The Best N64 Games of All Time, Ranked by Critics and Sales

The best N64 games of all time actually split into two overlapping but distinct groups: the titles critics still point to as genre-defining classics, and the ones that sold the most cartridges. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and GoldenEye 007 dominate critical consensus, while Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 also happen to be the console’s top two commercial performers. According to a compiled list of the best Nintendo 64 games, at least 72 N64 titles have been named among the console’s best by various publications, which is why no single ranked list ever tells the whole story. This breakdown separates acclaim from sales from pure fan nostalgia so you can see exactly where each game’s reputation comes from.

The Best N64 Games at a Glance

Before diving into specifics, it helps to see how the console’s most-cited titles line up across the categories that matter most: critical acclaim, unit sales, and genre recognition. This isn’t one definitive ranking — it’s an overview of where each game earns its reputation.

Rankings from outlet to outlet, and from blog to blog, rarely agree on exact placement. Some publications put GoldenEye above Ocarina of Time; others swap the order of the two Mario Kart entries against Diddy Kong Racing. What stays consistent is which handful of names keep showing up at all.

The Most Critically Acclaimed N64 Games

When people search for the best Nintendo 64 games, three names surface across nearly every serious retrospective: Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. These aren’t just old favorites getting nostalgia points — they’re routinely cited among the greatest video games ever made, regardless of platform or era.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) is usually the name at the top of any conversation about the N64’s legacy. It took the top-down Zelda formula and rebuilt it in 3D without losing the sense of exploration and puzzle logic that defined the series, while adding time travel, horseback riding, and a lock-on targeting system that influenced how action-adventure games handle combat for years afterward. Its reputation isn’t tied to a single review score from one outlet — it’s the product of two decades of critics and historians revisiting it and still finding little to fault.

Super Mario 64 (1996) did something arguably even harder: it built the language of 3D platforming almost from scratch. Camera control, analog movement, open hub-world level design — mechanics that are now standard were being figured out in real time here. Its influence shows up in nearly every 3D platformer that followed, and that foundational role is a big part of why it’s still discussed alongside Ocarina of Time rather than treated as a dated curiosity.

GoldenEye 007 (1997) proved that first-person shooters could work on a console with an analog joystick and no mouse, at a time when the genre was assumed to belong exclusively to PC. Its level design, stealth options, and split-screen multiplayer modes shaped how console shooters were built for the next decade, and it’s frequently credited as the game that made console FPS a viable genre rather than a compromise.

What ties these three together isn’t just quality — it’s cross-generational relevance. Each one gets cited not only in N64-specific lists but in broader “greatest games of all time” discussions that span every console ever made. That’s a higher bar than simply being well-liked within one platform’s library, and it’s why these three sit apart from the rest of this list.

Best-Selling N64 Games of All Time

Critical acclaim and commercial success overlap on the N64, but they aren’t the same thing, and the sales numbers tell their own story. Based on sales data compiled around the console’s 25th anniversary in June 2021, Super Mario 64 was the best-selling N64 game of all time, moving roughly 11.91 million units. Mario Kart 64 came in second with approximately 9.87 million units sold.

That pairing is notable because it shows the top of the sales chart and the top of the critical-acclaim conversation genuinely intersect at Super Mario 64 — a rare case where a console’s biggest seller is also widely regarded as one of its best games, rather than a licensed cash-in riding shelf placement alone.

Mario Kart 64’s sales performance tells a slightly different story. It wasn’t chasing critical prestige in the same way Ocarina of Time or GoldenEye were — it was built as approachable, replayable party entertainment, and the sales figures back up that it succeeded at exactly that. Nearly 10 million units sold reflects a game that got bought as a system-seller and multiplayer staple, not necessarily one that critics were dissecting for narrative depth.

It’s worth being precise about what these numbers represent: they reflect lifetime sales figures as tracked as of June 2021, not updated totals accounting for any later re-releases, virtual console re-issues, or Nintendo Switch Online availability. If you’re comparing these figures elsewhere, check the date basis before assuming a more recent total.

Genre-Defining N64 Games

Beyond the console-wide “best of” conversation, several N64 titles are consistently singled out as the best the system had to offer within a specific genre, which matters if you’re building a library around a particular type of game rather than chasing overall prestige.

Mario Kart 64 is frequently honored as one of the best racing games on the console, and its sales figures back up how broadly it was embraced. Four-player split-screen racing, item-based chaos, and tracks built around N64-specific power-ups made it the default multiplayer racer for an entire generation of living rooms.

Diddy Kong Racing is recognized as a top kart-racing title in its own right, distinct from Mario Kart’s formula. It added vehicle-switching between karts, hovercrafts, and planes, along with a light adventure structure connecting its races — a design choice that gave it a different identity rather than making it a simple Mario Kart clone.

These genre-specific distinctions matter because “best N64 game” and “best N64 racing game” aren’t always the same question. A title can be a genre standout without cracking the top tier of overall critical acclaim, and Diddy Kong Racing is a good example of a game that earns its reputation almost entirely within its category rather than in broader all-time-greatest discussions.

Honorable Mentions and Fan-Favorite N64 Games

Outside the games backed by hard sales data or heavy critical consensus, there’s a tier of N64 titles that shows up constantly in community-driven top 10 lists and fan blogs. These reflect nostalgia and personal attachment as much as objective ranking, and they’re worth naming precisely because they represent a different kind of “best” — the kind decided by people who grew up with a Nintendo 64 controller in hand rather than by review aggregation.

• Banjo-Kazooie — a 3D platformer frequently mentioned alongside Super Mario 64 in fan discussions, praised for its collectible-driven level design and character-swap mechanics.
• Pokemon Stadium — a spin-off that let players battle their Game Boy Pokemon on a bigger screen, remembered fondly for minigames and its place in the franchise’s early console history.
• Mario Party 2 — a party game staple that turned board-game-style minigame competitions into one of the N64’s most-replayed multiplayer experiences.

Community-sourced lists, including blog roundups like Cousin Gaming’s ranking of top Nintendo 64 games, regularly include these three titles, but it’s worth treating that kind of source as reflecting personal or community opinion rather than the same tier of verified critical consensus behind Ocarina of Time or GoldenEye. Rankings on these lists shift often, and the exact order rarely matches between sites.

If you’re building an N64 collection today, start with whichever category matters most to you: Ocarina of Time and GoldenEye for critical pedigree, Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 for guaranteed commercial-hit reliability, and Banjo-Kazooie or Mario Party 2 if you’re chasing the nostalgia-driven multiplayer experience fans still talk about decades later.