Line #507 Platform/Nintendo64


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/n64_with_cart.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The Fun Machine]]
3
4	->''[[{{Tagline}} Get N or Get Out.]]''
5
6	By 1996, MediaNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames had already been underway for quite some time; the Platform/PlayStation and Platform/SegaSaturn had both been released in 1994 in Japan and 1995 elsewhere, yet despite their successes at home were failing to adequately crack markets abroad. Meanwhile, despite being one of the first next generation consoles to be announced, Nintendo's "Project Reality" was nowhere to be seen. This isn't to say that Creator/{{Nintendo}} had been dragging their feet on the whole endeavor; the fact of the matter was that Nintendo felt like they could take their sweet time. Sure, while some regions were quite partial to other consoles, PC gaming, or still valued the arcade above all else, on a global scale? Nintendo had been ''the'' dominating force in the gaming industry since 1985. The [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] had no equal, the [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] had beaten the other [[MediaNotes/The16bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames fourth generation]] home consoles by a good margin despite being late to market itself, and the smash success that was the Platform/GameBoy had just gotten a much ''un''needed second wind thanks to a little JRPG called ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''.[[note]]Please ignore [[Platform/VirtualBoy the eyeballs on legs]] gathering dust in the corner.[[/note]] Needless to say, Nintendo was comfortable with taking a few more years to fine-tune their 64-bit console, and the '''Nintendo 64''' saw release on June 23, 1996 in Japan and September 26, 1996 in North America, with rollouts in Europe starting in March 1997.
7
8	The [=N64=] has a bit of an odd legacy, but let's begin with some of the good. The system is best known for being host to some of the most groundbreaking and influential games in the industry's history, with titles such as ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' making the act of a VideoGame3DLeap look like child's play and laying the foundation for countless other 3D games to follow decades after their release. The [=N64=] also natively had four controller ports versus the competitions' two, which led to it being the go-to system for multiplayer fun; many who grew up with the system fondly remember spending hours with their friends playing games like ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'', ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'', ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64'', and the early ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' titles. ''[=GoldenEye=]'' is also credited as legitimizing the FirstPersonShooter genre on home consoles after years of questionable ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' ports[[note]]Plain fact is that outside of the Platform/PlayStation none of the Doom ports were on anything powerful enough to run it. The original Platform/AtariJaguar port, the only one directly made by id Software, came close but at the cost of not being able to include ''Doom'''s trademark music.[[/note]], setting the stage for ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' to firmly cement them as a multiplatform mainstay. It was also the first mainstream console to use an analog stick for its main controller, and have force feedback via a Rumble Pak, standardizing such features.
9
10	Moving onto the more... shaky part of the Nintendo 64, for as much praise as the console gets, it cannot be denied that it was the beginning of Nintendo losing their undisputed dominance in the video game market. Thanks to the company's reluctance to use [=CDs=], the high licensing fees they had for their cartridges, and years of restrictive policies that third parties were tiring of, many major developers and publishers (including Creator/{{Atlus}}, Creator/{{Capcom}}, Creator/{{Jaleco}}, Creator/{{Namco}}, Creator/{{Konami}}, Creator/{{Square\|Enix}}soft, Creator/{{Sunsoft}}, and Creator/{{Tecmo}}) jumped ship to the [=PlayStation=]'s more welcoming ecosystem of [=CDs=], cheap licensing fees, a near-complete lack of content restrictions, and even marketing assistance; they would release few, if any, games for the [=N64=]. Naturally, the audiences that would have bought an [=N64=] got [=PlayStations=] instead when it became clear that the games they wanted would now be over there; particularly {{Eastern RPG}}s, as Squaresoft was one of the companies that ditched Nintendo completely during this era, taking the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series and the rest of their output with them. Not every major third-party developer left, mind you -- there were still exclusives (such as ''Namco Museum 64'') or ports with exclusive features (such as ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'') -- but for the most part, the Nintendo 64 was treated second to the [=PlayStation=] thanks to the restrictions that cartridges had versus [=CDs=], and the [=N64=] ended the generation with only about 400 games published for it, a fourth of what the Super Nintendo got and a ''tenth'' of the [=PlayStation=]'s library.
11
12	With much of their third-party support gone, it set the stage for a new reality that Nintendo would have to deal with even for their future successful consoles. That being that they could no longer rely on big third-party releases to bolster their release schedule, because they could no longer ensure that those games would even ''be'' on their hardware. If they want to keep momentum going, they had to make up the difference and release first-party games on a regular schedule. Which leads to the second issue that the Nintendo 64 faced: Nintendo... wasn't able to pull that off. The [=N64=] gained something of a reputation for releasing maybe three or four [[KillerApp fantastic, must-have games]] a year, and next-to-nothing else worth playing. This is probably best exemplified by the beginning of its life in North America. The system only had two launch titles: ''VideoGame/{{Pilotwings}} 64'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', nothing else released for more than a month afterwards, and only six other games would come out by January 1997 (two of which were {{porting disaster}}s). To add salt to the wound, one of those porting disasters was ''VideoGame/{{Cruisn}} USA'', which was actually meant to be a TechDemoGame.[[note]]Nintendo bragged about the arcade version already running on Nintendo 64 hardware (it didn't) and promised an "arcade-perfect port" (it wasn't).[[/note]] A fair number of Nintendo's own franchises would also fail to materialize during the console's life, including planned installments in the ''Franchise/FireEmblem''[[note]]which instead opted for [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 another installment on the SNES]] ''in 1999''[[/note]], ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}''[[note]]''[=EarthBound=] 64'' would become a [[VideoGame/Mother3 Game Boy Advance game]][[/note]], ''VideoGame/NintendoWars''[[note]]was scrapped late in development for unknown reasons[[/note]], and ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}''[[note]]nobody could come up with any firm ideas on what to do with an N64 installment, and when Nintendo offered the opportunity to a third-party they declined, feeling that making a worthy successor to ''Super Metroid'' [[ToughActToFollow was too great a task]][[/note]] series.
13
14	Early on, Nintendo announced plans for a hardware add-on that, instead of [=CDs=], would use a proprietary rewritable magnetic disk format as its high-capacity storage medium. Unfortunately, the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive (or 64DD) saw [[DevelopmentHell constant delays]] and was a commercial failure when it was finally released in Japan in December 1999, which led to Nintendo [[NoExportForYou scrapping plans for a Western release]]. Although over sixty games were destined for the 64DD, only eight[[note]]not counting a dial-up utility disk and an ''VideoGame/FZeroX'' Expansion that required the base game to play[[/note]] would ultimately see the light of day. All of them developed by Nintendo, as every third-party developer that pledged support ended up backing out as the hardware kept getting delayed. All the other games intended for the 64DD were either reworked into regular Nintendo 64 games, ported to the [=PlayStation=] or [=GameCube=], or [[{{Vaporware}} cancelled entirely]]. Not that it would have matter too much if it was successful: While it boasted an interesting feature set such as a built-in clock[[note]]Notably, the original ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' (which was actually a Nintendo 64 game first before it was ported to the [=GameCube=]), originally destined for the 64DD, was reworked as a cartridge game with a real-time clock chip built in, the only game of its kind[[/note]] (something only the Platform/SegaSaturn had this generation but was barely utilized), re-writable 64MB magnetic disks, internet connectivity, and the ability to interface with cartridge games, it didn't fully solve all the issues that cartridges had. The add-on barely lasted a year, with no new games released after August 2000 and being discontinued outright in February 2001.
15
16	Of final note is the changing demographics of video game players. During the latter half of the '90s, the average gamer age started to increase in a meaningful way. While the portable gaming space would continue to be dominated by children and causal audiences, the home console space was starting become more and more the domain of teenage and young adult males. Combine this with Nintendo continuing to force developers to {{Bowdlerise}} in-game content to be more "family friendly", with even M-rated titles like ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' getting told to change the names of their items to be less adult (e.g., steroids became "Vitamin X"), and you have the start of Nintendo's reputation as a "kiddy company" among gamers, with their games and consoles starting to be regarded as [[AnimationAgeGhetto being strictly for children and overly-protective parents]]. The full effects of this wouldn't be felt until the Platform/NintendoGameCube, but it begs mention here due to the [=PlayStation=] being successful in good part because its marketing captured this older gaming audience.
17
18	All-in-all, the Nintendo 64 ended its life with about 32 million units sold; while this is only about a third of what the [=PlayStation=] sold, it still put Nintendo comfortably in second place thanks to Sega's fumbling with the Saturn.
