The Best First-Person Shooters on the Nintendo 64

15. Daikatana

• Release Date — August 1, 2000
• Developer — Ion Storm
• Publisher — Kemco
• Review Aggregate Score — 42% (Generally Unfavorable)
• User Score — 57% (Mixed or Average)

John Romero’s Daikatana is a bit of a mess, but it’s quite impressive that the team at Ion Storm was able to get the game running on the Nintendo 64, albeit with quite a few concessions. For all that Daikatana does wrong, you can’t fault the game for its ambition, which mixes the typical gameplay loop of a first-person shooter with a sweeping time-traveling story, some inventive weaponry, RPG progression mechanics, and some hit-or-miss AI partners. Of course, the Nintendo 64 version removes a lot of this, including completely scrapping the player’s AI companions, but it actually makes the game a good bit easier to play thanks to no longer needing to manage those same companions’ partially brain-dead AI. At the end of the day, Daikatana is miles ahead of Armorines, which helps it land on this list instead.

14. South Park

• Release Date — December 21, 1998
• Developer — Iguana Entertainment
• Publisher — Acclaim Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 67% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — 57% (Mixed or Average)

One of a small handful of FPS titles on the Nintendo 64 to have both a PS1 and N64 version, South Park is an interesting first-person shooter that acts as a sort of time capsule for when the South Park show had completely captured the entertainment zeitgeist (along with generating a fair share of controversy). The N64 version is vastly superior to the PS1 release thanks to its somewhat smoother visuals and more stable performance, but it’s ultimately still the same dull shooter no matter how many ways you slice it. For fans of the first season of South Park, South Park the game is a fun little trip down memory lane, but even having Turok‘s Iguana Entertainment at the helm couldn’t save it from being added to the pile of licensed video game dreck.

13. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six

• Release Date — November 17, 1999
• Developer — Saffire
• Publisher — Red Storm Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 74% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)

Squeezing the tactical complexity and necessary precision of a game like Rainbow Six onto consoles was always going to be a challenge, and getting it to fit on a cartridge must have been an even greater effort. Somehow, the team at Saffire was not only able to pull it off, but they were also able to have the Nintendo 64 version of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six far outperform the PS1 version.

Both the N64 and PS1 versions pale in comparison to the excellence of the PC original (or even the superior Sega Dreamcast port), but the title served as the only tactical shooter on the Nintendo 64 at a time when RainbowSix (and Tom Clancy games, in general) took the gaming world by storm. Of course, getting the game to run on the Nintendo 64 resulted in some major concessions, including this version having the smallest number of missions across all releases of the original Rainbow Six.

12. Quake 64

• Release Date — March 24, 1998
• Developer — id Software
• Publisher — Midway Games
• Review Aggregate Score — 74% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — 67% (Mixed or Average)

The PC version of Quake is obviously the version that most players remember, but if you didn’t have a PC and could only play FPS titles on a Nintendo 64, you could do a lot worse than the N64 version of Quake. Aside from just a few small compromises, Quake on the Nintendo 64 is about as close to the original PC version as you could hope to get, and it runs significantly better than the PS1 version. One of the biggest omissions is the original soundtrack to Quake by Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor, but in its place is the 64 version’s moody and atmospheric soundscape that emphasizes minimalism and, quite frankly, ratchets up the game’s horror atmosphere. And while it does lack the PC version’s co-op mode, the Nintendo 64 Quake still has one of the game’s main draws: the iconic multiplayer Deathmatch.

11. Forsaken 64

• Release Date — May 26, 1998
• Developer — Iguana UK
• Publisher — Acclaim Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 67% (Mixed or Average)

Despite both the N64 and PS1 ports of Forsaken being generally well-received, only one of them is a faithful port to the original PC version, with the Nintendo 64 release of Forsaken (dubbed Forsaken 64) almost a completely different game. While the same general gameplay loop and level structure remain the same in Forsaken 64, the game’s goal changes from hunting down treasures in each level to trying to stop looters from stealing said treasures, transforming the Nintendo 64 version of this iconic first-person shooter into something surprisingly more violent. Ultimately, though, Forsaken 64 is still the stylish 3D first-person shooter that its PC counterpart is, and the ability to play through the many competitive multiplayer modes with 4 players instead of 2 makes the Nintendo 64 release the superior home console port.

10. Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion

• Release Date — August 31, 2000
• Developer — Acclaim Studios Austin
• Publisher — Acclaim Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 77% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 74% (Mixed or Average)

The third and final mainline entry in the Turok series before it would get relegated to ports, spin-offs, and remasters, Turok 3 is arguably the worst game in the franchise, but it’s still a good first-person shooter. Unlike the first two Turok games, Turok 3 gives players the ability to control two different playable characters, often at the cost of the cohesion and satisfying gameplay that the first two Turok games were famous for. Still, the more ambitious story of Turok 3 created some great levels, enemies, and setpiece moments that help the title stand out as one of the great late-era exclusives in the Nintendo 64 library, and the game’s recent remaster largely fixes many of the original’s foibles. And, just like Turok 2, Turok 3 offers some of the most frantic and fun competitive multiplayer on the console, cementing it as an essential FPS on the N64.

9. Hexen

• Release Date — June 25, 1997
• Developer — Software Creations
• Publisher — GT Interactive
• Review Aggregate Score — 60% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)

The original PC release of Hexen is arguably one of the great first-person shooters to arrive in the wake of Doom, helping to push the envelope for the genre and establishing Raven Software as a studio to watch. Unfortunately, its Saturn and PlayStation ports left a lot to be desired, struggling to maintain frame rates and provide a smooth experience for console players hoping to see what all the fuss was about.

Thankfully, the Nintendo 64 port of Hexen stands as the definitive home console release of the title, faithfully adapting the PC original into a port that does the game justice. The Nintendo 64 version of Hexen is a 1:1 port of the console original with hardly any differences, and it also happens to feature 2-player co-op for the full single-player campaign. Hexen would end up being a great stopgap in the Nintendo 64 first-person shooter library between the releases of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and GoldenEye 007.

8. 007: The World Is Not Enough

• Release Date — October 17, 2000
• Developer — Eurocom
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)

Occasionally, first-person shooters that received ports to both the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation would end up being vastly different games thanks to the ports being handled by separate development teams. Such is the case with the N64 version of 007: The World Is Not Enough, which was developed by Eurocom versus the PS1 version being handled by Black Ops Entertainment. The Nintendo 64 version features completely different levels (although both games do loosely follow the plot of the James Bond film on which they’re based), and it also happens to feature an exclusive competitive multiplayer mode that saw the game receive plenty of flattering comparisons to Rare’s GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark. It also doesn’t hurt that the Nintendo 64 version of The World Is Not Enough simply looks and runs better than its PS1 counterpart.

7. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

• Release Date — March 4, 1997
• Developer — Iguana Entertainment
• Publisher — Acclaim Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)

Now we’re really getting into the essentials with Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, both one of the first and one of the greatest first-person shooters on the Nintendo 64. Arriving at a time when most of the N64 library consisted of first-party titles, Turok represented a major shift as a third-party title developed specifically for the Nintendo 64 that was cashing in on one of the fastest-growing genres in gaming: the first-person shooter. But rather than serve as a shameless Doom clone or subpar licensed game (which, notably, Turok is), Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is a fantastic early FPS title on the console that helped pave the way for the genre’s home on the N64. While its sequel beats it out thanks to its legendary multiplayer mode, there’s a strong case for the original Turok having one of the better single-player FPS campaigns on the console.

6. Duke Nukem 64

• Release Date — November 14, 1997
• Developer — 3D Realms
• Publisher — GT Interactive
• Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)

It’s hard to articulate the importance that a game like Duke Nukem 3D had on both the first-person shooter genre and the world of gaming as a whole for anyone who didn’t grow up during the era, but there’s a good reason the character remains one of the more iconic heroes in gaming. The success of Duke Nukem 3D and the Build Engine all but ensured the title would receive home console ports, and the Nintendo 64 version of Duke Nukem 3D (named, of course, Duke Nukem 64) is the best of them all and a sort of original experience all its own. While it does feature all the episodes and levels of the PC version, there are some noteworthy technical and content differences, including brand-new weapons and plenty of Nintendo censorship. Still, Duke Nukem 64 is light years ahead of the PS1 version in terms of performance.

