Modder Creates World's Smallest N64 - And You Can Play It
They say the best things come in tiny packages, and when it comes to the world's smallest N64, we're going to have to agree. It's been a whole 24 years since that black box first arrived on the scene and became one of the greatest gaming consoles of all time. Blowing on cartridges and sticking them in the slot, we dived down warp pipes in Super Mario 64, learned WTF an ocarina was with The Legends of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and were taken to 00-heaven with GoldenEye 007.
Although consoles have come on a long way - and we now tend to get our Nintendo fix with the portable Nintendo Switch - one plucky player has tried to restore the N64 to its glory days of how we used enjoy the house that Mario built.
Over the years, we've seen some of the N64's biggest and best games be ported and even remade to more modern systems. Still, there's something about the good ol' days of having your shelves stocked with N64 cartridges that gives a dose of Nintendo nostalgia. Head up to the attic and dust them off because someone has just built the world's smallest N64 that's even smaller than the OG console's controller.
World's smallest N64: How was it made?
This pint-sized pretty comes from GmanModz, who showed off his creation and said it was his "destiny" to create the world's smallest N64. Not just some thrown together emulator, this uses actual parts of a classic N64 and has been soldered together to make a tiny playable package. The screen measures just 3.5 inches wide, but with 320 x 240 resolution and even a speaker, you can finally take your N64 on the move.
GmanModz cleverly used some modified Joy-Con buttons because they have a smaller footprint, while they also included a "grippy" connector to keep the cartridge in place when you're out and about. It all sounds great, and we'd quickly be placing an order if not for one major drawback. Considering the world's smallest N64 has a battery life of around 30 minutes, we don't imagine you'll be getting far into StarCraft 64's 87.5-hour campaign before going dark.
GmanModz admits it isn't perfect and told viewers, "The battery life sucks, it’s uncomfortable to hold, but hey. It fits in my pocket. Does your N64?". The answer is no, no it does not!
Ironically, this isn't GmanModz's first foray into making a more dainty version of the N64 for the average commuter. In March 2020, they unveiled the N64 SP, which was created in the style of the GameBoy Advance SP and featured a clamshell design. It packed a little more juice than the new N64 portable and could last around two hours.
Unfortunately, this is probably where the story ends. Unless you can find a way to modify an actual cartridge to somehow play itself, this is as small as an N64 is going to get. Still, it's a great bit of design ingenuity that has brought this firm favourite back to life.
The question is, what's next for GmanModz? Are there other designs for portable N64s out there, and are they going to try and create them on a mass scale? Good luck not getting sued by Nintendo. For now though, there should be just enough power on the world's smallest N64 to give us a quick Super Mario 64 speedrun.
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Images via GmanModz | Nintendo