, it's a big, chewy sequel, and one that holds up very well all these years later — perhaps thanks to a couple of decades' worth of training in the huge and interconnected open worlds of other games. We'd love to revisit it on Switch, and reunite this 64-bit pair on a Nintendo console.
Beetle Adventure Racing! (N64)
Most people who played Beetle Adventure Racing! back in the day probably went in with low expectations, but coming from Paradigm Entertainment — a studio that worked with Nintendo on Pilotwings 64 and also made the excellent F-1 World Grand Prix games on the system — it's a fun, beautifully constructed little racer that's well worth revisiting. It's not impossible the VW licence is a bump in the road on the journey to this one reappearing on NSO, but again, if GoldenEye can make a comeback, anything can.
Blast Corps (N64)
This game involves clearing a path for a slow-moving truck carrying a malfunctioning nuclear missile to a safe detonation zone — a zone which is blocked by buildings and other structures ripe for destruction. As with many 64-bit titles, its early polygonal visuals are arguably looking a little dogged these days, but don't let its looks put you off. This incredibly silly concept made for one of most fun games on the N64.
Body Harvest (N64)
The last of the Bs, Body Harvest is an open-field, alien-shooting game with a B-movie sci-fi feel and was an indication of where DMA Design would take the sandbox-y, third-person action genre with GTA III just three years later.
Released in 1998 (and originally developed with Nintendo on publishing duties, although it was ultimately put out by Midway in the States and Gremlin in Europe), Body Harvest is an early 3D effort which doesn't quite hang together — undoubtedly due to its troubled development history — but as a piece of history from a studio that would influence open-world gaming, it's a fascinating curio with plenty of interesting ideas. Nintendo Switch Online would be the place for it.
Castlevania (N64)
With Symphony of the Night reinventing the Castlevania series, much was expected of this, the first full-3D entry in the lineage and the first Castlevania title for Nintendo's shiny new N64 home console. Ultimately though, Castlevania (the '64' typically added to its name isn't in its official title) is a disappointment; the visuals haven't aged well, the gameplay is awkward and frustrating — especially during the ham-fisted platforming sections — and the whole thing feels half-finished.
Which is because it was half-finished. The sequel, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness isn't really a follow-up, but more 'Castlevania 64 1.5,' as it contains many elements which were cut from the original game due to time constraints. In fact, it's probably best to just play Legacy of Darkness instead. We'd welcome the opportunity to revisit, and perhaps reevaluate, either of those early takes on a 3D 'Vania.
Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)
Conker's Bad Fur Day stood out proudly from the pack of cutesy platformers back then as a fouled-mouthed, blood-filled, scatological comedy. We're still a little blindsided that a Nintendo second party put out a game full of swears, to be honest — even the Xbox remake bleeped most of them out. Conker was a technological triumph for the ageing 64-bit system when it launched in 2001, and while the movie parodies are very much of their time and the humour won't hit the spot with everyone, we'd love to revisit it.
Diddy Kong Racing (N64)
Diddy Kong Racing did for Mario Kart 64 pretty much what Banjo-Kazooie would soon do for Super Mario 64; namely, take the template put down by Nintendo and expand on it with colour and creativity to produce far more than a mere homage. DKR expanded the single-player into an adventure and the addition of planes and hovercraft required much larger, more complex circuits to race around. The game also provided the console debuts of Banjo and Conker. What more do you want, jam on it?
If Microsoft and Nintendo can get friendly enough to sort out the legal issues around GoldenEye and get it on NSO, the original Diddy Kong Racing seem like an easy win for everyone.
Dōbutsu no Mori (N64)
The original Animal Forest, though you no doubt know the series better as Animal Crossing. Yep, Japan had an exclusive version of the first game that made its debut on N64, just months before it would then emerge on the shiny new GameCube, which is how we'd eventually see it in the West. It's worth being clear that this one would be highly unlikely due to the extensive localisation required, but as an intriguing arrival and an insight into the franchise's history, it would be a lovely addition. Heck, even if it's exclusive to the Japanese version of the app we'd happily play it that way.
Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
There are some who blame the collapse of the collectathon 3D platforming craze on Donkey Kong 64, and while it's hard to argue that Rare perhaps went a little too far with the huge number of inconsequential collectible doohickeys, it's a game which turns everything up to eleven and there's something admirable about its unapologetic 'more is more' approach. With five playable Kongs (you know them well), huge worlds, and an abundance of mini-games (including emulated versions of the original arcade Donkey Kong and Rare's Jetpac), DK64 was one hell of a value proposition back in 1999 and we think it probably deserves re-evaluation after 25 years of bashing. C'mon Cranky, take it to the fridge.
Hybrid Heaven (N64)
One of those games that was constantly in the 'If we see it cheap' section of our To Buy list in the late '90s, Konami's action RPG Hybrid Heaven offered something different on a console not exactly renowned for its role-playing selection. You play as a human/alien clone exploring an underground facility and battling enemies with your fists. The intriguing combat system freezes fights as they start and has you selecting moves from a menu. The game's dark, sci-fi storyline was refreshing at the time, but the gameplay itself was far too bland and repetitive, and only determined players with a great deal of patience and perseverance saw it through to the end.
