Top 5 First-Person Shooters on the Nintendo 64

Doom 64 on Nintendo Switch

We’ve declared these the top 5 fps games on the N64 and we’re sticking to our guns.

Originally released in 1996, the Nintendo 64 is easily one of the best video game consoles of all time. If you were gaming in the 90s and early 2000s, there’s a good chance you were gripping that weird N64 controller. From great multiplayer games like Mario Party and Super Smash Bros to fantastic adventures like Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64, there was a great variety of games to choose from. But for those of us with more chaotic and competitive tendencies, we preferred the first-person shooters.

The N64 had quite a few smash-hits in the FPS genre, as well as some underrated gems. We spent countless hours gaming with our friends, blasting each other in the face with every gun under the sun. While not every shooter on the N64 is a winner, there are plenty that stand out. We’ve compiled a list of the top five FPS games for the Nintendo 64, and we’re sticking to our guns.

If you think we got it wrong, sound off in the comments!

5. DOOM 64

No matter how you cut it, DOOM is fun. The Nintendo 64 edition of DOOM offered new visuals, new levels, and an exclusive weapon to boot. Despite some frame-rate issues, DOOM 64 kept our screens full of bloody action. Plus, DOOM is practically the daddy of the FPS genre, so we had to give it props.

4. Hexen

You may not have heard of Hexen before, and that’s a shame. This FPS mixed together fantasy and role-playing mechanics with fun and brutal combat, resulting in a truly unique shooter experience.

You could play as a fighter, cleric, or mage, each with their own special weapons and abilities. In addition to the great story mode, there was also split-screen multiplayer and co-op play! This is one of the most overlooked gems in the N64 library; do yourself a favor and play it.

3. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

What happens when you combine Jurassic Park with DOOM? You get Turok. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil.

Turok 2 took everything that was awesome about the original game (blasting fierce dinosaurs with a crazy arsenal of weapons) and improved upon it. More intricate levels, better visuals, and competitive multiplayer all push this sequel ahead of the rest of the Turok titles. If you’re hungry for a bit of Turok, you can download the recently remastered versions on modern consoles!

2. Goldeneye 007

If you ask someone to name their favorite shooter on the Nintendo 64, 9 times out of 10 it’s going to be Goldeneye 007. Why wouldn’t it be? Based on a pretty popular James Bond flick, this N64 shooter essentially popularized split-screen multiplayer on consoles.

Countless hours of competitive Goldeneye multiplayer have been filling dorm rooms and basements since the game’s release, and it’s just as fun to fire up today as it was back in the late ’90s.

While the graphics and gameplay haven’t aged as well as we would’ve hoped, Goldeneye 007 remains a simply iconic game in not only the Nintendo 64 library, but the history of the entire FPS genre.

1. Perfect Dark

Perfect Dark at #1!? What a controversial decision! Remember when I said I was sticking to my guns? This is what I was talking about.

Perfect Dark is essentially Goldeneye 007, but with cooler guns and a sci-fi plot. Both games were developed by RARE, with Perfect Dark releasing a whole 3 years after Goldeneye 007.

Focusing on protagonist Joanna Dark, Perfect Dark guided players through a sci-fi story mode with espionage, laser guns, and even aliens. Split-screen multiplayer and multiplayer challenges kept your cartridge in the N64 for days on end, rarely becoming boring or repetitive.

Many guns had multiple firing modes, including the Laptop Gun, which doubled as an automatic sentry. High-tech gadgets and stylish visuals kept gameplay refreshing, as did the memorable characters and rich world-building. Although many might not agree, Perfect Dark takes the gold as the best first-person shooter on the Nintendo 64.

4 responses to “Top 5 First-Person Shooters on the Nintendo 64”

  1. Nice list! I completely agree with Perfect Dark at #1. I must have spent hundreds of hours between the single and multiplayer modes. As much as I loved Perfect Dark I have no issue admitting Goldeneye will be remembered as the more important FPS; the game that showed what shooters can do on a console, along with Halo of course…

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