Super Mario 64 121 stars

All fake

But on the Nintendo DS port, there are 150 stars to collect, a few additional levels, and several new playable characters (Yoshi, Wario, and Luigi) that you can switch between in a new room added to the second floor balcony of the castle.

It's a very nice handheld port of the game that I suggest looking into (I'm currently playing through it again after finishing it 100% when it first launched with the system). The lack of an analog stick hurts it a bit (I won't lie, it was a game killer for some people and could be for you too), but the d-pad controls still worked surprisingly well I thought and the experience was very enjoyable and intact.

The version on the Wii's Virtual Console is the original N64 game running under emulation. It's identical to the original N64 game since it's literally the exact same code. So it has none of the enhancments I just mentioned for the DS port.

And it doesn't have 16:9 support. So if you download it, be sure to change your television's setting so it isn't stretching the game to fill your screen. You only want it stretching the image if it's an anamorphic widescreen game like Super Mario Galaxy. And you don't have to worry about changing your Wii's dashboard setting since selecting 16:9 there only affects games with an anamorphic widescreen mode to trigger. So there's no effect leaving your Wii set to widescreen since it has no widescreen mode to trigger (A surprising number of people seem to think they have to select 4:3 in their dashboard if they want to play a 4:3 game such as this).

And even though it's the exact same code that is on millions of N64 cartridges out there, I think it's well worth the $10 to download (Even if you own a N64 and a copy of the cartridge such as I do). The clarity of the N64 emulator running something like Super Mario 64 via component is a very nice jump in picture quality compared to the original hardware via s-video.

The blurriness is gone leaving a very sharp image behind thanks in part to both the emulator and the benefits of component video. And it plays very well with a GameCube controller (Not so well with a Wii Classic Controller though, if you ask me).

Concur w/ Leo that SM64 via the Wii is a slightly better looking experience that via the original N64 fed into a modern HD display, save for the "auto-stretch" Leo described in the previous post (easy fix via your TV controls).

I'm curious to see if Nintendo both continues to offer 'Virtual Console" titles for WiiU and whether we'll soon see GCN titles delivered in this manner (esp since GCN BW-compatibilty seems to have been tossed).

If it's filling your 16:9 display, your set is incorrectly stretching the original 4:3 image.

Compare it with screenshots with the correct aspect ratio and you'll certainly start to notice the different proportions everything has taken on your television. But if you're pleased with how it looks filling your screen despite it being a 4:3 game (And sometimes people are happy stretching their games if it has a more cartoony look such as this one, despite knowing it's not actually correct), just enjoy yourself.

It's not like the aspect ratio police will come knocking on your door.

As for your last question, I assume you're asking if you can hook up a N64 controller to the GameCube controller ports. There are adapters that can do that, but I suggest you don't bother. The Nintendo 64 games on the Virtual Console each have customized button mapping from game to game to best suit the GameCube and Classic Controller controller. So while you'd be using an actual N64 controller to play the game with, the buttons won't all be mapped to the same buttons on the controller that they would if you were on the original hardware. So why even bother?

But if you have any NES and SuperNes games you'd like to download, I'd highly suggest something like RetroUSB's NES and SuperNes controller adapters that utilize the GCN controller ports. The button layouts are correct for the NES and SuperNes VC releases and it's great to be able to use the original controllers (Though the Wiimote on it's side performs just fine for NES games and the Classic Controller handles SuperNes games just fine).

And if you have a GameCube with a Game Boy Player kicking around, an original SuperNes controller makes for a perfect controller for playing GB/GBC/GBA games.


It's even a nice improvement just on a standard definition CRT. Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Wave Race all look significantly better on my Trinitron via component than they do on the N64 via composite or s-video (My HDTV has a sucky scaler, so just the PS3 and 360 are hooked up to it). And Paper Mario almost looks like it could've passed pretty well as a early GameCube game beyond when they zoom in on a sprite (It's the one Virtual Console N64 game I've purchased that I don't have the original cartridge for and have never played on real hardware). Everything's so nice and sharp with a lot more clarity than the original hardware offers.

I wish they'd release Pilotwings 64. I'd love the opportunity to rebuy that since it's the only other 1st party N64 game I'd like to get on the VC.

The best way to play N64 games is still with a PC emulator, running Ocarina of Time at 1080p (rendered) 60fps 16:9 non stretched is truly breathtaking. Even more so if you download a texture pack, but that takes quite the PC to pull off.

Makes the 3DS port of the game look a lot less appealing...

It has been years since I've messed with N64 emulation. I do remember Project 64 working well, albeit with some serious visual anomalies in some games.

What is the best N64 emulator today? I still have my console and dozens of cartridges, but playing the games on the PC with a wireless Xbox 360 controller sounds enticing.

Project 64 1.6 is still the best. 1.7 beta is out there and has several improvements, but it is a beta so it isn't the most stable thing... The PJ64 Team stated that 1.7 will be the final version so they are taking their time to make it perfect.