Flawed, then, and something we would have regretted spending 60 notes on back in the day, but that's just the sort of game we'd love to sample on NSO — something we wouldn't pay for separately, but want to investigate all the same.
ISS 98 (N64)
Konami's Major A studio took the solid foundation of ISS 64 and built upon it with some wonderful additions including an optional top-to-bottom view and the appearance of the referee on the pitch. That might sound like a tiny and almost insignificant detail, but having the ref onscreen blew our minds back in 1998. this still ranks among the best football games ever made.
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (N64)
The N64 was notoriously underserved in a handful of genres — RPGs and fighters among them — but Ogre Battle 64 was a stellar strategy game. Following on from the series' previous appearance on SNES, it doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's a fantastic example of the genre, a real all-timer. It also features possibly the finest post-colon subtitle in gaming.
Mischief Makers (N64)
A side-scrolling platformer on a system with very few of those to its name, and one from the makers of Gunstar Heroes, no less! Treasure's Mischief Makers is a brilliant little 2.5D platformer that has gained a cult following over the years, but made little impact at the time. Back in the late '90s, anything that wasn't 3D was largely dismissed by the mainstream as old hat. It deserves a fresh chance to win over some fans.
Comments 122
Considering Nintendo and Rare/Microsoft teamed up for Banjo Kazooie and GoldenEye (which was highly unlikely) I would have expected at least something Donkey or Diddy Kong related since those are actual Nintendo properties.
Only two selectable options? Not enough!
I'd like to see Banjo Tooie, Conker, Beetle Adventure Racing, and Donkey Kong 64.
I can't believe you put Space Station Silicon Valley up there as I always use it as half joke but I'd actually welcome to chance to replay it. If we're allowed to dream, maybe even a patched version where you can actually beat the game.
All in all, a very solid list. Aside the few titles I don't recognize, everything else has been on my personal list of games I'd like to see on the NSO
I know I say this every year, but…
give us the option to buy!!
Body Harvest is certainly my top pick. Throughout high school and college, Body Harvest was more than a game to me... it was the only online community I was ever fully immersed in. There was a small group of us who showed up every day for several years to chat via message boards. No game will ever match the special feeling that game brings up for me.
Mischief Makers might have some challenges being made available on NSO.
Although the NA and PAL versions were published by Nintendo, the JP release was published by Enix (now Square Enix).
I'd love to see it though. Due to the control scheme making heavy use of the C buttons, the N64 controller will be really important for a good gameplay session.
Tetrisphere!
That game was intense with the camera zooming in more and more as the clock ticked down and you tried to free the lil spherical dudes from within! Music went in hard too.
Would love to see Conker as well. The multiplayer modes were awesome!
Snowboard Kids 2!! The attack-all trash-can lid was always a hoot! The level designs were incredible. I loved the mayhem when everyone arrived at the ski lift at the same time, and if you had the misfortune to miss the entrance, you had to try hopping around to get over there! My friends and I had such great times with that game, I would love to play it again.
Wonder Project J2 is something I would definitely like to check out. It's a pretty unique game, but I want to know just how unique and intricate it is
And smash ofc
I think there are some interesting choices in this, and many of which I haven't played. But, there were two I voted for, being Rocket: Robot on Wheels (which is an underrated collectathon platformer), and Rayman 2 which is an amazing game, although I haven't played it on N64, at least at this point.
@BookhouseBoy AGH I LOVE YOUR PICTURE, NAME AND MISCHIEF MAKERS
Mystical ninja starring Goemon please
Removed - trolling/baiting
I played limited N64 titles back in the day to be honest, Top Gear Rally was good fun though.
Only 2... that was hard.
I'd like to see Banjo Tooie and Beetle Adventure Racing.
Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls
And it’s a SIN that you guys forgot Bomberman 64 (one of the best multiplayer modes in the console) 1 & 2 and Bomberman Hero
@Bobb … wait I’m missing out. Why? I remember not having any problems beating that game on the 64.
Snowboard Kids 2
Mystical Ninja 2
Mickey's Speedway USA
Killer Instinct GOLD
With that, all Rareware stuff will be playable, and the last episodes of other good series you mentioned.
Maybe Tonic Trouble ?
There were others platformers, like Glover, The 2 Chameleon Twist, Stardust Ido'nt-remember-what, etc...
Not all good, but why not.
And the Bomberman series.
Castlevania, maybe just the last version.
I saw Rakugakids in the article thumbnail and my eyes lit up lol. This silly little rapper cat rakugakid has been my profile icon on NintendoLife for years and years now. ... I don't even prefer playing that many fighting games that much, and Rakugakids isn't a particularly well-celebrated one either. But that game is special to me all the same. :3
And of course my other vote goes to Castlevania. An eternal fan of that series, I am. I actually do love both Castlevania 64 games despite their jankiness.
I would love to see a lot of these games make it to switch. Rocket: Robot on Wheels was actually a very innovative and fun game. Banjo Tooie would be my dream - I'm seeing more Banjo in gaming news (and in local merch), which makes me wonder what Microsoft could be waiting to announce!
@LikeWhoa ufff thanks for sharing that! I’ve never heard of Sealed Palace before, looked for it in YouTube and sounds amazing. I need that real Zelda experience to fill the void that TotK left for me in the series. Gonna play it today.
