5 Nintendo 64 Games Everyone Played In The '90s

Published Sep 27, 2026, 11:30 AM EDT

Chris is a Gaming Editor at ScreenRant. He has been a professional writer since 2009, and has written for top TV, comics, movie, and video game outlets like Engadget, Polygon, Destructoid, and more. He brings with him an expertise in every game genre, no matter how niche or mainstream.

You may know him as the former Managing/Reviews Editor of Destructoid, where he published hundreds of game reviews across every genre, including MMOs, sports games, and Metroidvanias.

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The Nintendo 64 will go down as one of the best party consoles ever. Given the distinct lack of four-player multiplayer on contemporary consoles in the '90s, the Nintendo 64 wasn't just a single-player Nintendo game machine. It offered up a way to play with four people without having to spring for a multi-tap or adapter, and instantly created countless memorable moments with friends and family.

While the Nintendo 64 had tons of games worth remembering, a handful were so popular they defined the system. Several of these absolute classics are still available on modern platforms, and at least one is already being remade. These are the games people remember fondly when thinking about the Nintendo 64, or that come up when researching that bygone era.

Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time needs no introduction, but we'll do it anyway. Before its 1998 release, Zelda had been strictly a 2D franchise.

It all kicked off in 1986 with the original Zelda on the NES, followed by The Adventure of Link, Link to the Past, and Link's Awakening. You could argue that any individual entry in that lot deserves an award for one of the best games of all time, but Nintendo didn't stop.

From there, the team took a five-year hiatus to release Ocarina of Time, and delivered in spades. This is pretty much the classic Zelda experience you know and love, but with a completely new viewpoint that lets you see Hyrule through Link's eyes for the first time.

Just two years later, we got a full sequel in Majora's Mask, continuing the legacy of direct sequels, a practice that would continue throughout the lifetime of the series. With a Switch 2 port confirmed, an entire generation of fans can rediscover Ocarina of Time.

Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 shook the very foundations of the platforming genre. I was there in 1996, and it was an incredibly early time for this raw feat of engineering. In fact, it was common to find out that nearly everyone had heard of the game, even if they never played it. While you could argue some elements of Mario 64 haven't aged as well as some other 3D entries in the Mario series, this first earnest 3D attempt knocked it out of the park.

I was completely sucked in until I found all 120 stars, and then I promptly started it all over again with a friend. The exploration in Mario 64felt like a magic trick, letting you roam a hub world that felt like an entire game on its own. It was the kind of game that was ripe for secrets and tips being passed around before the wide adoption of online guides.

It also introduced countless staples to the Mario series that some of the best franchise entries re-use, and sneaking around with an analog stick to avoid waking up a Piranha Plant was surreal at the time.

Donkey Kong Country 64

Depending on who you talked to, Donkey Kong Country 64 was either famous or infamous at the time. So many people played it because it demanded so much of their time and was known far and wide as one of the biggest collectathon platformers of all time.

It's still unrivaled to this day on that level; the sheer number of things you need to find to get a full 100% rating is staggering. If you happen to play it on the Nintendo Classics line on the Switch, keep an eye out at every turn for something to grab.

Even if you never end up playing the game, you'll always have the DK Rap to go back to. As one of the most-referenced theme songs in gaming history, it'll live on forever.

WCW/nWo Revenge

If you never played WCW/nWo Revenge yourself, odds are you knew someone who did. Based on sales data, WCW/nWo Revenge is not just the most popular wrestling game on the Nintendo 64; it's also allegedly the best-selling third-party title on the platform, period. That's a massive flex, and that lines up with my experience growing up with this game.

I often walked into a room, found a full group of people playing WCW/nWo Revenge, and heard someone call, "I got next." Wrestling games as fighters is an inherently absurd premise, but it worked much better than anyone expected. WCW vs. nWo: World Tour and WCW vs. the World for PlayStation had already laid the groundwork, and Revenge just needed to execute on the lessons learned throughout its development.

WCW/nWo Revenge is simply one of the best four-player brawlers on the Nintendo 64, surpassing other wrestling entries on the platform. It was incredibly easy to recruit players of any skill level, and you could play wacky matchups all night long. Given that it was one of the most addictive party games on the platform, it deserves an entry on the list.

Super Smash Bros.

The original Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64 was a revolution for casual fighting games, and the crossover genre as a whole. Fans at the time couldn't believe that you could pit Mario up against Kirby, and the unlocks were legendary and often relegated to schoolyard rumors.

Despite Smash's initial concept as a casual series, hardcore fighting game fans flocked to it to delve into everything it had to offer. I remember the day I went over to a friend's house, and they had unlocked new characters I had never played before, and we sent them into the figurative training lab instantly.

The skill floor for Smash Bros. was low in the sense that it could be picked up pretty easily, but the ceiling was high, and would only grow in future entries. You could feasibly play Smash Bros. all day with a mix of newcomers and veterans, and it was a blast either way.

Today, the legacy of Super Smash Bros. endures. Ultimate is one of the best-selling games on the Switch, and fans worldwide often wait with bated breath to see what's next for the series. By the time Melee hit, individual character reveals had become full-blown marketing campaigns.

It's a testament to how strong the crossover concept really was when you have countless iconic characters at your disposal, and Smash 64 was truly ahead of its time.

GoldenEye 007

Like Mario Kart 64 and the handful of wrestling games the Nintendo 64 had, GoldenEye 007 was an absolute staple. In fact, it was common to find GoldenEye 007 stowed away in a Nintendo 64's cartridge slot, waiting for the next time everyone got together and argued over whether Oddjob was allowed.

The sheer amount of weaponry, levels, and custom options that GoldenEye 007 offered was staggering. "Facility, proximity mines only" became a legendary game mode, and every friend group had their own twist or special way to play.

GoldenEye 007 helped popularize the first-person shooter genre on consoles, eventually leading to the success of the first Halo game just a few years later. Although Perfect Dark was also incredibly popular in the same vein, GoldenEye 007, with its name-brand recognition, became one of the most dominant shooters on any platform foryears.

The run of the Nintendo 64 was legendary, and it wasn't just because it had a ton of one-and-done titles. It hosted so many life-changing games that were meant to be experienced with a group; it's no wonder it has a lasting effect on gaming history.