9. 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.

8. Goemon's Great Adventure (N64)

This sequel took the character and colour of the original and threw in a bonus co-op mode for another wonderfully entertaining platform adventure with an off-the-wall Japanese flavour. There's an argument to be had over which is best, and we tend to lean towards the original, but they're both fine games.

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7. 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 minigames (including emulated versions of the original arcade Donkey Kong and Ultimate Play the Game's Jetpac), DK64 was one hell of a value proposition back in 1999 and we think it probably deserves re-evaluation after decades of bashing. C'mon Cranky, take it to the fridge.

6. 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.

5. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (N64)

A blend of genres with an emphasis on platforming, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon makes you pine for the days when Konami still made 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 — a real gem in the console's catalogue

4. Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)

Another iconic entry in the N64 catalogue from Rare, Conker's Bad Fur Day stood out proudly from the pack of cutesy platformers 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, the drunken squirrel still knows how to have a good time.

3. 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 the sort of excesses that made Donkey Kong 64 feel grindy at times, 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. Banjo-Tooie is filled to the brim with the series' trademark brand of cheeky fairytale wonder and fans will find a whole lot to love.

2. Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

Rareware put out several platformers on Nintendo 64, each with their own pros and cons, but the Twycross team arguably never topped the debut of the bear and bird. There's something in the precise platforming and fairytale formula of Banjo-Kazooie that resulted in the quintessential 3D collectathon. It's big, but not sprawling; sweet, but not sickly; challenging, but never unfair (okay, a couple of those Rusty Bucket Bay jiggys walk a fine line). From the roaming grublins to Mumbo Jumbo's hilarious transformations, its colourful characters and varied worlds are shot through with humour, adorable animation, tight controls and an 'oom-pah' musical box soundtrack that nails the spirit of a cheeky storybook adventure perfectly.

Mario 64 might have the edge when it comes to prestige, invention and influence — that's the 3D platformer you vote for with your head — but Banjo steals hearts. An absolutely brilliant game.

1. Super Mario 64 (N64)

The 3D platformer that defined what that label meant, it's remarkable just how much Shigeru Miyamoto and his team got right with its first foray. It feels effortless, as if these mechanics were somehow self-evident or arrived at through natural evolution. Nintendo absolutely nailed the formula from the very beginning – so much so that the basic 3D template hasn't really changed much, even today. We still control Mario much as we first did with that wonderfully odd-looking N64 controller.

Super Mario 64 is available on Switch if you nabbed a time-limited copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars or as part of a Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription, and we could go on endlessly about its genre-birthing mechanics, how it set the stage for 3D gaming as we know it, and blather on about the infinity of tiny details that make this a joy to fire up all these years later.

But you know all that. Do yourself a favour and blast through a couple of dozen stars next time you're pondering what to play. It still feels almost as good as it did the very first time.

Surprised by the result? Think we've missed something? Let us know below and feel free to let us know your own personal favourite 3D platformer from the genre's golden age — on N64 or elsewhere.