N64 was one of Nintendo's most criticized consoles for a plethora of reasons, beginning with the publisher's decision to use cartridges instead of cheaper CDs. That ultimately convinced Square Enix to (for a time) abandon the company, bringing its popular Final Fantasy RPG series to the PlayStation. People also complained about an excessive use of fog in some video games, as well as a lack of full motion video.

To that we say, whatever. Nintendo 64 played host some outstanding games, and we have fond memories of exploring the Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario 64, decapitating lizards in Turok 2 and jumping off the top rope in WCW vs. NWO World Tour. Dig a little deeper, and you'll find a re-imagined version of Doom, Wave Race 64's impressive water physics and the crude yet delightful Conker's Bad Fur Day.

To celebrate this 64-bit powerhouse, we partnered up with GoNintendo to count down the system's ten best games. Let us know if your favorite(s) made the list.

5.) The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

After wowing audiences with Ocarina of Time, Nintendo followed up that exquisite adventure with Majora's Mask. Like its predecessor, this Zelda lets players explore dungeons and towns as the young elf, Link. Except in this case, they have three days to prevent the moon from crashing into the world of Termina and stop the Skull Kid. Not everyone appreciated the time limit, but fans enjoyed the adrenaline rush that came from racing against the clock.

That, of course, was but one of the game's features. Nintendo dramatically altered the gameplay with the inclusion of over 20 unique masks. Donning one not only changes Link's appearance, but also grants him with different abilities that players will use to advance through the adventure; non-player characters also treat Link differently, depending on the mask he wears.

Combine that with gorgeous (for the time) visuals, a memorable soundtrack and combat reminiscent of Ocarina of Time, and it's no wonder that Majora's Mask is so beloved.

4.) Banjo-Kazooie

Although Rare designs games for Microsoft's Xbox 360, the company did its greatest work on N64, including the critically-acclaimed platform adventure, Banjo-Kazooie. This light-hearted and humorous game stars a bear and his feathered friend as they explore Spiral Mountain in the hopes of defeating the evil witch, Gruntilda and rescuing Banjo's sister. Along the way, they'll meet a colorful cast of kooky characters (Bottles, Mumbo) and collect items called Jiggys to access new worlds.

N64 owners flocked to Banjo-Kazooie for its huge open worlds, diverse environments (Treasure Trove Cove, Clanker's Cavern) and assortment of enemies that include a killer shark called Snackers. In addition, the characters make several transformations (termite, pumpkin, crocodile) that help players complete the game's challenges. If you missed it or feel nostalgic, download the original and its sequel via Xbox Live Arcade.

3.) GoldenEye 007

During the 90s, almost all of the quality first person shooters were on PC. Consoles didn't have the processing muscle or the controller to do the genre justice. That all changed with GoldenEye. First, Rare proved that the N64 could handle a shooter by making excellent use of the system's controller and analog stick. Second, GoldenEye was one heck of a video game. Rare not only captured the movie, complete with key scenes, shootouts and catchy James Bond music, but also crafted one of the most thrilling games we'd seen.

Single player mode offered plenty of exciting moments, as Bond dodged enemy fire, ran from an exploding train and infiltrated an enemy base, but most of us remember the addictive multiplayer. Up to four players (via split screen) engaged in frantic shootouts using a host of cool weapons, including the silenced PP7, P-90, Rocket Launcher, Laser and other deadly toys. Meanwhile, the game had a wide assortment of characters to choose from, including Bond and Oddjob.

The entire package was proof that companies could not only bring an excellent FPS to consoles, but also create a superb movie-based video game.

2.) Super Mario 64

Talk about making an impact. Super Mario 64 was the premier reason (and one of the few, since Pilotwings 64 was the other launch title) to own the N64. Nintendo's grand adventure followed the same basic formula (Bowser kidnaps Peach, Mario to the rescue), except players explore the Mushroom Kingdom in full 3-D.

Being able to explore Peach's castle, hunt for gold coins and climb up trees kept us busy for hours. Then we actually jumped through a few paintings and were shocked to discover huge worlds full of puzzles, danger and objectives to complete. We soared through the air, dodged cannonballs, transformed into Metal Mario to walk under water and challenged a giant penguin to a friendly race.

Meanwhile, we couldn't erase the grins from our faces. Super Mario 64 looked incredible, sounded amazing and played wonderfully. It was not only a showpiece for the N64's processing muscle, but also the system's innovative controller, as gamers manipulated Mario with the analog stick. Bottom line, you can't own a Nintendo 64 console without experiencing it.

We'll give you one guess as to which N64 game took the top spot. Come on. You already know what it is.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Beautiful. Timeless. Awe-inspiring. All those and more describe Link's first 64-bit adventure. We knew the game was special the moment we left Link's hut and explored his village, searching for hidden rupees and interacting with townsfolk. Then we met the great Deku tree, and the adventure went from zero to 60 before we could blink. Almost everything about this game caused our jaws to drop. Killing Skulltulas with the slingshot, creating music and chasing after chickens filled us with joy. Then we got on the horse, the Nintendo officially blew our minds. Never before had we seen something this phenomenal, both on console and PC. Ocarina was so hypnotic that we thought about it away from home. It got to the point that we obsessed over freeing the land from Ganondorf.

Sure, it looks its age, and you could argue that plenty of current games have copied and thus surpassed it in quality, but Ocarina of Time was the benchmark by which all adventure games were judged, and remains one of Nintendo's crowning achievements.