Your favourite N64 3-D Platformer (non-Nintendo/Rare)

[Nintegageo | 582]

Was thinking I might play Rocket or Bomberman Hero. What do you suggest?

[Tanooki | 4,933]

When Nintendo and Rare are excluded it gets interesting.

Personally for me it was Bomberman Hero, it's just so much fun and not like the grid style adventures before and after (2nd attack did which I have too.)  Yet some might consider that one obvious, so another would be Rayman 2 which was amazing on there only topped by Dreamcast but that probably need exclusion since it's ported.  That would also cut out stuff like Gex, Earthworm Jim(terrible anyway), and Toy Story too.

 Maybe Bomberman Hero is the answer.  I know there were some weird ones like Space Station Silicon Valley and Buck Bumble but I have little and no experience with those two.  Glover might be a solid choice I remember it being well made.  There's also those 2 Chameleon Twist games, and Starshot I recall people getting into.

I almost want to strongly suggest the totality (all 3 parts doing it right) of Castlevania Legeacy of Darkness, but it's more of an adventure than some mario-ish platformer.

If it were a bit less glitchy I'd say fire up Project64 or whatever's best now on PC, and grab Dinosaur Planet, but that is a Rare game, yet it would be an entirely new experience since it was terminated in beta.

[fox | 1,667]

I played thru Rocket Robot on Wheels last year for the first time, it was very good.  It goes for more of physics/puzzle approach rather than lots of janky combat, which gives it a different vibe from all the others trying to ape Mario 64.  Felt pretty laid back and fun.

It was also the first game by Sucker Punch who wen on to do Sly Cooper, InFamous, and Ghost of Tsushima.  Cool to see where they cut their teeth on the 64!

Edited April 30, 2022 by fox

[AstralSoul | 502]

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

[OptOut | 8,883]

Yeah there are some great 3D platformers on N64, it's basically the flagship genre of the system.

Obviously everyone is suggesting Rocket, and absolutely yes, you have to play that! Great game.

Rayman 2 is also very good, as is it's little brother Tonic Trouble! I actually personally PREFER Tonic Trouble to Rayman 2, but they are both very good games IMO.

Space Station Silicon Valley is another fantastic game, incredibly inventive, fun and genuinely hilarious as well, you must experience that one!

Another very, very good game is Gex 3: Deep Cover Gekko. Now, please don't make the mistake of thinking I mean Gex 64, which is mediocre, I'm talking the SECOND Gex game on 64. I actually put that near the very top of the list of great N6R platformers, it is honestly top notch.

Toy Story 2 is also a very good, fun game, although a little easy. I also had a surprising amount of fun with Bug's Life, which I was expecting to be poor, but it was actually pretty decent.

 

There are more games I could mention, Daffy duck Dodgers is okay, Earthworm Jim 3D is interesting but not particularly good...

But be warned... DO NOT PLAY STARSHOT!!! That game is a living hell.

[OptOut | 8,883]

4 hours ago, AstralSoul said:

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

Hmmm... Not to be "that guy" or anything, but Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon isn't much of a 3D platformer, it's more of an adventure game. I'd put that next to Ocarina of Time rather than Mario 64, in terms of gameplay.

It's still a very fun and worthwhile game tho, don't get me wrong... The giant Mecha fights are insane, lol!

[Tanooki | 4,933]

31 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Hmmm... Not to be "that guy" or anything, but Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon isn't much of a 3D platformer, it's more of an adventure game. I'd put that next to Ocarina of Time rather than Mario 64, in terms of gameplay.

It's still a very fun and worthwhile game tho, don't get me wrong... The giant Mecha fights are insane, lol!

That's why I didn't list it exactly why.  1997~ 2022...I still find it the better game too than Ocarina of Time.  It outdid Zelda before that game was even close to arriving.  Not a popular comment given the drooling idiocy over it, but it is what it is, and Ocarina is N64's FF7 when it comes to droves of blinders on fans.

[OptOut | 8,883]

5 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

That's why I didn't list it exactly why.  1997~ 2022...I still find it the better game too than Ocarina of Time.  It outdid Zelda before that game was even close to arriving.  Not a popular comment given the drooling idiocy over it, but it is what it is, and Ocarina is N64's FF7 when it comes to droves of blinders on fans.

Sorry dude, gotta disagree with you there! I love OoT and MM, great games!

Goemon lacks the gameplay polish of OoT, it feels a little janky in places, and the story is all over the place, it doesn't work as well in terms of a coherent narrative.

It's still a good game, but OoT blows it out of the water, IMO.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

4 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Sorry dude, gotta disagree with you there! I love OoT and MM, great games!

Goemon lacks the gameplay polish of OoT, it feels a little janky in places, and the story is all over the place, it doesn't work as well in terms of a coherent narrative.

It's still a good game, but OoT blows it out of the water, IMO.

Lost me with some utter levels of disgust calling majora's mistake a great game, a rushed stupid disaster of a title that largely games off broken time mechanics and overkill asinine collect-a-thon level uselessness of a majority of the masks.  Ocarina is a fine game, but it's fanboy fodder.

Goemon's controls are just as workable as those in Zelda, and the story is all over the place because it was designed to be, it's nonsense on purpose.  I'm surprised that confused you as that was the intent.  The narrative was never meant to be coherent, none of the Goemon games are, probably drunk when they wrote the script of a majority of any of them.

