30. 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.

29. Doom 64 (N64)

Recently re-released on Switch and other consoles, DOOM 64 offered a unique take on the series' brand of shooting quite unlike previous iterations. It's different, yes, but different doesn't mean 'bad', and it's achieved something of a cult status over the years. Thankfully, the re-release means it's easier (and cheaper) to play these days, but real fans know that you need an N64 controller in your hands to get the true DOOM 64 experience. Yep.

28. Mario Golf (N64)

Camelot brought Mario and his golfing pals onto the 3D fairways in this excellent entry in his catalogue of sports games. This game also linked up with the superlative Mario Golf for Game Boy Color. They're very different games, and the handheld version is probably even better thanks to its brilliant RPG elements, but together they make an unbeatable pair. When we're disappointed that later games like Mario Golf: Super Rush don't match the quality of older entries, it's Mario Golf that we're remembering with a faraway wistful look in our eyes.

27. NBA Hangtime (N64)

26. Pokémon Stadium 2 (N64)

The original Pokémon Stadium was fine, but Pokémon Stadium 2 expanded the concept of a 3D companion cartridge to play alongside the mainline Game Boy games. It included Pokémon from both the Johto and Kanto regions and offered some juicy extras if you owned the Game Boy entries (we pity whoever had a Pokémon Stadium game without owning Blue, Red, Yellow, Gold, or Silver!). Only in the soundtrack department did it arguably not live up to its predecessor, but otherwise this felt like the 'proper' execution of the concept.

25. Sin and Punishment (N64)

Gamers in the West wouldn't be able to get their hands on Treasure's hectic N64 on-rails shooter (not easily, that is — there was always the option to import) until it came to the Wii Virtual Console.

On original release it quickly became a cult classic thanks to its developer's heritage and its Japan-only status, and while it's probably not worth importing a Japanese console to enjoy this game alone (we did, but we're a bit obsessive), and its sequel Sin and Punishment: Star Successor for Wii arguably improves on this foundation in every way, this is still a very fine shooter from a very fine developer.

Cracking box art, too.

24. Harvest Moon 64 (N64)

As with most entries in this farm sim series, let its gentle cycle of farm work and soil-based simulation seep into you and Harvest Moon 64 has the potential to suck hours and days from your life. It's hardly a technical tour-de-force, but tending livestock, sewing seeds, harvesting your crops and striking up a relationship doesn't require massive hardware horsepower, and the series' 64-bit entry is as engrossing as any.

23. Wave Race 64 (N64)

Whatever you do, don't go back and play Wave Race 64. Its incredible water physics, tight controls, chunky visuals and titanic brilliance will immediately have you degenerate into a forum-lingering whinger and you won't be able to stop yourself complaining about the absence of this series (and F-Zero, and 1080° Snowboarding) from Nintendo consoles since the GameCube, and how Nintendo hates its fans and doesn't want their money, and how the success of the Switch means there's space for these 'lesser-known' franchises to make a return, and how we can't have nice things, and...

22. Mario Tennis (N64)

The first in the Mario Tennis series (second, if you count Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy) was one of a winning doubles team in the Mushroom Kingdom sports department from Camelot — the studio also released the brilliant Mario Golf for N64, as well as Game Boy Color versions of each game that linked up with their home console cousins via the Transfer Pak.

Mario's played a lot of tennis over the years, but this remains one of his finest on-court showings.

21. 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.