5. Quake II

• Release Date — July 7, 1999
• Developer — id Software
• Publisher — Activision
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — N/A

Another popular PC shooter to get a port to the Nintendo 64, Quake II is also a wholly original experience on the console. Like some of the other PC-to-Nintendo 64 FPS ports, the main campaign of Quake II still features the same basic structure as the PC original, but the level layouts themselves are brand-new, transforming the N64 version of Quake II into practically a brand-new title. Like the 64 port of the original Quake, Quake II has to make some technical concessions to run on the console (including significantly downgrading the game’s audio and music), but its single-player campaign and excellent 4-player Deathmatch are as great as they’ve always been, cementing Quake II as one of the essential Nintendo 64 first-person shooters.

4. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

• Release Date — December 10, 1998
• Developer — Iguana Entertainment
• Publisher — Acclaim Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• User Score — 82% (Generally Favorable)

The first Turok is a great game that helped the first-person shooter genre find its footing on the Nintendo 64, but its sequel is something else entirely. Bigger, better, and more over-the-top than its predecessor in nearly every way, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil was a legendary game for its time, delivering a longer campaign that was more challenging and featured plenty of ridiculous weaponry (Cerebral Bore, anyone?) along with one of the console’s greatest 4-player competitive multiplayer modes. Turok 2 also looked better and brought a surprisingly compelling story along with it, enough to have it stand the test of time as the definitive high point of the Turok series.

3. Doom 64

• Release Date — April 4, 1997
• Developer — Midway Studios San Diego
• Publisher — Midway Games
• Review Aggregate Score — 73% (Mixed or Average)
• User Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)

While most Doom fans today recognize Doom 64 for being the brilliant standalone entry in the series that it is, the game was mostly passed over by critics at the time of its release thanks to the (wildly incorrect) assumption that it was just another port of the PC classic. Instead, Doom 64 is a completely original title that takes place somewhere between the events of the original Doom and Doom II, and it significantly turns up the dial on the series’ atmospheric elements and horror. Doom 64 is one of the greatest first-person shooters on the Nintendo 64 and one of the greatest Doom games, and it quickly earned its place as an essential FPS on the platform, even without a competitive multiplayer mode.

2. GoldenEye 007

• Release Date — August 25, 1997
• Developer — Rare
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• User Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)

The 5th generation was host to quite a few titles that would significantly change the course of gaming as we know it, and it practically goes without saying that GoldenEye 007 is at or near the top of that pile. A groundbreaking first-person shooter for its time, GoldenEye 007 featured a sprawling single-player campaign with some light immersive sim elements that were way ahead of their time, including objectives that shifted based on how players tackled them and what difficulty setting they chose. Not to mention, the game’s campaign did a fantastic job adapting what was, at the time, one of the most exciting James Bond films in years, thanks to new leading man Pierce Brosnan.

But while the campaign of GoldenEye 007 is great, it pales in comparison to the impact of its 4-player multiplayer mode, which served as a transformative experience for an entire generation of gamers and helped to establish competitive multiplayer as a mainstay of the first-person shooter genre,hitting that perfect “lightning in a bottle” moment along with titles like id Software’s Quake to change the trajectory of the FPS genre. And of course, you can’t talk about how fantastic GoldenEye 007 is without mentioning its soundtrack, which still ranks as one of the best in the medium, regardless of genre.

1. Perfect Dark

• Release Date — May 22, 2000
• Developer — Rare
• Publisher — Rare
• Review Aggregate Score — 97% (Universal Acclaim)
• User Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)

The only game that could possibly outdo GoldenEye 007 for being the Nintendo 64’s best shooter is Rare’s spiritual successor to that 1997 classic, 200’s Perfect Dark. No longer bound by the narrative constraints of adapting a film into a video game, Rare was free to get as weird and wild as they wanted with PerfectDark‘s now-legendary single-player campaign, which borrows a lot of the same objective-driven elements of GoldenEye 007 but swaps spy thriller for sci-fi thriller and introduced the world to one of the great female FPS protagonists: Joanna Dark.

Perfect Dark was practically a technical marvel on the Nintendo 64, significantly improving the visuals, animations, and performance that players had come to expect from the best games in the genre and taking players to some pretty exotic and exciting levels that pushed the N64’s power to its limits. That Perfect Dark still stands tall as one of the great first-person shooters of the era (alongside such seminal classics as Deus Ex, Medal of Honor, and Quake 3) shows just how important it was to both the Nintendo 64 and the genre as a whole.