N64 on Steam Deck! Mupen64 Plus EmuDeck 2 Setup Guide and Emulation Tutorial for Valve's Handheld

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When enough of you keep asking me for the SAME THING I try to listen...so here we go; Steam Deck coverage! But of course this is a retro gaming channel so it's not like we are going to talk about modern PC Gaming on the Steam Deck...we are going to talk about retro emulation...more specifically Nintendo 64 emulation!
Patreon Thanks: Seth Peterson, John Thompson, Paul Daniel, Porch, Jon Anderson, RayceARoni, Kuranghu, Jason Hixon, Alex Tessler, Jonathan Leung, Martin Donlon, Tom Van Deusen, barabob, Steve Randall, Ahab, K-2, Renaissance 2K, Ivar Wennerhold, Adrien Sebbane,
Mike Puelinckx, Tony Escobar, H7, Ben Parfitt, Holger Schmidt, Tim Lehner, Shad Uttam, Dan L, Coupon Joe, Sunder Raj, Dorfus the Maple Syrup Man, John Booty, Richard S, Eric Gutt and Robert Alger!
I asked, you answered...and I try to listen :) Of all the requests for new content on the channel one of the most frequently asked for videos is a series on the Steam Deck; Valve's new Nintendo Switch competitor that could
On today's Steam Deck video I will go over how to get N64 games running on your Steam Deck via Mupen64Plus-Next. Note: This is for N64 only and I MAY do a N64DD version later as while both video game consoles use the same emulator...the setup process varies in many ways!
But Steam Deck as an emulation platform and handheld gaming PC is just amazing...and this is one more awesome use for it!
Again I recommend getting a Dock for your Steam Deck as the process is MUCH easier that way!
But the Steam Deck is proving to be an amazing retrogaming handheld video game emulation machine and I love it!
Questions? Comments? Just leave them below and I will do my best to answer each and every one of them!
/ videogameesoterica
You can follow us at IG : ChicagoGameCollector , or join our Discord Server : / discord
VGE
#retrogaming #steamdeck #emulator #emulation #retrogames #n64 #nintendo64 #pcgaming #pcgamer #gaming #gamingcommunity

[@garymaya1767]

Damn better than the simple 64 steam deck tutorial i saw last night! Thumbs up

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Thanks :)

[@simon41978]

I bought a N64 a long time after release. I really liked Mario 64 and the innovative controller. The games look amazing on an emulator in high-res.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Bomberman Hero is my jam

[@drewwhitney7327]

What did you press to pull up the quick menu in retroarch at 6:16? I can't find any of that stuff in the retroarch menu.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Click the left and right hand thumb stick in at the same time

[@FoodzAreGoodz]

Thank you for a quick and well informed tutorial. Helped a lot! 🙌🙌🙌

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad it helped :)

[@dani_i8942]

Hi, I'm getting distorted text on 64 games. I've tried using different emulators however that doesn't fix the issue. Any idea what the problem might be?

[@moolavaca75]

when I play my n64 on emulation station, it stutters and lags from time to time.how do i fix that? I've tried power tools and that helps a bit but I have to set it up again every time I restart the emulator

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It just does that sometimes. Not a ton to do

[@En1matic]

Dang I saw Perfect Dark on there and I knew to immediately try this out!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Not quite there yet

[@kyleklett4058]

How do you get the individual games to show up in collections in game mode as opposed to having to the emulators? Mine only shows the emulators and I have to then open up each game within the emulator

[@TrillStylesz]

Steam rom manager

[@Shieed]

Do you need retro arch to make the games run? I put the roms in the right folder, and they show up on my steam library. But when I click start game, it just goes back to the steam menu. I didn’t install retro arch because you said we didn’t need a bios…

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

RetroArch is the emulator, not the bios. Install RetroArch

[@Shieed]

@@VideoGameEsoterica so I have it installed, but the games still aren’t starting. Is there something in retro arch that I need to change?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Try launching them in RetroArch and see what that does

[@BaseSet]

How does banjo 2 play for you? ive been having some trouble with it.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Not great. Wouldn’t recommend it

[@LordBigSlime]

Hey, I don't know if you still check comments for this but I'm trying to no avail. I have all the parsers on, but when it shows the games/emulators list in emudeck it doesn't even let me select N64 from the dropdown list. Like it's not even an option. It's also not showing my game. I'm just kinda lost atm. Thank you for the video!

