Released in 1996, the Nintendo 64 was the last major console to use cartridges. If you don't know what a cartridge is or the most effective method of cleaning them - blowing into them, obviously - you're officially young.

Its sales throughout the entire run totalled over 32,000,000 units, with all sorts of variants released - including the fabled 'golden' console that everyone claims they've seen.

In September of this year, the Nintendo 64 will be TWENTY years old. So, with that in mind, we've counted the six best games on the console.

 

6. WWF NO MERCY

For our money, No Mercy was the best wrestling game on ANY console and we're including the latest offerings in that statement. Sure, the graphics now look incredibly dated, but the control system was so easily accessible and intuitive. The then-huge range of customisation options, the variety of characters on offer - our favourite had to be Undertaker during his biker phase - and, of course, Royal Rumble mode. We played that thing for HOURS.

 

 

5. LYLAT WARS

Or, if you were in the US, StarFox 64. Whatever you call it, this game redefined how we viewed space shooters and talking animals. The game was so easy to play, meaning that you could pick it up and within a few minutes, you were right into the action. Yes, the story didn't make a huge amount of sense and the voice acting's pure cheesiness, but it all felt weirdly real back then.

 

 

4. INTERNATIONAL SUPER STAR SOCCER 64

Although it had terrible commentary that consisted of vague statements like "There's a fight for aerial domination!" and loudly stating your team name followed by something about possession, ISS 64 was our first window into what a real football game could be. Its ability to build up setpieces, its deftness with creating opportunities and just the sheer fun of it all meant for an incredible experience. There were strategies built by players in ISS 64 that they probably still use to this day.

 

 

3. LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME

Although you had Final Fantasy on the SNES, Phantasy Star on the Mega Drive, Ocarina Of Time was the first RPG that crossed over into the mainstream. In 1998, Ocarina of Time was everywhere. Everywhere. The game still holds an incredible amount of resonance with people to this day. If you played Zelda's Lullaby to a room full of people over the age of 25, they'll go nuts trying to place because they've all heard it at some point in their lives. It's this, by the way.

 

 

2. MARIO KART 64

Everyone had their own track. It might have been Rainbow Road or Kalimari Desert. One thing's for certain - this and the entry below caused blood feuds in families throughout the late '90s and early '00s. The competition would become so fierce that you'd normally have to settle the match with actual fisticuffs with your older brother because he used the shortcut in Koopa Troopa Beach EVEN THOUGH HE SAID HE WOULDN'T.

 

1. GOLDENEYE

Before Goldeneye, first-person shooters were mainly confined to PC. Although there'd been a somewhat successful port of Doom for the Super Nintendo, the genre hadn't really taken off on consoles. All that changed with Goldeneye. It's almost a cliche to state it now, but Goldeneye really did rewrite the rule book when it came to console gaming. They didn't always have to be cute and cuddly, they didn't have to be set in a far-off fantasy world with elves. You could pick up a gun and be James Bond and shoot everything in sight. Plus, that music is still embedded in the back of our brains.