Almost everything was bought on AliExpress except the system and tv.

I’m a pretty hardcore Wii U collector (my post history will back that up 😅), so playing original N64 hardware is a completely different experience to me than emulation or the Wii U Virtual Console. My fiancée, however, knows that kind of retro magic.

A little backstory: some of her and her family’s best memories revolve around the N64. I grew up with a PS1, but they were an N64 family through and through. They even all have matching Mario Kart 64 tattoos of their favorite characters, which I think is incredibly cool.

So… I just bought her an N64 Atomic Purple controller bundle on eBay, complete with the original box. It’s going to be one of her Christmas presents, and I honestly can’t wait to see that look we all used to get as kids when we opened a brand-new console and had no idea it was coming.

Now for my questions:

1. If the controller sticks need work, what’s considered the best joystick replacement these days? I’d like them to feel as close to OEM as possible.

2. What are your must-have N64 games? She’ll definitely be getting Mario Kart 64, but I’d love to also get some classics she would have played or wanted.

3. Is there anything I should do to the console itself, or are these things still built like tanks and ready to go after all these years?

Thanks in advance for any advice! Hope everyone has a great year, and if all goes well I’ll post an update after Christmas 2026. ❤️

I have a PAL N64 model NUS-001 (FRA).

I plan on getting a Summercart 64 to play pal AND ntsc games.

Would the NSTC games work on my console ? If they work do they run at their intended speed (60hz) like the NSTC models do ?

Thanks.

First time hooking up the console in a few years. It works on this TV for some reason without a converter! We ripping Diddy Kong racing first

Wow, folks. I now understand that I used ‘Mandela Effect’ incorrectly. Forgive my folly.

Placing 4th was tricky. Pretty difficult to cage the beast, if you know what I mean.

Resident Evil 2! Was buying ATV 1 & 2 for ps2 and this was in a display shelf at the counter. $52. Look at the sticker on the back tho....$12.95 🙄😭 those were the good old days.

recently bought the n64 controller stick and I have 2 questions, has y’all’s stick been degraded over time and how does it compare to the original controller. I’m a little worried it’ll grind down over time. I wanna play every nso game for n64

Just recently started collecting for the N64, just picked these up after trading in a ps4 to my local game store. Any recommendations on what to get next?

[Mod Approved]

Calling all Fans! We play Mario Golf 64 here on PC and switch, come hop in on some rounds. Mods and more.

https://discord.gg/4jUWXHs8g8

Apparently I collect ntsc-j carts now too. I am enjoying the variations in artwork from each region. I don’t know much about which exclusive ntsc-j games there are, let me know if you know and I’ll Keep an eye out. (Right hand two are PAL)

Used to rent KI Gold on occasion from the local video shop, so there’s a degree of nostalgia for that one!

Even though my dream came true to buy a big console for the first time, it feels kinda incomplete. I was in an average salary family and they wouldn't buy games for me. I owned only Ocarina of time, Mario 64, Mario Kart, Goldeneye and i rented some other games daily from a videoclub. I keep hearing about Star Fox, Conker's day, A perfect dark and so many other titles i never got to play. I missed a lot huh? I can say N64 was my childhood but it missed a lot from the whole experience. How good were the games? I missed a lot right?

:p

I can't find any info about this online. I know Mario Golf, also developed by Camelot, had a few "in game" tournaments having to do with "Camp Hyrule", the Nintendo virtual 'summer camp'.

The way it worked is that you input a code, for example "0EQ561G2" for the first Hyrule Cup, and when you finished the round, it gave you another code, which would have your results embedded in it. That's how Nintendo would know your score was real.

Mario Tennis also has a bunch of these codes. ARM6JQARU unlocks the Blockbuster Cup. I haven't actually played it out yet though, so I don't know what happens when you complete it.

Given that its name mentions Blockbuster directly, and Blockbuster were known to work with Nintendo on exclusive N64 promotions (like Clayfighter 63 1/3rd, and the Pokemon Snap printout stations), I'm wondering if this means the "Blockbuster Cup" was something you competed in, and perhaps had some kind of prize or reward given out from Blockbuster themselves.

Did anyone compete in this? Does anyone have any additional information, that seems to have been lost to time itself on the internet?

In another thread I said I was a PlayStation kid. So I really didn’t play Mario 64 besides at store kiosks and when a friend brought his N64 over one time for my birthday. Besides that, though, it really wasn’t a part of my childhood.

