20 games we want on the N64 Classic

The NES and SNES Classic were tremendously successful, so you'd imagine an N64 Classic is a no-brainer. 

Recent news of an N64 Classic trademark application suggests it may come sooner rather than later. Which has us wondering -- what games should be on it?

We asked the staff at CNET. These are our suggestions...

"The first 3D Mario and the most iconic moment for the next wave of video games after 16-bit. It's aged a bit, but it's as challenging as ever."
-- Scott Stein

"It's probably still the best Zelda game ever made, and it was the first to explore a realistic 3D universe, instead of top-down sprites. It's got time travel, and it has delightful tunes. It's perfect."
-- Scott Stein

"It set the bar for Mario Kart's 3D racing. It's also a great game to show off that sweet N64 four-controller action."
-- Scott Stein

"It's aged terribly, but GoldenEye 007 is still the first game that comes to mind when you mention the Nintendo 64. Chances of it coming to the Classic are slim at best -- there's licensing issues to deal with -- but it's probably top of my list."
-- Mark Serrels

"The Father of All Smash Brothers. This 19-year-old game is still so popular and prevalent to this day that it still gets played at some of the largest fighting game tournaments in the world, alongside its many successors. The roster started with a small selection of 12 characters, and introduced the concept of Nintendo's favorites kicking the crap out of each other."
-- Alfred Ng

"There are people in this world that believe Banjo-Kazooie was superior to Super Mario 64. Those people are extremely wrong, but it doesn't mean the game wasn't spectacular. Banjo-Kazooie was polished, succinctly designed and -- perhaps most importantly -- properly funny. Like laugh-out-loud funny."
-- Mark Serrels

"I loved this game so much I almost wanted to change my name to Joanna in homage. Almost. Perfect Dark was such a great example of a game that had a strong female lead at the time and was the perfect progression for those of us who needed to wean ourselves off endlessly replaying GoldenEye 007."
-- Lexy Savvides

"The Creepiest Zelda. Still utterly weird, and set in an endless replay of a three-day disaster where an evil-faced moon is about to destroy the world, it also features lots of weird transformative masks, and the debut of Tingle. I've still never finished it."
-- Scott Stein

"Maybe nobody remembers Pilotwings now, but I loved buzzing through the game's island landscape on gliders and jetpacks. Pilotwings never ended up on the SNES Classic, so it's time to fix that here."
-- CNET Staff

"It never appeared again on any future Nintendo platform, but Nintendo's little jet-ski racing game was great. Back then, it was a launch game for N64 and boasted impressive wave physics. Now, it'll just be nice to try with friends."
-- Scott Stein

"The controls seem like a nightmare today, and no one in their right mind has actually finished it thanks to the awful fetch-quest at its conclusion. But blowing up bugs with a tri-rocket launcher while a co-op partner shot lasers out of a flying droid never got old. Eat your heart out Gears of War, Jet Force Gemini is a real third-person shooter."
-- Morgan Little

"This game was released before the US sorta started trying real hard to care about soccer, so y'all most likely missed this one. That's a shame, because International Superstar Soccer 64 was probably the best soccer game ever made. It was the first to effectively make use of analogue controls. It was also the foundation for Pro Evolution Soccer, which is the greatest video game sports series ever made, don't @ me."
-- Mark Serrels

"Is this the best Starfox? Probably yes. If you remember Starfox as kid, you probably remember this game, not the blocky, stuttery mess that was the SNES version. Here, everything felt more like the magic arcade Star Wars experience that it was always meant to be."
-- Scott Stein

"This game and Super Mario 64 really made me gasp at how good the graphics on N64 were. But the real charm with DK64 was the music, with every level having such a unique soundtrack and characters could play their own instruments to open different levels."
-- Lexy Savvides

"If you had an N64 when it was first released, you'll remember the initial drought. There were so few games to play! The original Turok was one of the first third-party games on the system and thankfully it was a humdinger. It had dinosaurs, crazy weaponry and an omnipresent layer of fog to mask draw distance issues! It was later surpassed by superior shooters like GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, but in the beginning Turok was king."
-- Mark Serrels

"WWF No Mercy had the most insane array of wrestling moves and costumes you could unlock. Create your own wrestler, spec him or her out with can't-lose moves and a terrifying clown hat -- you're going to WrestleMania, son. Hit someone with a ladder for me. Shout out to the horrific music."
-- Nick Hide

"I'm begging, praying for Nintendo to bring this series back. F-Zero GX on the GameCube may be the pinnacle, but F-Zero X was revolutionary for its time, featuring multiple onscreen racers and an intense sense of speed that was unrivaled in its time."
-- Mark Serrels

"It isn't even a game, it's an exercise in monotony and frustration. Nothing is further removed from the concept of 'fun' than Mario Party, especially its hand-ruining N64 entries. Oh, this is a list of games we want from the N64 Classic? Never mind…"
-- Morgan Little

"One of the best hockey games ever. Great graphics for the time and the top-down play was so much better than the side-view style of games like Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey. It had the official NHL and NHLPA license so all the teams and players were available. And the commentary was priceless."
-- Josh Goldman

"Sure, it looks like trash compared to its still-gorgeous sequel, but the mere action of piloting an X-wing during the Death Star trench run, chugging along in a rusty Y-wing or actually seeing how the heck a B-wing worked made the muddy visuals worth it. Nothing was a more effective vehicle for generating hype for the Star Wars comeback of the late '90s."
-- Morgan Little