19	----
20	!!Specifications:
21
22	[[AC:Processors]]
23	* The [[MediaNotes/CentralProcessingUnit CPU]], a MIPS R4300i (the [[MediaNotes/BinaryBitsAndBytes 64-bit]] version of the R3000 in the [=PlayStation=], hence the name) runs at 93.75 [=MHz=] and has an internal 64-bit word size, but it also has a 32-bit mode. This was mainly used by the games because A) the bus is only 32 bits, B) the 64-bit mode uses twice as much memory and bandwidth, and C) 64-bit computing was largely superfluous for gaming until introduction of HD graphics; games made in that era simply didn't come anywhere near breaking the limits of 32-bit architecture, and if they did the N64 wouldn't have had the hardware to handle them anyway.[[note]]Incidentally, Nintendo 64 games have had ports and remakes on the Platform/NintendoDS and 3DS, which are both 32-bit, with the latter being much more powerful than the Nintendo 64. Nintendo also released Nintendo 64 games on the Wii (which is a 32-bit system) Virtual Console.[[/note]] So, in other words, the "64" in the name was mostly for marketing, even if the processor actually was technically capable of running 64-bit code (at least, it delivered more than the Platform/AtariJaguar, which was also touted as a 64-bit console three years before the [=N64=]'s launch, but at most generous was only a 32-bit system with two [=CPUs=]).
24	* Besides, like most systems so far, the graphics are mainly handled by the MediaNotes/{{GPU}}, called the "Reality Co-Processor." It runs at 62.5 [=MHz=]. This actually contains another MIPS CPU core, albeit heavily customized. It has a [[MediaNotes/FlynnsTaxonomy Vector Unit]] built into it, to handle special programming called "microcode."
25	** These offered even more system control than vector units today, but (perhaps) fears of abuse kept Nintendo from directly sharing their codes with developers. Some had to make their own, and they often made superior codes than Nintendo's anyway. Factor 5 was such a developer.
26	** The RCP wasn't fixed in the way other [=GPUs=] of the time were, giving developers a lot of flexibility in the way it handled rendering geometry. However, Nintendo refused to directly share the source for their own stock microcode with developers, limiting their ability to actually make use of this feature. A few development teams, such as Rareware and Factor 5, created their own microcode from scratch, improving framerates and enabling more advanced graphical effects
27	* The RCP is also responsible for processing sound, but this meant audio had to share processing power with the graphics, making it difficult for games to have both complex graphics and sounds at the same time.
28
29	[[AC:Memory]]
30	* Memory is where the N64 runs into trouble. Just about everything about the system's memory tends to have some limitation on performance, called a "bottleneck."
31	** Chris Sutherland of Creator/{{Rare}} gave an example of the headaches the N64 memory handicaps gave in an interview discussing the original ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'';
32	-->"From a software perspective, we pushed the memory of the system very hard. As you move the camera around the map in ''Banjo-Kazooie'', the machine is constantly throwing out of memory things you can't see and pulling in the scenery that appears into view. This gave us major memory fragmentation issues. We used a proprietary system that "reshuffled" memory continuously as you played to eliminate the fragmentation. I'd doubt many N64 games of the time did anything like that--overall it meant we could dedicate a higher number of polygons to the characters and backgrounds than many other games at the time managed."
33	** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' is a classic example of how N64 games were able to use programming tricks to work around limitations on graphic memory, sometimes obviously, sometimes discreetly--things such as trees or the body of a Bob-omb are square polygons with a flat sprite/texture applied to them that is always fixed and rotating with the camera (a technique called "billboarding"). If Mario is walking around the Castle Hub, the other rooms will only load [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MzHjJ-guSJg when Mario is absolutely near them and the door]] (and they load almost instantly). If Mario runs into the distance far enough with a fixed camera, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oksyE17hsM his model will automatically switch to a lower polygon model]][[note]]thus pioneering a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_of_detail common technique]] in 3D graphics that remains in use today[[/note]] (Mario has 752 polygons in his default model). Levels gradually load things in and out discreetly (e.g. Dire, Dire Docks disables the background textures once it loads the inner level up ahead, the trees and chain chomp in Bob-omb Battlefield vanish when you're up on the mountain), and sometimes it uses downright ingenious, subtle tricks, such as disabling collision detection on objects Mario isn't near (i.e. the spinning rock platforms in Bowser in the Sky). The game also had an object limit per level (c. 230-240 objects), crashing the game if it ever exceeded that limit by even one number (even if it's a small effects object like the dust from Mario running or a Bob-omb fuse) and the game would drastically slow down if it would even get close to that limit.
34	** ''VideoGame/Doom64'' was able to work with the system's memory limitations thanks to the game being based on the TwoAndAHalfD [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} id Tech 1]] MediaNotes/GameEngine. The enemies are actually prerendered 3D models converted into sprites with viewing angles limited to the eight directions of the compass, helping free up resources to render the levels with hardware-filtered textures at reasonable quality. The enhanced 2.5D engine has tricks that give the illusion of 3D such as 3D bridge effects that are actually generated by invisible sectors lowering and raising depending on if the player is going under or over the bridge respectively.
35	* There are 4 MB (expandable to 8 MB via the Expansion Pak) of RAM, which is "unified." The system can use any amount it wants for main, video, and audio. Unfortunately, Nintendo chose Rambus [=DRAM=] for the system. It has a high clock speed and well over twice the bandwidth of the Platform/PlayStation memory, but the latency is so high those advantages are negated.
36	** Ironically, [=RDRAM=] is great for playing FMV, and the one game that used those (a port of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'') showed them pretty well despite the heavy compression.
37	* The [=CPU=] also doesn't have direct access to the memory. Not that the bus went through the [=GPU=], as a lot of systems do that, but those systems use direct memory access to allow smooth access through processors, and the N64 doesn't allow the CPU to do that.
38	* Just as bad, the system can hold as many textures as it needs in the RAM, but the buffer for textures to pass though during rendering is just 4 KB. Not only did that mean no single texture could be larger than that, if they were all that large, they would have to go through one at a time. Combined with the slow latency of the RAM, and this would slow the system to molasses if there wasn't some sort of compromise. To try and compensate for this, the N64 had multiple different texture modes it supported, each one with different combinations of color depth and resolution, allowing programmers to trade colors for more size, or sacrifice both to fit multiple textures into the tiny cache at once.
39	** Nintendo's method was to use textures as sparingly as possible, often only for backgrounds. Anything more complex, like the player character, was instead mostly detailed by vertex colors with gouraud shading - each vertex is assigned a color, which is then brightened or darkened based on how much the vertex faces a defined light source[[note]]Exact number of lights that could be active at once depended on the microcode, but up to eight were available in Rareware's code from the end of the N64's life[[/note]]. For example, Mario's model in ''Super Mario 64'' has only three textures: The "M" on his hat, his eyes, and the buttons on his overalls. Everything else is done solely through vertex colors. This saves on textures, but can result in a flat and overly-smooth look. Certain objects could also vary their colors based on things like the camera's position; this was used for metallic objects like the blade of the Master Sword in ''Ocarina of Time'', giving a convincing illusion of metal without needing any textures.
40	** Rare came up with a clever solution for ''Banjo-Kazooie''; they would break up larger textures into several 64x64 pieces (the largest texture size the N64 could draw) which allowed them to avoid tiling textures everywhere. They also had a decal technique that allowed them to blend areas of textures into one another, avoiding sharp seams where one floor type abruptly transitions to another, further creating the illusion of very high texture quality.
41	** ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye\|1997}}'''s solution was to use grayscale textures for almost everything, and blend that with the model's vertex colors to colorize everything. This doubled the potential resolution, but it also led to very flatly-colored models.
42	** The best method took a few years to develop. It was to program the textures to steadily stream through the buffer. It wasn't as easy as it sounds, but developers like Rare and Factor 5 got the most advanced graphics from the N64 through this method.
43	* The frame buffer had a problem in that the default Z-buffering, which told the system which texel is supposed to be in front of the other, would slow down the fill rate, which is how fast the frame buffer can draw the graphics on the screen. Fixing this required custom microcode that entirely reworked how z-buffering worked.
44	* Cartridges sizes ranged from 4MB (''VideoGame/DrMario 64'', ''Charlie Blast's Territory'') to 64MB (''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium 2'' and ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay''). 64DD disks were fixed at a constant 64MB. At first glace, this doesn't seem so bad, as games on the [=PlayStation=] like ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' would load all of its contents into RAM and run solely on it, but the reality was that larger capacity carts cost more to produce (and indeed so, as carts are composed of complex circuitry which would be expensive to produce anyway), so most developers had to make do with smaller sizes. When developers did opt for these larger carts, they passed the increased cost onto consumers, resulting in games that were often $20-30 more expensive than those on competing systems. Also, as MediaNotes/FlashMemory wasn't nearly as advanced as it would become when USB flash drives hit the scene around 2000, 64 MB was at the time a very expensive quantity of solid-state memory, unlike the modestly-priced multi-gigabyte flash drives that became popular a decade later.
45
46	[[AC:Graphics]]
47	* Typical graphical output was 240p, which was standard in previous generations and in this one. However, certain games could use the RAM Expansion Pak to display in 480i, which was the standard resolution for NTSC monitors but wouldn't become standard among game consoles until the next generation.