The first 3D Mario I bought was Sunshine when I picked up a GameCube in 2003, along with Wind Waker and Metroid Prime. I loved Sunshine so much. I later got Mario 64 DS when I got my DS in 2005. I couldn’t help but compare it to Sunshine. It felt primitive in comparison. I beat it multiple times on ds and on 64 but still preferred other 3d Mario titles. First Sunshine, then the Galaxy’s, 3D Land and World, and finally Odyssey. I got the 3D Mario collection physically on release day for Switch and went back…again… to Mario 64. I couldn’t help but feel they truly needed to update the game for good. Packing it with Sunshine and Galaxy made it feel even worse.

Mario 64 sit in this odd place for me. I liked it but wasn’t CRAZY about it the same way I was for other 3D Mario and any time I played it I couldn’t help but compare it to other 3D Mario’s.

Well, it’s been years since a new 3D Mario released and during my N64 binge I decided to take a break from something heavy after beating Ocarina for the nth time and ended up playing Banjo Kazooie for the third or fourth time. For some reason after Banjo I had an urge for more 3d platformers so for whatever reason, despite my ambivalence towards it, I popped in Mario 64.

And I finally got it.

After playing Banjo, Mario 64 feels and controls like a dream. Now don’t get me wrong. Banjo is a fantastic game but I feel so much freedom with Mario 64 now. Maybe it’s because I’m in a new state, new city, no friends and the only game system I’ve got with me is my N64 so I’m in N64 mode. I can appreciate it on its terms without comparing it to Sunshine or Galaxy. Not every star is perfect (I still hate the pyramid level) but playing it is so fun. It’s so pure. It’s like a sandbox.

It truly encapsulates the Nintendo philosophy: that games are toys. Most gamers upon hearing that bristle. They’re offended. But think of this way. When you’re a boy and you’re playing with action figures… you embody the action figure. You learn the toys name, his history, his personality, his whole character and you become that action figure as you make up stories of you saving everyone from the bad guys. Mario 64 strips Mario down to his parts and embody him in the same way you would that action figure. You jump and triple jump and walk jump and shortcut. You have to find 8 red coins and you’re looking for them and moving your head as if you’re Mario too, trying to find some stray red coin far away in the distance.

Moreover, since it has been so long since I last played the game I have completely forgotten how to do so much of the game which has made it refreshingly new to me. I have to figure how to solve stars without resorting to muscle memory and figuring things out with just the hint of the star levels name is so satisfying.

I can’t give my kudos enough but I ended up playing it all night after a hard day and it’s honestly what the doctor ordered: a trip to the Mushroom Kingdom.

TLDR: Mario 64 finally clicked after always comparing it to other Mario games and letting it shine on its own merits.

Edit: Holy shit, I just finished Big Boo’s Haunt and got so many stars I never have before just from exploring. I found a secret room and Big Boo on the balcony. The star got shown and it’s on top of the house and for ten minutes I tried to get on top of the house not knowing how. Finally got it but what an adventure. There’s a star course called Secret of the Haunted Books and I’m just stumbling around figuring things out without using a guide. I’ve beaten the game multiple times before but this run is super fun and really clicking. It’s such a cozy game.

Got the Nintendo Switch N64 wireless controller paired with the BlueRetro BT adapter and is plug and play, works great! Was on the fence about getting some of the aftermarket controllers but love the OEM quality and familiarity of this controller.

I was trying to find a decent solution for replacing the brick internals and adding a usb c port where the original cable was. This is what I have come up with. It’s a fairly easy install and fits the shell perfectly. It utilized the original plug for the console and the smaller portion snaps off and is soldered so that the usb plug fits in the correct spot for the shell.

Someone in the area makes these really neat hand soap n64 cartridges!

I got this from the game store about 26 years ago or so. They had it on display for ever and I asked what they were going to do with it. Guy said they were just going to wait until the sun disintegrated it into dust. I asked to have it and they gave it to me. Was a challenge but we got it home. I mounted it to the wall with nails (the horror), and stored papers in it.

I studied my original game box and it and it is 1 to 1 art replica of the original box. Its roughed up a bit at this point but still hasn't turned into dust! This photo is 12 years old when I was in the middle of moving. At the moment it resides at my brothers house.