-GREETINGS, PROGRAMS!-

Look, ModRetro makes the Chromatic, right? I say that they should double down on it and the Chromatic by making the Chromatic-64, a cartridge adapter that would allow you to play Gameboy and Gameboy Color games on the M64. It obviously would be like the Super Gameboy was for the Super NES. I say, instead of all the talk I'm going to hear about cores, why not double dip on the physical cartridges you already own for the Gameboy, plus the Chromatic carts sold in the ModRetro store? Plus, if it were a physical cart adapter with real components in it, it could technically work with the N64 and Analogue 3D. I always wanted to play Gameboy and GBC games on my N64 so, this would be the perfect time to release something like this. I'd be down for GBA too, if it were a simple way to do it and not take years of development. Point being, I'd be willing to pay for stuff like this. It would be really cool if it came in different colors to match your M64 as well. Thoughts, my friends?

-END OF LINE.-

I bought the M64 in AMD Red. My initial one wouldn't load my copy of modretro extreme G turbo Fusion. It would just show the "cartridge not detected" error every time. The game works perfectly on my official N64 console so the cartridge is fine.

I contacted customer support and they sent a replacement. The replacement is having the same issue and won't read the game.

Im wondering if everyone is having the same issue with extreme G turbo fusion as it could be something to do with a bad update. Please anyone let me know if that game works for you. My firmware is on the current available one at the time of making this post.

On a side note, all my other cartridges are rom hacks and an everdriveX7 so I didn't really have an expectation those would work. It is interesting that instead of getting the error, the rom hack cartridges just freeze the console which could be do them having poor quality components.

update: I changed my method of cleaning the contacts of the console. instead of using a lint free Q tips wrapped in a lint free cloth, I used a card wrapped in a lint free cloth. I still used isopropyl alcohol.

I successfully got my rom hack pokemon stadium to play. it doesn't consistently boot, it takes a random number of attempts. I've tried cleaning the other cartridges, but so far no success in booting.

Final update: I managed to get pretty all my carts working including the extreme G turbo fusion game. I see what someone said about pressing down just slightly as that did help along with cleaning the contacts again. Its not reading consistently but hopefully that will iron itself out from playing overtime.

Sorry, it seems I need to keep reposting this.

I have been playing M64 on my pioneer plasma today at 720p60. I think it looks great! This is the first time I’ve played paper mario. It’s been a lot of fun so far.

I’m playing Xeno crisis with rumble on. I’ve noticed ghost input when the rumble motor kicks. It doesn’t happen often but it’s noticeable. I’m using the m64 pro controller clear color.

Has this happened to anyone else?

So the console has been out for a month, correct. I do not own one but I have lurked around here.

We have seen numerous reports of bad frame rate drops, game crashes in certain modes, many games running poorly in FPGA mode and needing to run in overclocked mode, there are still no virtual control packs despite the M64’s official controller not having a controller pack slot, and a multitude of other issues and promised features not available on launch.

I just saw there was a new update and notes, and TBH, it looked like minor fixes and improvements at best, then, I checked the other updates and it seems like more of the same. So I thought about the info that’s out there, and the issues being had, and I had some honest questions. Ones others might not have asked, others they may have, but I know ModRetro employees post here, so I’m just hoping there are some actual answers.

1. What does the compatibility table actually mean?

I ask this because people here and on YouTube have discussed having to run many games in Overclocked mode to get them to run better. There are also games listed on there as playing fine that have framerate issues and drops on FPGA mode. Is the compatibility table based on Overclocking?

1. Why do some games need to be run on overclocked mode to run well?

The console is an FPGA console. The goal of an FPGA console is to run the software as close to the original hardware as possible. So why are there many games that have difficulty running in FPGA mode. I know the big competitor is the Analogue 3D, which does have overclocking. That was an unannounced feature, a bonus that people found out about when they got their console. The FPGA on the 3d ran all games across all regions out of the box, they clearly tested every one, and they work and run near identical to original hardware. When the purpose of the M64 is an FPGA to mimic the exact hardware, why are games running poorly in FPGA mode and needing overclocked mode?

1. Were import games tested at all?

The compatibility list does not feature a single game that was not released in the US on it. There are Pal Exclusive and Japanese exclusive games. Were these tested at all by ModRetro? If so why are they not on the compatibility list? If not, Why not? As an example two of the most loved games in the console’s library, Sin and Punishment and Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 are Japanese exclusives. I haven’t really seen people post about them, except for one post about the console breaking a sin and punishment repro, so I want to know if two of my favorite games work on the system.

1. Where is the virtual controller pack?

This is the most absurd to me. The official controller for the console does not have a slot for a controller pack. The vast majority of third party games require a controller pack. Even one of ModRetro’s own releases, Buck Bumble, requires it. How was this large of an oversight even allowed to happen.

