#08
'Mario Kart 64'
for the Nintendo 64 released in 1997.
It was the best console ever released, the Nintendo 64, because this console usually has the best entries of each franchise. The 'Mario Kart'-franchise is no different. 'Mario Kart 64' is the best entry in the series, and the only one that makes it to the Top #50 list. I realize people who weren't around back when this game was released wouldn't agree, but I assure you it isn't fully a nostalgia-moment.
Besides this game easily being my most played game on the N64, this game had the best tracks in the series. Newer games rely too much on fancy stuff and an abundance of things going on on-screen. Maybe in this case, the limitations of the hardware were a good thing, because 'Mario Kart 64' is 'Mario Kart' at it's core. This game was, more than the others, about skill. When playing the newer games, the tracks I find myself going back to are this game's retro-tracks.
Aside from that this game takes a special place in my heart. In the description of my Dreamcast entries (at #14, #21 and #38) I mentioned we used to hold whole tournaments. This game is however, is what started that. Back in this time, my aunt used to partake. And we played the game together a lot. As an avid gamer herself, she was actually very good at this game and any other. Sadly she's not with me anymore, but I can credit my entire existence as a gamer to her because if she hadn't introduced me to the NES, I wouldn't be on this site today.
#07
'GoldenEye 007'
for the Nintendo 64 released in 1997.
Another Nintendo 64 game, the Top #10 is filled with them, this game is probably the only movie-licenced game that actually turned out good. I mean games based on actual movies. 'GoldenEye 007' hit the mark, finally making the first-person shooter genre work on the console. The games of what today is the most popular genre in gaming, owe that to the success of this game.
While 'Call of Duty', at #12, is technically a better shooter with more modern mechanics, I still consider 'GoldenEye 007' the best first-person shooter ever made. Because of it's legacy and achievement, but more importantly because this one is the one I had the most fun with. With the exception of 'Call of Duty', it's sequel and Jedi Knight II (which was a hybrid anyway), I only played through all other FPS's once, if I finished them at all. 'GoldenEye 007' kept making me come back.
It had good, quick levels which all had there own identity, good weapons and intuitive control. The multiplayer aspect was stellar for the time. Still, it's been a long time since I played the game on the N64. I played the remake on Wii last year, and while also a good game, it strays far from the original. And it doesn't have the same feel because of it.
#06 Hint:
When a certain publisher took over this developer, I held my breath. Probably a lot of people did, as they already had a reputation of ruining franchises, but luckily their medling was non-existent in this entry in this famous franchise. Too bad though, that the hand of doom casted a shadow over the developer and the franchise is now ruined anyway because after two sequels, there still isn't a real '5'.
