Analogue 3D review: the perfect console for N64 collectors

I developed a sixth sense for old video game cartridges. I can see them in flea markets and thrift stores, spy them hidden behind the stacks in used bookstores. This happened when I first bought an Analog Pockets, when finding new and interesting Game Boy games became as important as actually playing them. Now my attention has turned to the Nintendo 64. Analog’s long-delayed take on the console – called Analog 3D – may be the most premium way to play N64 games, making it ideal for collectors.

After playing with the Analogue 3D last week, I’ve got a new appreciation for Nintendo’s oft-neglected console. I’ve played games for the first time and revisited old favorites, all with the benefit of modern features like wireless controllers and 4K visuals.

Analogue first made waves in 2015 with the Analogue NT, a modern reinvention of the NES. Since then, it’s done the same for platforms like the Sega Genesis and SNES, all of which are designed to run older cartridges — which can cost anywhere from a few bucks to a few hundred, depending on what you’re buying — on modern televisions. The consoles use field-programmable gate array or FPGA technology to function just like the original hardware.

Analog 3D takes this concept and applies it to the N64. There are easier and cheaper ways to play many of these games, such as with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription or through emulators on the App Store. But, just as a high-end record player preserves the physical element of listening to music, a console like Analog 3D offers a different and more tactile experience. This is what I’ve found creates a deeper connection with what I’m playing.

The $249.99 console looks a bit like a streamlined N64 — it’s available in both black and white — with a cartridge slot on the top and four controller ports on the front, complete with “power” and “reset” buttons. On the back there’s an SD card slot, two USB-A ports, and an HDMI port, allowing you to play it on modern TVs, unlike the original N64 hardware. It comes with an HDMI cable, USB cable, power supply, and a 16GB SD card pre-installed with the console’s operating system. It doesn’t come with a controller, but it does support the original wired N64 gamepad if you have some lying around, and there are various wireless options. I tested it using 8bitdo’s $39.99 Bluetooth option, which turns the three-prong N64 controller into something like an Xbox pad.

The console outputs up to 4K, and is region-free, meaning you can play games originally released in any region, and the company says it has “100 percent compatibility” with every N64 game. I obviously wasn’t able to test it, but I threw some weird stuff at it — like the Japan-only J.League soccer game I bought for $10 — and didn’t run into any problems. In fact, the best part of the system’s barebones interface is that it recognizes the cartridges you pop in, so you can create a digital inventory of your library. You can then use this function to customize aspects such as visual output for each game. Analog says other features are coming in a future update, including quick save states and screenshots.

But it’s the visual settings that really show the power of analog 3D. Over the years, the N64 has proven to be a difficult console to emulate; Even Nintendo screws it up sometimes, with games that have ugly textures or effects like fog missing with some customization options. Analog 3D goes in the opposite direction with five different output modes, and I’ve found myself switching between them depending on the kind of game I’m playing.

For example, one of the visual modes is called “Clean” and it is exactly what it sounds like: the original game rendered in high resolution with bright colors and sharp edges. It became my favorite for bright and colorful games like Banjo-KazooieWhich really came to life on my TV. But for other games, this more pure and clean output ruined the atmosphere. such as title Star Wars: Shadows of empire And Turok: Dinosaur HunterFor example, use lots of muted colors and fog-like effects to create a dark and moody tone. That energy was lost with the “clean” option. But as soon as I switched to BVM mode – or Broadcast Video Monitor, which Analog calls “reference-grade for N64” – all those elements came back. There I was, in the foggy Ord Mental junkyard, hunting down Boba Fett, just like I did three decades ago, trying to spy drones flying through the fog.

There are also other modes you can quickly swap into, including a mode that mimics the look of a CRT monitor, as well as further customization options with names like “Gamma Transfer” and “Beam Convergence”, which I admit are a little beyond me. I had no problems finding the best output for each particular game. You have a lot more control here than playing the same game with a Nintendo subscription, which offers a single CRT filter.

The one caveat I’ll point out here has little to do with analog 3D hardware and more to do with the platform it’s connected to. The company’s previous consoles focused on 2D games, which generally aged much better than early 3D games. Although I played many of these N64 games when they first came out, I still found myself struggling with some of the 3D platforming segments., And, boy, did I miss the lack of a free camera to help me visualize these three-dimensional worlds. It was even harder for games that were completely new to me. Again, this isn’t Analog 3D’s fault, but it’s something to consider if you’re looking to invest in a library of cartridges.

But, at least for me, it has made the hunt for those cartridges much more satisfying. Finding something cool and amazing, and then spending time learning how to play it, allows me to connect with these games on a deeper level. Unlike when I’m choosing from a dozen or more games on a digital platform, where I can quickly switch to something else if I get bored, a device like Analog 3D and the cartridges it runs forces a level of focus that I often feel is missing from my life, as there are so many things vying for my attention.

I doubt I would have given Jikkyo J. League: Perfect Striker Second Thoughts via Nintendo Switch Online. But now that I have the cartridge, it has become a multiplayer favorite in this house.