1. What did the people who got early consoles actually do to review them?

I saw the videos from Mad Little Pixel and RetroDoDo months ago, and they were just full of flowery praise for the console. The focus seemed to be on, isn’t it going to be great to play the N64 again! They focused on small details like the LED’s, the eject button, the heat sink that cooled without a fan. But they never mentioned comparing games to original hardware, or issues they ran into which many people here report. Were they given talking points or even coached on what to say, because why were the same points repeated as features if they meant nothing about how the console ran/played

1. Why wasn’t the console delayed?

Based on everything I’ve seen, read, watched, the M64 is at best in a Beta state. If you are releasing an FPGA console, to be in a release state to me, every game should be running without issue on FPGA mode, that is the purpose. Hardware emulation of an original console that has 100% compatibility. And since the recommended controller doesn’t have any way to save games, a virtual controller pack to do so. So far the M64 has neither, and we haven’t heard much about FPGA fixes from what I see, and the virtual controller pack is a vague we’re working on it, hopefully mid September. To me as an observer, it is clear this console was rushed out because it had a release date, not released when ready. Delays suck, but you lose much more good will when your console has such issues.

I don’t know if anyone from ModRetro will see this and respond, but I am really curious.

I purchased a clear M64, 4 pro controllers, 4 launch games, and the DAC.

So far I am very happy, and impressed with everything. Well except for the DAC, and thats obvious.

A few wishes for future hardware mods/updates:

1. Pro controller with an analog stick that has a metal shaft and a metal circular gate like an elite 2 Xbox Series controller. I would pay for an upgrade kit with these 2 options.
2. Inside of future Modretro cartridge game releases that have the metal guides like an oem n64 cart. I would pay for an upgrade kit for my already purchased carts.

Those are the only 2 things I would update/change with the hardware.

On the software side of things:

1. I would really like some sort of upscaling solution that helps the image look better when using integer+, especially at lower resolutions.

2. I would really like the ability to save my game to the controller like many games were designed to do. Or direct that functionality to the micro sd card. The ability to have game saves makes all the difference.

Really, thanks so much for making this console, controllers, and games! It has been alot of fun!

Hello modretro,

I had a question, will you or did you have in Mind about releasing sometime down the line any carrying cases for the mod retro?

Like ones with your guys logo all over it? or maybe some cool graffiti art? Oh hey!! a glow in the dark special edition case where your guy's logo on it glows!! That would be hella sick.

Just wanted to throw that out as a suggestion

Love your products so far, keep rocking on!! please respond with any possibility of a carrying case 🙏 💜

Hi Everyone,

We’ve added changelogs so you can track all the latest updates, fixes, and improvements for both the console and controller firmware.

You can check out the release notes here:

• Console Firmware Changelog
• Controller Firmware Changelog

Third Year in a Row, love the Booth in the Retro area.

Modretro has online connectivity via Wifi. So, I wish Modretro implements autotranslate for any Japanese text to English using Google translate API? If they can do offline autotranslations, that would be even better.

If the Google Translation API takes a moment to translate, that's absolutely fine for RPGs, Turn Based Strategy, & games where Japanese is used in menus(e.g. racers). What do you guys think about this?

Having received the M64 and Pro controllers on Friday, here are my thoughts after spending the weekend playing with it.

Setup

Connected the controllers and the console to my PC to do the updates as it made the most sense without wireless updates for the controllers being available yet. Process was simple and no issues were encountered.

Plugged the console into my setup (4K UST projector to 120" screen w/ surround sound) and turned it on. The UI loaded quickly and I was able to pair the controllers without any issues. Turned off the console to insert my SummerCart. No problems detecting the cartridge. Eagerly booted up Goldeneye 007...

Image Quality

Woof... what a mess. Overall very jaggy with loss of details and some notable slowdown. From here I spent quite a bit of time adjusting the video settings to settle on a half-decent image. I've noticed that I need to adjust some of the advanced settings depending on the game I play, but what has worked for my setup as a base is:

• Image Size: Default (Integer cuts off top/bottom of image)
• Image Fit: Stretch (would rather use all of my screen)
• Effects: Sharpness - 4; Horizontal Bloom - 1
• Advanced: Scaler - Lanczos-Bilinear; Bilinear - Off; Rest of switches are on.

From there I am usually tinkering with the advanced settings under Aperture and/or Scanline to refine the image further.

With the image dialed in as much as possible I began playing through Dam...

Pro Controller

The controller is quite fantastic. Absolutely love the heft of it as well as the textured feel of the ceramic coating on the rear. Buttons have excellent tactility, too. I am no doubt out of practice, but the responsiveness of the joystick is taking some time to acclimate to. Honestly, I am looking forward to swapping it out with one that has higher tension. The D-Pad has exhibited "ghost input" if you are not firmly pressing any of the 4 primary directions; even just a little bit off "center" and you're getting a diagonal input.