Great choices - love silicon valley, robot rocket on wheels and beetle adventure racing.
Question for NL @ThomasBW84 : Any update on the Glover remake that has apparently been in the works for Switch?
@BoilerBroJoe Agreed! I like the service. I think it's reasonably priced, I like being able to play things that I otherwise wouldn't have tried, all that...but if I could pay a few extra bucks to be able to keep individual games "forever", that'd be way better. Who knows, maybe they'll give us the option down the road. Makes sense that they'd prefer to just keep the subscriptions going for now.
Wetrix? Buck Bumble? Glover?
Great list, those would be awesome on NSO.
I'm sure you meant ISS64 instead of ISS '98 - yeah the gameplay is a little tighter but at the cost of the commentator. "He's taking it all the way!".
Only picking 2 was hard. I would love my two favorite racing games to come back with Diddy Kong Racing and Beetle Adventure Racing but would also like Perfect Dark and Mischief makers since I never got to play them growing up.
Mischief Makers and Silicon Valley are 2 brilliant gems hidden on the N64. Most people I knew passed them over for better looking games but I had more fun in those than Goldeneye. Goldeneye is still amazing I was just surprised at how good they were then. Haven't played either in a while but I know MM still holds up.
I'd love to see sopranos 64: road to respect
The Chameleon Twist games would be nice to play.
You have Mischief Makers & Mystical Ninja on this list. Auto-win.
Throw Mega Man 64 and Bomberman Hero on here, and we're golden.
I think a huge win for Nintendo and preservation would be to rerelease the small library of 64DD games on the service (as well as the Satellaview for the SNES online)
While I do like the list and their are definitely a couple games on the list that I would love to see on the service (hybrid heaven, DK64 and mischief makers) I feel like the M rated games probably won’t be in the catalog since it would compromise the T rating (unless they release a separate app for M-rated games like japan did) and that some of the licensed games like the beetle racing game might be hard to rerelease (and knowing how Disney is nowadays I doubt they would agree to releasing Star Wars rouge squadron on the switch but I would love to be wrong since I have an interest in playing it plus they managed to release goldeneye and I thought that would be hard) @Mattock1987 Glover is actually getting a release on the E-shop so there’s that.
@Krambo42 hey I’m in the same boat! I do like the service allowing people to play old games since I wasn’t around during those era’s but I do wish they allow us to buy the games we like.
I never liked the n64 or ps1. N64 was my first console and I always thought the snes was better and then when gamecube and ps2 came out I never looked back.
As much as I've enjoyed N64 games on NSO, I'm much more excited about the Analogue 3D than any new games coming to the service.
Up until now, I've had my N64 fix on a combination of NSO and my N64 hooked up via an Eon Super 64. The adapter works well enough for expansion pak games. NSO takes care of the rest, mostly.
It will be nice to have the entire catalog of N64 games playable on my 4K TV. I love my other fpga clone systems. They've brought new life to my collection that I no longer have space for keeping the original systems hooked up to a CRT.
It blows my mind that Mischief Makers is, to this day, a Nintendo 64 exclusive. That was one of the sickest games I played when I was a child and I'm sure it would still be awesome if I played it today
All I want is Donald Duck: Going Quackers/Quack Attack.
Don't forget the 3DO games!
Army Men Sarge's Heroes 1-2
Army Men Air Attack
BattleTanx
BattleTanx Global Assault
Wetrix. The genius combination of err… wave race and Scalextric? I don’t know, it’s been a while.
Always had a soft spot for Shadows of the Empire.
Also, why not the N64 port of Resident Evil 2. Although I would prefer a collection of the original ps1 RE trilogy.
Honestly, a few of the games on this list should have already been released on the service by now. I am in particular pretty desperate for the Gex trilogy to appear on the service, though I know that series has been stuck in licensing limbo for a long time. I still keep holding out hope though.
Body Harvest and Gretzky for the win. Both great games, although I’m not sure how someone who didn’t play (and love) Body Harvest at the time would react to playing it in 2024. Still though, those gently tinkling piano chords…
Games like Turok 1 through 3, Episode 1 Racer, and Doom 64 look so amazing running at 60fps that I'd honestly rather not have any more games on my expansion pack online app. Just bring them all to the eshop locked at 60fps and I'll buy them all! Seriously, N64 games are sweet to play at a nice frame rate. I mainly stick to Pilotwings 64, Pokémon Puzzle League, and Dr Mario 64 on expansion pass.
How did y’all forget duke nukem 64 though wow guess it must not be a fan favorite then
And the number 1 game I'd like to get on Switch is Wipeout 64. Then lower down the list would be the San Fransisco Rush games (all 3 please!), Robotron 64, and Top Gear Rally. I like a lot of the ones in this article too though!
@intergalacticNikolai It would be so awesome! Super Famicom Wars alone would make this absolutely incredible.
I don't have expansion pass so I didn't vote but I'd love to see remakes or remasters of some of these games. Much as they are good games, the N64 3D textures just have not stood the test of time the same way 2D pixel art has. A lot of these games (the 3D ones) are just fugly.
Also I'd like to be able to buy games rather than only rent them on expansion pass.
Calling Rayman 2 “not as good as Rare or Nintendo” games is another NintendoLife-ism that made me roll my eyes so far back that I could almost see the inside of my aching brain.
