• Project 64 Download
• Best N64 Emulator Windows 10
• Best N64 Emulator
• Best N64 Emulator Pc
• Best N64 Emulator Reddit
• Best N64 Emulator For Nvidia Shield
• Best N64 Emulator Android

Often the easiest method for playing N64 games is through emulators. Here are the best N64 emulators for PC and Android. Project64 (Windows) One of the most popular and easy-to-use N64 emulators. The emulation frontend Retroarch is arguably the best N64 emulator out there, letting you run several different N64 emulators as “cores” (as well as letting you play PS1, SNES, Sega Genesis, and various other retro console games on your PC). Here, we’ll show you the best way to get Retroarch to run your N64 collection. The first best Windows Nintendo 64 emulator on the list is Project64. Well, Project64 is a completely free and open-source emulator for the Nintendo 64 and 64DD and it is written in C. We placed Project64 in the first position as it is the easiest to install, setup, and use.

Many of the most old-school of gamers still pride themselves on playing all the classics on the original hardware and look down on emulation. Many other Nintendo fans may be loading up their Wiis with plenty of excellent N64 games on the Virtual Console. However, if you are looking for something to breath a bit of fresh air into your favorite N64 games, you may want to look into some neat little hacks you can do with an N64 emulator and some select plugins and texture packs.

More Must-Read N64 Content to Check Out

What Can These Tweaks Do?

Even though it was 64-bit, the N64 was still in that era where 3D processing was at its infancy and the graphics weren’t quite as smooth as we might like. In fact, the 32-bit Playstation had a number of later games that gave the best of the N64 a run for its money in terms of graphics. However, with some emulation tweaks, we can give some of your favorite N64 classics a significant boost to help transition them into the modern era.

While I wasn’t as impressed with most of these as much as I was with the PS1 emulation enhancements we covered a while back, there are some very interesting examples of a high-gloss finish added to some of the best of the N64 library.

Basic Image Enhancement Plugins

Without doing anything too terribly complicated, you can make most any N64 game look significantly better by using Project64 with a plugin, typically the Rice Video Plugin (find others on list of plugins here). These improvements are usually made by enhancing the 3D model textures and using anti-aliasing techniques to smoothen the rough edges of the polygons. Here are some great examples of enhanced screenshots (click to enlarge)

Kirby 64

Super Smash Bros.

Another Super Smash Bros shot

Jet Force Gemini

Goldeneye 007

Yes, you can render the Sky Box – Glide64 HQ plugin works well also
Another screenshot

Custom Texture Packs

One of the coolest tricks in N64 emulation is re-texturing. With this technique, the original graphics of the game are taken out, redone using high resolution textures or a different graphic style (such as Cell Shading), and then reinserted for playback on the PC. These texture packs consist of zipped files that you download and use in combination with a copy of the original game ROM and specific emulators. (See this guide for a detailed example)

The only disadvantage to this technique is that there is a lot of time and effort that goes into these texture packs. Dedicated members of the N64 emulation community pour their creativity and skill into these creations and is is no small task to adequately take care of one game, let alone the entire N64 library. Because of this, not every N64 game is going to have high-resolution texture packs available. Although, you are free to join in on the initiative yourself.

Below are some of my favorite examples of texture packs (click to enlarge screens), but there are more available. If you have a favorite that isn’t mentioned, feel free to drop some links in the comments section below.

Mario 64 – RiSiO’s Alternative Cartoon Mario 64
More Screenshots
Video Sample
Download Texture Pack

The Legend of Zelda: OoT – Hi-Res Pack

More Screenshots (With Before & After)
Zelda-Specific Instructions
Download Texture Pack

Paper Mario – Mollymutt’s Hi-rez

More Screenshots
Long thread with updates

Banjo-Kazooie – Macphisto’s Hi-Res Banjo-Kazooie
More Screenshots
Download Texture Pack

F-Zero X – speiles F-ZERO X retexture
More Screenshots
Download Texture Pack
Other Texture Packs (thanks CoolROM):

• Diddy Kong Racing by _pm_
• GoldenEye 007 by Kerber2k
• Legend of Zelda, The: Majora’s Mask by Djipi and MDtauk (Screenshots here)
• Mario Kart 64 by Mazzocchi
• Monopoly by krhyluv
• Starfox 64 by Kid A
• Super Mario 64 by cloudscapes, _pm_, and John Doe
• Super Smash Bros. by _pm_ and optimus$prime
• Virtual Chess 64 by sToRm_seveN
• Wave Race 64 by The Dave
• WWF No Mercy by alanchiz

Project 64 Download

Special thanks:NeoGAF members from this thread that shared their N64 screenshots and

Project64 is no doubt the most popular N64 emulator available. Randomizer staff will support Project 64 v2.4.0-1397-g5704fe5 which was released on November 17, 2020 and versions newer than it. We will not directly support any previous version, including 2.3.2 which is the latest stable release. Make sure to download one of the nightly builds if you wish to use Project64 for the randomizer.

As racing is a large focus for the community, please be aware that Project64 v2.0, v2.1, v2.2, and v2.3 are prohibited.Project64 v2.4+ as well as Bizhawk and Retroarch are the recommended emulators for racing.

