for N64 controllers. All i can say right now is that if you have a worn out
one DON'T THROW IT AWAY! There is hope yet...
23/07/07:Ok, so one night i suddenly got the urge to check out a Nintendo 64
emulator. I don't know why. Back when they were new, i was busy earning a
living (I'm more from the Atari 2600 generation although we never had that
either. Too poor!). Anyway, i looked at 'Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time' and
also 'Lode runner'. I couldn't play either of them on the PC though what with
the N64's particular style of controller. But the graphics! Yes, yes modern
consoles have much much better graphics but what got me with this is that the
N64 was a cartridge based system. In fact the last of the mainstream cartridge
consoles (excluding the utra pricey NEO GEO which was basically an arcade
machine in a console). If there's something i love it's solid state gear. I love
old stuff (yes, ten years is ancient in the gaming world). And if it doesn't
have any moving parts, all the better. Hence the N64 is far more interesting
to me than it's contemporary the Sony Playstation.
Anyway, I start looking around on Ebay. At the same time i ask a few quest-
ions on the arcade forums i frequent, knowing that many of the guys there
would have suggestions. I found out about the most popular games. Basic-
ally two of the games- 'Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time' and 'Super Mario 64' are
considered by many to be perhaps the BEST console games, not just of the
nintendo 64 but of all time and if i only had those two it would be worth
having the console.
Here is a list of the games that have built in memory, and the type
(battery back up, EEPROM etc) USA Boot/Save List
Here is the complete list of every game made for the N64.
Less than a third than was made for the Playstation, but apparently a lot less
dross ;-) . Note that games with European region are the same format as
Australia. In fact a number of the carts i bought were from the UK.
To get an idea of what games might be good, check here
Obviously peoples opinions vary but you get an idea from there. I'd say if it's
a 7/10 or more and the genre you'd like, go for it!
I bought everything from Ebay. Afterwards i thought I'd check out a few second
hand shops but there wasn't much to be had. Found three carts on a road trip.
update 11/03/08: ok, so having played with it on and off for about 6 months,
what are my favs? Golden eye, wave racer and blast corp have gotten a lot of use
so far. Legend of Zelda, mario64 and conkers bad fur day look like they will be
great too. Those six would keep me happy for years, pity i had to buy so many
others to find that out! I'm not a very dedicated gamer, so it will take
me a year or so just to complete golden eye, and zelda when i finally get to it...
CONTROLLERS
The colour of the console i bought is grape (clear purple) and it came with a
yellow controller. Yellow and purple look really funky together (",)
so i thought i might as well have four of 'em, one being almost
brand new in the box! I was also advised by folk that the N64 controllers
have a poorly designed analog joystick. so while design overall is fine, the joys
tend to wear out. It turns out you can still find original replacement joys, new
but i'm sure the supply is dwindling since it's a given that they wear out. I've
bought two spares. (update: left my first bad feedback on ebay ever. For this seller-
gameznetwork who sold me the spares, never received) And although people have
said there is no better controller than the original, i bought a Myiicco brand
from Game Traders .
For american readers ztnetstore have the same thing. I have seen them elsewhere
but with a pic of an original controller. I can only assume they have made a mistake
or are being disingenuous.What caught my eye with this brand however is that the
joy parts that are made of plastic and which wear badly on the original controllers
are made of metal on the Myiicco. So should last a hell of a lot longer.
This is what i can say so far having only used it a few hours: the buttons are a
bit 'clickier' than the originals and the spring tension on the joy is different.
Past about half way, the springs kind of 'give', becoming softer again which
makes it a bit hard to smoothly feed in an input. But i tell you what, it certainly
beats using a worn out original! The joy in the Myiicco looks to be (outwardly at
least) the same as the original. It's crossed my mind that you could use it in an
original controller if you wanted. The only hitch i can see so far (from peering
through the clear black plastic) is that the new one is hard-wired into the circuit
board, thus you would have to desolder the wiring off an old joy to put on the
new one. Anyway i'm quite happy to leave the Myiicco in one piece.