That game is one of the best platformers ever made and has a lot more atmosphere than anything Nintendo or Rare have ever released. If you absolutely needed to throw some fanboying in there, you could have just said that it flourished most on the N64 hardware.
ISS94 >>> ISS98
My most played N64 game.
I played Snowboard Kids 2 not 1. I remember hearing 2 is better. But yeah this list is correct. A lot of these I want to see too.
To me the most important games you could put on this service are games that have never been re-released, so that would be my choice. I'll obviously take as many as possible, and my personal preferences, but if you forced me to choose, I'd say lesser games stuck on N64 than greater ones you can play elsewhere should be on NSO.
Thankfully the best N64 game not on NSO is Mischief Makers and in fact qualifies for that (though not thankfully since again, its somehow never been re-released)
In addition to some key titles on the above list (DK64, Diddy Kong Racing, Perfect Dark, Conker, Rogue Squadron), I add the following:
Tetrisphere, definitely.
Killer Instinct Gold - I'd prefer the SNES version, but ideally I'd like to see both on NSO. As a fighting game fan of the Street Fighter ilk, I've always had a soft spot for this franchise.
F1 World Grand Prix is highly unlikely, but I'd like to see it again.
I acknowledge that it's the lesser of the N64 Star Wars titles but I'd add Shadows of the Empire to that list. The way LucasArts are going though, I see that going multiformat as a standalone minor remaster rather than an addition to the NSO.
I love that you included Animal Forest N64 - like you say, even if it's just on the Japanese app, I would still adore to play it that way. I also echo what someone else said in that I'd love to get 64DD games at some point - the OG Doshin the Giant would be so interesting to play.
I do think it would be amazing in the distant future as well, if we could get the playable demos of games that never released, on NSO - Earthbound 64 I believe was once playable at an event, and it would be so cool to see things like that for the first time .
The games I'd like to be able to play on N64 NSO are as follows;
Diddy Kong Racing
Conker's Bad Fur Day
WWF No Mercy even though thats impossible cuz of licencing+ChrisBenoit
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 because the 1st two games are on Switch already, it could tide us over until a remake of the 3rd game and also cuz Wolverine is in it
-Super Smash Bros.
-Rayman 2: The Great Escape
I still won't subscribe to this "new" model of playing retro games where we are only renting.
I'll keep playing and emulating these classics (retroarch via series x) until nintendo decides to allow purchase (if at all)
Considering there are multiple Star Wars classics up for sale already on the eShop, including Racer, it would be really sour to have Rogue Squadron and Battle For Naboo locked behind a sub.
"this gave The Phantom Menace two great tie-in games on Nintendo platforms, while other consoles had to endure some unspeakable droideka dross."
Surely, NintendoLife isn't talking about Jedi Power Battles. Despite the bugs, it's one of the best 3D platformers of that gen.
I don't think it's very likely at all that it'd happen but I'd love if vigilante 8 and even the second one could come to NSO. I had my doubts but since Activision was bought by Microsoft and Nintendo has a pretty good relationship with them lately, who knows!
What on earth is Rakugakids? I’m interested in that one! Never tried it, but it looks right up my alley
It's so hard to pick just 2! Wayne Gretzy Hockey was the equivalent of NBA JAM on skates and I loved it! Never played BLAST CORPS. Need to show my kids PEFECT DARK as we've been playing GOLDENEYE for the past year. DK Racing and DK64 just NEED to be on there. Just, really, this whole list is soooooo good.
@Bobb I've heard a patched ROM revision was released but the preservation scene was having trouble locating a cart of the revision. I'm not certain on it though.
Roque Squadron... oh boy, if the license wasn't one reason it'd be unlikely... let's say that if supposedly NERD is having trouble with the emulation on other N64 games, getting a working Roque Squadron would be a tall ask. While, so I've been told, the graphics chip for most games runs a Nintendo default firmware program (or "microcode" do they call it?), Factor 5 had the ingenuity to write their own.
I do remember watching a stream recently where they played Rakuga Kids, and very quickly found something that could've gotten them sued in the US. I forget what it was, probably something minor, but it seems like sometimes that's all it takes to get you sued here.
I really need DONKEY KONG 64, like yes, I crave that game, but part of me thinks the lack of this title it's because a remake it's being done. 🤡
So many great games, so many good memories. That aside, wish they could revamp Jet Force Gemini controls...
Games I would add: Rush 2, Ridge Racer 64, San Francisco Rush 2049, Glover, NFL Blitz Gold Edition, Bomberman Hero, Namco Museum, and Custom Robo.
I answered Perfect Dark and Diddy Kong Racing. In truth, I'd rather they be updated and available for purchase, not put on Nintendo's extortionate online service, and then still wrestle with the controls on Switch controllers because the original N64 controller was so different.
Similarly with Rogue Squadron and Battle for Naboo, update them and release them as a package, along with the Starfighter series on PS2, the Rogue Squadron games on the GC, and the Wii game that never got released.
With so many Rare games, you could release the likes of Perfect Dark and Diddy Kong Racing along with Donkey Kong 64 and Conker as another package.
ISS 2000 was superior, although, I'd settle for ISS 98.
