Obviously better graphics is a good thing, but the game needs to be able to run with a minimum of 25 FPS so it doesn't look stuttery.

Tetris has very simple graphics but excellent gameplay. So it would show that graphics or lack of can hinder a game. With FPS graphics are the only way that they can differentiate them from other games, as gameplay might be identical.

graphics should always come second to gameplay, to a point. if a game came out today that played fantastically but looked like it was designed for the n64, i probably wouldnt buy it, just because of modern day expectations.

that said, a lot of games on the n64 have amazing art direction, and make up for the low-quality visuals, but i still wouldnt accept that from a modern game.

but at the end of the day, as long as a game plays well, and has graphics >=Half-Life 2, id say it probably alright. i am talking about newish releases, retro games are exempt, of course

I bought Paper Mario on the N64 on the Virtual console the other day, been loving the gameplay, even my girlfriend wants to play it as it's accessible to many demographics, something modern games aren't so much