Perfect Dark arrived in May 2000 as one of the final major releases for the Nintendo 64, landing at a point when the platform was already in its twilight years and the PlayStation 2 had just launched in Japan. Developed by Rare — the same studio behind GoldenEye 007 (1997) — Perfect Dark was built on an evolved version of that game's engine and was conceived as a spiritual successor, replacing the Bond license with an original science-fiction espionage setting. Players take on the role of Joanna Dark, a top agent for the Carrington Institute, who becomes entangled in a conspiracy involving rival corporations and extraterrestrial forces. The single-player campaign unfolds across roughly 17 missions set in environments ranging from a futuristic Chicago to alien spacecraft, each mission offering three difficulty tiers — Agent, Special Agent, and Perfect Agent — that not only increase enemy aggression but also add entirely new objectives, substantially extending replayability. Controls followed the dual-analog template Rare had refined with GoldenEye, mapping movement to the N64's analog stick and camera look to the C-buttons, with an auto-aim assist that could be toggled for players who wanted a more demanding experience. The game introduced a secondary fire function for nearly every weapon in its arsenal — a design decision that effectively doubled the tactical options available at any moment, allowing a single firearm to serve multiple roles depending on context. The Laptop Gun, for instance, could be deployed as a stationary sentry turret, while the Farsight XR-20 could shoot through walls using an X-ray targeting mode. Mission structure blended linear corridor shooting with objective-based sandbox moments, encouraging exploration and rewarding players who paid attention to environmental details. A cooperative mode allowed a second player to join the campaign locally, and a counter-operative mode let a second player inhabit enemy soldiers to hinder the first player's progress — both modes were novel for console shooters of the era. The multiplayer suite was extraordinarily deep for a cartridge-based game, supporting up to four human players and supplementing thin player counts with sophisticated AI bots called simulants, which could be tuned for aggression, behavior, and difficulty. Perfect Dark pushed the N64 hardware to its absolute limits; the game required the Expansion Pak memory upgrade to run at all, and even with it, frame rates in busy multiplayer scenarios could drop noticeably. Despite this technical strain, the game was celebrated at launch for its ambition, its wealth of content, and the sheer density of its feature set, which outpaced most contemporary console shooters by a considerable margin.
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Perfect Dark
完美黑暗
Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter developed by Rare in 2000 for the Nintendo 64. Players control Joanna Dark, a secret agent, across single-player missions requiring infiltration, combat, and objective completion. The game employs a control scheme utilizing the N64 controller's C buttons for aiming and movement, alongside traditional button inputs. Each mission presents varied environments and tactical objectives, from protecting VIPs to gathering intelligence. The title features notably advanced AI opponents for its era, responding to player actions and adapting strategies accordingly. Multiplayer modes allow competitive play with customizable settings and bot participation. The combination of challenging single-player campaign and feature-rich multiplayer established the game as a substantial console shooter experience.
- Developer
- Rare
- Released
- 2000
- Platform
- N64
- Genre
- Shooter
- Players
- 1P
- Rating
- 4.4 / 5 (2.3K)
- Last updated
About Perfect Dark
What makes it special
Perfect Dark's secondary fire system — giving virtually every weapon a distinct alternate function — was a landmark design achievement that forced players to think about their loadout in genuinely tactical terms rather than simply selecting the most powerful gun. Equally remarkable was the simulant bot system in multiplayer: players could populate matches with AI opponents tuned to specific behavioral profiles (coward, dark, perfect, etc.), making robust multiplayer sessions possible without a full roster of human players — an innovation that console shooters would not routinely replicate for years. The game also holds the distinction of being one of very few N64 titles that required the Expansion Pak as a hard prerequisite, underscoring how far Rare pushed the hardware.
Pro tips
- Start on Agent difficulty to learn mission layouts before attempting Special Agent or Perfect Agent, where additional objectives appear and enemy lethality increases sharply.