[@TrillStylesz]

anyone else get a sluggish or slow when playing paper Mario 64 ? And yes I have frame limit off and running right core etc. still runs sluggish

[@JimmyRoyer-b6n]

Can you do a video on getting Nintendo's N64 controller working? I got it connected to my steam deck, but none of the inputs work

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Possibly in the future. We shall see

[@markkilborn512]

Thanks for this. The one game I’ve had real problems with is Beetle Adventure Racing, frequent hitching during races. I’ll try turning down resolution to see if that helps. Any other ideas for how to improve hitching in a game like that?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haven’t tried that one yet. I’ll have to

[@ozzlss]

How I open the settings menu you showed? Also, how can I see and change the controllers ? Thank you!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Click in both analog thumbstick buttons are the same time

[@matty7788]

My games aren't being detected by emudeck? Its in the right folder too They are z64 files btw

[@louismontrose8966]

N64 is fine in handheld but when docked with a Xbox series controller I have terrible input lag make it practically unplayable especially Mario 64 any tips?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Try usb and see if it persists. I’d need to know that

[@yoda779]

keep up the good work gamer!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Plenty more fun coming :)

[@theavangelist]

How do you configure the controller? I keep pausing rogue squadron and stuck in it and reboot

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It should auto configure. To reset it go into emudeck in desktop mode and reset the RetroArch config

[@fernandoruizg331]

Hey great video I was wondering how do you access the options to rescale resolution and such?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Push both analog thumbsticks in at the same time

[@borademirbulakli4748]

steam deck is the most powerful system to emulate games i love it

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s a great platform for sure

[@iamCifu]

Ally

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Have yet to try it myself

[@borademirbulakli4748]

@@VideoGameEsoterica ive been downloading nostalgic games left and right on gamecube wii and gameboy i wonder if my old sensor bar would work on my steam deck

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You don’t even need to plug it in. So long as it’s powered it works

[@Iyul_Ouks]

I NEED HELP! im going through some bs with my computer and muspen64plus Fz. Im trying to to put the mobile version were You can just download the games you want on the app. And I'm trying to put out my computer. That way, I don't need to use the other versions where you have to go find roms on websites and crap like that. I'm using a version of the mobile app what i downloaded from apkpure, And trying to find emulator's that can withstand at it. But for the life of me I can't!! And some of the well-known ones like bluestacks doesn't even want to open. And I know it's possible Because I tried on mumu player 12 and it withstand the apk file (of 227,647 KB) just to crash half an minute later. I need help What am I doing wrong? Please somebody, I don't know what I'm doing. 😐😵‍💫🔨.

[@brou971]

I am having problems when I click Install in Emudeck it doesn't do anything. Any fix for this? Thanks!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

That’s odd. I’d delete and redownload

[@brou971]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I will try completly uninstalling EmuDeck and Reinstalling it, not sure if this will delete my Roms and Save files but really wanted that N64 emulator.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It shouldn’t. But maybe back up just in case

[@blade8424]

Hope I can play B3313 on it lol. And other SM64 and OoT ROM hacks. Can I play with Texture packs too? Nerrels HD Majora's Mask texture pack?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Should all work

[@blade8424]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Thanks! :D Just a question. I know you can play B3313 on PJ64. Do you think it should work on Mupen as well? I heard from the creator of the mod that B3313 works well on Project 64 so idk if Project 64 works on Steam Deck or not. Sorry. :(

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Not sure. Haven’t tested it

[@diggadirt393]

Anyone know of any fix to 007 The World Is Not Enough? I'm getting a black screen. Every other N64 game I've tried works fine

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Odd. Try a new file first. Rule that out

[@Dampfheini]

N64 Games do not start while in Steam OS Game Mode. In Desktop Mode it works just fine.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Odd. Sounds like a file path issue. Reset the emulator in desktop mode in the emudeck app. See if that helps

[@ЯгырШвэйн]

I dont now how to tell that,but when i downloaded banjo kazooie he has framrate around 30 and frametime has 10

[@cesa97]

I try to launch the N64 games and they close just instantly, any idea how to fix this?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You sure they are in the proper folders?

[@midnitevibez]

yeah same is happening with me. all files and paths are correct, im about to try simple64 at this point. no games will launch

[@midnitevibez]

if you add the emulator to steam and launch the games from the emulator menu it works fine but the executables just wont work

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

That’s odd. Nothing like that on my end or others I know who use Steam Deck. Maybe bad game files? What is the extension you are using?

[@cesa97]

@@VideoGameEsoterica I did a Reinstall/Update in steam deck for the RetroArch Emulator and it magically fixed the problem I was having

[@noname18305]

This device... can do ANYTHING

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Except play modern games! Every time I try I just end up playing emulators again lol

[@noname18305]

@@VideoGameEsoterica which games won't work?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha no I’m just saying I never use the Steam Deck for it’s intended purpose

[@EntropyGuardian]

I started using it last night. I have no idea what is up with the C buttons.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s an interesting control scheme in spots

[@40Sec]

Using the default Mupen on my Deck OLED and performance is awful. Although the games run at 60fps, it's not remotely smooth-looking as there is a 37-38ms frametime spike every second. No changes to Deck refresh rate or N64 overclocking settings make a difference.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes that’s about the story performance wise currently

[@sunderark]

Hah. Im guessing its because Sin and Punishments Japanese name is Tsumi to Batsu. Its probably reading the kanji.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Probably. That logic checks out!

