While awkward controls may have dimmed its
legacy somewhat, Jet Force Gemini was a trailblazer
that successfully fused elements of platforming and
shooting to forge something unique, which had an
equally keen eye for exploration and destruction.JET FORCE GEMINI 1999
Like Mario 64, this effort, starring everyone’s
favourite bird/bear combo, was as much a puzzle
game as it was a platformer, with the player
roaming sprawling, self-contained levels looking
for challenges to complete.BANJO-KAZOOIE 1998
You can read about this (and pseudo-sequel Perfect
Dark) elsewhere on these pages, but we’d be amiss
not to include the game that popularised the
deathmatch on consoles, and swallowed many a
student’s hopes of earning a degree.
GOLDENEYE 007 1997
01 Diddy Kong Racing 1997
Whisper it – Rare’s rival to Mario Kart 64 may have been
the better game. Certainly, it had the more developed
single-player offering, taking place in a hub world with
a sense of adventure and progression, rather than just
being a succession of races.02 Conker’s Bad Fur Day 2001
Rare’s final N64 title was destined to be a family-friendly
affair like Banjo and DK, before a lengthy delay and
overhaul saw Conker re-imagined as a potty-mouthed
punk who fought with opera-singing piles of excrement.
Heart-wrenching ending, mind.03 Donkey Kong 64 1999
Rare rescued DK from videogame hero purgatory with
1994 SNES platformer Donkey Kong Country, but despite
being one of the few games to require the expansion pak,
it’s most famous for over-doing it with the collectibles.