A game not mentioned is World Driver Championship. A realistic car racing game that offered a HD mode. It was really good.
Castlevania 64 is a great game. Simphony of the Night was geatly shadowed by this game, and Castlevania 64 was a more inmediate success than Simphony of the Night. I bet most of the people that say they love it, haven't even played it. I'd want to see C64 on the NSO app, hopefully, it'll happen this year.
Personally, from this list, I’d love them to add Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, both Star Wars games, Smash and No Mercy.
There weren’t a lot of puzzle games on the list, so I’ll add my vote to those who said Tetrisphere and Wetrix. Both were great and would hold up quite well.
It'll never happen, but I would love to see Rare finish Dinosaur Planet as it was originally intended and put it on NSO. Yes, I know it became Star Fox Adventures. I love that game to death, but it would still be cool to play the game it was originally meant to be.
Heck, if Nintendo could revive and release both Star Fox 2 and Metroid Dread years after their cancellation, why can't Rare dust off the old betas of Dinosaur Planet and finish the game as it was originally intended?
There’s some good stuff here I’d love to play on NSO, but why highlight Rakuga Kids for a fighting game inclusion instead of the absolute hidden gem: Fighters Destiny
?
Fighters Destiny was excellent. Tight controls with a unique spin on the genre. I rented it so many times back in the day and recently picked up a complete in box copy for a very reasonable price. Good times
Fighter's Destiny!!!
Wayne Gretzky hockey and rogue squadron, 3d hockey was clearly surpassed by NHL hitzzzzzzzzzzzzz on the GameCube but I remember playing hours of it when I was a kid.
@Bhammer63088 fighters destiny with the cow and joker character. Man I thought I was the only person who ever played it
Why list Castlevania and then wail on it the whole paragraph? It sounds like you should have listed the second one.
Who owns all of Midway's back catalog, by the way? Will we have to wait 20 years for Arcade Archives to have NFL Blitz or NBA Hangtime? I was surprised to see Gretzky on there, but I did pour hours into that game. What a great announcer.
@PinderSchloss There's a user rating right next to it, so they've got plenty of site readers backing them up. Rayman 2 is an 8.2.
Thank you, @intergalacticNikolai. Hopefully the NSO service could be a way to finally bring F-Zero Maker etc to the west.
Hybrid Heaven and Mischief Makers are top of my list, along with Mega Man 64. For all it's blandness, I'd like to play Quest 64 again, along with another broken game, Aidyn Chronicles-- They could've been so much more.
Highly doubtful for Conker, isn't the service only including games up to Teen?
Not at all surprised that 41% of responses called for more Rare content on the platform ... I never thought I'd see GoldenEye on Nintendo again, so there's hope for things like BT and DKR.
Is this list really the best you could come up with? The article states about half of the games don't hold up/don't look good/are repetitive/have better sequels.
Also fighters destiny
I’d love to play ogre battle again, but honestly I’m not paying for the expansion pass for just retro games.
@AstroTheGamosian actually I think there are playable betas of Dinosaur Planet on the web … I have them but haven’t played them yet
Mhhh also… no mention of Clay Fighters Sculptors Cut as one of those hard to find 64 gems?
I would love the chance to play Rush 2 again!
Obviously most of these would be great for the service, but how about Mortal Kombat 4? I know it would most likely never happen, but it’s worth a try.
Any or all of the following:
Blast Corps
Diddy Kong Racing
Fighters Destiny
Killer Instinct Gold
ISS 98
Snowboard Kids
Wetrix
So many games here I've either played and would love to replay or have never played and would like to have the chance to do so on Switch that it's so difficult choosing only 2 for the poll!
I ended up picking Banjo Tooie for the former and Donkey Kong 64 for the latter - technically I've played that on emulator, but couldn't properly do so there so I'm waiting for a chance to do so as I missed it on Wii U, in fact that's the reason why I chose it over other games I'd love to play for the first time like Conker, Mischief Makers, Goemon and Rayman just to list a few.
@Yoshif3 The Bomberman games are one of the biggest omissions if not the biggest from this otherwise great list, happy to see you and a couple other comments mentioned them at least and fingers crossed all of them will eventually come to NSO!
@McGloomy Didn't expect anyone to mention Going Quackers/Quack Attack, nice, I had the PC version and not long ago got a GameCube copy, but definitely wouldn't mind having the N64 version on NSO if possible!
@AstroTheGamosian I unfortunately really doubt it would happen, but Dinosaur Planet, the N64DD games for N64 and/or the Satellaview ones for SNES others mentioned would really make NSO stand out!
Going to be boring and vote for the original Smash Bros and Diddy Kong Racing, the two most obvious missing parts of my N64 collection (with Paper Mario a close 3rd, need to play that on NSO some day).
@Hank_Scorpio Did you see the reference to ISS 64 in the subtitle to the article too? Hat tip to NL.
Obviously Mischief Makers. Despite what you might think based on my name and image I don’t think I actually beat this back in the day and I sold it years ago, so would love the chance to put that right.
I would say Perfect Dark too, but after trying Goldeneye the other day with my new n64 controller I’m not sure I could handle it. How on earth did I ever successfully navigate that back in the day???
Snowboard kids gets my other vote.
@Edd-O Yes, very well played!