[@shewtg0jaiy]

What site u use to get all your games???

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I really can’t talk about that here

[@shewtg0jaiy]

@@VideoGameEsoterica can I send you an email???

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

You can join my discord. Link in video description

[@CuriousTinkering]

I'm using emudeck with mupen64 next core but getting 12fps in cut scenes and 20s in main game. My Ayn Odin gets better perf with the stand alone Mupen64 android app

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Odd. Which games?

[@matthewleehull]

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon doesn’t seem to launch for me. Anyone else have that issue?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Hmm no. Fine here. Try new files?

[@KingKing-tf9jb]

For some reason none of my games launch

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Very odd. I’d try new versions

[@galeanoandres]

Question: do I need a computer in order to do all this 😅

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No you can use the steam deck browser

[@ЯгырШвэйн]

But I have a strange problem, I installed everything according to the guide but it doesn’t matter Frame time Not smooth

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Interesting. Like it’s hitching or?

[@ЯгырШвэйн]

Frame Stats or Location Change freeze

[@dyboszek8057]

when i try to launch super mario 64 it don't work

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Try a new file for the game. Sounds like bad files

[@ReeceDecker]

Trying to figure out how to use my Xbox controller on the tv

[@daveraschke]

But can it play vigilante 8

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It can

[@ivannslinasss6551]

I have the roms of my games unzipped in the correct folder... but the games don't start, do I need a special simulator?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No that should just work. Try loading them direct in RetroArch

[@ivannslinasss6551]

@@VideoGameEsoterica what is the retroarch folder? should i put the roms there?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No I just mean from within RetroArch try to load the roms. See if that works

[@JB197804]

GREAT!

[@drugonzalez6316]

How do you get full screen?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

As in filling the screen with no black bars at the top or bottom?

[@XxLordDarthVaderxX]

Why emulate Doom 64? Play the remake for pc. The same goes for the Turok's trilogy.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Nostalgia

[@alvinmunoz3418]

will it run on steamdeck?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Well I’m showing it to you on Steam Deck? I’m confused

[@dragonball3166]

I try mupen64 on my laptop wouldn’t play most n64 games I try project64 use same Roms they play good no problem

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

There are diff sets for diff emus

[@27Guyver]

Best skip the emudect as it just had an update and doesn't read PS1 and PS2 bios . And no I can prove it to show you it's broken now

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Sorry but I’m not sure I understand?

[@27Guyver]

@@VideoGameEsoterica it's simple really. They have an emudeck update available and once you do, it resets all your bios and it would not read them in game mode and only on decktop mode it does

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’m sure they will fix it soon. These things happe.

[@27Guyver]

@@VideoGameEsoterica so you would accept an update that ruins the experience and hope they will fix it soon ? Bugger that . I've deleted the app and moved on to something that actually works

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Everyone gets their own choice. It’s like like Microsoft / Apple / android don’t release updated that create bugs that then get patched soon after. It’s only people making this software…and all people make mistakes

[@oscarhagman8247]

didn't work and it broke my other emulated games, thanks

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

There’s no way adding files to RetroArch broke your other emulators

[@dannyd4339]

Meanwhile I'm playing conker live and reloaded on steam deck. N64 emulation isn't that impressive on steam deck. It is very easy to emulate. And I mean veeeeeeery easy

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Just because something is easy doesn’t mean it’s not fun (don’t make mom joke…don’t make mom joke…resist)

[@dannyd4339]

@Video Game Esoterica lol good one. And yeah I know. I love n64 emulation and it is indeed pretty fun. It just seemed like you weer saying it was a miracle it was running so well on the steam deck. Also i recommend hd texture packs to increase your enjoyment of the n64 games

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad you took the joke :)

[@METR0lD]

Even though the N64 is probably my least favorite Nintendo console, I still love it overall.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s my least fav of that generation but it’s still a good time

[@garymaya1767]

Least favorite? Damn no mario kart 64 or mario 64 or blast corps or pilot wings or zelda or star fox or stars wars rougue squadron for you!! Hahaha there’s always ps2 !

[@METR0lD]

😭@@garymaya1767

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s still great but it’s still a third place

[@Mark-ho6tn]

What is wrong with both of you? The N64 is the most ground breaking innovative console with some of the greatest games ever created. It literally set the bar in gaming. It’s a masterpiece.

[@clintongranger2311]

holy shit this is so complicated. no thanks.