Summary
The Nintendo 64is home to some of the best games of the generation. Who could forget the Skull Kid fromThe Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask or the bear and bird duo,Banjo Kazooie? 3D was a new frontier and many characters made the jump from 2D.
So what about the characters that were left behind? Perhaps it’s a character that never moved on to the modern era, or maybe the character is remembered fondly but never thought about. Some of them even crop up again but never stay for long. Here are ten forgotten Nintendo 64 characters to refresh your memory.
10Gex
Gex: Enter The Gecko
Gex Enter the Gecko featured the titular characterGex, a wise-cracking, TV Binging, Gecko. In his quest to defeat his arch-nemesis Rez, Gex must enter the world of television to stop him. This takes him through many levels inspired by pop culture, includingStar Warsand Looney Tunes.
In the Nintendo 64 version, he even gets an exclusive level “Gecques Cousteau” which parodies The Titanic. Originally, Gex would have survived into theGameCubeandPlayStation 2era of systems, but his 4th entry was canceled.
9Conker
Conker was a money-grubbing squirrel from the titular game, Conker’s Bad Fur Day; after a night of drinking, Conker tries to make his way back home to his girlfriend Berry. Unfortunately, he continuously gets sidetracked by side quests and stacks of money scattered throughout the land.
Conker would get a remaster on the originalXboxbefore going dormant and even appear as a character in Diddy Kong Racing. Conker would also temporarily be revived in Project Spark for Xbox One; however, he has yet to be featured in an official sequel.
8Glover
Glover Who?
Glover was a glove-themed mascot tasked with restoring the Crystal Kingdom. To do this, he would need to find lost crystals that were scattered throughout the game by navigating a ball across each level, and you could dribble the ball, walk on it, slap it, throw it, or even bounce it.
A Glover 2 was planned but never released. Luckily, a port of the game would become available in 2022 for Windows, meaning that while Glover may be a forgotten character, there is still hope of people remembering him.
7Chameleon Twist
A Tongue Twisting Adventure
Yooka Leyley is not the only Chameleon-based Platformer to exist in gaming. During the Nintendo 64 era, Chameleon Twist was released featuring a group of chameleons that find themselves lost after following the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.
Adventuring across six levels, players would use their tongues to latch on to various objects around the world; this mechanic allowed you to grapple, twist, and eat enemies to solve platforming puzzles. Chameleon Twist would receive a sequel with a different model for the main character, Davey.
6Tal’Set
Guardian Of The Lost Land
DoomandWolfensteinmight still be around and kicking, however, oneboomer shooter gamenever really made it out.Turokfollowed Tal’Set, a Native American warrior who keeps the balance between Earth and another dimension called The Lost Land.
The Lost Land does not follow the rules of time and is filled with dinosaurs and aliens, and when the barrier between worlds is threatened, Tal’set must stop the one responsible from merging both. Turok would later get a 2008 reboot, but the series as a whole would go back into hibernation soon after.
5Earthworm Jim
Eat Dirt!
Earthworm Jim is both a quirky and surreal character. He was a worm stuffed inside a robot suit which gave him super strength. His adventures included saving Princess Whats-Her-Name and battling the evil Psy-Crow, and his offbeat attitude earned him a cult following in the 90’s.
Not only did he have multiple games in his series, but he also had a Saturday Morning Cartoon adaptation. Earthworm Jim has been dormant for a while now, but if Battle Toads can make a comeback, perhaps there is still hope.
4Rocket The Robot
A Robot On Wheels
Rocket The Robot is a small red humanoid robot with wheels for legs, and one of the many creations of Dr.Gavin, a genius inventor. When Gavin’s Theme Park is taken over by the jealous Jojo the Raccoon, it’s up to Rocket to save the day.
With six distinct worlds to explore, Rocket goes on a quest to find tickets by playing various minigames and completing quests, and the more tickets earned, the more worlds you can unlock. But even though Rocket Robot On Wheels came in a distinct red cartridge, that didn’t save him from being forgotten.
3Goemon
Small Ninja, Big Adventure
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon was the Blue Haired Ninja’s jump into the 3D realm; the story follows Goemon as he tries to prevent Shogun gangs from giving Japan a more Western makeover. As traditional Japanese castles are transformed into medieval European buildings, Goemon travels with his friends to save the day.
You can raid dungeons, interact with town folk, and swap between characters. Goemon would later resurface temporarily with a newNintendo DSgame, Ganbare Goemon: Toukai Douchuu Oedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki, which wasonly released in Japan.
2Tiny Kong
The Only Character To Age
Donkey Kong 64was the first 3D Platforming game in the series, and it introduced new members of the DK Crew including Lanky, Chunky, and Dixie Kong. Chunky Kong makes an appearance in the Mario Bros Movie, while Lanky Kong is remembered fondly for his design and laid-back attitude.
Tiny Kong, however, falls through the cracks; he would be featured in various minigames as a small indistinguishable sprite, but when she finally came back as a playable character her design was anything but tiny having aged and gotten taller. Nintendo 64’s version of Tiny is all but forgotten.
1Evo The Robot
A Robotic Kirby
Space Station Silicon Valley introduced an obscure character known as Evo the Robot. After being part of a crashed spaceship, Evo is reduced to a small microchip with no chance of survival, but luckily, he can hijack various animals to take on their forms and possess new abilities.
With a bit of help from Dan Danger, a human trapped in the wreckage, Evo The Robot might just have a chance to repair himself, get to the control room, and stop the collision of the space station with Earth.
