The Nintendo 64 age of gaming was a time of great controversy for Nintendo. They had rejected the CD format, which its competitors had adapted to for CD quality sound, more space, and cost effectiveness. As such, the N64 found itself with skyrocketing prices, muddied sound effects, and the loss of some key titles and relationships. However, the Nintendo 64 also brought forth numerous games that were not only high enjoyable for their time, but games whose revolutionary concepts and gameplay designs are still being used in today's games.
10. Diddy Kong Racing
I'll tell you right now, Mario Kart 64 did not make this list. A travesty, some might say, but consider Diddy Kong Racing. It built upon the kart racing genre, whereas Mario Kart 64 brought it into 3D, but with much the same design elements that we had seen on SNES. I'm not underscoring Mario Kart's contribution in any way, but Diddy brought in new vehicles: a plane and a hovercraft, both of which controlled differently than a regular kart. The tracks were a bit more diverse, and the adventure mode was engaging. Plus, the characters are cuter, and the game was developed by none other than Rare. Diddy also saw the introduction of two characters that would later go on to star in games of their own, Banjo and Conker.
