Play StarCraft 64 Online

Summary

StarCraft 64 arrived on the Nintendo 64 in June 2000, a joint effort by Mass Media Interactive Entertainment and Nintendo after a brief stint of planning for PlayStation. The port packs every mission from the original PC game and its Brood War expansion, while tossing in a couple of brand‑new tutorials and the secret “Resurrection IV” scenario.

To run the Brood War stages and the unique split‑screen co‑op, you need the N64 Expansion Pak; the cooperative mode lets two players share command of a single army. The conversion stripped out online multiplayer, mission voice‑overs and some cinematic moments, but the game still shines with crisp audio and surprisingly responsive gamepad controls.

Critics were split: GameSpot praised its story and strategic depth, placing it as a runner‑up in both narrative and strategy categories, yet reviewers frequently complained about its downgraded graphics compared to the PC original. Still, the effort to preserve the core RTS experience on a console remains a noteworthy chapter in retro gaming.

Storyline

StarCraft 64 (often just called StarCraft on N64) bundles every mission from the original PC game and the Brood War expansion, plus a few exclusive scenarios like the secret mission Resurrection IV. The manual explains that Earth’s 24th‑century overpopulation forces the United Powers League to exile criminals, cyber‑enhanced humans, and mutants to far‑flung colonies, where a botched settlement thrust humanity into the Koprulu Sector. There the Confederacy of Man rises as the dominant power, but its brutal rule sparks the rebel Sons of Korhal, led by Arcturus Mengsk, while the alien Protoss suddenly attack a Confederate world and the insectoid Zerg begin silently infesting colonies.
In the Terran campaign you start as a Confederate magistrate on Mar Sara, team up with Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan, betray the Confederacy with Mengsk, and later witness Mengsk sacrifice Kerrigan to lure the Zerg onto Tarsonis, forming the Terran Dominion. The Zerg campaign casts you as a cerebrate serving the Overmind, revealing Kerrigan’s transformation after being infested. The Protoss campaign has you as an Executor under Aldaris, siding with Tassadar and the dark templar Zeratul against the Conclave, ultimately helping destroy the Overmind on Aiur.
Resurrection IV, set after Brood War, follows Raynor on a daring rescue of Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov from Zerg clutches.