48	* The system came with standard composite cables, but it also supported S-Video (which looked better) and RF Coaxial (which looked worse). However, the Coaxial port was omitted from Nintendo's consoles starting with the SNES Mini. If you were one of the three people in 1996 without a TV that didn't at least have composite inputs, you had to buy an RF Modulator which converted the Multi Out port into an RF Out port. The RF Modulator is forwards and backwards compatible with the [=GameCube=] and SNES Mini respectively (and in the former's case, the [=GameCube=] RF Modulator is just the Nintendo 64's RF Modulator in [=GameCube=] packaging).
49	* [[ExecutiveMeddling For reasons only known to Nintendo]], they decided not to implement RGB SCART or even S-video output on PAL region N64 consoles. European gamers were stuck with composite cables which gave a poorer, fuzzier picture. This is ''insane'' marketing when you realize that the superior RGB video standard was being supported heavily in Europe; even the PAL SNES supported RGB SCART. Even more maddening is that NTSC machines have S-video support and can be easily modded to support RGB.
50	* Although the system would have poorer performance if not coded properly, it did have a few features built in that worked no matter the coding.
51	** It was the first major home console to have [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-aliasing anti-aliasing]].
52	** It was also the first to have tri-linear filtering, which removes the blocky look of textures. Unfortunately, the low texture resolution most games were forced to use due to the above-mentioned texture cache means a lot of games had a very muddy, smeary look due to it not having enough pixels to work with.
53	** Another feature used was dithering, which was used to mask the consoles' lack of color depth. It was surprisingly effective in titles like ''Super Mario 64''.
54	* The system can actually push 500,000 polygons in real time, five times what the [=PlayStation=] and Saturn can do... yet that required microcode that was never released before the system was discontinued. Some codes could still push the system up to 180,000 polygons, but only one or two games went that far. Most N64 games just pushed 100,000 polygons or slightly lower.
55	* In addition to the above effects, the N64 did have probably the best effects of the fifth generation, including real-time lighting in a few games.
56	* A common misconception is that the N64 was incapable of running full motion video like the [=PlayStation=] or Sega Saturn. This is actually false, as ''[[VideoGame/PanelDePon Pokémon Puzzle League]]'' and the N64 port of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' both have fully voiced FMV cutscenes. While the latter is admittedly heavily compressed, ''Pokémon Puzzle League''[='=]s cutscenes look like they came straight from ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'', with no compression in the audio or visuals. ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft\|I}} 64'' also has the intro sequence from its PC version, albeit abridged, and all the other [=FMVs=] from the game were reduced to still images.
57
58	[[AC:Audio]]
59	* As stated above, the Reality Co-Processor processes the audio. The RSP can produce a maximum of 100 channels of PCM at a time, but only in a case where all system resources are devoted to audio and nothing else. It has a maximum sampling rate of 48 kHz with 16-bit audio.
60	* Some later titles, most notably ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' and ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'', supported Dolby Surround.
61	* Music was composed in two ways on the N64:
62	** Games that were [=PlayStation=][=/=]Saturn ports featured pre-composed soundtracks, and/or games with licensed music used compressed audio, usually [=MP3=] or [[MediaNotes/GamingAudio PCM]]. This allowed for licensed and/or real music on the N64 in expense for obvious lower sound quality, although one notable aversion was ''Resident Evil 2'', where the music was upsampled and ''actually sounded even better than the [=PlayStation=] version''!
63	** The other way was composing via Platform/{{MIDI}} or Platform/{{MOD}}, with the developers creating the soundbank to use or directly using the N64's built-in synthesizer. This gave music that took up way less memory and had higher quality samples, but the music tended to sound a bit artificial and a soundbank with extremely compressed sound samples made some game soundtracks on the N64 sound even worse than the Platform/{{Super Nintendo\|EntertainmentSystem}}'', with ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr6Y25El9p0&index=11&list=PL8-EyAHueCk2dpgLcL9IhU-dRIsVjuLTB Mortal Kombat Trilogy]]'' and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muidb_UdEkc&list=PLK_1tAVTWpKRm0--vozzxNLxKWPlWjv3g Crusin' USA]]'' being some of the worst offenders.
64
65	[[AC:Add-Ons and Expansions]]
66	* Nintendo and other companies released several expansion modules that could be plugged straight into the system's controller.
67	** The Controller Pak, a removable storage medium which could be used to save in-game progress that could officially hold up to 123 [[InsistentTerminology pages]] (256 kilobits, or 32 KB) of memory and 16 [[InsistentTerminology notes]] (save files) at a time. It was largely redundant since many games saved data to the cart. Its most notable uses were saving ghost data for Time Trials in ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' (there wasn't enough space in the cart to store it locally) and being required for a handful of third-party games that cut out their local save capabilities to reduce costs.
68	** The Rumble Pak which, packaged with ''VideoGame/StarFox64'', made the N64 the first home system on the market to support force feedback. Sony would eventually incorporate the feature into their own [=DualShock=] controllers, making it standard for most modern controllers.
69	** The Transfer Pak lets players plug in their Platform/GameBoy cartridges for gameplay benefits, such as being able to use Franchise/{{Pokemon}} caught in the Game Boy titles in ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium''.
70	** The Bio Sensor made by SETA, for use with ''Videogame/{{Tetris}} 64''[='=]s Bio Tetris mode, where the pace of the game increases to the beat of your heart.
71	** The microphone and Voice Recognition Unit (VRU). The microphone proper plugged into the controller, while the VRU (the device that handled translating the audio data into data the game could read) plugged into one of the controller ports. It provided speech recognition capabilities, but only got utilized in two games, ''VideoGame/HeyYouPikachu'' (the only one of the two to leave Japan) and ''Densha de Go! 64''.
72	* The Expansion Pak, which added an extra 4 megabytes of RDRAM in addition to the internally included 4MB. Unfortunately, since this was still the Rambus [=DRAM=] it still had the tiny texture buffer. So it could have increased texture detail, but not by much. Its main use was increasing the screen resolution and draw distance. Notably, two N64 games absolutely required it to be played: ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' (presumably due to its origins as a [=64DD=] title and requiring the extra memory) and ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' (Rare was instructed to use the Pak ''[[TechDemoGame somehow]]'', and in the end it was used to improve the game's lighting[[note]]A persistent urban legend has spread that the game only uses it to avoid a random game crash that showed up late in development, thanks to a story in a dev commentary from a programmer who worked at Rare at the time but not on ''[=DK64=]''; the lead artist for the game later commented on this, saying he'd probably conflated the mandate to include the Expansion Pak with the story of a bug that was discovered near but ultimately fixed before release[[/note]]). Another two games that didn't strictly require the Pak but were massively cut down without it were ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' (the Pak is needed to access the campaign, co-op modes, or any multiplayer features other than a stripped-down deathmatch) and ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft\|I}} 64'' (to play the ''Brood War'' missions or a new co-op mode). There are 62 N64 games total that, while not requiring the Pak, could still use it to optimize their graphics. Unfortunately, in at least one isolated case, it caused issues [[note]]''VideoGame/SpaceStationSiliconValley'' would randomly crash if the Expansion Pak was being used; otherwise, the Pak would in theory be invisible to the system and treated as a jumper pak if the game had no enhancements[[/note]], so the old RAM pack had to be swapped back in.
73	* The Mouse, bundled with ''VideoGame/MarioArtist: Paint Studio'', usable with the entire ''VideoGame/MarioArtist'' series and ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft\|I}} 64'' (although the mouse actually just sends the same signals as the joystick does when it's moved, and the left and right click act as buttons A and B respectively, so ''technically'' the mouse is actually usable with any game...with varying degrees of usability).
74	* The 64DD, a disk drive that could be attached to an N64, allowed players to play games off of larger magnetic disks, access the [=RANDnet=] service and also increased the system's memory capacity.
75	** The Modem Cartridge, the Phone Cable and the [=RANDnet=] Browser Disc, used for browsing the internet.
76	** The Keyboard, usable only with the [=RANDnet=] software, for browsing the net and typing messages.
77	** The Capture Cartridge, bundled with ''VideoGame/MarioArtist: Talent Studio'' and used as input method for pictures, video and audio.
