Nintendo seems to know what their fans want this month, and apparently it's more Nintendo 64 games. That's right, Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers now have access to three more Nintendo 64 games, including 1080° Snowboarding, Harvest Moon 64 and the previously announced Jet Force Gemini. That's exciting news, but are any of these games actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Next Generation, Computer & Video Games and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. So get ready to do a lot of farming (and maybe shake that weird feeling of déjà vu), because it's time for another exciting episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew.


With the holiday season in full swing, chances are good that you're looking for a cozy game that is equal parts fun and comforting. That's the perfect way to describe the first game we're going to talk about today, Harvest Moon 64, the sequel to one of the Super Nintendo's most addictive farming games. This 64-bit follow-up gives us more of everything we loved in the 16-bit original, only now with the brand-new ability to get married and even have children. Sure, the set-up involving a dead relative who leaves you a farm will be familiar to anybody who has played this franchise, but this version does a good job of streamlining the experience and making it easier than ever for new players to get hooked on its charm. Let's see if the critics liked this Nintendo 64 sequel more than the Super NES original.

When it comes to Electronic Gaming Monthly, the editors were still a little cold on the whole concept of a “life simulator.” They gave this 64-bit sequel an average score of 7.6 out of 10, down half a point from the original's 8.1 average. Crispin sums it up this way: “Harvest Moon is definitely one of them love-it-or-hate-it kinda games. It's a bit tedious. It's unconventional. It's a farming/dating sim, for cryin' out loud! But its cutesy gameplay is just the sort of thing to attract new types of gamers. Kids will love it, sure, but girls will probably dig this too. Here's a game you can play with your girlfriend.” Che agreed, arguing that “Harvest Moon is one of those twilight titles that will go tragically unnoticed to most RPG fans out there. That's a shame, because Harvest Moon 64 has that rare charm and warmth missing from a lot of games. Buy it for your girlfriend.”

EGM's score isn't that far off from the 7.25 out of 10 we saw from Game Informer, which is definitely on the low side of the reviews. Most of the critics were in the 80% range, such as the 8.2 out of 10 from Nintendo Power. For their part, Hyper gave the game an 83%, concluding that “in some strange unfathomable way, Harvest Moon 64 is very addictive indeed. Even though you hand in your sword and shield for a scythe and watering can, the blend of interaction, exploration, moneymaking and mini-games makes this a title unique to say the least. Kudos for the developers straying off the beaten track of tried and tired formulas of video games and breathing fresh air into the industry.”

There were higher scores, of course, including N64 magazine in the UK giving the game an 84%. The top score I could find came from Game Fan, with Eggo giving it an 89%: “Fellow sausages, what ... have I become? What kind of world do we live in that my tastes now coincide with Shidoshi? Is Sailor Moon (gasp) ... really not that bad? Will I someday be standing in line at a store to buy a copy of Seaman? (Shaking head to clear the cobwebs) No, this can't be. I swear this will be the last ‘Shidoshi game' I like ... it's time to crush somebody in NFL 2000 and SoulCalibur!”

Between EGM's constant talk of it being a good “girlfriend” game and now a Game Fan editor all but questioning his masculinity, these reviews have not aged particularly well. There's no reason to balance things out with football and fighting, just play what you want to play and have fun. And you're definitely going to have a lot of fun if you check out Harvest Moon 64 on the Switch.

Having already conquered both 3D platformers with Banjo-Kazooie and first-person shooters with GoldenEye 007, there was only one thing left for Rare to do – combine the two genres! Released in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, Jet Force Gemini sees our spacey hero run, jump, swim and even hang from ledges as he battles his way through a bunch of exciting (and imaginative) science fiction-themed stages. The combination of platforming and third-person shooting was novel at the time, and would later go on to inspired a number of other action games, including the entire Ratchet & Clank franchise. These days, the reception to Jet Force Gemini has been somewhat mixed, with some arguing that it was a rare misstep for Rare, all while IGN called it one of the N64's best games. But we're not here to see what some website said, because this is a show about classic magazines.

If you can here expecting nothing but rave reviews, then think again. Much like its legacy today, the critics were a bit mixed when it came to Jet Force Gemini. Let's start with Electronic Gaming Monthly, where it averaged a disappointing 7.75 out of 10. Shoe gave it one of the lower scores, arguing that “when Rare's in charge of a project, you just know it won't be something small and insignificant. This action/adventure game is humongous, with lots to see and do. Buy this game for the single-player experience, but don't expect much multiplayer-wise ... even with a myriad of options, multiplay Jet Force Gemini is really boring after a few sessions.” Shawn liked it a bit more, concluding that “Jet Force Gemini doesn't have the kind of impact you expect from a Rare game ... at first. But after some play time, it's easy to see what separates Jet Force Gemini from others. It isn't without flaws, though. The lack of variety in enemy types, a flaky camera and unintuitive control can get annoying. Still, it's another Rare gem.”

