The Nintendo 64 is by no means a bad console (it’s home to some of the most important and influential video games of all time), but it isn’t particularly amazing either. In Nintendo’s library of consoles, only nostalgia seems to truly prop up the Nintendo 64. For all intents and purposes, the PS1 was that generation’s undisputed king.
Naturally, this means that quite a few games would have fared better on the PS1. But it’s also important to keep in mind that first person games and titles that generally succeeded on the N64 likely would have failed so don’t expect to see Super Mario 64 or Ogre Battle 64.
10 Castlevania: Legacy Of Darkness
A re-release of Castlevania 64, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness may have fared better had it been released on the PlayStation 1, a console that didn’t have a mediocre Castlevania game hurting the brand. It’s a shame because Legacy of Darkness is genuinely a much better game and salvages the experience.
Unfortunately, it being on the N64 (and being a re-release of a notably poor quality game,) Legacy of Darkness didn’t get the credit it deserved for saving the series’ transition to 3D. Even now, the title’s never been ported to another console— a pity as it’s a nice piece of Castlevania history.
9 Custom Robo
Custom Robo was a first party Nintendo franchise that likely would have persisted a bit longer had it been ported to the PlayStation. This is not to say the series is bad, not by any means— it’s one of Nintendo’s most creative franchises— it’s just that Nintendo never knew how to find the series an audience.
While a PS1 port wouldn’t have guaranteed the franchise’s survival past the Nintendo DS, Custom Robo being a multi-platform release between the GameCube and PlayStation 2 likely would have ensured the franchise’s future. As of now, Custom Robo remains more or less dead in the water.
8 Flying Dragon
The Nintendo 64 got saw weird fighting games. Weird, but creative. It almost seems cruel to want to move Flying Dragon to the PS1 since it’s such an N64 hidden gem, but not many people know of it precisely because it was on the Nintendo 64. A fighting game, RPG hybrid, Flying Dragon is great, but understandably obscure.
Even if Flying Dragon were ported to the PlayStation, however, it seems unlikely that even the sheer popularity of the PS1 could turn the game into franchise potential. It was always destined to end this way for Flying Dragon. Play it anyway.
7 Mischief Makers
What an amazing Treasure game that few people played. Even people who owned a Nintendo 64 skipped out on this game, at least most of them. Typical of Treasure, this is a fairly challenging, action side-scroller developed with arcade sensibilities and a natural allure for replayability.
Really, there’s no way the PS1 could have improved this game. This is just a matter of making sure more people play MIschief Makers. Worse yet, the game has never seen a rerelease— and copies ain’t cheap. This is a game only collectors, pirates, and the lucky few who still own their copies can play.
6 Neon Genesis Evangelion 64
Who doesn’t want a video game adaptation of Neon Genesis Evangelion? And an anime accurate one at that! Neon Genesis Evangelion 64 was never released outside of Japan, something even a PS1 port couldn’t prevent, but perhaps life on the PlayStation would have left to… a translation patch.
As of right now, fans need to use an online translation guide unless they already speak Japanese. Again, there isn’t a guarantee that life on the PS1 would have given the game an English translation, but being landlocked on the Nintendo 64 during the height of the PS1 certainly couldn’t have helped.
5 Rakuga Kids
One of the only traditional fighting games on the Nintendo 64, Rakuga Kids is a very cute, very charming, very quirky, and very addictive fighting game. It has a signature wacky style that no game since has properly emulated. Not even a sequel. There’s a button here, isn’t there? Quite a few great Nintendo 64 games had their franchise potential stopped.
Titles like Rakuga Kids simply could not survive on the Nintendo 64. Nintendo was hurting for third party titles, but the N64 just had no appeal outside of its high class library— something that would continue to haunt Nintendo into the GameCube era.
4 Ridge Racer 64
Ah, Ridge Racer, the first party Sony franchise that for whatever reason decided to release an installment on the Nintendo 64 during the height of Sony and Nintendo’s rivalry. Surprisingly enough, though, Ridge Racer 64 isn’t bad at all. In fact, it’s insanely good and has a bunch of cool features unique to itself.
For loyal Ridge Racer fans, that can only be frustrating. After all, Ridge Racer 64 isn’t just some tossed out title. It’s made with clear love and effort, on the same level as Ridge Racer’s other entries at the time. Ridge Racer 64’s place is on the PS1.
3 Sin & Punishment
A really cool rail shooter and everyone Nintendo 64 collector’s favorite import, Sin & Punishment is basically what happens when Star Fox meets Neon Genesis Evangelion. It holds up extremely well, is addictively replayable, and has a story that only gets more interesting with each playthrough.
Like most titles on this list, Sin & Punishment is something of a cult classic that never got its time to shine— even when it got a sequel on the Nintendo Wii. That said, Nintendo is perhaps handling this series appropriately. Taking a long time between installments can build intrigue for a franchise like this.
2 Star Wars Episode I: Racer
This is a surprisingly good racing game that has a surprisingly good sequel on the PlayStation 2. While the sequel expands on the original game in a lot of ways, it just doesn’t compare to something on the scale of F-Zero GX. Star Wars Episode I: Racer, though? That’s a fine alternative to F-Zero X. Not better, but fine.
But really, this is a game dying to be on the PlayStation. All the Nintendo 64 Star Wars games are. It’s great that both the N64 and GameCube has some surprisingly great Star Wars exclusives, but the PlayStation brand just feels more appropriate for the franchise.
1 WinBack
WinBack was the Nintendo 64’s answer to Metal Gear Solid, and it actually got a PlayStation 2 re-release since the sequel was also being released on the PS2. This franchise realized its Sony potential, but perhaps too late considering there’s no WinBack nowadays. Life on the PS1 would have made it hot after MGS.
Which, in hindsight, might actually have killed the series early. Why would anyone who owned a PlayStation 1 want a worse version of Metal Gear Solid when they could just play Metal Gear Solid? WinBack is good, but it’s nowhere near the same scale as the first Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation.