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The Nintendo 64 is infamous for having few role-playing games, especially if compared to the Super Nintendo. The major reason for this is that Square and Enix both started making games exclusively for Sony's Playstation due to its CD format. Nevertheless, there were a few role-playing game on the console, some of which are considered classics to this day.

The list[]

Title Year Notes
PD Ultraman Battle Collection 64 1997 (Japan only)
Quest 64 1998
Super Robot Wars 64 1999 (Japan only)
Zool: Maju Tsukai Densetsu 1999 (Japan only)
Robot Ponkottsu 64: Nanatsu no Umi no Caramel 1999 (Japan only)
Paper Mario 2000
Fushigi no Dungeon Fuurai no Shiren 2: Oni Shuurai! Shiren Jou! 2000 Roguelike (Japan only)
Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage 2001

Games with a few role-playing elements[]

Action-adventure games can be very similar to role-playing games. One important difference is that the latter allow the player to affect character development (e.g. grinding enemies at leisure to make the character more powerful), while in an action-adventure game character development occurs at fixed locations decided by the plot (e.g. at the end of every Zelda dungeon).

Title Year Notes
Wonder Project J2 1996 Simulation game with some role-playing elements (Japan only)
Hexen 1997 First-person action game with some role-playing elements
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 1997 Action-adventure game
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 1998 Action-adventure game
Goemon's Great Adventure 1998 Action-platforming game with some role-playing elements
Gauntlet Legends 1998 Hack-and-slash (action) game
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber 1999 Strategy game with role-playing elements
Harvest Moon 64 1999 Simulation game with role-playing elements
Hybrid Heaven 1999 Action game with just a single one role-playing game element
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 2000 Action-adventure game
Mega Man 64 2000 Action-adventure
Hamster Monogatari 64 2001 Simulation game with some role-playing elements (Japan only)

Hybrid Heaven is considered a role-playing game just because it uses Experience points, with random enemy battles, and turn-based battle system (somewhere between real time and turn based similar to Parasite Eve, with combo/brawl-like battle system similar to Legend of Legaia), although the rest of it has little in common with traditional role-playing games (with some game mechanics similar to Metal Gear Solid).

Daikatana for the N64 has limited stat-point "role-playing game-mechanics" too, but hardly affects the gameplay.

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