N64 Month | Cubed3's Top Nintendo 64 Games: Part 3

10) Diddy Kong Racing

With Nintendo's flagship series often touted as the king of racing games, how did Rare's attempt at the difficult go-karting concept compare? The British studio took a cast of adorable furries, a turtle, a clock and let them loose in cars, planes and hovercrafts -- almost blending three of Nintendo's best vehicle franchises into a neat little package. Racing was fast, tight and frantic. Courses varied, set to memorable jingles and brimming with bright, inviting designs. However, what truly set Diddy Kong Racing apart was the sheer replay value; a huge adventure mode with coin collecting, boss battles, secrets to unravel and a later section that was quite literally out of this world.

Rare's Nintendo 64 gem was far beyond a generic Mario Kart clone, establishing itself as a more than worthy competitor, and the better game for some. A version was remade for the Nintendo DS more recently, yet stripped back some of the charm that made the original one of Cubed3's must haves. Cubed3 would no doubt recommend this racer as an essential retro purchase, since little has surpassed it to date -- except for the more contemporary Mario Kart, of course!
Jorge Ba-oh

9) Mario Kart 64

Almost every course had its own unique characteristic that will always be fondly (or not) remembered: Kalimari Desert forced players to make a decision of playing it safe and waiting for the train to cross, or risk it by bombing through in an attempt to stay ahead. Toad’s Turnpike brought out the best reactions by steering past traffic on a speeding highway and Yoshi Valley's giant egg made a few too many pancake characters as it rolled around the cliffs. Mario Kart 64 had some incredible shortcuts, too. Did you ever pull off a sub-20 seconds time in Wario Stadium? Who could forget the awesome jump at the beginning of Rainbow Road that cut off half of the lap? It was always a heart-in-mouth moment as your racer came close to landing it.

Pretty much the same game modes from Super Mario Kart returned in the sequel but with four-player support built into the system, it was the multiplayer events that brought out the best this racer had to offer. Battle mode with three of your mates in some brilliant arenas, including the famous Block Fort, caused many a late night for players the world over. There is no doubt that Mario Kart 64 provided some of the best multiplayer on the N64, cementing a worthy place in our list of the console’s best games.
Az Elias

8) F-Zero X

From the mind of Tadashi Sugiyama, the Director behind the first Super Mario Kart and its Game Boy Advance successor, this first 3D outing, ditching the previous Mode 7 graphics thanks to the power of the new hardware, was a true test of gamers' resolve. Plasma-powered hovercars were let loose at speeds of up to 1,500 km/h along treacherous tracks filled with hills, loops, tunnels, corkscrews, and pipes. There were also a plethora of obstacles to navigate through, such as dirt patches, tricky jumps, and tubes, all the while trying to avoid falling over the edge into the abyss. One specific aspect that made for an intriguing tactical element was how boosting reduced your craft's shield, meaning the right balance between speed shifts and protecting yourself was imperative, and that edging across at the right time over any re-engerising strips was essential.

There is always the fear that hard earned money will be spent on short-lived experiences, yet this was definitely not the case with F-Zero X. From the 26 new vehicles, four from the original F-Zero, each with their own characteristics, to the five main modes of gameplay (Grand Prix, Practice, Time Trial, Death Race and Vs. Battle), there was so much to do that F-Zero X was without a doubt one of my most played games over that entire generation. Trying to beat all 29 opponents across four difficulty levels, one of which -- Master -- only opened up after the other three had been cleared, or even taking on the spectacular Death Race, where the objective is to annihilate all other racers in the quickest time possible using any means necessary (spin attack worked wonders), was enough to satiate any gamer, but on top of that there was the X Cup where courses were randomly generated and a four-player split-screen mode to extend play even further.

Sadly this was the last Nintendo EAD-developed entry and the series has been languishing in the shadows since the Japanese-only Suzak-developed GBA title, F-Zero: Climaz that included a full course editor. Despite fans praying for a DS or Wii version, sadly nothing has arrived, but hopefully either Wii U or Nintendo 3DS will receive a new true update to F-Zero X, with Nintendo at the helm once more.
Adam Riley

7) Super Mario 64

Fortunately Nintendo didn't just transcribe its usual 2D gameplay into a 3D adventure. The team completely re-created the concept of what a Mario game should be. This could be felt in the level design, removing the feeling that you are going straight for the goal and multiplying tenfold the number of paths possible to it. The goal now was collecting the numerous stars based on various objectives in each world.

For many, this game also served as the first Nintendo 64 experience. The feeling of controlling Mario in vast environments for the first time was quite remarkable and a once in a lifetime moment. Nintendo's debut 3D adventure featured beautiful worlds to explore through a clever system that had players jumping through paintings around Princess Peach’s castle, and most had an innovative touch common to most Nintendo games. The lack of Luigi and a two-player mode may be regrettable, although Nintendo did play with the idea even back then until the concept was fully realised in the Nintendo DS port, Super Mario 64 DS. That aside, this Nintendo 64 game did everything right from the start, blowing everyone's minds away forever as the world embraced a new era of 3D games from then on.
Ross Marrs/Rudy Lavaux

6) Conker's Bad Fur Day

What eventually emerged from the sidelines was the vulgar, sexual, caustic adventure known as Conker's Bad Fur Day, which Nintendo refused to touch in Europe, leaving THQ to publish at an extortionate price towards the latter days of the Nintendo 64's existence. This third-person 3D adventure romp was the standard Rare fare, filled with the same excellence the UK outfit was renowned for, but was now packed to the brim with hilarious sarcasm, childish innuendo-laden jokes, plenty of sexual references, and all manner of disgusting tasks to undertake.

Despite all the controversy it caused upon release, the game was highly praised by critics, and rightly so, leaving the only sad point being that its planned sequel, Conker's Other Bad Day, never saw the light of day after Microsoft snapped up the Twycross-based developer.
Adam Riley.

What do you think of the latest additions to the Cubed3 Nintendo 64 Top 20 games? Are you also fans of these titles, or do you disagree?

• Top 20 Nintendo 64 Games - Part 1 (20-16)
• Top 20 Nintendo 64 Games - Part 2 (15-11)
• Top 20 Nintendo 64 Games - Part 3 (10-6)
• Top 20 Nintendo 64 Games - Part 4 (5-1)