Collection essentials #407: GoldenEye 007 (N64)

Say hello to the best-selling Nintendo 64 title that did not feature Mario. This game is based on what was at the time the latest film in the popular James Bond franchise, “GoldenEye”. It’s not often that licensed video games attract a sizable audience that isn’t familiar with the source material, but this is one of the exceptions. 

GoldenEye 007 is a first-person shooter, a genre that came to prominence in the early ‘90s thanks in large part to the popular game Doom which originated on PC and was ported to various consoles. The genre was much stronger on computers at first, but GoldenEye is part of what helped change that. 

The game’s single-player campaign is mission-based, with players given specific objectives rather than simply trying to reach the end of a stage and/or defeat all the enemies. Sometimes brute force is required, but oftentimes the player must use stealth and tactics to complete their mission. There’s a variety of weapons and items that Bond can (and sometimes must) utilize to succeed.

But let’s be real, the big reason for this game’s success is its multiplayer. This was one of the most popular party games in the late ‘90s, with up to four players participating in split-screen action. Players typically start with only a basic gun, but there are better weapons lying around on the ground scattered through the level, and the start of a match may involve players racing to see who can find the good weapons first. It’s also possible to find armor and health restoration as well. 

Typically the goal of multiplayer is to kill the other players. There’s a variety of rule sets available. Sometimes you’ll be trying to get the most kills while playing for a fixed amount of time, with players resurrecting upon death. In other modes players may have a limited number of lives. Killing is not always the goal, as there is also a mode in which a player wins by capturing a flag and holding onto it for as long as possible. There are options to further customize the experience, such as choosing which weapons appear and choosing between characters who have different attributes. One character, Oddjob, is notorious for being very short and very difficult to hit.

I’ll be honest, first-person shooters have never been a preferred genre of mine, which is why you’re not going to see me talk about many of them on this blog. I did play GoldenEye back in the day with friends and family, though, but I was never very good at it. I never made it very far in the single-player campaign, either. And so I’m certainly not the biggest GoldenEye enthusiast who ever was. And, actually, my biggest memory of this game is probably at the 2018 FRAG Ultimate Gamer Challenge at RetroWorld Expo, because the last game in the finals was to defeat the other contestants in a GoldenEye match, and I lost the challenge because I’m just not very good at GoldenEye. 

If you’ve never played GoldenEye, it’s probably not especially worth playing now. I think first person shooters have seen drastic improvements since this game’s release, and it just won’t feel up to snuff by comparison. Not that it’s totally unenjoyable or anything, just that there are other games you could be playing that are probably a lot more fun. Despite that and the fact that I’m not the biggest aficionado of this game or the genre, I still feel like this game belongs in my collection. It’s one of the top most iconic and beloved Nintendo 64 games and it just wouldn’t feel right not to have it.