@Bobb wait, it actually is unbeatable?! I thought it was just me!! 😂😂
World
Driver
Championship
!
@garfreek I don't know the details but as far as I remember you can beat all the normal levels (up to the boxing kangaroo match). But each level has a hidden objective that will award you a trophy and if you collect them all you should unlock a final stage which tells the end of the story (the kangaroo match ends just like any other stage and the game barely acknowledges you've finished all stages). Thing is, the safari stage's trophy is unobtainable because of a glitch, so you can only finish the game by hacking the trophy in.
@KingMike I'd love that to be true
Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Killer Instinct Gold…. And YES! Wayne Gretzky!
I chose 2 games I never played (that's why): Goemon and Ogre Battle 64.
By the way:
" Rocket: Robot on Wheels won't win any awards for narrative genius or originality"
I disagree: Rocket: Robot on Wheels was an innovative game, even today, because this is one of those very rare games with a real physics engine that affects gameplay. Anyway, it was a great game.
@JohnnyMind I know… and the multiplayer of Bomberman 64 is one of the best party modes ever in a game. I would love to play that online with friends. Bought the game on WiiU just in case before it closed. The game is still awesome.
@garfreek wait… can someone explain? I remember beating that game when I was a kid in the OG console… not emulating or anything.
NSO- N64 needs to also add...
.. Expeditiously at that please (i.e. more frequent & voluminous drops).
@Bobb never got that far, I just sucked then! 😂🤣
@Yoshif3 apparently itst the extra mission with the Kangaroo Boxing. You can't het the secret last level because it glitches and never acknowledges you got it!
@garfreek ooohhh... maybe I didn't unlock that secret last level.... I've been craving to play that amazingly underrated game again
The Only Nintendo 64 Game I Wanna See
Is Diddy Kong Racing.
@Yoshif3 I am aware of the playable betas circulating online, but I mean for Rare to dust off the betas they still have (if any), finish it in the form they originally intended it to be before it became a Star Fox game, and release it to the public. Even if it's exclusive to Xbox or Windows PC, I'll still get it.
Heck, look at the case of Star Fox 2 for the SNES. There were playable betas of the game circulating online for years, but then Nintendo announced that the game would get an official release in 2017 on the Super NES Classic Edition mini-console, 22 years after its cancellation. And now it's on the Nintendo Switch Online service as well.
If Nintendo could do it with Star Fox 2 (and Metroid Dread, for that matter, releasing the game roughly 15 years after its own cancellation), why not Rare with Dinosaur Planet?
@JohnnyMind I doubt it, too, but it's still a perennial wish of mine. That, and a Star Fox game that serves as a sequel to Assault, but ignores the canonicity of Command.
Furthermore, I want them to stop doing Krystal dirty. From being a damsel-in-distress in Adventures (when she was supposed to have a much larger role in the game), to having very little of a role in Assault (her most significant contribution being on the Sauria stage, but only hanging out in one of the buildings and taking potshots at what few Aparoids came her way), to Fox dumping her before Command, causing her to run off to Star Wolf (and several endings of that game have her remain with them, one resulting in her being hated by the entire Lylat System, causing her to change her name to Kursed and become a bounty hunter), to then being omitted from the Orbital Gate Assault stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Nintendo has never given her the respect she truly deserves.
It's up to the fans like us to give her the respect she deserves. Even her original voice actor, Estelle Ellis, has come around to the character, and actively shares fanart of Krystal on X (formerly Twitter). She even contributes her voice to several fan projects, such as a mod for Half-Life 2 that replaces Alyx Vance with Krystal; in fact, all 3265 of Alyx Vance's lines for Half-Life 2 were rerecorded by Estelle Ellis.
So basically, if there is one takeaway from what I am saying here, I want a Star Fox game where Krystal is a much larger focus in the game, is possibly even playable, but she is not done dirty by Nintendo, and her relationship with Fox deepens rather than dissolves. Yes, some endings of Command do show that, but the first ending that you are able to unlock has her running back to Star Wolf a few months after rejoining Star Fox. And since there are nine different endings to the game, I doubt any one of them is considered canon, even the first one that you unlock.
If it has to be Rare who makes a version of her that is given her due after so long, even if it's not the form we fans of her are used to, then so be it.
@AstroTheGamosian well, that was because Starfox 2 was 98% done before it was shelved. So they just had to release the game in that state with barely any extra work done.
Dinosaur Planet was 50% done before transforming into Starfox… so to release that they would need to do a lot of work…. Thats why it has really low chances of being released in that state.
Would be wonderful if Konami would play ball so we could get not only the N64 Goemon and Bomberman games on the service but for the NES, SNES and Gameboy as well.
Other than those though, mostly holding out hope for Mischief Makers, Rayman 2, and Mega Man 64 to appear (unless Capcom decides they want to make a MM Legends collection that I would totally buy if they did, wink wink...).
@Yoshif3 Yeah, I know. But I can still dream.
@AstroTheGamosian I knew about Command since I've watched a let's play of it, but didn't know Krystal didn't do much in Assault since I've never played/watched it, that's unfortunate (even though obviously it isn't the same thing, isn't she playable in multiplayer at least?).
