If you don’t want to feel old, I’d suggest you click away from this article now, but the Nintendo 64 is celebrating its 30th birthday this summer (I warned you).
The console that helped usher 3D gaming into homes everywhere and catapulted us into the fifth generation of gaming has had plenty of legacy-defining games attached to its name.
Today, I want to honor the N64 turning the big 3-0 by looking at some of the most impactful games that were ever released on the console.
Full disclosure, this isn’t a “favorites” list.
Some of my favorite and most-played N64 games might not make the list, and there might be a game or two on here that I don’t necessarily love.
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Conversely, your favorite game might get left off the list, so if that’s the case, be sure to scream at me about it in the comments section.
Without further ado, let’s talk video games.
We kick this list off with an absolute banger, although, let’s be honest, they’re all bangers.
“Goldeneye 007” is widely considered one of the most revolutionary first person shooters in gaming history.
The 1997 James Bond movie tie-in took what games like “Doom” and “Wolfenstein” did and brought it into the next generation of gaming.
The gameplay was mind-blowing, especially for the time, but the thing that separated “Goldeneye” from its peers was the multiplayer.
A Japanese edition of the Nintendo 64 clear blue version is displayed with a collection of games alongside a Nintendo Classic Mini Nintendo Entertainment System and a Nintendo Classic Mini Super Nintendo console. (Guillaume Payen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Its four-player “couch multiplayer” set the standard for shooters to come and was so ahead of its time that college dorm rooms still frequent it to this day.
A special mention has to be made to the soundtrack, which has gained an almost cult-like following from both nostalgic Millennials and newer Gen Z fans alike.
If you want an idea of just how impactful a game has become, you’ll notice “high-definition remakes” start to pop up years after its release.
“Star Fox 64” is no different, as it has a brand-spanking-new remake out on the Switch 2 nearly three decades after the original.
As far as the N64 version of this game is concerned, there’s a reason people have been clamoring for a remake of this game since 1997.
The story of ace pilot Fox McCloud and his misfit crew of anthropomorphic sidekicks has white-knuckle dogfighting, a fun and tightly packed campaign, and more memorable quotes than you could find in any modern movie.
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FILE – In this Friday, Jan. 13, 2017, file photo, a model puts the controller onto the Nintendo Switch during a presentation event of the new Nintendo Switch in Tokyo.
Seriously, this game spawned the “do a barrel roll” meme that swept the internet in the late 2000s and early 2010s, almost 15 years after the game came out.
If you were looking for a fun crossover between “Star Wars” and “Independence Day” mixed with fun and goofy humor, this was your bag.
Before 1999, the thought of all your favorite video game characters beating the tar out of each other on the same video game console felt like a pipe dream.
That’s why “Super Smash Bros.” was so Earth-shattering upon its release. It gave every fan something they didn’t even know they wanted and set the bar in the process.
Manufacturing a scenario where Link, Samus, Mario, and Fox McCloud could all fight to the death on some of the most iconic Nintendo stages felt like a fever dream.
There were bonus stages, unlockables, and achievements galore, which for the fifth generation of consoles was far ahead of its time.
“Super Smash Bros.” created a template for all games to follow after and yet is so unique that it still hasn’t been properly imitated or duplicated since.
A true original like this deserves a seat at the table on this list.
The game that started it all, “Super Mario 64” was, surprisingly enough, a launch title for the N64.
Amazingly, one of the best and most impactful games Nintendo has ever created was also the first to be released on their fifth-gen console.
The pairing of Nintendo’s most legendary mascot coupled with their first jump into the realm of 3D alone makes this an instant classic, but “Super Mario 64” is more than that.
Every 3D platformer you’ve ever played owes its very existence to “Super Mario 64,” and even 30 years later, the game still holds up.
Mario and Luigi are escorted through the crowd on their way to a break during a preview of Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California, on January 13, 2023. – Nintendo’s first theme park outside of its native Japan will open in California next month, just weeks before Mario gets the big-screen treatment in a major new Hollywood film. “Super Nintendo World” will be part of Universal Studios Hollywood — an amusement park which is traditionally home to rides based on film and TV franchises from “Waterworld” to Harry Potter. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP) (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
The soundtrack is iconic, the gameplay is fluid and responsive and rewards skilled players, and there were so many secrets to be found that Easter egg hunters are still discovering bits, pieces, and oddities to this day.
If you haven’t experienced “Super Mario 64” for yourself, give it a try.
I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Here it is, the granddaddy of them all.
You knew it was going to end up on this list, as it routinely ends up on plenty of “greatest of all time” lists and sits comfortably atop the Metacritic rankings, but it’s more than just numbers for “Ocarina of Time.”
The game introduced a huge and expansive overworld map, a timeless story, and gameplay mechanics that set the bar for all 3D action-adventure games to come.
If you don’t believe me, just look up “Z-Targeting.”
The creators of “Ocarina of Time” literally invented a lock-on mechanic to help with 3D sword combat that every game since then has emulated in one way or another.
You want a memorable cast of characters? Check.
How about an iconic soundtrack? Check plus.
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No game will ever be able to replicate the sense of wonder “Ocarina of Time” created upon its release, and we as gamers have been chasing that high ever since.
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Sure, games like “Breath of the Wild” have come close, but it will never feel the same as the first time we popped that golden cartridge into our N64’s and stepped out into Hyrule Field for the first time.
Happy birthday, Nintendo 64! Thanks for the memories.
