Best Shooter Games on the N64

Shooter Games are one of the things the Nintendo 64 is genuinely for. The ones worth playing start with GoldenEye 007, Star Fox 64, Perfect Dark.

The N64 and Shooter Games

The machine that worked out how to move a character in three dimensions, and then had to invent the camera to film it. Small library, enormous influence.

This is one of its strengths. 3D platformers and four-player local multiplayer. The controller had four ports as standard, which is why so much of this library is designed for a room rather than a person.

Filtering to shooter means you want the guns to be the answer. It is the right filter when what you liked was the feedback — the sound, the recoil, the way enemies react.

The Shooter Games Worth Playing

  1. 1. GoldenEye 007

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  2. 2. Star Fox 64

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  3. 3. Perfect Dark

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  4. 4. Turok 2 Seeds of Evil

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  5. 5. Jet Force Gemini

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

What Makes a Good Shooter Game

Moment-to-moment feel, and the shortest distance between picking a game up and enjoying it.

Variety. Shooters commit hard to one loop, and the ones that try to be something else usually do the something else badly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best shooter game on the N64?

GoldenEye 007 is the usual first answer, and there are 5 in the library we cover.

Was the N64 good at shooter games?

Yes — it is one of the things the machine is known for, and there are 5 in the library we cover.

What makes a shooter feel good?

How the guns sound and how enemies react to being hit. A shooter with mediocre levels and superb weapon feedback is more fun than the reverse, every time.

Do these need to be played online?

Each pick says. Several of the best shooters ever made are single-player campaigns, and a few of the co-op ones are genuinely worse with bots.

How is this list put together?

From the games this site covers on the Nintendo 64, matched against hand-mapped gameplay categories rather than a storefront's genre tag. A page only exists where there are at least four, which is why some console and genre combinations have no page at all.

Shooter Games on Other Consoles

More From the N64

Or browse the whole Nintendo 64 library.