The Analogue 3D is a wonderful piece of kit, and arguably the best way to experience original N64 cartridges on modern-day televisions – outside of getting the original console HDMI-modded, perhaps.
However, despite Analogue's insistence that its FPGA approach is 100% accurate, seasoned N64 hacker and developer Kaze Emanuar has posted a video that casts doubt on these claims.
According to Emanuar, the Analogue 3D isn't cycle accurate when compared to the original N64 hardware – not a massive issue as games are still perfectly playable, and most people won't even notice unless they are directly comparing performance against the original system – but still a fact that flies in the face of Analogue's confident marketing.
In our Analogue 3D review, we stressed that FPGA chips, while boasting the potential to be incredibly accurate when compared to software emulation, are still "programmed" like any other chip – so there's always scope for minor bugs or incompatibilities. Most people won't even notice these differences, but the fact that they exist means that the Analogue 3D cannot be considered a like-for-like replication of the N64.
Emanuar is keen to point out that he still feels the Analogue 3D is an excellent piece of kit and good way to play N64 games on modern TVs, and he also says that he's in touch with the engineer behind the Analogue 3D's FPGA core, and has been told that a "fix" is in the works to address some of the issues raised.
Like many modern gaming platforms, the Analogue 3D will undoubtedly improve and evolve over time, and could eventually become the most accurate clone of Nintendo's 64-bit console.