- Memorize secondary fire functions for each weapon — the Laptop Gun's turret mode and the Devastator's proximity mine secondary can turn the tide in tight corridors.
- In multiplayer, set at least one simulant to 'MeatSim' behavior if you want target practice, or 'PerfectSim' for a genuine challenge that mirrors top-tier human play.
- Collect all weapons in a level when possible; firing each gun enough times in the firing range unlocks weapon challenges that reward bonus content and cheats.
- On Perfect Agent, prioritize mission-critical objectives first and avoid unnecessary combat — enemies respawn in some areas and wasted ammunition can leave you under-equipped for later encounters.
Perfect Dark Controls — N64 Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Perfect Dark on our in-browser N64 emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | D-Pad Up | Move up |
| ↓ | D-Pad Down | Move down |
| ← | D-Pad Left | Move left |
| → | D-Pad Right | Move right |
| X | A | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | B | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| V | Z (trigger) | Z trigger (back) |
| Q | L | Left shoulder |
| W | R | Right shoulder |
| I | C-Up | C-Up (camera up) |
| K | C-Down | C-Down (camera down) |
| J | C-Left | C-Left (camera left) |
| L | C-Right | C-Right (camera right) |
| Enter | Start | Start / Pause |
The N64 thumbstick is mapped to the arrow keys by default; many titles also let you remap it from the in-game options screen. The Z trigger is mapped to V.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Perfect Dark Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Perfect Dark on N64 before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Perfect Dark" N64 longplay 2000
Perfect Dark Cheat Codes
30 community-curated cheats for Perfect Dark. Tick any to activate them automatically when you click "Play with cheats" — or copy a code into your own emulator.
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Have All\Weapons\Player 1
802037F00007;801EA7F00007;801D17F0000780207F100007;801EEF100007;801D5F100007 -
Infinite\Ammo\Player 1
80202F7F00FF;801E9F7F00FF;801D0F7F00FF;802027DB00FF;801E97DB00FF;801D07DB00FF802062EF00FF;801ED2EF00FF;801D42EF00FF;80205B4B00FF;801ECB4B00FF;801D3B4B00FF8020769F00FF;801EE69F00FF;801D569F00FF;80206EFB00FF;801EDEFB00FF;801D4EFB00FF -
Infinite\Health\Player 1
8120205C3F80;811E905C3F80;811D005C3F80812053CC3F80;811EC3CC3F80;811D33CC3F808120677C3F80;811ED77C3F80;811D477C3F80 -
Infinite\Shield\Player 1
812020703F80;811E90703F80;811D00703F80812053E03F80;811E35A03F80;811CA5A03F80812067903F80;811E49503F80;811CB9503F80 -
Have All\Weapons\Player 2
802054600007;801EC4600007;801D34600007802087D00007;801EF7D00007;801D67D0000780209B800007;801F0B800007;801D7B800007 -
Infinite\Ammo\Player 2
80204BEF00FF;801EBBEF00FF;801D2BEF00FF;8020444B00FF;801EB44B00FF;801D244B00FF80207F5F00FF;801EEF5F00FF;801D5F5F00FF;802077BB00FF;801EE7BB00FF;801D57BB00FF8020930F00FF;801F030F00FF;801D730F00FF;80208B6B00FF;801EFB6B00FF;801D6B6B00FF -
Infinite\Health\Player 2
81203CCC3F80;811EACCC3F80;811D1CCC3F808120703C3F80;811EE03C3F80;811D503C3F80812083EC3F80;811EF3EC3F80;811D63EC3F80 -
Infinite\Shield\Player 2
81203CE03F80;811EACE03F80;811D1CE03F80811FE2103F80;811E52103F80;811CC2103F80811FF5C03F80;811E65C03F80;811CD5C03F80 -
Have All\Levels Complete & All Challenges