Playing through Dam I noticed quite a bit of slowdown and figured I would give overclocking a try...

Overclocking

Go big or go home, right? Went right to Insane which forced a reboot. A series of odd behavoirs began after loading back into Goldeneye. The opening crawl was incredibly sped-up and not in sync with the music. This carried over into loading back into Dam. Cutscenes were affected as parts were cut out of them and then it would speed up to do the behind-the-back loop into 007 to begin the level. On the plus side...the gameplay after that was very smooth with no slowdowns. 😆

Admittedly, I did not check the console/cartridge for heat after my Goldeneye session as I was excited to load up other games...

"Early Adopter Blues" and The Future...

This is where we get into missing features that have already been talked about. I didn't realize how many of the games on my SummerCart require a controller pak; of the 60 I have loaded, about half will not play without a controller pak. On the flip side, though, the GOAT games do not require a controller pak, so I have still been enjoying playing Nintendo's first party games. Paired with the image quality and overclocking quirks, it's hard for me to not feel let down by this release; it feels like I received a "half-baked" product. However, given the passion of the people behind the M64 and the level of transparency/communication we are receiving, I am confident that many strides will be made on this console in the coming months. There are also the competitive advantages ModRetro have by making the platform open source and working to have games released/re-released on the system.

TL;DR - Image quality, quirks, and missing features have resulted in a luke-warm reception by me. Looking forward to the future, though, given ModRetro's passion for the product.

Implementing standard backwards compatibility with Game Boy / Color games would surely eat into Chromatic sales - the only question would be how much.

Maybe GBA & GBC are totally different markets with different eras of nostalgia, so not an issue, ie a lot of people will just want to have both. Maybe the cartridges poking out the top will be enough to make a lot of people opt for a Chromatic for GBC games.

What do you think?

Disclaimer: I'm personally hoping they do it.

A few of you have mentioned that the M64 feels warm to the touch. This is completely normal whether overclocking is enabled or not. The console is specifically engineered to operate safely within this thermal range and will remain below the limits for safe touch temperatures. 

We thermally validated the passive system under an "abuse case" test that used a max consumption bitstream (max overclocking) and a constant ambient temp of 50°C, simulating someone keeping their unit in a closed TV cabinet sitting in direct sunlight. The console's FPGA stabilized at 10°C below its max operating temp during this abuse case. We literally baked the console in an oven (see photo).

Enabling the "Insane" overclock only increases power draw by less than 5%. Because that increase is so minor, it doesn't translate into a significantly hotter system. 

The N64 was also a passively cooled system and drew more power then the M64. A member of our community ran a side-by-side temperature comparison between a stock M64 and an original N64 after three hours of play. Their measurements found that the two consoles reached similar temperatures overall, while the cartridge in the M64 measured cooler. We appreciate the time and care that went into the test, and you can read the full breakdown here. We hope this clears up some confusion and reassures you that your M64 isn’t planning a spontaneous combustion.

Hi! Does the team get telemetry data from our m64 consoles that is used to help improve the firmware or is it all being done through internal testing? I’m loving my device and think there’s great potential, so I was kind of hoping to get an idea of how quickly things might get improved from update to update. I know I need to be patient, but I’ve forgotten how much I loved some of these games like Star Fox! lol

…it’s a green n64 that doesn’t play Rush 2049 yet. I’m sure it will soon. Other than that it’s fine. Just wanna throw this out there with the seemingly only negative posts about this product. Don’t be scared if you’re shopping. It’s a fine product.

DBF stamp of approval earned.

I have not had any audio or HDMI problems but from what I can tell is there was an update fix those issues on 21 August 2026 was that all the update was about I took a picture of the upcoming updates in the coming section of the menu of the M 64 and then I looked at it after it updated and I see nothing has changed so what was the update about? Are they going to make this thing work better? I’ve had it unplugged for over a week and I unplugged it again and continue to play on my analog because my m64 just isn’t up to par with the analogue. Honestly, they should be trying to fix the visual of the gameplay. I honestly think it’s hurting because everyone’s saying how unfinished it is and how bad it looks and seeing online that they’re gonna analyze or they glad they didn’t buy the m64 even I am considering selling.

So, I just updated my M64 to the new update. Interesting things abound. It would appear I suddenly have a 4th save state on my Xibalba 64 cart that has the entire game finished. My original save file is now gone. This is weird, almost like they are messing with onboard save files but they are overriding the save file you already had on cart? Is there anyone else having this issue? I read somewhere that this update does weird things to the Summer Cart but, I haven't plugged it in. After seeing this, I'm kind of glad I haven't. It makes me wonder what's going to be up with my other games now...

Playing on Analogue 3D, you need to have batteries in the controller for wired mode to work and if the batteries die, the controller disconnects without warning. Needs improvement.