Five Nintendo 64 Games That Deserve Resurrection

Ridge Racer 64

The Nintendo 64 had no shortage of great racing games, especially ones that supported the four-player split-screen format. (Hydro Thunder and Mario Kart 64 immediately come to mind.) But one that was kind of overlooked when it released was Ridge Racer 64. Shame, because it's really one of the best games in the series to date, with lovely visuals and music, a wide assortment of cars, solid controls and multiplayer potential galore.

We've already heard that Bandai Namco may be bringing back Ridge Racer to the Switch, so why not re-release Ridge Racer 64 as a pre-order bonus? It'd get us warmed up for the driftfest that will hopefully come our way this year.

(By the way, EA, we'd totally take a port of Beetle Adventure Racing as well.)

Rayman 2: The Great Escape

While some platforming fans may be wondering, "Where's Conker's Bad Fur Day?", keep in mind that it already saw a re-release on Xbox One with the Rare Replay compilation. So we'll focus on another terrific platforming game from the old-school era that deserves a second chance at life – Rayman 2.

This is a truly accomplished 3D platformer, filled with great gameplay and exciting stage design, from working your way through a goon-filled pirate ship to riding on a rotating chair through an obstacle-laden stage. Plus, it still looks and sounds great after all these years – so imagine how it would fare with an HD transfer.

C'mon, Ubi, you love bringing back classics in a whole new light (like, for instance, Assassin's Creed Rogue, which comes out next month), so why not add Rayman 2 to the list?

Wave Race 64

Now, there's always the possibility that Nintendo could bring back Wave Race for a new generation of players to enjoy. But, while we wait for that game announcement to come, we could easily enjoy the classic Wave Race, remastered to run at a speedier frame rate on the Nintendo Switch. Plus, imagine how cool the water effects would be with a remaster.

For that matter, Nintendo could easily spice up the package by adding online play and maybe a few bonus courses from the GameCube release Wave Race: Blue Storm.

Just an idea, but we'd love to ride these waves again.

Sin and Punishment

The original Sin and Punishment never got a release here in the U.S. for Nintendo 64, although Nintendo did give it a shot with a digital debut on the Wii and Wii U. But why stop there? The big "N" could easily bring this game back, teaming up with Treasure to implement a new control scheme that takes full advantage of the Nintendo Switch. For that matter, it could easily throw in new challenge modes, and maybe even two-player co-op.

Why stop at just the first game, for that matter? Maybe we can get a two-pack that also includes the Wii release Star Successor in the same package. We're definitely in for that.

Pokemon Stadium

Now, we've already got some Pokemon love on the Nintendo Switch with the enjoyable Pokken Tournament; and we know that a more devoted game from the series will eventually come to the system as well. But what about something to play between the two? We humbly suggest a port of any of the Pokemon Stadium games, although the first has some nostalgic magic going for it, as you battle your way through a number of familiar characters while bettering yourself to be the ultimate Pokemon champ.

For that matter, we'll also take Pokemon Snap – but maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves.

BONUS: Star Wars Rogue Squadron

This is probably the biggest long shot on the list, because we don't even know if EA will have the Star Wars license for long. But whoever has the license, we implore them to give one of the classic Factor 5 Star Wars games a try for the Nintendo Switch. It's the perfect platform for the flight controls, both in handheld and docked mode; and it's sure to look even more dazzling with remastered visuals. And, hey, throw some multiplayer dogfights in there, just for the sake of argument. Fingers crossed that this happens, because we know the fans (and us) deserve it.