Analogue3D’s Retro Console Proves the N64 Controller Is the Worst Ever

I’m here to make friends, immerse myself in nature, accept heated online comments, and speak the dark truth that you’ve long known to be true: The N64 controller, NintendoThe infamous trident joypad for its third home console, was and always has been a terrible thing.

You might think you like it. If you are of a “certain age,” chances are you have fond memories of being snuggled up against the TV screen, screaming in anger as a blue seashell hit you. Mario Kart 64; lose yourself in the frantic chaos of multiplayer Super Smash Bros.; or explore Hyrule with eyes wide open in wonder Ocarina of time.

Still, nostalgia is a powerful force—and the warm fuzzy memories of what is undeniably one of gaming’s golden eras will blind you to the fact that you’re doing it all those things with a hideous controller shoved into your hand.

Hate is a strong term for intensity video game controllerbut I hate the N64 controller with a passion that must be unhealthy when pointed directly at a bundle of plastic and wires. And for that certain ageit’s a grudge I’ve carried since I was a child. However, as time passed, the hatred subsided, or at least subsided. However, this week my anger surfaced again.

Same day

The reason for this new odium? The revelation of Analog3Dan upcoming third-party console that not only plays original Nintendo 64 game cartridges, but also makes them look great on modern 4K TV screens. Unlike the string of “mini” consoles released in the last few years, for example SNES classic mini or Sega Genesis/Mega Drive MiniAnalogue’s device did not rely on game emulation but ran those original cartridges and used one FPGA chip to—essentially—simulate hardware of the original console.

This isn’t Analogue’s first attempt at reviving vintage hardware, having previously released products such as Similar bagsa Game Boy-shaped handheld device that plays original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games. It can also be equipped with adapters to handle Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, TurboGrafx-16, and Atari Lynx carts, creating a classic game collector’s dream system.

Analogue3D also seems to be a promising technology. Analogue says it is built around the “LE Altera Cyclone 10GX 220k, the most powerful Analogue FPGA ever used in a product,” providing unlimited region support for N64 cartridges from anywhere in the world in NTSC or PAL format, an available version of the Nintendo Expansion Pak (an N64 accessory that doubled the console’s available memory from 4 MB to a whopping 8 MB, improving performance on a select games) and output in 4K or native display modes that maintain “true CRT reference quality” with “vivid scanlines and shadow masks.”