5 10/10 N64 RPGs That Nobody Talks About

Published Jul 29, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT Yuliya Geikhman has been writing professionally for over 17 years. She started out in the MMO scene with Pando Media Booster and now dives into everything gaming at Screen Rant. She's a lifelong gamer, a relentless industry sleuth, and a passionate follower of everything happening in the games industry. The list of classic Nintendo 64 that are still well-loved and remembered today is huge. The home console was released in 1996/7 and is iconic and instantly recognizable for its bright and colorful titles. It popularized genres like 3D platformers, shooters, and other games that stepped out of their flat-screened origins and into 3-dimensional glory. Games like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Conker's Bad Fur Day, and so many more still top the charts of the best and most beloved Nintendo games of all time. When it came to RPGs, though, the console didn't exactly have a robust library. Of course, there were still plenty of games that had RPG elements, some of which would squeak by with "RPG" as a secondary genre. The N64 did have a small handful of traditional RPGs, many of which were never released outside of Japan. Even if the N64 wasn't an RPG powerhouse, and if some of the RPGs were only 10/10 by N64 standards, it's still too bad that these games are barely talked about today. Quest 64 Quest 64 is a 1998 title developed by Imagineer that's as RPG as they come. The game was the first true RPG to come to the N64 and featured plenty of classic RPG elements. It followed a young mage trainee who leaves his home in a fantasy version of Ireland to find his missing father. His quest takes him in search of a stolen book that's been unleashing dark forces and monsters into the world. Ques 64 drew on other RPGs for many aspects of its gameplay. For instance, the combat system drew on Chrono Trigger, placing players into battle on screen instead of using the more traditional Final Fantasy layout. The experience system did draw on Final Fantasy, specifically the second one where what you did in combat determined the experience you received for leveling certain aspects of your character. Reviews for Quest 64 were middling at best, but the title remains one of the best RPGs for the Nintendo 64 simply by virtue of being one of the only RPGs for the Nintendo 64. Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage The 2001 Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage is similar to Quest 64 in being a large, traditional RPG with a great idea and scope and relatively mixed reviews. The game was developed by H2O Entertainment and published by THQ and featured classic RPG elements in a 3-dimensional world. This ultra-traditional romp through knights and wizardry had everything a classic RPG should have: turn-based combat, skills and abilities to learn, loot to collect, and NPCs to party up with. Aidyn Chronicles also included some features that were more ambitious, like a day-night cycle and a battle format that mixed up traditional RPGs with tactical elements including character movement and directional attacks. The story follows a character who crosses paths with some Goblins and becomes poisoned. The poison turns out to be beyond the abilities of regular healers and antidotes, so players are sent on a quest to find a way to cure themselves. Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage was a little overambitious in its story, resulting in a game that was a bit of a slog. Despite this, it remains one of the only true RPGs for the Nintendo 64, one that most people have forgotten today. Paper Mario The Mario brothers have been running, jumping, and stomping since their arcade debut in 1985 (if you don't count Jumpman in Donkey Kong). They've done pretty much everything under the sun, including traversing lava-filled volcanoes, traveling to other planets, and playing tennis. Some, admittedly, are more exciting than others. The Nintendo 64 was the first time we saw Mario enter a brand-new world of 3D in Super Mario 64. The same console, however, also brought him right back to a 2D realm, though in a very different way. The game turned Mario and his friends (and enemies) into flat paper cutouts for a romp through the Mushroom Kingdom as we had never seen it before. The result was a charming environment and atmosphere that made it feel like players were in a diorama. Paper Mario might not be as "forgotten" as some of the other games on this list. But it deserves a mention as one of the only proper RPGs on the N64, and for being a beloved classic that isn't as well-known today as some of Mario's other adventures. Ogre Battle 64 Ogre Battle 64 was published by Nintendo in Japan in 1999 and Atlus in NA in 2000 (and arrived in PAL regions a full 10 years later as part of the Wii Virtual Console). It was developed by Quest as part of a franchise that included the much-loved tRPG Tactics Ogre games (which eventually gave way to Final Fantasy Tactics). Ogre Battle 64 follows a small-time captain in a country on the brink of civil war. Players get swept up in politics and war as they travel around the country starting a revolution and acquiring allies. Unlike Tactics Ogre, Ogre Battle 64 was a real-time strategy RPG that required players to keep track of large armies. The game received good reviews when it was released, but it also alienated a lot of players for being slow and strategy-heavy. The scope of the game was impressive for the time. Players command up to 50 troops at a time, splitting the group into units and assigning leaders and tasks for gameplay that's somewhat similar to the better-known Unicorn Overlord. Super Robot Wars 64 Super Robot Wars 64 was released in 1999, when robots and mechs were still all the rage. It was published by Banpresto and developed by a studio whose name hasn't aged well: A.I. Instead of waging battle from inside a giant mecha suit, players of this tactical RPG were given control of a group of robots to place on a map to optimize damage. Mech anime and game fans may recognize the title from the massive franchise that spanned all the way from 1991 through to the latest entry, Super Robot Wars Y, in 2025. The series crosses multiple anime, games, shows, and other media to bring together worlds and characters in one huge crossover collaborative soup. The N64 entry into the series follows one of four original protagonists on a futuristic Earth torn between factions from Gundam Wing and the less well-known anime, Dancouga. It introduced some game elements that went on to make it to later games, like team attacks. The title also included connectivity with the Game Boy Color game, Super Robot Wars: Link Battler, allowing players to transfer experience points and unlock exclusive characters. Unfortunately, Super Robot Wars 64 never made it out of Japan, making it a relatively forgotten RPG-like gem for the Nintendo 64. Date Founded September 23, 1889 CEO Satoru Iwata Parent Company Nintendo Subsidiaries Nintendo EPD, Nintendo SPD, Nintendo EAD Consoles Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo Game Boy Color, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch Lite Services Nintendo Switch Online