It’s a very cool time in the video game industry right now, as we’re seeing a number of classic games get a second chance at life. Case in point – later this week, Nightdive Studios will release a two-pack of Turok games, including Seeds of Evil and the original Dinosaur Hunter, for Xbox One.
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Not only that, but the long-lost 40 Winks is headed back to retail, and there’s a good chance we’ll see a new 1080 game as well.
So that left us wondering – there are a number of great Nintendo 64 games that would do pretty well in this day and age. And, no, we’re not talking about obvious choices like Goldeneye 007 (which, by the way, did come back with Reloaded a few years ago), but rather the sleeper games that are still as appealing today as they were when they first came out.
So let’s check out five classic games that deserve a second chance in today’s gaming market.
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.