[OptOut | 8,883]

1 minute ago, Tanooki said:

Lost me with some utter levels of disgust calling majora's mistake a great game, a rushed stupid disaster of a title that largely games off broken time mechanics and overkill asinine collect-a-thon level uselessness of a majority of the masks.  Ocarina is a fine game, but it's fanboy fodder.

Goemon's controls are just as workable as those in Zelda, and the story is all over the place because it was designed to be, it's nonsense on purpose.  I'm surprised that confused you as that was the intent.  The narrative was never meant to be coherent, none of the Goemon games are, probably drunk when they wrote the script of a majority of any of them.

I mean, you do you.

[Gloves | 11,776]

8 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

Lost me with some utter levels of disgust calling majora's mistake a great game, a rushed stupid disaster of a title that largely games off broken time mechanics and overkill asinine collect-a-thon level uselessness of a majority of the masks.  Ocarina is a fine game, but it's fanboy fodder.

We are no longer friends.

[OptOut | 8,883]

13 minutes ago, Gloves said:

We are no longer friends.

Are WE still fwens? 

[Gloves | 11,776]

2 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Are WE still fwens? 

You like Majora's Mask, we'll always be friends.

[AstralSoul | 502]

12 hours ago, OptOut said:

Rayman 2 is also very good, as is it's little brother Tonic Trouble! I actually personally PREFER Tonic Trouble to Rayman 2, but they are both very good games IMO.

Space Station Silicon Valley is another fantastic game, incredibly inventive, fun and genuinely hilarious as well, you must experience that one!

But be warned... DO NOT PLAY STARSHOT!!! That game is a living hell.

Oh completely forgot about Rayman and SSSV! I change my answer to SSSV! Although I love both of those as well as Goemon that I mentioned. I was always curious about Starshot but I guess it's not very good and not worth it lol

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,012]

Does Star Wars Shadow of the Empire count at a 3D platformer? That's always been one of my favorite overall games and it does have some platforming levels like the one where you fight Boba Fett.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

57 minutes ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

Does Star Wars Shadow of the Empire count at a 3D platformer? That's always been one of my favorite overall games and it does have some platforming levels like the one where you fight Boba Fett.

Good question I'd throw a vote on that too but since it's a mix of genres I didn't bother.

[fox | 1,667]

21 hours ago, OptOut said:

Hmmm... Not to be "that guy" or anything, but Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon isn't much of a 3D platformer, it's more of an adventure game. I'd put that next to Ocarina of Time rather than Mario 64, in terms of gameplay.

It's still a very fun and worthwhile game tho, don't get me wrong... The giant Mecha fights are insane, lol!

Spot on.  Not so much a platformer, more of a Zelda style action adventure that beat Ocarina to the punch.  I don't know if it out-Zeldas the 64 Zelda titles, but it has it's own style and humor which makes it still an easy recommendation.

That last mech battle tho

 

3 hours ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

Does Star Wars Shadow of the Empire count at a 3D platformer? That's always been one of my favorite overall games and it does have some platforming levels like the one where you fight Boba Fett.

More third person shooter mixed with some flying/racing levels.  The platforming is kind of a nightmare between the controls and camera for what they expect of you.

Really the best bits are the flying sections, so I just kept replaying those.  They must have thought so too, cause their next title Rogue Squadron, was just the flying parts.

[Sumez | 2,949]

I just looked through my minimal N64 collection, and I don't think I even played any 3D platformers from other devs on that platform. I'm assuming the Castlevania games don't really count? In general I don't recall playing any that did it remotely as well until Jak & Daxter on PS2.

I do have Rocket: Robot on Wheels though, maybe I should try it.

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Sumez

[Nintegageo | 582]

@Sumez should you choose to try it then I can choose it as well man ^_^

Edited May 2, 2022 by Nintegageo
words

[AstralSoul | 502]

On 5/2/2022 at 1:12 AM, Sumez said:

I just looked through my minimal N64 collection, and I don't think I even played any 3D platformers from other devs on that platform. I'm assuming the Castlevania games don't really count? In general I don't recall playing any that did it remotely as well until Jak & Daxter on PS2.

I do have Rocket: Robot on Wheels though, maybe I should try it.

 

I would count the Castlevania N64 games as a platformer. They are more action I guess but definitely contain a good amount of platforming. 

[Sumez | 2,949]

They are, but I don't really feel that they belong to the same school of games as Mario 64 and Banjo

[themisfit138 | 523]

I played through both Castlevania games recently. The castle gates and clock tower level are mostly platforming, with a few fights thrown in. 

[OptOut | 8,883]

13 hours ago, AstralSoul said:

I would count the Castlevania N64 games as a platformer. They are more action I guess but definitely contain a good amount of platforming. 

 

3 hours ago, themisfit138 said:

I played through both Castlevania games recently. The castle gates and clock tower level are mostly platforming, with a few fights thrown in. 

The games emphasize exploration, puzzle solving and combat, along with other ancillary adventure game elements, such as item management.

Yeah, there are some platforming elements, I mean you have a jump button, but by no means would I class these games as platformers. Definitely Adventure games first and foremost.

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

My favorite that I've played is Bomberman 64. I've played all the Nintendo/Rare stuff, but only dabbled in others. Bomberman 64 is my favorite BM both single and multiplayer, but especially single player because of the newly added weird platforming and exploration, and yes I've played the Saturn, SFC, and Turbo games, and no I'm not going to replay BM64 and ruin my nostalgic opinion of it.

[RH | 4,903]

I liked Mischief Makers as a kid.  Looking back, that's the only one I ever played and it's 2Dish, so does that even count?