N64 Emulators
Nintendo 64 emulators let you play classic N64 games on modern devices. Emulators such as Project64, Mupen64Plus and 1964 run games like “Super Mario 64”, “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” and “GoldenEye 007”, and many support higher resolutions, texture packs and online play.
N64 emulation has had a long and difficult history. Early emulators such as UltraHLE, released in 1999, were groundbreaking but struggled with the N64’s unusual architecture and the limits of PC hardware at the time. Over the years the emulation community has overcome problems like “plugin hell” and steadily improved compatibility and accuracy, helped by open-source development and better documentation.
Which one to pick
Known forThe most widely used N64 emulator. High compatibility, swappable video plugins including GLideN64, and 64DD support.
Known forThe parallel-RDP renderer on Vulkan, peer-to-peer netplay, upscaling, a CRT shader and RetroAchievements.
Known forAn easy front-end for the mupen64plus core, with GLideN64, Angrylion-Plus and parallel-RDP bundled, a cover art game list and self-hosted netplay.
Known forA command-line core used through front ends and RetroArch. It has its own plugin API, so Project64 plugins don't work with it.
Known forA multi-system emulator that puts accuracy first and runs slower than speed-focused emulators.
Known forAccurate low-level emulation with parallel-RDP and parallel-RSP. Its developer now recommends gopher64.
Known forOnce the second most popular N64 emulator, with a fast recompiler. Kept for its history.
In short
On Windows, Project64 is the most widely used choice, with high compatibility and a choice of video plugins. On Linux, macOS or Android, gopher64 is the actively developed option with the most features listed above, and Rosalie’s Mupen GUI is the simplest way to run the mupen64plus core on Windows or Linux. ares suits players who put accuracy ahead of speed. simple64 and 1964 are no longer developed and are kept here as an archive.