50003C020000;800A27C10001;50001E1A0000;80088A0D0001;50001E1A0000;80088A0E0001;50001E1A0000;80088A0F0001;50001E1A0000;80088A100001 -
Carrington Institute\Have 999 points in Firing Range
810AD71203E7810B1E3203E7 -
Carrington Institute\Have Infinite time in Firing Range
810AD70E004D810B1E2E004D -
Carrington Institute\Have 255 targets destroyed
810AD71400FF810B1E3400FF
Show 18 more cheats Show fewer
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Single & Co-Op\Press B To Levitate\Player 1
D00980C40040;8120200040F2;D00980C40040;80201FB30000;D00980C40040;811E900040F2;D00980C40040;801E8FB30000;D00980C40040;811D000040F2;D00980C40040;801CFFB30000D009C7E40040;8120672040F2;D009C7E40040;802066D30000;D009C7E40040;811ED72040F2;D009C7E40040;801ED6D30000;D009C7E40040;811D472040F2;D009C7E40040;801D46D30000 -
Text Value List Viewer (Viewed In Any Briefing)
8109E5685200 -
PAL Action Replay / Equalizer Version
810805F80001+810805FA0184+810805FC0183+810805FE013C+810802780024+8108027A017A+8108027C0179+D1067B360400+81067B360600+D1099FB00030+815037D8450A+D1099FB00030+815037DC4352+D1099FB00030+815037E0463D+814EE36A0000+814EE50A0003+814EE58A0004+814F01160005+814F01F20006+814F02CE0007+814F03AA0008+814F04860009+814EE9560013+814EEA320014+814EEB0E0015+814EEBEA0016+814EECE60017+814EEDC20018+814EEEBE0019+814EEF9A001A+814EF096001B+814EF172001C+814EF24E001D+814EF32A001E+814EF426001F+814EF5020020+814EF5FE0021+814EF6DA0022+814EF9320023+814EF99E0024+814EFA420025+814EDF160026+814EDF720027+814EDFE20028+814EE0BE0029+814ED81600D2+814F106000D7+814F106EDD04+814F107A00D8+814F1088E004+814F109400D2+814F10A2D904+814ED9D200EE+814F126A00F0+814F1278E904+814F128400EF+814F1292EB04+814EDA66010E+814F146E1204+814ED93E029B -
Second Skedar King's Costume
814ED9D49405 -
Second Skedar Respawn Costumes
814F126892FF+814F1274C692+814F128292FF+814F128EC692 -
Third Skedar King's Costume
814EDA685A07 -
Third Skedar Respawns Costume
814F146AC695+814F146C0C01814F142AC695+814F142C0C01814F8C8AC695+814F8C8C0C01+1 -
Second Skedar Respawns Weapon
814F150200FE+814F15041100814F14C200FE+814F14C41100814F8D2200FE+814F8D241100+1 -
Third Skedar Respawns Weapon
814F159A011D+814F159C2A00814F155A011D+814F155C2A00814F8DBA011D+814F8DBC2A00+1 -
Third Skedar King's Weapon
814EDA8C00F9+814EDAE40900 -
Player One's Weapon
814F0E86000C814F0E46000C814F86A6000C+1 -
Third Skedar King's Behaviour
814EDA6A0404 -
Soundtrack
81084AFA003C810845AA003C -
PC Versions - Use This Version In Emulators
810805F80001+810805FA0184+810805FC0183+810805FE013C+810802780024+8108027A017A+8108027C0179+D1099FB00030+81503798450A+D1099FB00030+8150379C4352+D1099FB00030+815037A0463D+D1067B360400+81067B360600+814EE32A0000+814EE4CA0003+814EE54A0004+814F00D60005+814F01B20006+814F028E0007+814F036A0008+814F04460009+814EE9160013+814EE9F20014+814EEACE0015+814EEBAA0016+814EECA60017+814EED820018+814EEE7E0019+814EEF5A001A+814EF056001B+814EF132001C+814EF20E001D+814EF2EA001E+814EF3E6001F+814EF4C20020+814EF5BE0021+814EF69A0022+814EF8F20023+814EF95E0024+814EFA020025+814EDED60026+814EDF320027+814EDFA20028+814EE07E0029+814ED7D600D2+814F102000D7+814F102EDD04+814F103A00D8+814F1048E004+814F105400D2+814F1062D904+814ED99200EE+814F122A00F0+814F1238E904+814F124400EF+814F1252EB04+814EDA26010E+814F142E1204+814ED8FE029B+814EDA2A0404810800B80001+810800BA0184+810800BC0183+810800BE013C+8107FD380024+8107FD3A017A+8107FD3C0179+D1067E560400+81067E560600+D109C7E40030+8150BA38450A+D109C7E40030+8150BA3C4352+D109C7E40030