The Nintendo 64, released in 1996, marked a pivotal turning point in the video game industry as one of the first widely popular consoles with 3D graphics capabilities. Over its 6 years on the market, nearly 33 million Nintendo 64 consoles were sold worldwide and it amassed one of the most beloved gaming libraries ever – especially when it comes to action.
What Defines an "Action" Video Game?
Action games emphasize physical challenges, such as eye-hand coordination and reaction speed. They feature gameplay with fast motion, quickly shifting perspectives and situations requiring split-second reflexes. Action games span a wide variety of more specific genres, including:
- Platformers – Mario, Banjo Kazooie. Players must jump between suspended platforms while navigating hazards.
- Shooters – Goldeneye, Perfect Dark. Using guns or projectiles to attack enemies. Can be first or third person perspective.
- Fighting Games – Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Bros. Face off in close combat against an opponent.
- Racing Games – F-Zero X, Wave Race. Players control vehicles to beat opponents to the finish line.
- Action-Adventure – The Legend of Zelda. A mix of combat, puzzles, and exploration.
No matter the specific implementation, action games keep players actively engaged with non-stop movement and split-second actions.
Why the Nintendo 64 Excelled at Action Games
Several key advantages allowed the Nintendo 64 to enable incredible action experiences way ahead of its time:
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Processing Power – While not as strong as some later consoles, the N64‘s 93.7 MHz NEC VR4300 CPU and 62.5 MHz RCP co-processor were capable of rendering advanced 3D visuals smooth enough for fast gameplay.
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4 Controller Ports – This allowed up to 4 people to play together in perfect split screen, opening up opportunities for local competitive and coop gaming.
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Rumble Pak – This revolutionary accessory plugged into controllers to provide force feedback. In action games, rumble greatly enhanced the visceral sensation of collisions, explosions, etc.
Thanks to features like these combined with genius creative direction from legendary developers like Rare and Nintendo EAD, the Nintendo 64 delivered some of the most iconic and simply fun action titles in video games. Now let‘s count down the absolute best of the best!
#7 – Donkey Kong 64
Developer: Rare
Release Date: November 22, 1999
Genre: 3D Platformer
Story: Donkey Kong must rescue his friends and collect golden bananas from the evil K. Rool across varied themed lands.
Donkey Kong first brought barrel smashing into the action genre in the original 1981 arcade game. While remaining a 2D sidescroller for several sequels, Rare finally brought the big ape into 3D with Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64.
Players guide not just Donkey Kong himself, but can also switch between 5 total playable primate heroes – each with their own style such as tiny monkey Diddy Kong or lumbering K. Lumsy. You must utilize their unique abilities to find keys, solve puzzles, defeat baddies, and overcome obstacles across expansive levels.
Unlike typical platformers, Donkey Kong 64 inserts a greater emphasis on collection. To fully complete the game, players must track down 201 Golden Bananas plus other collectibles like Bronze Bananas and the adorable banana fairies. This gives the game incredible replay value.
The visuals really impress even today, with pre-rendered CGI intro and endings plus in-game graphics bringing the lush jungle environments to life. Levels remain varied and engaging, sending players exploring everything from fungi forests to caves to rocky cliffs.
While some players found collecting every item excessively challenging with dull backtracking, most agree Donkey Kong 64 represents Rare platforming mastery with addictive gameplay, memorable characters, and intricate level design full of secrets waiting to be uncovered.
#6 – Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Developer: Ubisoft
Release Date: March 14, 2000
Genre: 3D Platformer
Story: After pirates capture Rayman‘s world, he must journey across the universe to save his friends.
The original Rayman arrived in 1995 as a 2D sidescroller but the limbless hero‘s amazing mobility truly shined when brought into 3D. Rayman 2 pioneered new heights in platforming freedom.
Rayman 2 simplified core platforming compared to others on this list. Rather than elaborate item quests or vehicle sections, the focus stayed on traversing levels with Rayman‘s helicopter hair and attacking baddies. This allowed incredible exploration – Rayman can free climb just about any surface and discover hidden ledges or secret coins.
