Sweet, we're talking best N64 games For me the following games, pretty much my collection, not in any order:
Mission Impossible
Uh...really? MI is one of those games that wants to be good, but fails to execute.
So did I. One of my favorite consoles ever. However, that doesn't change the fact that the Playstation one, arguably the most influential console of all time (which I never owned), had more sales and a bigger catalog of big guns. This is all Metracritic-able, not an absolute measurement, but at least one that attempts to be objective.
The N64 had some amazing games, OOT, Mario 64, they changed or created genres by themselves. But the Playstation single handedly started making videogames a global market appealing for more than teenagers.
"arguably the most influential console of all time"?
"a bigger catalog of big guns"?
Come on. In terms of influence, the N64 had the analog stick first, rumble first, 3D platforming first, and paved the way for FPSes on consoles. PS1 had Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid. Influential, yes, but not earth-shatteringly so.
And as for big guns:
PS1
Resident Evil
Metal Gear Solid
Final Fantasy
Gran Turismo
Tomb Raider
Twisted Metal
Crash
Spyro
Castlevania
JRPGs-a-plenty
Only the first five in that list were real game-changers, and they were, in order:
Violent
Gritty
Ugly-as-sin, but propped up by FMV
Slow simulation racing
Ugly-as-sin, not propped up by FMV
The rest was mostly sports games and shovelware.
The N64 might've not had much just for adults, but it had lots of titles that appealed to all ages, as well as a few good FPS, fighting, and sports titles. And if you want big guns:
Super Mario 64
Mario Kart 64
GoldenEye 007/Perfect Dark
Banjo-Kazooie
Ocarina Of Time/Majora's Mask
Super Smash Bros.
Star Fox 64
Star Wars games
Top six were all game-changers, all looked good, and only one was violent (but not bloody enough to prevent lots of kids from playing it). And to help compensate for a lack of RPGs/sports titles, you get a plethora of 3D platformers, non-shovelware multiplayer party games, racing games, and wrestling games. Not to mention great cult games like Conker's Bad Fur Day, Harvest Moon 64, Jet Force Gemini, Mischief Makers, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, Robotron 64, and Paper Mario.
And without a doubt, the N64 owned PS1 in terms of hardware:
Fast-loading, durable cartridges
Texture filtering (to prevent blockiness)
Perspective correction (to prevent texture warping in free-camera games)
Four built-in controller ports
Expansion Pak
Only drawbacks were a lack of CD audio and FMV, but they weren't greatly missed. The system had great in-engine cutscenes and great MIDI music.