N64 Classic Edition: 8 Games We'd Like To See

Yesterday, we heard that Nintendo may be plotting an N64 Classic Edition. With the NES Classic Edition in the books and an SNES version on the way, this is hardly surprising. If the SNES Classic Edition sells well (and we all know it will), then Nintendo will almost certainly produce an N64 Classic Edition. With that in mind, here are eight games that I think should feature on such a retro console.

Let's be real here: there is no N64 Classic Edition without Super Mario 64. One of the best games created for the platform and perhaps the best Mario game of all time, Super Mario 64 ushered the franchise into 3D without missing a single step, and that's more than a lot of other franchises can say. Super Mario 64 still has plenty of fans the world over, so to launch an N64 Classic Edition without it would be a bad move.

Even if you had an N64, there's a chance that you've never heard of this quirky little side scroller from Treasure. Without having any clue what the overarching goal was, I played this game a ton as a child. Mischief Makers puts you in the role of the robot Marina as she attempts to save her creator, who has been kidnapped by an evil emperor. Mischief Makers is an interesting title in that much of the gameplay revolves around shaking and throwing objects you find in the world. I'd never played anything like when it first came out and I haven't played anything like it since, which means that it must be included on the N64 Classic Edition.

Rare made a lot of quality games for the Nintendo 64, but even with greats like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Banjo-Kazooie in its portfolio, one Rare game that continues to stick out to me is Jet Force Gemini. A third-person shooter that almost feels like Starship Troopers for kids, the game puts you in the shoes of three Jet Force Gemini soldiers as they attempt to fight off an invading insectoid army. Colorful, fast-paced, and a blast to play, Jet Force Gemini was, in my mind, one of the best games released for the N64.

It's hard to decide which Pokemon game should be included on the N64 Classic Edition, because at the end of the day, there were a few good ones. Pokemon Stadium put Pokemon battles on the big screen, while Pokemon Puzzle League was a very addictive entry in the Tetris Attack series. Pokemon Snap, however, offered an interesting take on Pokemon gameplay – instead of traveling the world capturing Pokemon, you traveled the world taking pictures of them. Though it's painfully short, it's become quite the fan favorite, and it unquestionably needs to be on the N64 Classic Edition.

Though Shadows of the Empire was the first Star Wars game released on the N64, it put us in the shoes of an unknown smuggler named Dash Rendar as he helped the Rebel Alliance from sidelines. Not very exciting, is it? Rogue Squadron, on the other, had you playing as Luke Skywalker as he pilots a slew of different starfighters in sixteen different missions. It was an excellent game that started an excellent series, but sadly, Rogue Squadron has long since gone dormant. We probably won't see any kind of Star Wars game on the N64 Classic Edition, but a man can dream, can't he?

I tried to keep it at just one Star Wars game, I really did. The only problem is that it's impossible for me to pick a favorite between Rogue Squadron and Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer. Pretty much the only good thing to come out of Episode 1 (except for Darth Maul), Racer has you participating in podraces across the galaxy at breakneck speeds. This game surprised everyone with how good it was, and it would be great to relive some of those memories on the N64 Classic Edition.

Though many of us were hoping for a true Super Mario RPG follow up on the N64, Nintendo instead gave us Paper Mario. More than a few of us were unsure of this game before launch, but when it finally arrived, it quickly became clear that Paper Mario was incredible. Paper Mario was, without question, one of the best RPGs released during the N64 era. It's just a shame that the series has been moving away from its roots in recent years.

Goldeneye gets the lion's share of attention when we're talking about first-person shooters on the N64, but for me, it was all about Turok. In it, you play a time traveling Native American warrior who must protect Earth from a potential invasion from the Lost Land. Turok faces a host of different enemies across his adventure, from humans to dinosaurs to aliens. The game even features an armored, laser-firing Tyrannosaurus Rex named Thunder as its penultimate boss. What's not to love?

Obviously, there are a ton of great games that were released for the N64. This list only scratches the surface and ignores a lot of the shoe-in titles for an N64 Classic Edition, such as Banjo-Kazooie, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Mario Kart 64. In short: Nintendo has a lot of options if it wants to pull together a great library for the N64 Classic Edition. What games would you like to see? Head down to the comments section and share your list!