Slick animations helped Rayman‘s movement feel incredible fluid and fun. The environmental visuals also impressed at the time with sprawling pirates docks, lush jungles, dusty mines, and ancient ruins brought to life.
While on the shorter side at about 8 hours, Rayman 2 earned tremendous critical praise for taking platformers into the future. It also spawned a number of ports and enhanced remakes for years after thanks to ingenious level design and responsive controls perfectly optimized for action. For pure platforming joy, Rayman 2 remains one of the Nintendo 64‘s best.
#5 – Conker‘s Bad Fur Day
Developer: Rare
Release Date: March 5, 2001
Genre: 3D Platformer
Story: Conker the squirrel experiences the worst hangover ever while trying to return home to his girlfriend.
By 2001, cutesy animal mascots reigned supreme across Nintendo platforms. Rare amusingly parodied this by presenting a foul-mouthed, drunken squirrel named Conker forced into a war between teddy bears. In the process, Conker saw wild tone shifts from its cheerful facade to raunchy humor to bloody violence.
Just as unpredictable as the story, Conker wanders through scenarios like confronting a giant singing pile of feces or shotgunning an undead foe‘s limbs clean off. These shocking moments contrasted wonderfully against bright cartoony graphics and orchestral soundtrack.
Under the mature hijinks, Conker followed classic 3D platforming principles. Players guide Conker running and jumping between platforms, destroying enemies, solving puzzles, avoiding hazards and confronting challenging bosses. Money also played an important role, with cash needed to access new areas.
Conker earned praise for detailed animation and technical performance pushing the Nintendo 64‘s limits. While certain vulgar gags seem dated today, fans still fondly remember Conker‘s punk rock attitude against other mascots of the era. It may not be suitable for younger audiences, but Conker brought a delightfully brash edge to platforming.
#4 – Banjo-Kazooie
Developer: Rare
Release Date: June 29, 1998
Genre: 3D Platformer
Story: A bear named Banjo with bird friend Kazooie in his backpack must defeat the evil witch Gruntilda.
Crafting yet another iconic duo, Rare struck gold with Banjo-Kazooie in 1998. Selling over 3.5 million copies, Banjo-Kazooie proved Mario 64 wasn‘t the only must-have 3D platforming experience on Nintendo 64.
Players journey through nine colorful worlds collecting musical notes and golden puzzle pieces called Jiggies – familiar platforming tropes. But Banjo-Kazooie masterfully brought these together with challenging stages, unique moves, and bonus objectives.
As a bear, Banjo has basic physical attacks like claw swipes. But partner Kazooie provides essential mobility with high jumping, gliding and more unlocked moves. These grant access to otherwise unreachable areas in clever world designs.
Banjo-Kazooie dazzled with responsive control and polished graphics. Levels brimmed with visual interest and lively audio matched to environments – like metallic synth refrains in the mechanical Mad Monster Mansion. This immersion caused Super Mario 64 comparisons yet Banjo‘s worlds felt fully distinct through layout and art direction.
Later Banjo games pursued vehicle construction and mission based structure, but the original struck 2D platforming gold in 3D form. With tight controls, storied soundtrack and wonderful charm, Banjo-Kazooie deserves its status as an instant classic debut.
#3 – Super Mario 64
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: September 26, 1996
Genre 3D Platformer
Story: Mario must rescue Princess Peach by collecting Power Stars to defeat Bowser across Mushroom Kingdom worlds.
It’s impossible to overstate how revolutionary Super Mario 64 was upon launch alongside the Nintendo 64 itself. Widely considered one of the most important and influential games ever, Mario 64 perfected 3D platforming mechanics that remain industry standards today.
As gaming’s most iconic hero, Mario was traditionally locked to 2D side perspective for a decade. With the Nintendo 64’s new analog joystick controls and graphics capabilities, legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto broke bold new ground. Players fully controlled the camera angle for the first time, revealing a gorgeously rendered Mushroom Kingdom with open environments instead of single plane stages.
Core platforming challenges like shifting terrain, lethal hazards, tricky jumps and monster battles transferred seamlessly into 3D. Mario 64 kept players on their toes with continuous demands for precision movement adapted from the initial 2D titles.