Yeah, unfortunately it would take much more work to release that game unlike Star Fox 2 as Yoshif3 mentioned so it's quite unlikely, but of course you can still dream of it and good thing we at least have access to that Dinosaur Planet rom, really have to play it myself when I have the time since I haven't yet!
Gauntlet Legends and Worms Armageddon are top of my list, I sunk hundreds of hours into both as a kid, the chance to revisit them would be special!
@JohnnyMind Yeah, they've been doing her dirty since Adventures. She was originally going to be playable again halfway through the game (with Fox using the Spellstones to rescue her from her crystalline prison), and then you could swap between the two collecting the Krazoa Spirits for the latter half of the game.
But due to time constraints, no doubt due to Rare's impending sale to Microsoft, much of the intended content of the game was cut out. I still see it as a solid game, but there was a lot of potential and content that sadly went by the wayside due to the game being rushed out the door.
She was playable in the multiplayer mode in Assault, yes, but in the story mode, she basically took Peppy's role in the team, giving Fox energy rings if you saved her from enemies that were attacking her (Peppy himself taking on more of a command and support role with ROB 64 from the bridge of the Great Fox).
As I said, she did join you on Sauria (Level 6 of the game, out of 10 levels total), but largely stayed in one small area, not contributing much in that level. As a side note, Slippy did the same thing in Level 3 of the game, the Sargasso Space Station, where you first encounter Star Wolf in the game.
In Command, she was playable in multiple levels of the campaign mode, but that game was where the you-know-what REALLY hit the fan for her character. Before the events of the game, Fox dumped her and forced her off the team, fearing for her safety. She ended up joining either the Cornerian military or Star Wolf, with her personality becoming cold and ruthless, a far cry from her kind and gentle demeanor in the last two games.
Depending on which route you take, she will either rejoin Star Fox and/or rekindle her relationship with Fox (one ending shows them having a son, who goes on to form a new Star Fox team), or she stays with Star Wolf (one of them causing the entire Lylat System to hate her, calling her a traitor to her face for leaving Fox, despite the rest of Star Wolf being hailed as heroes for defeating the Anglar Empire; she leaves the Lylat System and ekes out a meager living as a bounty hunter named Kursed).
But the first ending that you unlock has her rejoin Star Fox, but a few months later, runs off to rejoin Star Wolf; some consider that to be the canon ending to the game, due to it being the first ending that you unlock. And frankly, as a Fox/Krystal shipper, I hated that ending, and the fact that it is basically the default (and possibly canon) ending to the game.
And then when we got to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, they completely omitted her from the Orbital Gate Assault stage, based on Level 8 of Assault, even though she played a role in that level. But then again, Star Wolf also played a role in that level in Assault, but they were also omitted from that stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
And, obviously, she did not show up in Star Fox Zero, since it was basically a remake of Star Fox 64, which was itself a remake of the original Star Fox for the SNES. But it would have been nice if they did at least have her cameo in a post-credits scene. But alas, that did not come to pass.
So that's why I really want Nintendo to make another Star Fox game that serves as a sequel to Assault, but ignores the canonicity of Command. One where Krystal never even considers joining Star Wolf, she remains on the Star Fox team, and her relationship with Fox deepens instead of falling apart.
@JohnnyMind And sorry for the long comment, by the way. It would have been longer, but Nintendo Life said it was too long, so I had to cut out a few paragraphs. I was just trying to explain in detail how dirty they have done Krystal ever since she became a Star Fox character.
I see Blast Corps but where’s Battle Tanx
@AstroTheGamosian Yeah, apart from Assault I unfortunately already knew way too well Krystal's situation, hope she'll have the chance to properly shine at some point - although I'd like to mention that starting with Brawl she at least can show up in the special taunts on certain the Star Fox stages and that in Ultimate she became an Assist Trophy which is quite big for characters that didn't make the cut as fighters so funnily enough Smash arguably ended up been the kindest to her.
No worries about the long comment, even though as I mentioned I already knew about most that you said already it was still an interesting read!
@JohnnyMind I was actually going to mention that in the comment that I had to trim short. Yes, Krystal was available in smash taunts starting in Brawl, and she was made an Assist Trophy in Ultimate.
It is a step closer to her becoming playable in Super Smash Bros. After all, characters like Little Mac, Isabelle, and Charizard were once summonable characters before becoming playable. So it is a welcome sign.
That being said, however, Waluigi has also been an oft-requested character in Super Smash Bros., but he's been an Assist Trophy since Brawl. Heck, Daisy got in before he did, and she's just a clone of Peach!
Now, some might argue that Waluigi shouldn't make it in, because he is only ever in the spinoffs like Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, etc., but for the most part, so is Daisy. Before Wonder, the last time she showed up in a mainline Mario game was Super Mario Land on the original Game Boy.
So Krystal could either end up like Little Mac and Isabelle, or she'll end up like Waluigi. I'm personally hoping for the former, but given Nintendo's track record for how they treat her, I fear it may be the latter.
That's why it needs to be up to the fans like myself to make sure that she gets the love and attention that she deserves, up to and including fan games that focus on her and her past.
@AstroTheGamosian Let's not forget that Krystal was considered for Brawl, but didn't make the cut due to time constraints so I'd say her chances are higher than someone like Waluigi who never was unless I'm misremembering and also considering that with her staff and its powers she would relatively easily bring something pretty unique to the roster so fingers crossed!
