5 Best N64 Fighting Games That Still Hold Up Today

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The Nintendo 64 wasn’t really known for its fighting games. Fans of the genre often had to look to other consoles to find what they wanted. However, a few hidden gems were available on the N64 if you knew where to search. This list focuses on traditional fighting games, so we’re leaving out wrestling games – the N64 actually had a lot of good ones in that category, but they’re a different experience.

Here are five great fighting games on the Nintendo 64 that are still worth jumping into.

5) Mace: The Dark Age

Mace: The Dark Age is a fighting game released by Atari Games. It’s typical of games from that time period, focusing on over-the-top violence, similar to games like Mortal Kombat and Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. After winning a match, you can perform a finishing move on your opponent, and it’s as brutal as you’d expect from a 1990s fighting game.

Look, the arcade version of this game is way better, but the N64 port isn’t bad. Honestly, it’s kind of sad that this game is considered one of the best fighting games on the N64. But, if you want to see what a really impressive-looking fighter looked like back in ’97, you gotta check this one out. The combos are a little clunky to pull off, but they look fantastic when you do!

4) Flying Dragon

Flying Dragon is an interesting game that combines fighting action with role-playing features. Developed by Culture Brain in 1997, it was a bold experiment for the N64, though not entirely flawless. While it offers two ways to fight, the SD mode is the most engaging and important.

As you play, you’ll level up and unlock better equipment to make your fighter even stronger. The standard virtual mode feels like a classic fighting game, but the real fun of Flying Dragon lies elsewhere. The second game in the series is also good, and for those interested in the game’s origins, the original NES title, Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll, is a respectable platformer with some RPG features.

3) Fighter Destiny 2

I’ve always found the Fighter Destiny series amusing. The first game is Fighters Destiny, but the second one is simply called Fighter Destiny – the removal of the ‘s’ doesn’t seem to have a clear reason. While the original game wasn’t groundbreaking in most ways, its scoring system was unique. It made matches feel more like authentic martial arts competitions than typical fighting games.

If you enjoy classic N64 games, the original is worth playing. However, the sequel introduced a mode called Fighter’s Arena, which is like a board game where you develop a character’s skills and learn new techniques. It’s a great way to practice and prepare for more challenging matches. Though it shares some similarities with the first game, Fighter’s Arena adds a fun new element that makes returning to Fighter Destiny 2 enjoyable.

2) Super Smash Bros.

While Super Smash Bros. isn’t a traditional fighting game, it’s a hugely important title that helped popularize the platform fighter genre. Though Melee later became more popular on the GameCube, the original game on the Nintendo 64 was a massive success and really made a splash.

The original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 was a groundbreaking game because it brought together characters from all of Nintendo’s biggest franchises into one fighting game. While Mario and Donkey Kong had crossed paths before – remember the original Donkey Kong game? – Smash took that idea much further. It featured twelve playable characters, including Mario, Fox, Pikachu, and Captain Falcon, letting players battle it out as their favorites. It launched a hugely popular series for Nintendo, and even though later games improved on the formula, the original remains a classic N64 title.

1) Killer Instinct Gold

Rare created Killer Instinct as their take on the popular fighting game Mortal Kombat. While Rare is now famous for games everyone can enjoy, back in 1994, Killer Instinct was a huge success in arcades. Killer Instinct Gold is a version of the second game in the series, which wasn’t as strong as the original, but still a lot of fun.

Surprisingly, critics generally favored the Nintendo 64 version of the game over the original arcade release, which was unusual back then. However, players weren’t as impressed. They disliked the adjustments made to how combos worked, and the game didn’t sell well as a result. Despite this, Killer Instinct Gold remains the best fighting game available on the Nintendo 64 by a significant margin. If you want a taste of what fighting games were like on Nintendo consoles during that time, this is the game to play.

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2026-04-27 01:12