6 N64 Games With Great Stories That Fans Love

The Nintendo 64 was a strange console for many reasons, but the most notable for this list is that Nintendo decided to stick with cartridges over discs. That choice led to many third-party studios, especially RPG developers, leaving the system behind for Sony’s new PlayStation. With the lack of great RPGs, the N64 was something of a dry spell for great stories. That said, there were a few games that rose above their peers to impress, even if they weren’t in the genre that, at that point, was usually pushing storytelling in games forward.

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Here are six N64 games with great stories.

6) Conker’s Bad Fur Day

Okay, here’s the thing: Conker’s Bad Fur Day is very much of its time. It is filled with crude humor that probably doesn’t fly these days and is just as likely to make you cringe as laugh. That said, in 2001, BFD was a huge hit for Rare, with most reviewers praising the game’s humor.

It might be tough to go back to it at this point, but in its heyday, Conker’s Bad Fur Day was a fan-favorite. Rare’s N64 “classic” still has a cult following to this day, and even received a full remake on the original Xbox. It’s also a little wild to learn that Rare actually cut a ton of content that was deemed too offensive. That’s saying something if you’ve played through Bad Fur Day.

5) Star Fox 64

Star Fox 64‘s story isn’t complicated. You are a spacefaring fox leading your team through the cosmos to protect the Lylat system from the villainous Andross. It’s when you start to dig deeper that Star Fox 64 reveals itself to have some real depth.

See, Fox’s dad, James, was first sent to stop Andross, but was double-crossed by Pigma. Fox has to face down Pigma and the rest of the Star Wolf team before finally coming up against Andross. In that finale, Jame’s spirit returns to help Fox escape Andross’s base after you take him down. It’s a moving tale with simple story beats that help younger players easily follow as they play through the rail shooter.

4) Shadow Man

Shadow Man has the benefit of being loosely based on a comic series. That gave the developer plenty of backstory to work with, but it’s still impressive that they were able to deliver such a chilling tale on the N64.

It starts with Jack the Ripper committing suicide to earn mystical powers and construct a haven for serial killers in the afterlife, and things just keep escalating from there. It’s one of the darker games on the N64, but it isn’t just a gimmick. The team at Acclaim created something special that quickly became a cult classic. In 2021, Nightdive Studios released a remake, making it relatively easy to get a hold of these days.

3) Ogre Battle 64

Ogre Battle 64 is one of the best strategy games of its era, which quickly made it a fan favorite on the system. It’s a bit intimidating when you first boot it up, but once you learn its systems, strategy fans are in for a treat.

Playing as Magnus Gallant, you’ll fight your way through an ongoing civil war. During that journey, you’ll befriend revolutionary Frederick Raskin and help him take down the evil rulers of Ogre Battle‘s world. I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s safe to say that it’s a bittersweet one, depending on how you play. There are three different endings, which change the story slightly, but all of them give you a satisfying conclusion to this epic tale.

2) The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

You could replace this entry with Ocarina of Time, and I wouldn’t be upset. Both Zelda games on the Nintendo 64 stand out for their stories, but I’m only including one of them here to give more space for other great games. I prefer the darker take on Zelda that we got with Majora’s Mask.

The central time loop theme was fascinating at the time, allowing you to memorize NPC routines to optimize your day of exploration. However, it’s the tragic tale of Skull Kid that steals the show. Majora’s Mask shows off Nintendo’s ability to add depth to its storytelling. This isn’t a simple tale of good overcoming evil, and that nuance puts it above Ocarina of Time in my book.

1) Paper Mario

The first Paper Mario isn’t the best Paper Mario (that’s Thousand-Year Door), but it is the best story-focused game on the N64. It’s tempting to say it was a surprise that a Mario RPG could be this good, but Super Mario RPG launched four years earlier, and that game rules.

Still, Paper Mario served as one of the best introductory RPGs in the history of the genre. It made it easy for younger players to learn the ropes, laying the foundation for a lifetime of great games. Similar to Star Fox, it’s not the most inventive story ever told, but Intelligent Systems packed it full of so much humor and charm that it instantly elevated it above everything else on the system.

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