If you’re a Nintendo 64 fan, then no doubt you’ll know about or have at least seen a picture of the 64DD. I recently talked about it a lot in my article on the long-lost 64DD game Cabbage, the title that ended up influencing Animal Crossing and so many other titles that we play today. The 64DD is one of those peripherals that create a sense of awe in me, one of those ‘what could have been’ accessories that never got a chance to showcase their true potential.
A quick look on eBay now shows boxed units selling for up to $4,500; I even saw someone selling just the box alone for $350, which shows how rare and sought after it is. So, for anyone wanting to play any of the 10 discs that came out for this ill-fated add-on, it’s going to prove to be a bit of an expensive ride if you want to get the original hardware.
The SummerCart64 Flash Cart is aiming to change all of that, however. It’s an open-source flash cart created by Mateusz Faderewski (thanks for the details Tom’s Hardware) that can be purchased directly from his website, allowing users to both ‘develop and play games on the N64’. It’s got tonnes of memory for your ROMs too, utilising a total of 78 MiB which is a lot for an N64 Flash Cart and supports N64 games from all regions, making it a great tool for gamers who like to play hacks and homebrew titles from around the world on original hardware.
However, it’s the 64DD hardware emulation that we’re excited about, giving the ability to play disk dumps of combo games and multi-disk 64DD games without having to mod your N64. Just plug in your controller to play Doshin The Giant and Sim City 64 with ease!
A Retro Resurgence
The N64 might have been discontinued in 2002, but as I write this article today, there are more peripherals and handmade accessories coming out for the system than ever before. Just take a look at the Retro Fighters Brawler64 wireless controller and the Everdrive 64 X5 flash cartridge, or the upcoming Analogue 3D console that promises 4K N64 gameplay. For a console that came out in 1996, it’s a machine that is still incredibly prevalent with gamers today and one that is clearly beloved by Retro Gamers everywhere.
The 64DD never got a chance to shine, and most younger gamers who are getting into the retro scene will never have the chance to play one unless they have a wad of cash burning a hole in their pockets. The SummerCart64 gives gamers that chance to check out some of these fabled games that we’ve all heard about, and who knows, we might even get someone finally creating their own version of Cabbage based on the scant amount of information we know about the game.