78
79	[[AC:Console variations (in order of release)]]
80	* Charcoal (1996)
81	* Gold (1997) (Toys R Us exclusive)
82	* Daiei Hawks (1999) (only released in Japan)
83	* Clear (1999) (only released in Japan)
84	** Blue/White (also available in Europe)
85	** Red/White
86	** Atomic Purple (unreleased)
87	** Ocean Blue (unreleased)
88	** Deep Red (unreleased)
89	** Milky Blue (unreleased)
90	* JUSCO 30 (1999) (only released in Japan)
91	* ANA (1999) (only released in Japan)
92	* Funtastic (2000)
93	** Smoke Black (known as Clear Black in Japan)
94	** Ice Blue (only released outside of Japan)
95	** Watermelon Red (only released in Europe and the Americas)
96	** Jungle Green (only released outside of Japan)
97	** Grape Purple (known as Midnight Blue in Japan)
98	** Fire Orange (only released outside of Japan)
99	** Atomic Purple (known as Clear Purple in Japan) (unreleased)
100	** Extreme Green (unreleased)
101	** Grass Green (unreleased)
102	** Glacier White (unreleased)
103	** Ocean Blue (unreleased)
104	** Deep Red (unreleased)
105	** Milky Blue (unreleased)
106	* ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium'' Battle Set (2000) (only released in Australia, the UK, and Scandinavia)
107	* Pikachu Edition (2000)
108	** Blue/Yellow (international)
109	** Blue/Yellow (Japan)
110	** Orange/Yellow (Japan)
111
112	[[AC:Controller variations (in order of release)]]
113	* Solid (1996)
114	** Gray
115	** Black
116	** Yellow
117	** Green
118	** Dark blue (unreleased, only shown at Shoshinkai '95)
119	** Blue
120	** Red
121	* Black/Gray (1996) (only released in Japan)
122	* Gold (1997) (released in the USA, the UK, and Japan)
123	* E3 Golden N (1997) (promotional)
124	* Hello Mac (1997) (only released in Japan)
125	* Geoffrey (1997) (only released in Japan)
126	* Nintendo Power 100 (1997) (promotional)
127	* Extreme Green (1998) (Toys R Us exclusive)
128	* Atomic Purple (1998) (known as Clear Purple in Japan)
129	* Daiei Hawks (1999) (only released in Japan)
130	* Clear (1999) (only released in Japan)
131	** Blue/White (also available in Europe)
132	** Red/White
133	** Ocean Blue (unreleased)
134	* DK Banana (1999) (only released in North America)
135	* JUSCO 30 (1999) (only released in Japan)
136	* Millennium 2000 (1999) (promotional)
137	* Funtastic (2000)
138	** Smoke Black (known as Clear Black in Japan) (only released outside of Australia)
139	** Ice Blue (only released outside of Japan)
140	** Watermelon Red (only released in Europe and the Americas)
141	** Jungle Green (only released outside of Japan)
142	** Grape Purple (known as Midnight Blue in Japan)
143	** Fire Orange (only released outside of Japan)
144	** Grass Green (unreleased)
145	** Glacier White (unreleased)
146	** Ocean Blue (unreleased)
147	** Deep Red (unreleased)
148	** Milky Blue (unreleased)
149	** Colorless (unreleased)
150	* ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium ''Battle Set (2000) (only released in Australia, the UK, and Scandinavia)
151	* Pikachu Edition (2000)
152	** Blue/Yellow (international)
153	** Blue/Yellow (Japan)
154	** Orange/Yellow (Japan)
155
156	[[AC:Available cartridge colors (in order of appearance)]]
157	* Gray (standard)
158	* Gold (first seen on ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'')
159	* Black (first seen on ''Turok 2: Seeds of Evil'')
160	* Green (first seen on ''[=BattleTanx=]: Global Assault'')
161	* Red (first seen on ''VideoGame/RocketRobotOnWheels'')
162	* Yellow (first seen on ''Earthworm Jim 3D'')
163	* Blue (first seen on ''Bass Masters 2000'')
164	* Silver (only seen on ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium2'')
165	* Emerald Green (unused, appeared on a Game Boy Pocket model sold at Toys R Us locations in Japan)
166	* Pink (unused, appeared on a few rare Game Boy variations)
167	* Beige (unused)
168	* Dark Gray (unused)
169	* Medium Gray (unused)
170
171	[[AC:Unofficial cartridge colors which saw official use]]
172	* Grape Purple (seen on the 2019 official repro run of ''Franchise/StarWars: Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire'')
173	----
174	!!Games/Series:
175
176	[[foldercontrol]]
177
178	[[index]]
179	[[folder:#-D]]
180	* ''VideoGame/TenEightySnowboarding''
181	* ''VideoGame/FortyWinks'' (first game to be officially released for the platform since the console's discontinuation, two decades in the making)
182	* ''64 Hanafuda: Promise of an Angel''
183	* ''64 Professional Sumo Wrestling''
184	** ''64 Professional Sumo Wrestling 2''
185	* ''64 Trump Collection - Alice's Exciting Trip to Trump World''
186	* ''VideoGame/AeroFighters Assault''
187	* ''[=AeroGauge=]''
188	* ''VideoGame/AidynChronicles'' (last game released in Brazil)
189	* ''Air Boarder 64''
190	* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing2001'' (Japan exclusive)
191	* ''VideoGame/ArmyMen: Sarge's Heroes''
192	** ''Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2''
193	** ''Army Men: Air Combat''
194	* ''VideoGame/{{Asteroids}} Hyper 64''
195	* ''Automobili Lamborghini'' (''Super Speed Race 64'' in Japan)
196	* ''Bakushō Jinsei 64: Mezase! Resort Ō''
197	* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie''
198	** ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie''
199	* ''Bass Hunter 64''
200	* ''VideoGame/BattleTanx''
201	** ''[=BattleTanx=]: Global Assault''
202	* ''VideoGame/{{Battlezone\|1998}}: Rise of the Black Dogs''
203	* ''VideoGame/BeetleAdventureRacing''
204	* ''Videogame/BioFreaks''
205	* ''VideoGame/BlastCorps''
206	* ''VideoGame/BodyHarvest''
207	* [[/index]]''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'':[[index]]
208	** ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman 64}}'' (''Explosive Bomberman'' in Japan)
209	** ''VideoGame/Bomberman64TheSecondAttack''
210	** ''VideoGame/BombermanHero''
211	** ''Bomberman 64'' (different than the above Bomberman 64; last game released in Japan)
212	* ''VideoGame/BuckBumble''
213	* ''[[VideoGame/BubbleBobble Bust-A-Move]] 2: Arcade Edition''
214	** ''Bust-A-Move 3 DX'' (''Puzzle Bobble 64'' in Japan, ''Bust-A-Move '99'' in America)
215	* ''VideoGame/CaliforniaSpeed''
216	* ''VideoGame/{{Carmageddon}} 64''
217	* [[/index]]''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':[[index]]
218	** ''VideoGame/Castlevania64''
219	** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLegacyOfDarkness''
220	* ''VideoGame/ChameleonTwist''
221	** ''Chameleon Twist 2''
222	* ''Charlie Blast's Territory''
223	* ''VideoGame/ChoroQ 64'' (''Penny Racers'' outside Japan)
224	** ''Choro Q 64 2: Hachamecha Grand Prix Race''
225	* ''VideoGame/ClayFighter 63⅓''
226	** ''Clay Fighter: Sculptor's Cut''
227	* ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn Command & Conquer]]''
228	* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay''
229	* ''VideoGame/{{Cruisn}}'':
230	** ''Cruis'n USA''
231	** ''Cruis'n World''
232	** ''Cruis'n Exotica''
233	* ''VideoGame/CustomRobo''
234	** ''Custom Robo V2''
235	* ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}''
236	* ''VideoGame/DarkRift''
237	* ''Deadly Arts'' (also known as ''G.A.S.P!! Fighters' [=NEXTream=]'')
238	* ''VideoGame/DenshaDeGo! 64''
239	* ''Derby Stallion 64''
240	* ''Destruction Derby 64''
241	* ''Dezaemon 3D''
242	* ''VideoGame/DinosaurPlanetRare'' (cancelled)
243	* ''Creator/{{Disney}}'':
244	** ''VideoGame/ABugsLife''
245	** ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution Disney Dancing Museum''
246	** ''VideoGame/DonaldDuckGoinQuackers''
247	** ''VideoGame/MickeysSpeedwayUSA''
248	** ''VideoGame/TiggersHoneyHunt''
249	** ''VideoGame/ToyStory2''
250	* [[/index]]''Franchise/DonkeyKong'':[[index]]
251	** ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing''
252	** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64''
253	* ''VideoGame/Doom64''
254	* ''VideoGame/DuckDodgersStarringDaffyDuck''
255	* [[/index]]''VideoGame/DukeNukem'':[[index]]
256	** ''[[VideoGame/DukeNukem3D Duke Nukem 64]]''
257	** ''Duke Nukem: Zero Hour''
258	[[/folder]]
259
260	[[folder:E-H]]
261	* ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim 3D''
262	* ''{{VideoGame/Excite}}bike 64''
263	* ''Explosive Invincible VideoGame/BangaiO''
264	* ''VideoGame/ExtremeG''
265	** ''Extreme-G 2''
266	* ''Extreme Pro Mahjong''
267	* ''F-1 World Grand Prix''
268	** ''F-1 World Grand Prix II''
269	* ''F1 Pole Position 64'' (''Human Grand Prix: The New Generation'' in Japan)
270	* ''Famista 64''
271	* ''VideoGame/{{FIFA\|Soccer}} 64''