Stars now acted as rewards for navigating 15 sprawling courses with over 100 objectives, granting Mario new abilities to reach previously inaccessible areas. This motivation for deeper exploration popularized the open world 3D template replicated in countless later franchises like Banjo-Kazooie or Assassin’s Creed.
On top of timeless gameplay, Mario 64 also awed with advanced graphics rendering large areas without distance fog plus real-time lighting and particle effects. Nintendo took a bold risk shifting its beloved mascot into unproven 3D territory. Over 25 years later as one of the highest rated and best selling games ever, Mario 64 clearly succeeded and ushers endless joy for each new generation.
#2 – GoldenEye 007
Developer: Rare
Release Date: August 25, 1997
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Story: Play as Bond across settings from the GoldenEye film to foil a devastating satellite attack.
Prior to Halo establishing console shooters, Rare‘s James Bond adaption GoldenEye 007 perfected the FPS genre on home platforms. Launching just two years after the Nintendo 64 itself, GoldenEye became an instant smash hit for its groundbreaking 4 player local multiplayer.
Beyond offline party excitement, GoldenEye featured a globe-trotting single player campaign boasting impressive level variety, enemy AI and arsenal depth for the time. What started as an on-rails shooter spun into an acclaimed movie adaption introducing generations to modern first-person shooters.
By today‘s standards GoldenEye naturally feels dated lacking online play or certain polished mechanics from later franchises. But for millions of Nintendo 64 owners, it offered a shooter revelation through tight controls, advanced graphics and tense espionage gameplay balanced across difficulty settings.
With over 8 million copies sold, GoldenEye proved consoles could support just as fierce firefights as PC. It laid the framework enabling Halo and Call of Duty‘s rise later on Xbox and Playstation platforms thanks to split screen and Rare‘s ingenious game design. 25 years later, slappers only in the Facility remains an unforgettable duel etched into pop culture history.
#1 – Perfect Dark
Developer: Rare
Release Date: May 22, 2000
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Story: Take down a global conspiracy as undercover agent Joanna Dark.
By the year 2000, Rare had already crafted several legendary Nintendo 64 titles including ones featured earlier on this list. For their astounding final N64 project, the team aimed to directly evolve their own genre-defining Goldeneye 007 formula into the ultimate Rare first-person shooter experience.
The result was Perfect Dark – a cyberpunk thriller focused on secret agent Joanna Dark equipped with an awesome arsenal of firearms and tech gadgets. It improved on Goldeneye‘s graphics with more detailed models and effects while preserving its stellar 4-player local deathmatches. Solo players enjoyed a nearly 10 hour campaign full of intense shootouts across vivid locales like an alien crash site and nightclub.
Overall options were also enhanced with additional modes like Counter-Op, allowing a second player to help or hinder through the story‘s missions. AI flexibility increased over Goldeneye as well – enemies reacted more realistically to events like hiding friends‘ bodies. Small touches like these made the world feel impressively life-like and reactive for 2000.
While Xbox consoles and Halo later propelled console shooters into the online sphere, Perfect Dark‘s solo campaign and local versus encapsulate the Nintendo 64‘s best shooter package with up to 4 friends. It still stands as Rare‘s crowning achievement and a testament to everlasting magic found in split screen multiplayer and creative game design. If you can only play one first-person shooter on Nintendo 64, make it Perfect Dark.
The Nintendo 64 Legacy
The Nintendo 64 may have lost the retail sales battle to Sony‘s PlayStation, but its iconic library remains beloved and influential today. As games shifted into full 3D, Nintendo took a daring chance on unfamiliar technology and altered gaming history‘s trajectory forever after. Action fans in particular were treated to revolutionary new experiences pushing creative boundaries for the entire industry.
Relive the magic of Nintendo 64‘s trailblazing action portfolio! Many hit games covered on this list can be purchased digitally on Nintendo Switch or easily emulate on PC with a controller. Just be careful about motion sickness in modern ports if playing on a screen much larger than an old CRT television!
I‘d love to hear your favorite Nintendo 64 action titles as well! Join in on the conversation via my social profiles below. And as always, keep questing through amazing virtual worlds my fellow gaming friends!
