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.
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.
Available in our shop
Hand-cleaned and tested units shipped worldwide from Toyohashi, Japan. HP direct purchase exclusive: we include a printed shop owner's note card with every order.
Direct purchase supports this museum directly. eBay Top Rated Seller · 1,750+ reviews · 100% positive feedback.
Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
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.
Share your memory ↑