'Goldeneye' Ranked Among 'Best Nintendo 64 Games'

Even though the Nintendo 64 is now outdated as a games console, there's still a huge audience for classic games that exists in the modern world. And among that audience, there's one game from this era that stands out as an undeniable classic.

GoldenEye was originally released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64 just two years after the James Bond movie of the same name hit theaters. The game is a first-person shooter with a story inspired by the movie, where players get to complete missions as 007.

The game was widely praised for its entertaining story mechanics and fluid gameplay, revolutionizing the first-person shooter genre into something that remains incredibly popular today.

GoldenEye was originally conceived as a platformer for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but by the time the game's mechanics and story details had been figured out, Nintendo had decided to rebrand it as a tentpole release for their new console, Nintendo 64.

Although expectations for the game were relatively low due to its long production process-and the fact that the GoldenEye movie was becoming less topical-it was an immediate critical hit.

GoldenEye is now one of the highest-rated Nintendo 64 games ever, with a MetaCritic score of 96%. Critics widely praised the game as a staple of the action genre, not just because of its innovative gameplay but also because of how it made use of the Nintendo 64's updated capabilities.

Where games like Doom had previously set the standard for video game shooters, GoldenEye ushered in a brand new era for the genre. Its multiplayer mechanics were groundbreaking for the time, and it pioneered many features that are still permanent fixtures in FPS games today-such as multiplayer deathmatches and stealth missions.

Since its release, the game has sold over 8 million copies-but this doesn't even come close to capturing quite how many people have played the game. GoldenEye has been available on consoles such as Xbox 360 and Nintendo Switch through their "Classic Games" subscriptions, which allow paying users to access older games.

This feature has given GoldenEye a whole new wave of popularity in recent years, as a brand new generation of gamers has discovered this classic.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 5:26 AM.