272	** ''FIFA: Road to World Cup 98''
273	** ''FIFA 99''
274	* ''VideoGame/FightersDestiny''
275	** ''Fighters Destiny 2''
276	* ''VideoGame/FightingForce 64''
277	* ''VideoGame/{{Forsaken}} 64''
278	* ''VideoGame/FZeroX''
279	* ''Game of Life 64''
280	* ''VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}} Legends''
281	* ''VideoGame/{{Gex}} 64: Enter the Gecko''
282	** ''Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko''
283	* ''VideoGame/{{Glover}}''
284	* ''Golden Nugget 64''
285	* ''GT 64: Championship Edition'' (''City Tour Grandprix: Zen Nihon GT Senshuken'' in Japan)
286	* ''Hamster Story 64''
287	* ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon64''
288	* ''Heiwa Pachinko World 64''
289	* ''VideoGame/{{Hexen}}''
290	* ''VideoGame/HiryuNoKen'':
291	** ''Flying Dragon'' (''Hiryū no Ken Twin'' in Japan)
292	** ''SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu'' [[/index]]([[NoExportForYou Japan exclusive]])[[index]]
293	* ''Hot Wheels Turbo Racing''
294	* ''VideoGame/HybridHeaven''
295	* ''VideoGame/HydroThunder''
296	[[/folder]]
297
298	[[folder:I-L]]
299	* ''Ide Yōsuke no Mahjong Juku''
300	* ''VideoGame/IggysReckinBalls'' (''Iggy Kun no Bura 2 Poyon'' in Japan)
301	* ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheInfernalMachine''
302	* ''Indy Racing 2000''
303	* ''International Superstar Soccer 64'' (Jikkyou J-League Perfect Striker/Jikkyou World Soccer 3 in Japan)
304	** ''International Superstar Soccer 98'' (''Jikkyou World Soccer: World Cup France 1998'' in Japan)
305	** ''International Superstar Soccer 2000'' (''Jikkyou J-League 1999 Perfect Striker 2'' in Japan)
306	* ''International VideoGame/TrackAndField 2000''
307	* ''J-League Live 64''
308	** ''J-League Dynamite Soccer 64''
309	** ''J-League Eleven Beat 1997''
310	** ''J-League Tactics Soccer''
311	* [[/index]]''Franchise/JamesBond'':[[index]]
312	** ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye 007]]''
313	** ''VideoGame/TheWorldIsNotEnough''
314	* ''Jangō Simulation Mahjong-dō 64''
315	* ''Jeremy [=McGrath=] Supercross 2000''
316	* ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini''
317	* ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct Gold''
318	* ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards''
319	* ''Last Legion UX''
320	* [[/index]]''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':[[index]]
321	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''
322	** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''
323	* ''VideoGame/LEGORacers''
324	* ''VideoGame/LivePowerfulProBaseball 4''
325	** ''Live Powerful Pro Baseball 5''
326	** ''Live Powerful Pro Baseball 6''
327	** ''Live Powerful Pro Baseball 2000''
328	** ''Live Powerful Pro Baseball Basic-ban 2001''
329	* ''VideoGame/LodeRunner 3-D''
330	[[/folder]]
331
332	[[folder:M-P]]
333	* ''VideoGame/MaceTheDarkAge''
334	* ''[[VideoGame/MaddenNFL Madden Football]] 64''
335	** ''Madden NFL 99''
336	** ''Madden NFL 2000''
337	** ''Madden NFL 2001''
338	** ''Madden NFL 2002''
339	* ''Mahjong 64''
340	* ''Master of Fishing 64''
341	** ''Master of Fishing 64: The Sea Ride''
342	* ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man\|Legends}} 64'' (a port of ''Mega Man Legends'')
343	* ''Mia Hamm 64 Soccer'' (''Michael Owen's World League Soccer 2000'' in The United Kingdom, ''RTL World League Soccer 2000'' in Germany, ''Telefoot Soccer 2000'' in France)
344	* ''VideoGame/MicroMachines 64 Turbo''
345	* [[/index]]''Creator/MidwayGames Greatest Arcade Hits''[[index]]
346	* ''VideoGame/MischiefMakers''
347	* ''[[Film/MissionImpossible1996 Mission: Impossible]]''
348	* [[/index]]''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}''[[index]]
349	* ''Morita Shogi 64'' (the cartridges have a built-in RJ-42 Modem Connection port with which you were able to connect to now dead servers to play against other gamers all around Japan)
350	* [[/index]]''Franchise/MortalKombat'':[[index]]
351	** ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 Mortal Kombat Trilogy]]''
352	** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero''
353	** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4''
354	* ''Monster Truck Madness 64''
355	* ''Morita Shogi 64''
356	* ''VideoGame/MsPacManMazeMadness''
357	* ''[[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon]]''
358	** ''Goemon's Great Adventure''
359	** ''Goemon Sugoroku of Mononoke''
360	* ''VideoGame/NamcoMuseum 64''
361	** ''VideoGame/PacMan''
362	** ''VideoGame/MsPacMan''
363	** ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}''
364	** ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}''
365	** ''VideoGame/PolePosition''
366	** ''VideoGame/DigDug''
367	* ''VideoGame/NBAJam '99''
368	** ''NBA Jam 2000''
369	* [[/index]]''Franchise/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' (the first--and, to date, one of the only--''Evangelion''-licensed games discounting the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series of crossovers to actually allow players to control the titular mechas, known for pushing the limits of the Nintendo 64's hardware. Only released in Japan.)[[index]]
370	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Superman64}} The New Superman Aventures]]'' (also known as ''Superman'' and ''Superman 64'', often considered one of the worst games of all time)
371	* ''VideoGame/NFLBlitz'' (original, ''2000'', ''2001'', and ''Special Edition'')
372	* ''[[VideoGame/NHLHockey NHL 99]]''
373	* ''VideoGame/NightmareCreatures''
374	* ''Nintama Rantarou 64 Game Gallery''
375	* ''[[VideoGame/StrikeSeries Nuclear Strike]] 64''
376	* ''VideoGame/OgreBattle64''
377	* ''Parlor! Pro 64: Pachinko Jikki Simulation''
378	* ''VideoGame/{{Paperboy}} 64''
379	* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark''
380	* ''VideoGame/{{Pilotwings}} 64''
381	* [[/index]]''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':[[index]]
382	** ''VideoGame/HeyYouPikachu''
383	** ''Pokémon [[VideoGame/PanelDePon Puzzle League]]''
384	** ''VideoGame/PokemonSnap''
385	** ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium''
386	*** ''Pokémon Stadium 2'' (''Pokémon Stadium'' outside Japan)
387	*** ''Pokémon Stadium Gold and Silver'' (''Pokémon Stadium 2'' outside Japan)
388	* ''Power League 64''
389	* ''VideoGame/ThePowerpuffGirlsChemicalXTraction''
390	* ''Premier Manager 64''
391	* ''Pro Shinan Mahjong Tsuwamono 64: Jansō Battle ni Chōsen''
392	* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'':
393	** ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoSun 64''
394	** ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyon Puyo Puyo~n Party]]'' (notably released after Creator/{{Sega}} had gained ownership of the series but before they dropped out of the hardware business)
395	[[/folder]]
396
397	[[folder:Q-T]]
398	* [[/index]]''Videogame/{{Quake}}'':[[index]]
399	** ''[[VideoGame/QuakeI Quake 64]]''
400	** ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' (notable in that several changes were made from the PC original)
401	* ''VideoGame/{{Quest 64}}'' (''Eltale Monsters'' in Japan, ''Holy Magic Century'' in PAL Territories)
402	* ''VideoGame/{{Rakugakids}}''
403	* ''VideoGame/{{Rampage}} World Tour''
404	** ''Rampage 2: Universal Tour''
405	* ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape''
406	* ''VideoGame/Ready2RumbleBoxing''
407	** ''Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2''
408	* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''
409	* ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer 64''
410	* ''VideoGame/RoadRash 64''
411	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Robopon}} Robot Ponkottsu]] 64: Caramel of the Seven Seas''
412	* ''VideoGame/{{Robotron\|2084}} 64''
413	* ''VideoGame/RocketRobotOnWheels'' (this was where Creator/SuckerPunch--who would later become a Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment first-party studio--got their start)
414	* ''VideoGame/SanFranciscoRush: Extreme Racing''
415	** ''San Francisco Rush 2049''
416	* ''VideoGame/ShadowMan'' (multi-platform but closely associated with the N64, where its mature themes stood out more. Was one of two games officially translated to Brazilian Portuguese)
417	* ''VideoGame/Shadowgate64TrialsOfTheFourTowers''
418	* [[/index]]''Creator/ShigesatoItoi's No. 1 Bass Fishing''[[index]]
419	* ''Shining and Solving! 64 Detective Club''
420	* ''VideoGame/ShirenTheWanderer 2: Demon Invasion! Shiren Castle!''