Download Project64 nightly buildv2.4.0-1416-g88ac97c release on November 17, 2020 or newer.

Dismiss the nag screen without waiting 30 seconds by pressing the Esc key.

• 2Recommended Settings
• 3Optional Settings
• 4Troubleshooting

Configure Controller

First, read the Controller Setup guide. Ensure the controller is calibrated, and if you are using one of the controllers with additional setups steps in that guide make sure you follow them.

When using an Xbox controller, or any controller that is an XInput device, you must first go to Options ⇒ Settings... ⇒ Plugins and change the Input (controller) plugin from Project64 Input Plugin to N-Rage for PJ64. Then navigate to Options ⇒ Configure controller plugin... and check XInput at the top. This will change the bind menu to be more appropriate for your device.² The XControl column is the button on your controller, and the N64 column is the button on the N64 controller you want it to use.

For other controllers and keyboard users, use the default Project64 Input Plugin (or ensure that XInput does not have a check by it). Click on the button for the control you want to bind a button to and the menu will wait for you to press a button on the controller or a key on your keyboard to use for the button. You may need to change these again if you switch controllers.

If you use a keyboard, you will also want to increase the Analog Stick ⇒ Range to 100%.

Recommended Settings

Video (Graphics) Plugin

The GlideN64 Plugin is recommended. To do this, launch Project64 and navigate to Options ⇒ Settings... or press Ctrl+T to open the Settings menu.

In the Settings menu, go to the Plugins section and change your Video (Graphics) Plugin to GlideN64. Click Apply.

If your PC doesn't support this, you'll have to use the Project64 Video Plugin instead.

Jabo's Direct3D8 Plugin is not recommended.

Optional Settings

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Enable FPS Display (requirement for races)

To enable the FPS Display (shown as DL/s), launch Project64 and load your ROM. Next, navigate to Options ⇒ Settings... or press Ctrl+T to open the Settings menu.

In the Settings menu, expand the Options list on the left-hand side and look for an Advanced section. If the Advanced section isn't showing, click Options and untick Hide advanced settings. Afterwards, click Advanced and tick the Speed Display. The Speed Display box must show VI/s & DL/s. Click Apply.

Lowering the VI refresh rate to 1488 is also required for racing with Project64.

While in the Settings menu, look for a Defaults section. If the Defaults section isn't showing, click Options and untick Hide advanced settings. Afterwards, click Defaults and change the VI refresh rate from 1500 to 1488. Click Apply.

Finally, in the Settings menu, click on Config: The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time (U) (Randomizer). Your VI refresh rate should display 1488. If not, change it accordingly and click Apply

Keep in mind that you must show your VI Refresh Rate in both the Defaults section and the Config: The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time (U) (Randomizer) section before the race starts.

Enable Save States

To enable save states, launch Project64 and navigate to Options ⇒ Settings... or press Ctrl+T to open the Settings menu.

In the Settings menu, click Options and untick Hide advanced settings. Click Apply.

You should now be able to utilize save states by navigating to System. on Limit FPS.

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Pause/Unpause Emulation when Window is not Active

In the Settings menu, expand the Options list on the left-hand side and tick/untick the box for Pause emulation when window is not active section. Click Apply.

Remove the FPS Cap

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To remove the FPS cap, launch Project64 and navigate to Options ⇒ Settings... or press Ctrl+T to open the Settings menu.

In the Settings menu, click Options and untick Hide advanced settings. Click Apply.

You should now be able to remove the FPS Cap by loading a ROM, navigating to System and clicking on Limit FPS. Alternatively, you can just press F4 on your keyboard.

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Resize Emulator Window

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Go to Options ⇒ Configure Graphics Plugin and change the Windowed Resolution to whatever you prefer.

Show File Names of ROMs in the Selected Folder

By default Project64 v2.4+ will display every Ocarina of Time ROM that's not a clean vanilla version as a randomizer seed. This can lead to confusion if your folder contains multiple OoTR seeds or rom hacks (see image below). It is recommended to display the File Name instead of the Name. To do this, open the Settings menu and go to ROM Selection. In the left column find and select File Name and then press Add ->. Then, if you wish for this information to be displayed first, select it in the right column and repeatedly press Up until it's at the top of the right column. If desired the Name entry can be removed by moving it to the left column with the <- Remove button. Click Apply.

Texture Packs

The following link will let you set up texture packs for Project64 v2.4+

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Troubleshooting

Alt+Tabbing Crashes in Full-Screen Mode

Use the GlideN64 Video Plugin. If your PC doesn't support that plugin, you'll have to be aware to hit the 'Escape' key on your keyboard before Alt+Tabbing.

Alternatively, you could also play in Windowed Mode. Navigate to Options ⇒ Configure Graphics Plugin... and adjust the Windowed Resolution accordingly. Click Save and Close.

Screen Flicker when Streaming

If using the GlideN64 Video Plugin, go to Options ⇒ Configure Graphics Plugin.... In the 'Video' tab, check the 'Overscan' box. Click Save and Close.