Testing N64 emulation on Raspberry Pi 5 64bit (Nintendo 64)

[@tron1172]

Thanks for adding the config line edit, hard to believe it was just that simple. N64 games are working on my install now (Pi Lite OS 64 bit, command line install of RetroPie)

[@widge]

The reason why that config line edit works is because it forces the Pi5 to use an older version of the kernel (that uses 4KB paging rather than 16KB that the Pi5 kernel would use). It should really only be a temporary solution as it can hold back the Pi5 somewhat being a global change rather than just local to the N64 emulator. The real solution would be for the N64 emulator to be updated to properly make use of 16KB paging.

[@dar5938]

Hello can you help me figure this out? Not sure how to make this edit to the boot file.

[@widge]

@dar5938 you only need to open the file in a text editor such as nano and add the line to it. If you don't know how to use a text editor on the pi itself, I suggest you put the sd card into a pc and ignore the prompt to format the card as it's in a format windows doesn't recognise, but the boot sector will still be accessible. You can then edit the cfg file in notepad.

[@dar5938]

I did exactly that. Removed the card, and edited the config.txt file in in notepad. Added the kernel line, put it back in the raspi, did a reboot but still can't get mupen64plus-next to install successfully, even after cleaning the source folder and doing a fresh install from source. @@widge

[@FilipeIria87]

In a mac for example the past boot doesnt show up. Only overlays... Any suggestion?

[@kqxp]

Great review thanks. And another + vote for a Goldeneye test!

[@lonewulf44]

Thanks for sharing. Really should try Goldeneye, ocarina of time, majora mask, mario golf,

[@Coolname94]

This was what I was looking forward to most with the Pi5. Normally I test it with Smash Bros. The Pi4 handles 2-3 fighters fine, but starts to slow down significantly when there are more, with a 2147 overclock.

[@ammonitida]

purchased a used dell optiplex core i5 7600 a few weeks ago instead of the pi 5 for just 109 dollars off of amazon. hooked it up to my TV and it has been great at emulation. all n64 games run at full speed using the lion plugin which provides far more accurate emulation than the plugin used in this video. even cruisen usa runs perfectly. it actually outperforms the xbox series S even with the iGPU. im done with pies

[@Jp2209]

​@@ammonitida what is that exactly? Im interesting, my Xbox one won't let me buy dev mode for some reason so I'm on this route now

[@justanotherbum007]

@@Jp2209 It's a PC...?

[@jimbobcheezeburger2020]

can you make an updated vid pls

[@Halon1234]

Cruis’n looks like it’s having sync issues - the audio’s a clear tell, but the game hitches for moments and then lurches ahead, which suggests something is being waited on before something else suddenly works to catch up to where it should be. Still better than what the Pi 4 manages by a stretch - I’ll be interested to see where things sit in a year as optimizations and hand-tuned assembly start to creep in.

[@1Samuel1524]

Now the big question... Does ocarina of time run without the huge lag? Even on my 4090/13900k, zelda has massive lag. I've verified in l many ways that it is not Bluetooth lag and not lcd lag and the lag completely disappears when i max out game speed. But i can't be playing zelda at 30x speed.

[@emmicd11]

you can run zelda oot on pc using ship of harkinian

[@1Samuel1524]

@@emmicd11 someone pointed me to that conclusion a couple months ago. It is really good.

[@STRHYKKER]

My Pi 5 can't do this -- just crashes a lot or has massive slow down. Not sure what the issue is and people aren't really helpful.

[@kadhertorres7841]

What use batocera or recalbox o retropie?

[@MrLandale]

16:25 The graphics are a little jerky, looks like frameskips, not smooth rendering.

[@widge]

Yeah, i didn't believe the 60fps claim that Retroarch was presenting. However, I understand the framerate on an actual N64 was in the region of 15-30fps depending on the game. So as I say in the vide, this is how I expected the game to perform on real hardware. I would hope that emulation on superior hardware would yield better results, so hopefully in the near future this will improve as developers optimise the emulators for the Pi5.

[@MrLandale]

@@widge The developers will optimize emulators for Pi5 shortly, it will make a huge difference.

[@FilipeIria87]

Really wont a demonstration on how to install and modify lines. That would be really helpfull. Newbie in Linux

[@YESSSIIRRRRRRR]

Cool vid!

[@chiefmaster2191]

Even after adding the config it is not working for me :( I have it connected to my tv as soon as I select a n64 game it goes black and goes back to the menu in a second...

