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Someone crammed an N64 into a handheld unit the same size as a game cartridge

N64 gaming on the go.

n64 handheld
Image: GmanModz / YouTube

The retro console community has a long history of modding, from adding digital video outputs to analog devices to seeing just how small of an enclosure can fit the original circuitry of any console. The latest shrunken console? A full Nintendo 64 that was stuffed into a portable enclosure that’s even smaller than the N64 controller!

Modder GmanModz is known for reworking the N64’s circuit board and putting it into portable form, but their latest effort is my favorite. It’s a squeezed version of the Nintendo Switch, with an even-more-squeezed N64 inside, that still plays original game carts! Isn’t that amazing?

I mean, just look at it! It’s got the actual guts from a ’90s N64, just trimmed down to size. Then there’s a 3.5-inch, 320×240 resolution screen, a speaker, and a battery that in true ’90s style, only lasts an hour or so before needing a charge. At least it’s rechargeable, right?

Those controller sticks were sourced from a couple of Joy-Cons, so it’s a nice melding of the old and the new, and the rest of the buttons were custom printed. Let’s hope the sticks don’t drift, because this is one console Nintendo won’t warranty.

Sure, you can emulate N64 games with fairly high success these days, but there’s something satisfying about playing them on the original hardware, even if every other part of the console is new.

Have any thoughts on this? Would you like to game on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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