421	* ''VideoGame/SimCity 2000''
422	* ''VideoGame/SinAndPunishment''
423	* ''VideoGame/SnowboardKids'' (''Snobow Kids'' in Japan)
424	** ''Snowboard Kids 2'' (''Super Snobow Kids'' in Japan)
425	* [[/index]]''Franchise/SouthPark'':[[index]]
426	** ''VideoGame/SouthPark'' (multi-platform, was one of two games officially translated to Brazilian Portuguese)
427	** ''South Park: Chef's Luv Shack''
428	** ''VideoGame/SouthParkRally''
429	* ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2000''
430	* ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders''
431	* ''VideoGame/SpaceStationSiliconValley''
432	* ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft\|I}} 64''
433	* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' (known as ''Lylat Wars'' in Europe and Australia)
434	* ''VideoGame/StarSoldier: Vanishing Earth''
435	* [[/index]]''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':[[index]]
436	** ''VideoGame/StarWarsEpisodeIRacer''
437	** ''Star Wars: VideoGame/RogueSquadron''
438	*** [[/index]]''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Star Wars Episode I]]: Battle for Naboo''[[index]]
439	** ''Star Wars: Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire''
440	* ''VideoGame/StarshotSpaceCircusFever''
441	* ''Strongest Habu Shogi''
442	* ''Stunt Racer 64''
443	* ''Super B-Daman: Battle Phoenix 64''
444	* [[/index]]''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':[[index]]
445	** ''VideoGame/DrMario 64''
446	** ''VideoGame/MarioGolf'' (''Mario Golf 64'' in Japan)
447	** ''VideoGame/MarioKart64''
448	** ''Mario no Photopi''
449	** [[/index]]''VideoGame/MarioParty'':[[index]]
450	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty1''
451	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty2''
452	*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty3'' (last game released in Europe)
453	** ''VideoGame/MarioTennis''
454	** ''VideoGame/PaperMario64''
455	** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' (renowned, along with the subsequent ''Ocarina of Time'', for being the title to revolutionize 3D gameplay with features such as a fully-rotatable camera and analog-controlled movement)
456	** ''VideoGame/YoshisStory''
457	* [[/index]]''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'':[[index]]
458	** ''VideoGame/SuperRobotSpirits''
459	** ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars64''
460	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64''
461	* ''Susume! Taisen Puzzle Dama: Tōkon! Marutama Chō''
462	* [[/index]]''Franchise/{{Tamagotchi}} 64: Minna de Tamagotchi World''[[index]]
463	* ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'':
464	** ''VideoGame/MagicalTetrisChallenge''
465	** ''VideoGame/{{Tetrisphere}}''
466	** ''Tetris 64''
467	** ''The New Tetris''
468	* ''Tom Clancy's VideoGame/RainbowSix''
469	* ''VideoGame/TonicTrouble''
470	* ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater''
471	** ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2''
472	** ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3'' (last game released in North America)
473	* ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}: Dinosaur Hunter''
474	** ''Turok 2: Seeds of Evil''
475	** ''Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion''
476	** ''Turok: Rage Wars''
477	* ''Twisted Edge Extreme Snowboarding'' (''King Hill 64: Extreme Snowboarding'' in Japan)
478	[[/folder]]
479
480	[[folder:U-Z]]
481	* ''VideoGame/{{Vigilante 8}}''
482	** ''VideoGame/Vigilante8SecondOffense''
483	* ''Virtual Chess 64''
484	* ''Virtual Pool 64''
485	* ''Virtual Pro Wrestling 64''
486	** ''Virtual Pro Wrestling 2: Ōdō Keishō''
487	* ''VideoGame/WarGods''
488	* ''VideoGame/WaveRace 64''
489	* ''VideoGame/WayneGretzkys3DHockey''
490	** ''Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey '98''
491	** ''Olympic Hockey '98''
492	* [[/index]]''Wrestling/{{WCW}} vs. [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]]: World Tour''[[index]]
493	** ''[=WCW/nWo=] Revenge''
494	* ''VideoGame/{{Wetrix}}''
495	* ''VideoGame/WinBack: Covert Operations''
496	* ''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}} 64''
497	* ''VideoGame/{{Wonder Project J}}2: Josette of the Corlo Forest''
498	* ''World Driver Championship''
499	* ''VideoGame/{{Worms}} Armageddon''
500	* [[/index]]''Wrestling/{{WWE}}'':
501	** ''WWF Wrestling/WrestleMania 2000''[[index]]
502	** ''VideoGame/WWFNoMercy''
503	[[/folder]]
504	----
505
506	!!!64DD Games:
507	* ''VideoGame/DoshinTheGiant''
508	** ''Doshin the Giant: Rescue from the Front by the Toddlers that Tinkle at the Large Meeting Hall''
509	* ''F-Zero X Expansion Kit'' (the final 64DD release, and if not the most sought after, definitely the most famous)
510	* ''Japan Pro Golf Tour 64''
511	* ''VideoGame/MarioArtist''
512	** ''Communication Kit''
513	** ''Paint Studio''
514	** ''Polygon Studio''
515	** ''Talent Studio''
516	* ''VideoGame/SimCity 64''
517	[[/index]]
518	----
519	%% The following is a noncomprehensive list of games known to have been in development for Nintendo 64 at some point before being cancelled and/or moved to another platform. All entries in this list are included based on known sources, including obscure sources such as the French magazine Consoles + and the German magazine Man!ac.
520	!!!Unreleased Games:
521	* ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars 64 Wars]]'' (cancelled)
522	* ''1080° Snowboarding 2'' (eventually released for [=GameCube=] as ''1080° Avalanche'')
523	* ''Ace Driver'' (cancelled)
524	* ''VideoGame/AlienTrilogy'' (cancelled)
525	* ''Bio Tetris'' (cancelled)
526	* ''Bloodmaster'' (cancelled)
527	* ''Buggie Boogie'' (cancelled)
528	* ''Cabbage'' (cancelled)
529	* ''Catroots'' (cancelled)
530	* ''Dinosaur Planet'' (eventually released for [=GameCube=] as ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'')
531	* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'' (released for Super NES due to hardware delays)
532	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' (eventually released for [=PlayStation=])
533	* ''[[Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion Emperor of the Jungle]]'' (cancelled)
534	* ''Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem'' (eventually released for [=GameCube=])
535	* ''Famicom Classics Vol. 1'' (cancelled)
536	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' (eventually released for [=PlayStation=])
537	* ''Fire Emblem: Ankoku no Miko'' (cancelled; was revived and heavily reworked to be released as ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' for Game Boy Advance)
538	* ''Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball'' (cancelled)
539	* ''Freak Boy'' (cancelled)
540	* ''Gendai Dai-Senryaku: Ultimate War'' (cancelled)
541	* ''[[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins Ghosts 'n Goblins 64]]'' (cancelled)
542	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' (cancelled)
543	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto2'' (cancelled)
544	* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' (cancelled)
545	* ''VideoGame/KameoElementsOfPower'' (eventually released for Xbox 360)
546	* ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' (released for Super NES due to hardware delays)
547	* ''VideoGame/KirbyAirRide'' (eventually released for Gamecube)
548	* ''Klepto'' (cancelled)
549	* ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends2'' (cancelled)
550	* ''Metroid 64'' (cancelled)
551	* ''Monster Dunk'' (cancelled)
552	* ''[=EarthBound=] 64'' (cancelled, eventually released as ''VideoGame/Mother3'' for Game Boy Advance)
553	* ''Mystics'' (cancelled)
554	* ''Pilotwings 64 2'' (cancelled)
555	* ''Pokémon RPG'' (cancelled)
556	* ''VideoGame/RedBaron'' (cancelled)
557	* ''[[VideoGame/RidgeRacer Ridge Racer V]]'' (cancelled)
558	* ''Riqa'' (cancelled)
559	* ''Robotech: Crystal Dreams'' (cancelled)
560	* ''Sailor Moon World'' (eventually released for [=PlayStation=])
561	* ''[=SoulStorm=]'' (cancelled)
562	* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'' (cancelled)
563	* ''Super Mario 64 2'' (cancelled)
564	* ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' (cancelled)
565	* ''Top Gun: A New Adventure'' (cancelled)
566	* ''Velvet Dark'' (cancelled)
567	* ''VX Vampire XDV-7'' (cancelled)
568	* ''Wall Street'' (cancelled)
569	* ''Waterworld'' (released for Virtual Boy due to hardware delays)
570	* ''Zenith'' (cancelled)
571	----
572	!!Tropes:
573
574	* AcclaimedFlop: Widely considered one of the most innovative and important systems of all time for ''Super Mario 64'', ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'', and ''[=GoldenEye=] 007'' alone, but the system absolutely cratered in Europe and Japan. Downplayed in North America - it wasn't an outright failure by any means, but was down on the [=SNES=] and no match for the newcomer [=PlayStation=]. Averted by many of the games themselves though, which actually sold really well relative to the system itself. The [=N64=] had numerous million-sellers, with ''Super Mario 64'' doing over 10 million and ''Mario Kart 64'' and ''[=GoldenEye=]'' only a little below.
575	* BookEnds:
576	** ''Super Mario 64'', the first game for the console, begins (at least gameplay-wise) with Mario coming out of a pipe in the front lawn of Peach's castle... and in ''Mario Party 3'', the last major game for the console, after the end credits, Mario and the other playable characters are seen relaxing in the front lawn of Peach's castle.
