The Nintendo 64 recently turned 25, having debuted in North America on September 29, 1996. To celebrate the iconic cartridge console’s quarter-century anniversary, Uproxx undertook the daunting task of using pure data—NOT editorial opinion—to pick the the top 100 Nintendo 64 video games of all time.
Uproxx writer Derrick Rossignol conceived a clever “data-driven, crowd-sourced” methodology to create the retro game ranking.
He first compiled a list of of 100 games’ cumulative scores from user-driven databases Emuparadise, Grouvee, IGDB, and HowLongToBeat, then calculated an average rating based on those four cumulative scores.
Rossignol then went a step further and calculated a “Final Score” using a weighted formula to account for the number of user reviews each game received. This prevented a cumulative score based on five user ratings from holding the same statistical significance as a game with 1,000 user ratings, for example.
In total, more than 250,000 player reviews were taken into account. Before getting to the list, here are Rossignol’s thoughts on a few top-10 titles and what makes them stand out among the 720 total N64 games sold in North America.
On GoldenEye 007:
“In so many ways, GoldenEye paved the way for first-person shooters, making it an origin of the species for today’s FPS-dominated gaming market. Not to mention, the game’s multiplayer mode was essentially the first of its kind, and we all know how big a role multiplayer elements have in modern shooters.”
On Mario Kart 64:
“Aside from laying the foundation for the rest of the uber-successful post-2D Mario Kart games, Mario Kart 64 offers rock-solid gameplay that can be as basic or complex as you want to make it, as the competitive speedrunning scene has proven. If you turn on the TV and hear the “welcome to Mario Kart!” title screen in a roomful of friends, excitement and fun will abound, whether or not they consider themselves “gamers.”
On The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:
“[Ocarina of Time] wasn’t just great for its time, as it continues to resonate years later: As mentioned in the intro, it’s the highest-rated N64 game on Metacritic, but it’s also the top 3DS game on the site thanks to its 2011 port. Unsurprisingly, many reputable publications have deemed Ocarina Of Time the best video game ever, N64 or not.”
See Rossignol’s full Uproxx list of the top 100 Nintendo 64 games below:
- 100. Command & Conquer
- 99. San Francisco Rush 2049
- 98. Turok 3: Shadow Of Oblivion
- 97. Clay Fighter 63 1/3
- 96. Shadow Man
- 95. Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA
- 94. BattleTanx: Global Assault
- 93. Quest 64
- 92. Hybrid Heaven
- 91. FIFA 99
- 90. Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear To The Rescue
- 89. Quake 64
- 88. Snowboard Kids 2
- 87. Glover
- 86. Castlevania
- 85. Spider-Man
- 84. South Park
- 83. F-1 World Grand Prix
- 82. Goemon’s Great Adventure
- 81. Cruis’n World
- 80. Worms Armageddon
- 79. Vigilante 8
- 78. Beetle Adventure Racing!
- 77. Chameleon Twist
- 76. Rampage 2: Universal Tour
- 75. Excitebike 64
- 74. Ogre Battle 64: Person Of Lordly Caliber
- 73. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
- 72. Fighting Force 64
- 71. Killer Instinct Gold
- 70. WWF WrestleMania 2000
- 69. Mortal Kombat Trilogy
- 68. Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers
- 67. Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes
- 66. Extreme-G
- 65. Mission: Impossible
- 64. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
- 63. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
- 62. Cruis’n USA
- 61. Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil
- 60. WCW Vs. nWo: World Tour
- 59. Mischief Makers
- 58. 007: The World Is Not Enough
- 57. Space Station Silicon Valley
- 56. International Superstar Soccer 64
- 55. WCW/nWo Revenge
- 54. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
- 53. San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing
- 52. Hydro Thunder
- 51. Snowboard Kids
- 50. Harvest Moon 64
- 49. Resident Evil 2
- 48. Mortal Kombat 4
- 47. Pilotwings 64
- 46. Bomberman Hero
- 45. World Cup 98
- 44. Rampage World Tour
- 43. Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire
- 42. Jet Force Gemini
- 41. StarCraft
- 40. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
- 39. Bomberman 64
- 38. Gauntlet Legends
- 37. Doom 64
- 36. Mario Golf
- 35. Blast Corps
- 34. Star Wars Episode I: Racer
- 33. Pokémon Puzzle League
- 32. 1080° Snowboarding
- 31. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
- 30. F-Zero X
- 29. Mario Party 3
- 28. WWF No Mercy
- 27. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
- 26. Yoshi’s Story
- 25. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
- 24. Wave Race 64
- 23. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
- 22. Mario Tennis
- 21. Mario Party 2
- 20. Perfect Dark
- 19. Mario Party
- 18. Duke Nukem 64
- 17. Diddy Kong Racing
- 16. Banjo-Tooie
- 15. Pokémon Stadium 2
- 14. Donkey Kong 64
- 13. Pokémon Stadium
- 12. Conker’s Bad Fur Day
- 11. Superman
- 10. Pokémon Snap
- 9. Star Fox 64
- 8. Paper Mario
- 7. Banjo-Kazooie
- 6. GoldenEye 007
- 5. The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
- 4. Super Smash Bros.
- 3. Mario Kart 64
- 2. Super Mario 64
- 1. The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
