Nine people made GoldenEye. It sold eight million copies and taught a generation how to play shooters without a mouse.
Rare's team of nine developers — led by Martin Hollis, with most having no prior game development experience — built GoldenEye 007 in nearly two years. The game was based on the 1995 Bond film; by the time it shipped in August 1997, the film had already left theaters. The team made design decisions that defined console shooters for years: aiming via zoom, context-sensitive actions on single buttons, individual enemy reactions to where they were hit, and a four-player split-screen mode that became synonymous with N64 gatherings. GoldenEye sold 8 million copies and became the third-best-selling N64 title. Hollis has since said many of the best decisions came from inexperience — from not knowing what game developers weren't supposed to do.
— inspired by Martin Hollis
About this game
Released in 1997, GoldenEye 007 proved that a first-person shooter could thrive on a home console — a claim most of the industry dismissed before it launched. Built by a small team at Rare with almost no FPS experience, it translated the 1995 Bond film into a mission-based stealth-shooter with extraordinary depth. Its four-player split-screen multiplayer became a defining social experience of an entire generation, and its influence on every console FPS that followed is incalculable.
Key Features
Players complete objectives across 20 missions spanning locations from the GoldenEye film, with difficulty settings that change which objectives must be accomplished. Stealth, headshots, and enemy AI that reacts to gunfire created a nuanced FPS experience unprecedented on consoles. The split-screen multiplayer supported up to four players with character and weapon selection, spawning countless living-room rivalries.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Before GoldenEye 007, first-person shooters on home consoles were widely seen as inferior ports of PC experiences. GoldenEye's success — over 8 million copies sold — demolished that assumption and opened the door to the console FPS era that would later be dominated by Halo and Call of Duty. Its development team had never made an FPS before and was largely left unsupervised by Nintendo, creating one of history's most accidental masterpieces.
Tricks & Tales
GoldenEye 007 was developed by a core team of just nine people, most of whom had never made a video game before. The game was originally planned as a first-person rail-shooter — like Star Fox — before evolving into a free-roaming FPS. The iconic Facility bathroom level was one of the last levels added to the game. Despite having no FPS pedigree, the team's fresh perspective likely contributed to innovations the genre had not yet thought of.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
The Japanese cartridge is region-locked and requires a Japanese N64. Content and gameplay are nearly identical across regions. The game was later re-released on Nintendo Switch Online (Nintendo 64 library) in 2023.
Maintenance Tips
The N64 cartridge connector is the most common failure point — clean the edge contacts with 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab every 6 to 12 months, and avoid blowing into the cartridge slot as moisture accelerates pin corrosion. The original analog stick is made with a plastic-on-plastic gear mechanism that wears into a gritty, loose feel over decades of use; check for smooth snap-back to center before buying, and know that replacement sticks are widely available but none have fully matched the original feel. Store cartridges in a cool, dry place and handle them by the plastic shell, not the gold contacts.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese GoldenEye 007 copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Nintendo 64 cartridge work on a North American or European N64?
No, not without modification. The Nintendo 64 uses a regional CIC lockout chip, and Japanese N64 cartridges have a different physical shape from North American cartridges. Running Japanese software on a Western N64 requires both a cartridge adapter to bridge the shape difference and a method to bypass the CIC chip. A Japanese Nintendo 64 console is the simplest way to play Japanese N64 software.
How should I clean a Nintendo 64 cartridge?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and wipe the gold-plated edge contacts on the base of the cartridge. The N64 connector slot is deep — a longer swab or folded swab helps reach all contacts. Never blow into the cartridge. N64 cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws if the shell needs to be opened. Most N64 boot failures trace to oxidized contacts; cleaning both the cartridge edge and the console slot is usually the complete fix.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy GoldenEye 007
A short checklist for buying a used Nintendo 64 cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese N64 cartridge. The N64 is region-locked by shape and lockout, so a Japanese cart needs a Japanese console or an adapter.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where GoldenEye 007 sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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