577	** The first and last boss fight of ''Super Mario 64'' involves you [[ChasingYourTail chasing down and grabbing Bowser's tail]] so you can swing him like an Olympic hammer to his doom. In one of the very last games released for the console, ''Conker's Bad Fur Day'' homages ''Mario 64'' by having the final boss being defeated with the exact same technique!
578	* {{Bowdlerize}}: As the [[MediaNotes/EntertainmentSoftwareRatingBoard ESRB rating system]] was firmly in place, this only happened in certain exceptional cases, such as the aformentioned ''Duke Nukem 3D''. Nintendo also insisted that Creator/{{Rare}} town down some of the blood and violence in ''[=GoldenEye=]''. And for reasons unknown, a number of games that were rated "T" by the ESRB for other platforms (such as ''[[VideoGame/{{Gex}} Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko]]'' and the first three ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' games) were rated "E" on the Nintendo 64, and had various changes made to secure those ratings. ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3'' would later be ported to the Platform/NintendoGameCube uncensored.
579	* ChristmasRushed:
580	** Averted for the most part. If anything the [=N64=] era was notable for showing off just how generous Nintendo was when it came to missing Christmas in order to guarantee a better game -- or system. That said, it still popped up a couple times.
581	** After ''Banjo-Kazooie'' was delayed, ''Diddy Kong Racing'' was hastily put into development so the [=N64=] had ''something'' for Christmas. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools In spite of all that, it's almost universally thought of as one of the system's defining games.]]
582	* ClothesForChristmasCringe: In a commercial where four teenage boys complained what they got for Christmas instead of a Nintendo 64 console. One of the gifts in particular are boxes full of clothes. They sung about their complaints in a tune of "Jingle Bells".
583	* DarkerAndEdgier: When compared to the Super NES years. Nintendo's censorship policies lightened up considerably for the Nintendo 64, with edits mostly reserved for minor aspects of the games, such as the aforementioned steroid power ups in ''Duke Nukem 3D''. A lot of teen and adult oriented games got released for the 64 that would have ''never'' gotten the greenlight in their older days--''Conker's Bad Fur Day'', which features a [[ArtStyleDissonance superficially cutesy looking platformer game]] loaded with [[BlackComedy shamelessly comedic gore]], heavy swearing and [[VulgarHumor scatological humor]], is probably the most notorious example of this. Downplayed in the sense that the console as a whole was still considered by both teenage and young adult gamers, as well as third-party developers, as a console primarly focused on children, especially when compared to the Platform/PlayStation.
584	* DevelopmentHell:
585	** A lot of what didn't help the N64's software droughts was the fact that so many of its biggest games had much longer-than-expected development cycles. By the time most of the games were finally ready, 1998 being the first year with a truly solid first-party software lineup, it was too late, because the [=PS1=] and Saturn had already more than established themselves and the Dreamcast and [=PS2=] were looming over the horizon.
586	** The [=64DD=] is one of the most infamous examples. It was supposed to release not long after the [=N64=] proper in late 1996, and be a key pillar that was critical to many of Nintendo's hardware and software plans. After several missed release dates, it finally ended up releasing in late 1999, exclusive to Japan with only a few supported games, and was discontinued not long after.
587	** Several games originally planned for [=64DD=] were either moved to cartridge form (e.g. ''Kirby 64'', ''Ocarina of Time'', ''Paper Mario'', and ''Pokémon Snap'') or different consoles entirely (''VideoGame/ResidentEvilZero'' on [=GameCube=], ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' on [=PlayStation=]), which often extended their development time.
588	** During [[https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Sin-and-Punishment-Successor-of-the-Skies/Iwata-Asks-Sin-and-Punishment-Successor-of-the-Skies/1-The-N64-Controller-Provides-Inspiration/1-The-N64-Controller-Provides-Inspiration-214087.html the Iwata Asks interview]] for the game's [[VideoGame/SinAndPunishmentStarSuccessor sequel]], Iwata himself actually grilled Treasure a little over the fact that ''Sin and Punishment'' started in 1997 and ended up being one of the very last games on the system, which was unusual even for the time. Justified though, as the game only started out with a small staff size and slowly became the biggest Treasure had put on a project.
589	* DifficultButAwesome: The Nintendo 64 is an absolute beast of a machine, but devs never really figured out how to take advantage of it during it's life time. That said, the fan modding scene has gone back to it and has discovered [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC_jLsxZ7nw it was really capable of]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf036fO-ZUk some seriously impressive graphics]], being almost on par with the next generation of games.
590	* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: The Nintendo 64 is collateral damage in the war against piracy, as Nintendo's choice of lower capacity but harder-to-copy cartridges over [=CDs=] limited game development, resulting in a dearth of third-party games as opposed to the CD-based [=PlayStation=] and consequently lower sales of Nintendo's console.
591	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: 66% of the consoles sales were from the American market. A lot of North American gamers were actually surprised to find out just how irrelevant it was Europe and Japan, because while it still was behind the [=PlayStation=], it actually managed to be decently competitive with that system over there and had excellent software sales. The heavy push for cutting-edge 3D graphics over in the west, alongside the existing momentum that Nintendo had built up with its previous systems in North America explain the success of the [=N64=] in that region.
592	* InsistentTerminology: If a game absolutely had to have a loading screen, Nintendo forced devs to make it say something other than "Loading"; ''VideoGame/QuakeI'' for example says "Building", while ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft\|I}} 64'' says "Accessing Mission Data".
593	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Shockingly, Nintendo themselves were guilty of this when designing the controller. The inclusion of an analog joystick was a bold move at the time and Nintendo themselves were clearly banking on it since the two launch titles made heavy use of it, but they also figured developers would more commonly stick to the familiar d-pad with most games, the exact reason the joystick is in the middle prong instead of on the more natural left prong. They ended up missing the mark on that big time; the joystick became the ''exact'' innovation developers needed when making the VideoGame3DLeap, and the d-pad was hardly ever used in any of the games for the system.
594	* LighterAndSofter: The console has an unfair reputation as being kiddy, mainly because of Nintendo's emphasis on first and second party developed games to compensate for the lack of third party devs, which led to the console's headlining hits (i.e. Mario and co., ''Banjo-Kazooie'') being the family-friendly titles. However, there were also plenty of games aimed at the older crowd, most notably ''[=GoldenEye=] 007'', ''Perfect Dark'' and ''Conker's Bad Fur Day''. And while Nintendo occasionally forced censorship on a handful of games, the edits were nowhere near as drastic as what they did in their NES and Super NES years.
595	* LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition:
596	** The console had a "Limited Edition" only for sale in Daiei Hawks stores in Japan with a transparent orange top and a transparent black bottom. The controller with a transparent orange top and a black bottom that came with the console was also sold separately.
597	** The console had a "Jusco 30th Anniversary Edition" only for sale in Jusco stores in Japan to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Jusco chain of stores with a transparent light gray top and a transparent white bottom. The controller with a transparent light gray top and a transparent white bottom that came with the console was also sold separately.
598	** The controller with a black top and a gray bottom had two variants:
599	*** One sold only in Hello Mac stores in Japan with a lion emblem on top.
600	*** One sold only in Toys Я Us stores in Japan with a Geoffrey the Giraffe emblem on top.
601	** ''64 Professional Sumo Wrestling'' came with a Controller Pak.
602	** ''Choro Q 64'' came with an assemblable toy car.
603	** ''Disney's Tarzan'' came with a Tarzan figurine.
604	** ''Densha de Go! 64'' has a "Driver Pack"that came with a Voice Recognition Unit microphone.
605	** ''Extreme-G'' has a "Special Edition" in Germany that came with a music CD.
606	** ''Gauntlet Legends'' came with a Warrior miniature.
607	** ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time''
608	*** It has a "Collector's Edition" in America and Australia that came with a Gold Cartridge.
609	*** It has a "Limited Edition" in Germany that came with a Strategy Guide and a shirt (possibly unlicensed).
610	** ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask''
611	*** It has a "Collector’s Edition" in America that came with a cartridge that had a holografic label.
612	*** It has a "Limited Edition Adventure Set" in Europe limited to 1000 pieces that came with a shirt, a watch, a 2 CD soundtrack, a poster, a sticker and 2 pin badges.
613	** ''The New Superman Aventures'' has a "Collector's Edition" that came with a tie-in comic book.
614	** ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium'' has a "Battle Set" in Europe that came with a Nintendo 64 with a blue top with yellow Reset button, Power button, dust tray and bottom
615	** ''Rampage 2: Universal Tour'' came with a Rampage Baby, one of three possible plush keychains of George, Lizzie, and Ralph, and a shirt.
616	** ''World Driver Championship'' came with a shirt.
617	* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: Defied, as Nintendo cited the long load times of [=CDs=] as one of the reasons for the cartridge medium. Unfortunately, [=CDs=]' loading times were a small problem compared to the painfully restrictive amounts of storage offered by carts. Curiously, some games did end up having some noticeable loading times, though these were typically nowhere near as long or frequent as on CD based consoles. This was due to them using advanced compression techniques to compensate for the lack of space on the cartridges, which then required the CPU to spend some time decompressing the data before it could be used.