[@widge]

"adding the config?" or adding a line to the existing config? If you had to create the config file then there's something wrong with your image. Otherwise, if you added the line correctly to your existing config.txt then I'd ask if you rebooted after doing that. If you did and it still didn't work, then I suggest reinstalling the emulator from source.

[@nualp]

I would like to see you test Perfect Dark if you have a chance

[@hydromakers]

I am new to all of this retro-pie . What is a good controller I can get for my Pi 5 to play these games?

[@widge]

For most systems, you can't go wrong with an 8BitDo SN30 Pro. However, as you're commenting on an N64 video I assume you're looking to play N64 games. in which case, Nintendo's oddball controller design just doesn't conform well to now standard controller layouts. 8BitDo doesn't produce a N64-style controller, but they do make a mod-kit to convert a real N64 controller to bluetooth for use with RetroPie. Failing that,there are many USB N64-style controllers available from Amazon, but I have no personal experience of them to offer my own opinion. Check reviews and make sure the one you get has the analog stick actually set up for analog control and not just wired as a secondary d-pad.

[@rosariosbeats]

finally a reviewer that leaves a long playthrough with problematic games

[@scottevoevans]

Can I add the line anywhere in the config.txt?

[@widge]

Yes you can. But at the end might be the best place just so that's easy to find in case you want to comment it out later on.

[@outtacontrolgames]

What Model Pi5 is this? 4 or 8 GB?

[@widge]

I have a 4GB Pi5. The amount of RAM in the Pi has no influence on emulation

[@outtacontrolgames]

@@widge awesome! Thanks!

[@kqxp]

@@widge Interesting. How do you know this?

[@chryoko]

i tried N64 emulation on my Pi5 with several Recalbox cores. just horrible : lot of graphical issues, missing N64 GPU implementations, colors are off. On Beettle Racing, the car is awful with missing elements. and it stutters from time to time. Needs lot of optimizations. Saturn cores are not great too : lot of graphical glitches on Sega Rally for instance.

[@JRJohnson1701]

So á Raspberry pi 5 can do N64 without issue?

[@widge]

Not without issue. There are plenty of issues as seen in the video.

[@formalimos]

I do have a question, my plan is to make a pi that runs n64 ROMs. Can it run ROM hacks too? I was hoping I'd make one for my dad so he can play SM64 OG then have a whole bunch of SM64 rom hacks to keep him entertained. He loves the shit out of that game.

[@widge]

Hi @formalmos An emulator that runs N64 roms should also be able to run hacked/patched roms as well. I have no direct experience of n64 romhacks, but those I've used for other systems in libretro emulators have worked well.

[@formalimos]

I have experience with romhacks and about 5 years of programming/coding. Patching is easy, my main concern if it would corrupt the system or it wouldn't be able to process the hack itself. From what I've seen with pi 5, if it can handle up to Wii games, sega saturn and a few other emulators that require a crap ton of processing i think ill be fine. Thank you for your input,@@widge

[@Tj-Pendley-2025]

Hopefully this works for my install, I thought maybe they just didn't give me the right BIOS file, but then i looked inside my firmware folder and it was empty so i created config.txt using nano in terminal with sudo priviledges hopefully my system boots, and doesn't wipe it, like trying to overclock to 3.00 GHZ Lol.

[@lip5016]

you should have shot that green shell backwards

[@Evilkingus]

RPI6 will nail N64!

[@Andrew-tl9gk]

Maybe RPi 7 !

[@The-Eric-Cartman]

That’s what they said about the 3 when pi2 was out.

[@cluberic]

no smash brothers :(

[@CyberWaveRadio-nn4om]

Resolution of system looks like absolute trash

[@widge]

N64 resolution was only 320x240 for most games, with a small percentage going up to 640x480. Most of those games required the expansion pack. Nintendo isn't known for pushing technological boundaries.

[@NeoShadowWolf]

Still having issues with trying to get N64 roms to run. kernel=kernel8.img doesn't quite work for me.

[@widge]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm afraid that I don't know what else to try at this moment. It's been a while since I tried N64 and there has probably been a lot of change to retropie since I made this video. I recommend checking the retropie forums to see if there are answers there, I'm sure there will be as N64 is a popular system.

[@TheKremit]

I know this is a long shot for you as its like 5 months ago. I had a prob where the kernel line would just break retropie completely for me. instead i found some random post that solved my issue (i had to remove the kernal line as it just bricked it for me). Just add the below to /opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch-core-options.cfg mupen64plus-next-cpucore = "cached_interpreter" parallel-n64-cpucore = "cached_interpreter"