The Modern Console You Can Play The Most N64 Games On Isn't The Nintendo Switch
Kids from the 1990s certainly have a huge appreciation for the Nintendo 64. During the fifth generation of home consoles, Nintendo's 64-bit machine introduced gamers to a flood of classic platformers, first-person shooters, kart racers, and other genre-defining experiences. Over the past couple of years, a variety of recognizable games from the N64's vast software library have become playable on current-gen consoles. While a good number of those retro titles have landed on the Nintendo Switch, a surprisingly high number of N64 games can now be accessed on non-Nintendo consoles.
Yes, it may have been hard to fathom back in the day, but several N64 exclusives are now floating across multiple consoles with enhanced graphics, easier to grasp controls, and even online multiplayer capabilities. This next statement might shock you even more, though: the modern console you can play the most N64 games on isn't a Nintendo console at all: it's actually the Xbox One.
Xbox One features a nice mix of N64 games made by Rare
In 2015, Rare Replay was released for Xbox One. This collection features games that appeared on throwback consoles such as the ZX Spectrum, NES, Mega Drive, and Xbox 360. Seven of the games included with this love letter to Rare just so happened to be former N64 exclusives. Thanks to Rare Replay, the Xbox One is now home to Killer Instinct Gold, Blast Corps, Banjo-Kazooie, Jet Force Gemini, a remaster of Perfect Dark, Banjo-Tooie, and Conker's Bad Fur Day.
Most of Rare's N64 classics now accessible on Xbox One come with several improvements. For instance, Banjo-Kazooie can be played at 1080p resolution and in a widescreen format on Xbox One and Xbox One S. It also features high-resolution textures, improved draw distance, online leaderboards, and support for Achievements. Conker's Bad Fur Day, meanwhile, comes with a more consistent frame rate.
The original Xbox remake of Bad Fur Day, Conker: Live and Reloaded, is playable on Xbox One via backward compatibility, too. Sadly, it's not included in Rare Replay.
Xbox One also features a bunch of non-Rare made N64 games
Plenty of other N64 titles have made their way to Xbox One via other developers and publishers. Bethesda Softworks (which was purchased by Microsoft in 2020) released an updated version of Doom 64 for Xbox One. The game hits 60 frames-per-second on all Xbox One machines, and reaches 1440p on Xbox One S and 4K on Xbox One X. Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour is a remaster of the original game and comes with online co-op/versus modes.
That's not all, though. Forsaken Remastered features all of the exclusive maps and enemies from the N64 version, plus is capable of hitting 60 frames-per-second. The first two Turok first-person shooters – Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil – run on Xbox One with improved textures and easier controls. The upgraded Turok 2 even features an online multiplayer suite with playable maps from both the N64 and PC versions.
As you can see, the Xbox One surprisingly plays host to several Rare and non-Rare N64 games that cover the genres of fighting, action, platformer, third-person and first-person shooter. In every case, these games look and play even better than their '90s counterparts.