618	* MadeOfIndestructium:
619	** Nintendo 64s are built like tanks, and are guaranteed to last you for decades. One TV show even tried to destroy one, and it took two whacks from a large mallet before any visible cracks appeared!
620	** Averted with the Nintendo 64 joystick. It was built in such a way that the plastic quickly wore itself down from the rotation, resulting in a stick with excessive center play. By contrast, it uses optical encoders instead of the potentiometers that later Nintendo controllers use, which are more durable and precise due to their contactless nature. Too bad the gimbal/pivot parts of the joystick can't hold up compared to the sensors.
621	* MarketBasedTitle:
622	** Averted for the first time for a Nintendo console, with the system keeping the same name in all regions.
623	** The ''Smoke Black'' and ''Grape Purple'' consoles were released in Japan as ''Clear Black'' and ''Midnight Blue''.
624	** The ''Atomic Purple'' controller was released in Australia as ''Clear Purple''.
625	* NoExportForYou
626	** The [=64DD=] and all of its games were never released outside Japan.
627	** ''Custom Robo'' 1 and 2, ''Sin and Punishment''[[note]]A notorious example as the game actually features full English voice acting[[/note]], and ''Animal Forest'' are the most famous Japan exclusive base N64 games. The latter two later showed up respectively on Wii Virtual Console and [=GameCube=] (as ''VideoGame/{{Animal Crossing\|2001}}''), but ''Custom Robo'' wasn't so lucky. The original ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium'' wasn't localized either, but international players didn't miss much because it's an ObviousBeta for ''Pokémon Stadium 2'' (which was released as simply ''Pokémon Stadium'').
628	** On the flipside, ''Conker's Bad Fur Day'', ''Pokémon Puzzle League'', and ''Dr. Mario 64'' in its original form were never released in Japan. Japan would later get a [=GameCube=] port of ''Dr. Mario 64'' in ''Nintendo Puzzle Collection'', which never saw international release. Europe didn't get ''Dr. Mario 64'' either.
629	** Because of the difficulty involved in translating a device that's based on human speech, ''Hey You, Pikachu!'' took two years to come out in North America and was never bothered with in Europe.
630	* OlderThanTheyThink: The Ice Blue color didn't originate with the Funtastic generation; its first appearance was over a decade before, on the Japanese Famicom cartridge ''VideoGame/{{Salamander}}''.
631	* QualityOverQuantity: For a short while, Nintendo [[HandWave tried to excuse]] the dearth of N64 games being released by saying that they "believed in quality over quantity." While the N64 had plenty of (mostly first and second party) KillerApp games like ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye 007]]'', this justification proved to ultimately be fruitless. The system's game library was quite slim compared to the [=PlayStation=]'s, and third parties made it less of a priority due to the cartridge unit.
632	* ReleaseDateChange
633	** The [=N64=] itself was actually delayed, which got things off on a bad foot since it meant the [=PS1=] and Saturn both had a year and a half's head start. It was supposed to be out in fall 1995, but first hit Japan in June 1996. Nintendo of America waited a little longer (until September 1996) to take advantage of the holiday rush. In fact, the first ads for the system actually played up the long wait, hyping up the suspense to build anticipation.
634	** ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' were both slated for 1997, but ended up slipping to the following year, which crippled their plans for the system's second year lineup.
635	** Nintendo of America helped to pad out the N64's lineup during its last couple years by strategically holding back localized games. Nintendo had more or less wrapped up N64 development by the end of 2000 in order to shift gears towards the [=GameCube=], so in 2001, ''[[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing2001 Animal Forest]]'' was the sole first-party N64 game in Japan. NOA and NOE filled in the void with ''Paper Mario'', ''Mario Party 3'', and ''Pokémon Stadium 2'' (all 2000 releases in Japan), plus ''Dr. Mario 64'' and ''Conker's Bad Fur Day'' (which Japan didn't get). Unfortunately, it led to games like ''Sin and Punishment'' and yes, ''Animal Forest'' getting lost in the shuffle (though the rest of the world would get the latter as an enhanced port on the [=GameCube=] a year later).
636	** While ''Ocarina of Time'' was a simultaneous worldwide launch, Nintendo of America sat on ''Majora's Mask'' to be their big holiday 2000 game. They actually ended up moving the release date up a month to October 26th in order to compete with the [=PS2=] launch date... to mixed results, saleswise.
637	** The 64DD add-on was delayed so many times that many developers pulled out of the project, and even Nintendo themselves reworked the vast majority of their own 64DD games they had in development to play on the original Nintendo 64 instead. When finally released in December 1999, it was dead on arrival and discontinued barely over a year later.
638	* SleeperHit: One of the [=N64=]'s greatest legacies is the original ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64'', which was a low-budget project that many of Nintendo's higherups were nervous about. It ended up not only becoming one of the system's best-selling games, but launching one of Nintendo's biggest, most important franchises ever and the best-selling FightingGame series of all time.
639	* SpritePolygonMix: Many [=N64=] games made strategic use of [=2D=] objects to help cut rendering costs, but ''VideoGame/YoshisStory'', ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'', ''VideoGame/MischiefMakers'', and ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' all turn it into an art form.
640	* SuperTitle64Advance: One of the {{Trope Namer}}s.
641	* TropeCodifier: Many [=N64=] entries in established series became the barometer that defined their respective series going forth, like ''Super Mario 64'', ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'', ''Star Fox 64'', ''Paper Mario'', ''Mario Tennis'', ''Mario Golf'' and ''Rayman 2''. To this day, fans, critics, and developers alike still compare subsequent entries in those series to their N64 installments.
642	* UnusualUserInterface: The first console to have an analog control stick. On that note, the controller is widely considered to be monstrous to deal with, with its three handles that one must constantly adjust their grip on to use properly. Certain third-party controllers are built to mimmic more conventional ones, with the analog stick and D-pad moved to the left, and buttons A through C moved to the right. It's also the bane of the existence of anyone trying to emulate the console since basically every controller released since (including the Platform/PlayStation's, Platform/{{Xbox}}'s, and all of their successors) is [[FollowTheLeader based on the SNES controller]].[[note]]Nintendo's own consoles being the exception, oddly enough[[/note]] Fortunately USB adaptors can be found online.
643	* UrExample: One of the [=N64=]'s most significant legacies is as the birthplace for three of Nintendo's [[CashCowFranchise biggest, most enduring franchises ever]]: ''Franchise/AnimalCrossing'', ''VideoGame/MarioParty'', and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''.
644	** The [=N64=] is also home to the first ''Pokémon'' spinoff (''VideoGame/PokemonStadium''), ''VideoGame/SinAndPunishment'', ''VideoGame/TenEightySnowboarding'', ''VideoGame/WaveRace'', and ''VideoGame/CustomRobo''.
645	* {{Vaporware}}: The [=N64=] is unusual among Nintendo systems for just how many high-profile cancelled and rebooted first-party games it has. A big part of this has to do with the troubled development of the [=64DD=], which screwed over a LOT of developers' plans. [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell Some games resurfaced on later systems]] like the [=GameCube=] (''VideoGame/KirbyAirRide'', ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Master Quest'') and even the Platform/GameBoyAdvance (''VideoGame/Mother3'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade''). Miyamoto also spoke freely and candidly about a sequel to ''Super Mario 64'' in numerous interviews, which he later admitted would [[VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine probably not be actually released on N64]].
646	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
647	** It was originally called the ''Nintendo Ultra 64'' (carrying on the naming scheme of the Super NES/Famicom); the prototype controller had a larger thumbstick and a round-shaped "Z" button. The arcade versions of ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' and ''VideoGame/{{Cruisn}} USA'' referenced this, claiming it would be available "only on Nintendo Ultra 64!"
648	** At Shoshinkai '95, in addition to the six solid controller colors that were released, a seventh controller was on display that was dark blue.
649	** There were over sixty games planned for the Nintendo 64DD. When it finally came out, only eight stand-alone titles were released.
650	** At least 12 Funtastic or Clear variants were planned that didn't make the cut.
651	** ''Cruis'n USA'', ''Body Harvest'', ''Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire'', ''Turok: Dinosaur Hunter'', ''Tetrisphere'', and ''Wave Race 64'' were originally supposed to be part of the console's launch lineup in the United States. The former two were delayed due to content issues, but the reasons for the others being delayed are still not known.
652	* WritingAroundTrademarks: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQue_Player The iQue Player,]] a plug-and-play variant released in UsefulNotes/{{China}}. Its purpose was to [[LoopholeAbuse run through the holes in]] [[BannedInChina China's anti-console policy,]] and it was also meant to curb piracy. [[CrazyEnoughToWork It was a brilliant idea,]] but [[NoExportForYou never released anywhere else,]] ironically.
653	----
654	->''"Thank you for playing Nintendo 64!"''
655	-->-- '''Creator/CharlesMartinet''', in the kiosk demo

Context Platform / Nintendo64