The Best Nintendo 64 Emulator for Windows
Sure, Mario Kart 8 may have 30 characters and hovercraft, but there is something nostalgic about the now classic Mario Kart 64. If you want to relive the games of your childhood, an emulator is a decent way to go.
Project64 (version 1.6 recommended)
Platform : Windows Price : Free download page
Note. Chrome will give a warning on the Project64 download page, likely because version 2.2 contains associated adware. If you’d rather download Project64 from the site without warning, you can get version 1.6 from Jabosoft .
Nintendo 64 Emulation State: It’s Complicated
Nintendo 64 emulators have been around for over a decade, but development has become slow and fragmented. There is no perfect emulator. In fact, most of them are rather imprecise and many games are still not playable.
As such, there is no single “best” Nintendo 64 emulator. Some games may run better with one emulator than another, so you may need to keep a couple handy. In addition, Nintendo 64 emulators also allow you to use various plugins to control video, sound, and controller input – all of which have their own advantages and features. Some games may work best with Jabo’s Direct3D8 video plug-in that ships with Project64. Others may work better with the Glide64 video plugin , which needs to be downloaded and installed separately. Some plugins like Glide64 also support additional features like high resolution texture packs which is really cool.
Installation can vary from plugin to plugin and emulator to emulator, and you may have to switch between multiple emulators and plugins to get the best experience on any given game. With all of this, we won’t be able to put together a comprehensive guide to Nintendo 64 emulation to fight. But everyone has to start somewhere, and Project64’s compatibility, capabilities, and ease of use make it our “starting point.”
To see the best emulator and plugin configuration for any particular game, check out this (now defunct, but archived) database . You can also find a lot of information on how to install and configure various plugins in the various emulation forums. Google is your friend!
Functions
- Plays many Nintendo 64 games in ROM form.
- Play games with virtually any USB gamepad and customize button layouts
- Save and load your state anywhere in the game
- Supports plugins for video, audio and controller input for additional functionality and stability
- Choose from several resolutions and aspect ratios to fit any TV or monitor.
- Adjust many graphics settings to get the best picture on your TV or monitor (some are plugin dependent)
- Add high definition textures to the game for a better HD experience (depending on the plugin)
- Unlock additional features with built-in GameShark cheats and codes
Where is it best
While the “best” emulator depends on what game you want to play, we found Project64 to be the best starting point for most people. It has decent compatibility and is (relatively) easy to set up and use when compared to other emulators. It can still take a lot of tweaking, but at least you have a forum full of information and a well-designed graphical interface to explore all of its various tweaks.
Where it fails
Project64 does not have perfect emulation like any other Nintendo 64 emulator. This means that some games may have minor bugs, serious problems, or not play at all. Certain games may require some configuration in order to function correctly.
Most notable in Project64 is the sound emulation, which can have crackling or other problems if the sound plug-in is not properly configured for that game. Other emulators do not have this problem, although the other advantages of Project64 (primarily ease of use) outweigh this disadvantage.
Also: the latest version of Project64 is 2.2, but some may find 1.6 more stable (both have their pros and cons). We recommend starting with 1.6 and upgrading to 2.2 if you run into problems. Development is still ongoing (albeit slowly), so we hope that future versions will be improved across the board. Also note that version 2.2 has associated adware, so be sure to uncheck the box during the installation process.
Competition
Mupen64Plus is the closest competitor to Project64. Some games may run better on Mupen64Plus, while others on Project64. Mupen64Plus also doesn’t share occasional Project64 sound issues. However, Mupen64Plus has one big drawback: it is much more difficult to set up. This is command line only, so you need to do all the tweaks through config files and you need to be pretty tech-savvy to get it working. However, development with Mupen64Plus seems to be a bit faster, so it is possible that it will come out ahead in the future. Mupen64Plus is also available at RetroArch , which is good if you are already using RetroArch for other emulators.
1964 is an old and mostly abandoned Nintendo 64 emulator. However, it is still easier to use and set up than Mupen64Plus and is generally faster, so users with older hardware may find it useful for some games.
On the horizon, there are a lot of good things for emulation 64. Nintendo CEN64 still not fully suitable for use, but it is aimed at to become a Nintendo emulator 64 with the exact cycle that dramatically change the rules of the game. The GlideN64 plugin currently under development will also shake up users of other emulators like Project64 a bit. But development is slow, so until that happens we’re stuck with a few imprecise (but very handy) options.