Guide Building The Ultimate Nintendo 64

@Zuljaras Wow your n64 is amazing!

I am the only person I think that plays the n64 controller holding it from both sides. I never hold the middle prong/handle unless im playing an fps maybe but even then I usually like just holding it from both sides. I find it comftorable where my thumb stretches out to move the anologue stick but I think I just have really big hands because for pc games I use the xbox duke controller.

I have the eon hd and the everdrive 64 both are amazing. I bought one of those new redesigned controllers but I like the original better.

Isn't "building the "ultimate" N-64 sort of an oxymoron? The system was a POS and nothing like what were promised. You don't take a graphics chip based on Silicon Graphics "Black Onyx" set (basically the computer system that was used to create the dinosaurs in the first Jurassic Park) and come up with blocky / blurred graphics. They were bitmapping over a junk field of oversized polygons. They were hiding in plain sight the fact that they didn't know how to use the tech that was given them. It was pretty much the Nintendo Jaguar IMO.

@Bearzilla823 No, you have no idea what you are talking about, and sound like a fool.

@Bearzilla823 " The System was a pos" what are you on about? The system is still my favorite console of all time. Fzerox, Super Mario 64, Zelda Ocarina of time and Majoras mask. Smash bros, Mario Kart 64. Wave race, banjo kazooie 1 and 2, Goldeneye, perfect dark,conkers bad furday, Dk64, Starfox 64, Diddy kong Racing, Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Stadium 1&2 like the list of games for this system is nothing short of incredible and still the best moments of my gaming life were had with the N64

The N64 hate on this site is absurd, I've gotta show it some love. If I had gotten a PS1 or Saturn instead of an N64, I doubt I'd love video games. I did have a Ps1 when I was a little older, and I couldn't believe how bad it was in comparison. There's a reason Ocarina and SM64 have consistently topped lists of the best games ever for decades, and when all is said and done, the N64 is the best console of its generation, and it's not close. I love games on all consoles by the way, I'm not one of those "the console I had was best", I just did hapen to have the best one in this case. I also had a gamecube but think the PS2 is the best console ever. Obviously if you like rpgs, it becomes a very different conversation.

looking at the 3-400 USD range for a complete set of the cheapest options, here. 😳

this hobby is so much more expensive than it used to be. so glad i still have my old setup and a good crt 👍 all i need is an everdrive.

@Arcata To be fair, the hardware can be completely wonky and still have amazing games produced for it. The N64 was objectively backwards in some ways, same as the Saturn/Jaguar/PS3/your favorite bizarrely designed console here. It has no bearing on the games, but next to the bright and crisp PS1, the N64 looks mushy. You can like the mush, but that doesn't mean it isn't mush. It's not hate to call it what it is.

@mariteaux The n64 is more powerful than the ps1 and the graphics on N64 looked way better and alot more high poly. The ps1 was not crisp it had warped weird blurry 3d models compared to the N64. Ps1 looks objectively worse than n64 look at spyro compared to mario 64 or metal gear compared to zelda ocarina.

@Arcata More powerful, yes, but with 4KB of texture memory that caused every game to become a smeary mess unless they used solid colors. Polys aren't everything when the textures on them are soft and monotone. You can prefer that, but I also think listing off a bunch of good games isn't a response to "the hardware wasn't what was promised", which is again objectively true. I personally would take Spyro any day to SM64, but that's just like my opinion man.

@mariteaux Fair enough. I do love spyro to but Mario 64 is still my favorite game of all time lol

I know this isn't claiming to be a comprehensive guide, but there are a couple of great and readily available pieces of hardware that I use for modern N64 gaming which aren't listed here. Firstly, the Rad2X N64 to HDMI cable gives a great picture on my LG OLED, and was what I went for over the EON adapter. Secondly, I use the Retro Fighters wireless Brawler 64 controller, which is a huge step up from my original official controller. I haven't tried the other ones mentioned in this guide so I can't personally compare, but I would definitely recommend it. So, anyone looking to get the most out of their N64, don't just stop at the products listed in this guide!

@Henbenpet Thanks! I play my n64 atleast 2 times a week. I will look into the Rad2nx because I also wanna upgrade to an oled tv. Do you buy it on amazon or do they have their own site to buy it from?

@-wc- This is the day after I actually sold my N64 on ebay, sad to see it go but I emulate everything anyways.

@Arcata you can buy it here https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/RAD2X-CABLES/SUPER-NINTENDO-PAL-GAMECUBE-N64-HD-RAD2X-HDMI-CABLE but it looks like it's out of stock at the moment. It also works with Super NES and Gamecube, which is a nice bonus!

@Henbenpet Ok cool ill keep it bookmarked. I will compare it to the eon 64 I have to see which is better for oled thank you!

Man, these prices are out of control..
Honestly, just get an n64 to usb adapter and play on a PC.

If you're not playing original system on crt, then just emulate

@Bearzilla823 it sound like your expectations were way too high if you were expecting stuff equalling the movies on hardware released in 1996. Just because it used similar hardware doesn't mean it was going to rival the top end specs. Technology was developing at a fast rate then but producing low powered 3D accelerated hardware was still expensive and many developers were also very new to working on that kind of hardware so the knowledge wasn't there. So very much they didn't know how to use the tech as it was a learning process for everyone at that time. You have a pretty bad take there.

I use a kaico 2 x line doubler with smoothing enabled to get a usable output, then an mclassic in retro mode to bump it up to 1080p with more smoothing, image looks great on modern telly.

Nice article @Damo. I just recently got the PixelFX Gem HDMI mod fitted by Oldskool Consoles who did a splendid job. I have an NSO N64 controller which I connect wirelessly with a Blueretro adapter (it occasionally briefly disconnects 😶). An Everdrive X5 might be my next move - seems better value than the X7. All a bit of a money sink 😂