@JohnnyMind Yeah, she was considered. I'm not as sure about whether or not Waluigi was ever considered, though. But as I said, he is an oft-requested character, right up there with Goku and Shrek (although I hope to Hylia that those latter two are just joke requests).
That being said, would Palutena count as a staff fighter, considering she can use her scepter for some attacks? That being said, I think her attacks with her scepter are for ranged attacks, shooting out magic, whereas Krystal could use melee attacks with her staff, kind of like how she does as an Assist Trophy, thus making her a true staff fighter (like Kilik from Soulcalibur).
Goodness knows we could use more staff fighters; as it is, we have WAY too many sword fighters in the game right now. And not even two-handed swords, but one-handed swords. And no, Ganondorf's sword does not count, because he's so large and strong, he can use a two-handed sword as a one-handed sword.
@AstroTheGamosian I'd say Palutena doesn't really count exactly because of what you mentioned so in short, Krystal being an Assist Trophy who has already been at least considered as a fighter with a unique weapon (I don't mind at all the sword characters personally, but definitely wouldn't mind more variety) and powers is why I think she has pretty good chances to eventually become a fighter in Smash and I really hope it will eventually happen - not to mention that the Star Fox series could certainly use at least one more fighter, certainly more than the Mario series as much as I love it!
With the release of jet force Gemini it’s almost guaranteed that all other rare games come over , banjo and jet force are Xbox games now so the fact they came over there no reason not to expect banjo tooie, perfect dark and conkers fur day along with dk64 and diddy Kong racing and star fox adventures remastered which no one is mentioning. Beetle adventure racing and cruisn world are needed . Maybe a wrestling game which is least likely. Resident evil 2 would be nice I’m surprised capcom is hiding the classic resident evil games and not releasing them at all . Castlevania . Lowkey many of the best n64 first person shooters are available via nightdive studios, turok 1/2/3 and doom 64 and quake 1 and 2 . Duke nukem 64 is technically on switch. The one I’d love to rebuy is duke nukem zero hour. That was a day one purchase that i loved
@JohnnyMind Yeah, with how many Mario, Pokémon, and Fire Emblem characters in Ultimate's roster, it's almost enough to fill up the roster from Brawl. The Mario universe alone (which I consider the Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Wario franchises to be a part of) is more than enough to fill up the roster for the original Smash Bros.
It almost got ridiculous that we kept getting newcomers from those three franchises. Heck, Piranha Plant was the most ridiculous, if you ask me, as that is just a generic, common enemy in the Mario series, and it got in before a more significant character like Waluigi did!
So yeah, we need more representation from franchises other than those three. Star Fox and Metroid, for sure, but it would be cool if Zelda also got some more characters, such as the Champions from Breath of the Wild, or the Sages from Tears of the Kingdom. Goodness knows I would love to play as Mipha, Riju, or Urbosa.
@AstroTheGamosian Just like for the sword characters I don't mind getting more Mario characters (and I definitely count those series not only as their own, but also as part of the Mario one - just look at Mario Super Sluggers for example) but yeah, really hope that we'll see more characters of other series as well, absolutely including the ones you mentioned and at least one of the Champions/Sages for Zelda!
@JohnnyMind In fact, I just thought of it, but another perennial request for me is Midna from Twilight Princess. It would be neat to see her use her Twili powers to fight enemies. And her Final Smash could be her using the Fused Shadow to turn into that kaiju-like creature that she turned into in Twilight Princess, and use that spear of hers to impale enemies.
I especially want to see her in her true form, although her imp form could be an alternate skin for her, like how it is with Wii Fit Trainer, Robin, Byleth, Corrin, and Pyra, Mythra, and Hero (unless they bring back transformations, and then she could freely swap between the two, which would make her more like Zelda and Sheik, Samus and Zero Suit Samus, or the Pokémon Trainer with Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard).
And if we want to talk about sword fighters, we have to get someone from Soulcalibur in. If they could get Kazuya from Tekken, why not someone from Soulcalibur? Personally, I would go for Sophitia Alexandra or her younger sister, Cassandra. Taki might be an option, as well as Chai Xianghua, and even Siegfried Schtauffen (as well as his evil form, Nightmare). Sadly, I doubt Ivy Valentine would be appropriate for the series (as even the most conservative version of her outfit is still too skimpy).
And if Nintendo is ever able to work out a deal with miHoYo/HoYoverse, I would love to see the Traveler (both Aether and Lumine) from Genshin Impact become playable in a future entry of Super Smash Bros. But that may not come until Genshin Impact finally comes to a Nintendo console, be it the Switch or its successor.
So really, there's a whole host of characters that they can have join the roster. But Krystal from Star Fox is my Number 1 choice, above all.
@AstroTheGamosian All great suggestions, hope at least one of them if not even more will eventually come to Smash!
@JohnnyMind Here's hoping.
@Yoshif3 Actually Star Fox 2 was canceled LONG before work was finished. I recall that one piece of information from the programmer is that, FOR SOME REASON, Nintendo still permitted/wanted the game finished.
It was already canceled by the middle of 1995, yet the finished game is dated 1996.
@KingMike that is true. I remembered that piece of information
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