Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (N64)
A real gem in the console's catalogue, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon makes you pine for the days when Konami still made good video games. A surreal Japanese platforming adventure that combines a cast of colourful characters with oddball and endearing humour, it's a minor classic that's still worth playing today, so here's hoping Konami signs off on it getting a fresh run via Nintendo's online service.
Perfect Dark (N64)
An incredible follow-up to GoldenEye which threw in every idea the developers at Rare could muster (plus a kitchen sink or two), Perfect Dark really stretched the Nintendo 64 hardware and was arguably the most ambitious game on the console. James Bond was never going to be an easy act to follow, but Joanna Dark's noir-ish sci-fi was as good a spiritual sequel as you could hope to have — close to perfect, in fact — and nearly two-and-a-half decades on, it still stands as a remarkable achievement.
Rakugakids (N64)
The Nintendo 64 wasn't blessed with an abundance of quality one-on-one fighters, but Rakugakids was an underplayed and underrated offering in the genre. With eye-popping, crayon-style visuals and infectious energy that feels like Konami took more than a few notes from PaRappa the Rapper's homework, it's a great shame that this cute fighter — which was never released in North America — has remained stuck on N64 since 1998. Time to remedy that, no?
Rocket: Robot on Wheels (N64)
A calm platformer featuring a robot named Rocket who must save Whoopie World (a theme park that's about to open) from the wrath of a destructive raccoon named Jojo. Rocket: Robot on Wheels won't win any awards for narrative genius or originality, but it's a pleasant experience and if you're after a 3D platformer from the era, you could do far worse than this one from Sucker Punch Productions — who would go on to greater things on PlayStation with Sly Cooper, the Infamous series, and Ghost of Tsushima.
Rayman 2: The Great Escape (N64)
A very strong 3D platformer from a time when you couldn't move for them, Rayman 2: The Great Escape saw Ubisoft's gangly protagonist make the jump from 2D in a colourful adventure that delivers practically everything you could want from the genre. It's not quite on the level of Rare or Nintendo's efforts, perhaps, but it's still a fine, fine game up there with the very best.
Snowboard Kids (N64)
An Atlus-published Mario Kart-alike which subs out karts for 'boards, Racdym's underappreciated Snowboard Kids is the secret best multiplayer racer from the N64 era. It added goofier characters, extra tension, and comedy to the familiar formula — the end of a run usually produces hilarious pile-ups as you scramble for the ski lift and the next 'lap'. With subtle stick controls and great music, it's a real gem and it gets extra respect points for not swapping out 'Kids' for 'Kidz'. Classy.
The sequel was good, too. Happy to take them both.
Space Station Silicon Valley (N64)
A quirky, body-hopping animal platformer from DMA Design before they would go on to become Rockstars, Space Station Silicon Valley is fun in concept and execution. Much like fellow DMA N64 title Body Harvest, what it lacks in looks it makes up for with intriguing gameplay ideas and satisfying mechanics — in this case involving possessing the various forms of wildlife in the biomes of the eponymous space station in order to survive and escape.
It's not up there with the finest 3D platformers on the system, but it's a unique spin on the genre and very enjoyable B-tier fare. Perfect Expansion Pack fodder.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (N64)
Factor 5's first foray into the cockpit of a Rebel fighter, Rogue Squadron gave N64 owners some real fodder to use in playground arguments about which consoles had the best games. With the Expansion Pak plugged in, this was a real looker for the time, and the console's spindly analogue stick suited its arcade-y flight mechanics perfectly. With plenty of audio dialogue and all the customary Star Wars sound effects, this was a cracking game. Its GameCube version and sequel get all the attention, but we'd love to revisit the original on Switch.
Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo (N64)
Battle For Naboo was essentially Rogue Squadron 1.5 with prequel trilogy ships. With a base that solid from developer Factor 5, it was hard to go wrong, and along with Episode I: Racer, this gave The Phantom Menace two great tie-in games on Nintendo platforms, while other consoles had to endure some unspeakable droideka dross.
Episode I: Racer is already on Switch eShop, but if the Rogues aren't going to get a similar release, we'd gladly accept them on NSO.
Super Smash Bros. (N64)
Bearing in mind how carefully Nintendo began managing its characters and their image after the misfire of the Super Mario Bros. movie in the early '90s, it's remarkable that the original Super Smash Bros. and its inter-franchise scrapping got off the drawing board at HAL Laboratory. Fortunately, Masahiro Sakurai's crossover brawler was greenlit and it would grow over the years to become one of the world's biggest fighting games.
This would be an inclusion to intrigue interested gamers and share a bit of franchise history alongside its flashy modern contemporaries. With this game's 25th anniversary coming very soon, might it be time for a new first-party addition to the Expansion Pack? It would be a very easy win.
Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey (N64)
It was pointed out to us a while back that Switch is severely lacking in the Hockey department, so why not remedy that with some blocky polygons from 1996? Mr Gretzky's likeness name and likeness might prove tricky if he's not amenable to putting the game out again, but we'd certainly enjoy seeing him take to the ice once more.
WWF No Mercy (N64)
Much like every sport in video game form, the history of wrestling games is littered with plenty of lows, a mass of middling efforts, and a handful of highs; WWF No Mercy is very much in the latter category. In fact, with depth and heft that's often missing from wrestling games two decades on, it's a legitimate contender for the greatest wrestling game ever made. For a system with a paucity of one-on-one combat titles, AKI's game is an extravagantly large feather in the console's cap.
Once again — broken record alert! — it's another licensing nightmare when it comes to a potential NSO return. But that's for someone else to sort out.
Bomberman 64 fan, are you? Waiting to quench your Quest 64 thirst, perhaps? Jonesing for some Wetrix or Tetrisphere? Half of this list could be ticked off if Konami got into gear.
Let us know below which missing N64 games you'd like to see added to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.