+8150BA40463D+814F5B4A0000+814F5CEA0003+814F5D6A0004+814F78F60005+814F79D20006+814F7AAE0007+814F7B8A0008+814F7C660009+814F61360013+814F62120014+814F62EE0015+814F63CA0016+814F64C60017+814F65A20018+814F669E0019+814F677A001A+814F6876001B+814F6952001C+814F6A2E001D+814F6B0A001E+814F6C06001F+814F6CE20020+814F6DDE0021+814F6EBA0022+814F71120023+814F717E0024+814F72220025+814F56F60026+814F57520027+814F57C20028+814F589E0029+814F4FF600D2+814F884000D7+814F884EDD04+814F885A00D8+814F8868E004+814F887400D2+814F8882D904+814F51B200EE+814F8A4A00F0+814F8A58E904+814F8A6400EF+814F8A72EB04+814F5246010E+814F8C4E1204+814F511E029B+814F524A0404+814F526C0108 -
Second Skedar Kings Costume
814ED9949405814F51F49405814F51B49405 -
Second Skedar Respawns Costumes
814F122892FF+814F1234C692+814F124292FF+814F124EC692814F8A8892FF+814F8A94C692+814F8AA292FF+814F8AAEC692814F8A4892FF+814F8A54C692+814F8A6292FF+814F8A6EC692 -
Third Skedar Kings Costume
814EDA285A07814F52885A07814F52485A07 -
Third Skedar Kings Weapon
814EDA4C00F9+814EDAA40900
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Perfect Dark released?
Perfect Dark was released in 2000 for the N64.
Who developed Perfect Dark?
Perfect Dark was developed by Rare, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does Perfect Dark support?
Perfect Dark is a single-player Shooter game for the N64.
What type of game is Perfect Dark?
Perfect Dark is a Shooter game for the N64, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Perfect Dark for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Perfect Dark runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Perfect Dark in the browser?
No. Perfect Dark streams from a public archive into a browser-side N64 emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Perfect Dark?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original N64 cartridge supported.
Does Perfect Dark work on mobile devices?
Yes — the N64 emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Perfect Dark this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Perfect Dark. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
How long does it take to beat Perfect Dark?
Completing the single-player campaign on Agent difficulty takes roughly 6–8 hours. Running all missions on Perfect Agent with full objectives can push total playtime to 15–20 hours, and unlocking all cheats and challenge modes adds considerable time beyond that.
Is Perfect Dark worth playing today?
Yes, particularly via the Xbox 360 remaster (Perfect Dark XBLA, 2010), which runs at a locked frame rate and adds widescreen support. The original N64 cartridge remains playable but requires the Expansion Pak and suffers from frame rate drops in demanding scenes.
What is the best starting strategy for new players?
Begin on Agent difficulty to familiarize yourself with each mission's layout and primary objectives. Once comfortable, replay on Special Agent to encounter the additional objectives that flesh out the story. Avoid skipping straight to Perfect Agent, as the difficulty spike is steep.
What are the most common mistakes new players make?
Ignoring secondary fire modes is the most frequent oversight — many players treat Perfect Dark like a standard shooter and miss half the weapon design. Also, failing to protect mission-critical NPCs (like Dr. Caroll) causes instant mission failure, so keep allies in sight during escort segments.
