Imagine taking a game console?s entire library to your friend?s house on one cartridge.
Sounds ludicrous right? But that?s exactly what you can do with the Everdrive 64!
I remember back in the 90s when the Nintendo 64 hit the scene. Back then you either had that, the Sega Saturn or a Sony PlayStation unless you had rich parents that could buy you all three.
However, I did not? but we did have the Playstation and I loved the hell out of that system.
Even though I had my Playstation I do remember being unable to avoid the N64?s marketing and seeing games like 007, Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time or Star fox all over the TV. I wanted to play them badly but I made do with games like Crash Bandicoot and Metal Gear Solid.
Now there is a way to play these games and many more on the original hardware instead of using emulators or owning hundreds of games and its known as Everdrive.
The Everdrive cartridge is a legendary idea and today I wanted to take a closer look at it particuarlly for the N64.
Back in 2009 a bunch of guys were tinkering with retro video game cartridges.
They came up with the idea of creating one game cartridge that could play every single game for that system.
So, they created a cartridge that had a built in SD card slot. They popped in an SD card full of game ROMS and were successfully able to play a crap tonne of games without changing the cartridge once.
The idea really took off and now they sell quality retro gaming systems all around the world, they called themselves krikzz.com
They have now built Everdrive cartridges for many consoles including the NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis or Megadrive and even the TubroGraphix 16.
The idea was so popular that a number of companies have ripped off the idea and are selling cheap knock off versions. So please be wary and only trust the carts with the krikzz seal of approval.
So How do I use it?
You?ll need a Nintendo 64 to begin with.
So, if you still happen to have one lying around that still works then your all set, otherwise you?ll have to take to the internet or a retro game store to find one.
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Note ? if you try to play N64 games that are from Europe on a North American TV it will look messed up due to the PAL signal these games require.
Solution = just find the US ROM version of the game in you wish to play.
Once you have a working console you need to pick up an SD card. I?ve heard that an 8GB card should be able to hold all 296 games released for the system.
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You then download the Everdrive software from the manufacturer?s site and install it onto the root of the SD card. Simply upload game ROMS onto the card, insert the card into the Everdrive SD card slot and put the cartridge into the console.
When it boots up you should get a user interface that lets you select a game and boom bitch!
I?m not calling you one, I?m just excited?
What?s it like?
Well one minute you?re playing Super Mario Land 64 the next you jump over to a ROM hack version of F-Zero X then maybe after a rare homebrew game without having to physically pop in another game.
This thing is every Nintendo 64 kid?s holy grail.
There are built-in features like the NES emulator so you can play NES games on an N64 console which is crazy.
There is also a game genie which loads in any cheats you have saved to the SD card.
It even has a clock feature so you can play games like animal crossing which have a day and night cycle.
The latest version 3 of the cartridge has been said to play 100% of all games you throw at it.
Conclusion:
To be honest I am jealous of Nintendo 64 fan boys.
My favourite console of all time was the Sega Dreamcast and if there was a special CD that played its entire library of games on one disc I?d pay a hell of a lot for it. I?d even buy the console again and an older TV to play it on if I had to.
So, any kids from the 90s who adored the N64 console really need to jump on this. It is such an awesome product but I think those adults who were fans when they were kids will get the most from it.
It is also great for those who love retro gaming and missed out on this console like me and for those who wish to try before they buy game collector types.
That?s all my thoughts on the N64 EverDrive, I will also talk about the other everdrive carts out there at some point.
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till next time.