Update: well, after only a month or so of light use the Myiicco started playing up.
I decided to open it up and see what i could see. I also opened up the dud
genuine controller i had. It looks like you couldn't swap the joys. The Myiicco uses
potentiometers, while the original uses optic sensors much like mice (mouses?
meece?) use. Bit of a conundrum. The Myiicco mechanically is well
built but pots wear out (which is what happened to this one). The N64 wears out
mechanically but the optic sensors can last for ever. I'm embarking on a bullet-
proofing of the worn out N64 controller soon and i'll post a how to if successful.
Stayed up until about 3am brainstorming how it can be done!
22/08/08: I linked to ztnet above as a source for aftermarket controllers. I have
since found out that they sell spare thumbstick controllers! Get 'em while you can.
i've bought enough to fix my four controllers and a few spare (",) 13/12/08: OK, they way overcharged me on the last lot of thumb controllers. then they went quiet. i dont know if they were having financial difficulties or what. they seem to be operating again. but they dont seem to have the thumb controllers anymore. since they ripped me off with freight AND now dont have the controllers, i feel there is no need to recommend them anymore. 26/01/09: you might have some joy here if you are in the US or Canada if you are looking for thumbstick replacements: baysoft games or here (pricier, but they ship worldwide. too pricey for me right now. i've got 8 to wear out yet!) videogamecentral
08/10/11: I couldn't find any intersting screenshots of Goldeneye 007 in four player mode. So heres one on my 68cm telly (",) Trevalyan and Natalya face off at top right and bottom left while Bond looks on from top left.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT N64 GOODNESS
retrogamer magazine is published once a month in the UK. It takes a long time to
get to Australia and the USA, but hey it's not like it matters that much! See if you
can find issue 31:
as it has a great write-up on the N64. And a great write up on Pilot wings 64 -
a fantastic game for this console. Come to think of it, this magazine might be
why i decided one day to try a nintendo 64 emulator (project 64). It was months
after i read the mag but perhaps subconsciously it guided me. I suspect this
is how i came to buy a neo geo pocket as well. And why i have an urge to also
pick up a SNES, a sega mega drive and a wonderswan...
update: 11/03/2008. i did end up buying a sega mega drive! brand new from
thailand, still in the box. i bought it a few months ago, but you know, even though
i thought id like it more than the N64 (because its 2D and thus older school) i
hadn't got into it. Last week however I bought zero wing, purely because of its
infamy . having got it just for the novelty of the 'engrish' intro, i found it's a great
game! Quite similar to the arcade original, but easier which suits me since i suck
at computer games!
http://n64.icequake.net/ What's that you say? you want a place with lots of
technical info, including stuff about backup units? here ya go! many of the
links are dead though...
top 25 games Top 25 N64 games of all time, as ranked by ign.
au.ign64.ign.com N64 site includes faqs, cheats, tips on modding etc
honestgamers.com Walk throughs of n64 games etc
ultimateconsoledatabase.com Name says it all. fairly new so still typos and
'valley girl' speak but i found this place looking for a console called a
'good boy'. ever heard of it? i didnt think so...
nintendo.com From the makers themselves. Sadly no N64 items available anymore that I can see
au.gamespot.com Archived reviews of N64 games
nintendorepairshop.com Say no more!
gamescanner.org Scans of original video game box art and covers. Also the
occasional manual.
replacementdocs.com A great selection of N64 manuals.
emuparadise.org try before you buy (",) . I recommend the project 64 emu.
archive64 Includes a library of N64 reviews, tributes to past N64 sites, and
miscellaneous Nintendo articles written by Scott McCall.
console goods uk Your Legend of Zelda Ocarina Of Time not saving anymore? These guys sell tagged batteries to replace the dead ones
ign.com have a classic nintendo forum, amongst many other console topics
nintendo64forever For N64, I am most active here
neoseeker they have a N64 forum too
nintendonerds and here too. i've joined this and nintendo64. as danny galaga,
naturally...
created 23/07/07
last updated 06/08/11
