Madden Football 64 was one of those games that made you feel like you were actually calling plays from the sidelines—just with way fewer consequences for messing up. The graphics were solid for the N64, with player models that didn’t look like blocky nightmares, and the controls were tight enough that you could actually pull off a last-second Hail Mary without throwing your controller.

What I loved was the playbook—deep enough to feel like you were strategizing, but not so overwhelming that you’d spend half the game scrolling through options. Running the ball with Barry Sanders (if you picked the Lions, obviously) felt as smooth as it should, and the commentary had just the right amount of cheesy charm.

It wasn’t perfect—some of the animations were a little stiff, and playing against friends usually ended in someone accusing the other of "cheese plays." But if you wanted football on the N64, this was the one to grab. Still holds up better than you’d expect for a game from ’97.