This game was such a trip when it first came out. Growing up, I wasn't allowed console games until 1999, so I wasn't familiar with nearly half the roster. Smash 64 was my introduction to Captain Falcon, Fox, Samus, Ness and Kirby.

The novelty of this crossover cannot be overstated. Even though these were Nintendo franchises, seeing Mario, Link, and Pikachu together felt like Luke Skywalker showing up in a Spider-Man cartoon. The idea of a hand playing with these characters as toys was brilliant, because it felt like the made-up stories I would play out with my action figures, except with way fewer Ninja Turtles.

I think this game holds up enough that it's worth revisiting, but it's kind of like the first Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, in that the sequels improved on nearly every element, so you may as well just play those.

Except I REALLY wish we still had Board the Platforms in modern Smash.