There were other magazines, like Game Informer, that agreed with Electronic Gaming Monthly's score, but most were either a lot higher or a lot lower. For example, we saw the notoriously grumpy Next Generation give Jet Force Gemini a score of 3 out of 5 and make the case that “Rare would have been better off leaving some of this on the cutting-room floor.” “Like a lengthy, bloated, Hollywood movie, Jet Force Gemini loses entertainment value by exhausting gamers long before the mega-journey is over. If this was half as long, it would have been twice as good. Without a doubt, any respecting gamer should buy this game to witness the result of Rare's Herculean effort. But don't even entertain the idea of completing the game unless you have the patience of a saint – and over twice as much time as it took to finish Zelda.”

If you're looking for more positive reviews, then you have a few to choose from. Incite gave the game a score of 4 out of 5 in their first issue and Edge found it in their hearts to give the game a surprisingly strong 9 out of 10. That's the same score we saw from Nintendo Power. Scott made the case that it's “very challenging and very big. The best pure action game ever for the N64.” Kyle agreed, calling the AI “the most tenacious I've seen,” while Nate concluded that there's “more multiplayer than you can shake a stick at.”

Now, if you're wondering who gave Jet Force Gemini the highest score, then you must be new to this series, because the answer is obviously GamePro. Giving it a perfect 5 out of 5, Air Hendrix explains that “Jet Force Gemini is another fine example of why Rare is one of Gaming's best developers. Spectacular graphics and sound combine with deep, gripping gameplay to make Jet Force a must-own action/adventure experience.”

Personally speaking, I find myself agreeing with Next Generation. There are a lot of elements of this game that simply don't hold up in 2023, and there's just way too much filler in this game. That said, the game is definitely fun for a long time and worth a look, especially if you're a Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscriber who has been waiting for a meaty release. You aren't going to get much meatier than this.

While Nintendo may be known for their cartoony sports games starring Mario and his friends, the company actually has a rather impressive line-up of more realistic sports titles. One of the most memorable was the 1080° Snowboarding series, which started on the Nintendo 64 before getting a GameCube sequel in 2003. This debut installment takes us to some of the snowiest and most treacherous locations in the world and then give us a good push, sending players screaming down the mountainside at breakneck speeds, all while dodging trees, rocks and other snowboarders. In a world where good snowboarding games were few and far between, 1080° Snowboarding was yet another great addition to the Nintendo 64 library.

Electronic Gaming Monthly agreed with pretty much everything I said in my description, giving the game an average score of 8.4 out of 10. John started his review by making this obvious comparison: “1080° Snowboarding is like the icy equivalent of Wave Race 64, but with less courses and a much steeper (and potentially frustrating) learning curve. The graphics are beautiful, and the control is almost perfect, but with only six courses total and a select few secrets to open up, you'll be begging for more after just a few days of play.” Dan agreed, giving the game a lower 7.5 out of 10. “1080 is a decent game. The game has solid graphics, intuitive controls and lots of variety. But a little more variety would've helped. The half-pip is the only event I really loved; doing tricks is the best part of this game.”

Once again, this 80% range seems to be the sweet spot for this snowboarding simulator. Edge liked the game enough to give it a solid 8 out of 10 in their 57th issue. Nintendo Power liked it a bit more, giving it an 8.5 out of 10. For their part, Computer & Video Games gave the sports game a 4 out of 5, with Alex arguing that “compared to the other boarding games on the market, 1080° is definitely the king. Not only in looks, but more importantly in the way it plays and feels. From the moment you pick your boarder at the lodge, you know this game is special. It's not a perfect game, and one that is fairly easy to beat, so I won't give it top marks. But until the next boarding game comes along, this is the current daddy.”

Now, this would normally be the point in the show where I would read GamePro's perfect 5 out of 5 review, but we're not going to do that today. Instead of giving their overly-kind critics even more coverage, I would rather end this episode with Next Generation getting the final word. Giving 1080 a perfect 5-star rating, they concluded that “all in all, the excellent feel and wealth of features easily made us cast a charitable blind eye on the relatively low number of courses and occasional pop-up and clipping. With 1080° Snowboarding, Nintendo delivers another system seller and once again sets the standard for an entire genre.”

The relative lack of courses is definitely one of those problems that keeps popping up, but it shouldn't be too big of an issue on the Nintendo Switch. Just go in knowing that, while fun, 1080° Snowboarding isn't the deepest Nintendo 64 game to come out this week. This is easily one of the best snowboarding games currently on the Switch.