I have a deep appreciation and adoration for the Nintendo 64 and for how it shaped many of my gaming experiences growing up. I still boot up my 64 on occasion, especially now being into Ocarina of Time randomizers, and that’s where I can see the ModRetro M64 having a permanent spot plugged into my TV.
There was something immediately satisfying about booting up the ModRetro M64 for the first time. You don’t realize it when using the original hardware, but some of the games back then were slow to boot up. I tested boot-up times for a handful of games, and the speed is easily doubled, and in one instance, it was three times faster than the Nintendo 64. The best test case scenario for this was Paper Mario, which, using the original hardware, was roughly 0:15 seconds. Put this against the load time of 0:05-0:07 seconds on the ModRetro M64, and it makes a world of difference.
So, before you even dive into compatibility or input latency, the first thing that hits you is the great speed at which it reads carts. Retro hardware has a reputation for testing your patience; original N64 hardware takes its time, flash carts for it feel inconsistent, and the emulation consoles often stumble into long initialization sequences depending on the setup. The ModRetro M64 completely bypasses that.
“The ModRetro M64 feels less like a sterile preservation device trying to imitate the N64, and more like someone rebuilt the console while quietly fixing the decades of friction we all just accepted as normal.”
The responsiveness of the included wireless controllers is also fantastic. When playing around with Goldeneye, Mario Party 3 and Perfect Dark with friends, there was no noticeable lag, something that has been a bigger issue for me when trying to get these games to run on modern setups. The ModRetro M64 feels less like a sterile preservation device trying to imitate the N64, and more like someone rebuilt the console while quietly fixing the decades of friction we all just accepted as normal. It still looks and behaves like an N64 where it matters, but the annoyance is gone, with startup being almost immediate, menu navigation is snappier, and cartridge recognition is incredibly reliable.
Compatibility has always been a friction point for me, especially when it comes to flash carts like the SummerCart64, which is the cart I used for testing alongside a handful of original carts. Original cartridges worked near flawlessly during testing, including picky titles like Majora’s Mask and Perfect Dark. Expansion Pak support can often expose weaknesses in clone hardware, but the ModRetro M64 handles those games without any friction.
Majora’s Mask is the biggest mark here that feels fantastic. The game has always had a slight sluggishness on original hardware, particularly during screen transitions or when rapidly resetting the time. Emulation hardware has always had a rough time with it as well, and while the ModRetro M64 doesn’t magically transform it into a modern remaster, the hardware’s performance, paired with low input latency, makes the game feel cleaner than you probably remember.
“The ModRetro M64 nails the feeling of playing these games not as they played, but how you remember them playing.”
Perfect Dark’s campaign was another game that really shone in my testing. Rare’s legendary shooter still has all the awkward aiming, but the framerate dips that really hold it down on other replication hardware are noticeable here, and the actual controller response is excellent. Input lag is incredibly low across the board, which matters most in a game where every tiny analog adjustment counts. There is a directness to the aiming that feels closer to your nostalgia than actual reality. Going back to the original hardware afterward feels incredibly soft by comparison.
The ModRetro M64 nails the feeling of playing these games not as they played, but how you remember them playing. Platformers feel tight, shooters are responsive, and fighting games avoid the mushiness that often creeps into modern, HDMI-based retro solutions. Even Mario Kart Part benefited from this more than I expected; hammering the controller like I was in middle school again was a great experience. The classic N64 analog looseness is still baked into the game code, but the console itself isn’t adding any extra delay to the equation.
What really surprised me, though, was how well the system handled the SummerCart64. Flash carts are usually the undoing of other hardware since they are meant to hold and run games faster than most replicant hardware can handle. The ModRetro M64 handled the SummerCart with zero issues. ROM loading was fast, compatibility was excellent, and switching between titles felt much better. It also helps that I didn’t find a single title I tried from the cart that would load, and I went from Majora’s Mask, to Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Goemon’s Great Adventure, all the way to weird wrestling-based sci-fi RPG Hybrid Heaven. Go play Hybrid Heaven by the way.
For people who are preservationists and hobbyists who just want to play and aren’t interested in dropping crazy amounts for some carts, that’s a massive win. The N64 modding scene has exploded over the last few years with fan translations, ROM hacks, prototype recoveries, and homebrew. Having hardware that treats a flash cart as naturally as an original retail cartridge makes the ModRetro M64 far more versatile than a simple nostalgia machine aimed strictly at collectors with shelves full of grey plastic. It gives the console longevity. This isn’t a novelty you hook up for a single weekend to replay Ocarina of Time before boxing it back up; it’s designed for people who actively engage with the broader retro scene. As someone who can easily load up new Randomizers for OOT and MM, it’s made me able to dive much deeper into the scene, too.
The look of the ModRetro M64 is somehow a mix of looking like an original Nintendo 64, while also looking premium, with its sleek see-through moulding that lets you see the inner workings. That translucent shell design leans directly into late-90s nostalgia without feeling cheap or gimmicky. The plastics feel solid, the construction is clean, and it avoids the toy-like aesthetic that some retro clone systems accidentally stumble into.
The controller situation is also surprisingly good. Nothing will ever fully replace the original N64 controller for purists—mostly because that three-pronged design was so bizarre and specific—but the ModRetro M64 pack-in controller comes closer than expected. The analog response feels accurate, the buttons are clicky, and it avoids feeling over-engineered. There is no aggressive attempt to modernize the layout into something unrecognizable.
“The ModRetro M64 shines brightest if you genuinely care about latency, physical cartridge compatibility, and hardware accuracy.”
It isn’t completely perfect, though. The visual output occasionally walks a fine line between clean and overly sharp, depending on the game. At the same time, most of the titles benefit massively from the direct HDMI presentation, while others exposed just how muddy certain N64 textures always were. Nintendo’s original hardware relied heavily on CRT blur to soften rough edges. While the ModRetro M64 does a commendable job balancing clarity with authenticity, there are moments where older games look harsher than I remembered.
It is also impossible to ignore that this remains an enthusiast-focused device. Casual players looking to replay Super Mario 64 once every few years probably won’t appreciate the nuances here over standard software emulation on a modern console or PC. The ModRetro M64 shines brightest if you genuinely care about latency, physical cartridge compatibility, and hardware accuracy.
Thankfully, the ModRetro M64 does more than enough to justify its $199.99 USD price tag beyond pure novelty. The speed improvements alone make returning to original hardware genuinely difficult. Going from instant boot times back to waiting on aging hardware suddenly feels ancient.
More than anything, the ModRetro M64 breathes life back into the Nintendo 64 era for me and makes it feel alive again, and not buried under layers of emulation menus. The ModRetro is a no-brainer for anyone interested or invested in the Nintendo 64 era of gaming.
