The topic of game preservation is still in its infancy and is often limited to emulators and remasters. But when it comes to replicating beloved retro systems, few companies compete with Analogue. Following 2023's excellent Analogue Duo, a recreation of the classic PC Engine/Turbo Grafx-16, the company returns with the Analogue 3D ($249.99), a 4K reimagining of the Nintendo 64 that's 100% compatible with the system's original games and accessories. Simply put, the Analogue 3D is a landmark for game preservation and restoration. For its true-to-Nintendo 64 experience and many additional features, it easily earns our Editors' Choice award for retro gaming consoles.

Hardware: The 1990s, Now in 4K

There's a key distinction between the Analogue 3D and the typical emulation system: The Analogue 3D is built using a 220k LE Altera Cyclone 10GX FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The FPGA is capable of replicating original hardware, and unlike software emulation, it is programmed to behave exactly like the original console's chips. 

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

In doing so, the Analogue 3D side steps many of the incompatibilities found in typical software emulation, such as graphic and audio glitches, input lag, and frame rate issues. Analogue claims that these problems have been eliminated thanks to the hardware, ensuring 100% compatibility with the entire N64 catalog, including the European and Japanese releases. This proved accurate in testing, which I'll cover later in this review.

The Analogue 3D presents your N64 titles in 4K resolution, about 10 times the resolution of the original Nintendo 64. The console does more than upscale the games; rather, it replicates the image of these games that exists in your mind's eye.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

After all, a cleaned-up image doesn't always convey the artist's intent and can, at times, muddy assets and compromise a game's art direction. As a result, CRT filters are common in remasters and collections. However, few emulators replicate the warmth and texture of an old-school CRT quite like the Analogue 3D. The games look good.

Even if you lack the eye for that type of detail (or be might be too young to remember it), you can still appreciate the system on a surface level. Although it's a reasonably lightweight console at 1.8 pounds, the Analogue 3D retains the original system’s overall design, scaling it down on all sides. The ports on the back accommodate modern connections: an HDMI port, two USB ports, and an SD card slot (which supports cards up to 1TB). Vents are located along the port hub and beneath the system. The Analogue 3D quietly hums once turned on, but it's barely noticeable when you start playing.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

One of the Nintendo 64's most distinctive features was its four controller ports built into the system's front. Many Nintendo 64 games offer some sort of multiplayer mode, and that's perfectly preserved here. You can plug your original Nintendo 64 controllers and accessories into the system and use them just like you did years ago. You don't need the N64's Expansion Pak or Rumble Pak; the Analogue 3D replicates them on a system level.

The console doesn't ship with a controller, but Analogue partnered with 8BitDo to create the 8BitDo 64 Controller ($39.99), which deftly replicates the N64's unique button layout in a modern form factor. The controller wisely leverages a Hall Effect joystick to avoid the N64's notoriously unreliable control stick. The 8BitDo 64 Controller is approximately the same size as a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, but slightly lighter. It's compatible with the Analogue 3D, Android, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Software and Settings: The Analogue 3DOS Difference

The Analogue 3D comes equipped with a bespoke operating system, called 3DOS. Our test system came with an SD card full of in-system game cartridge images, and the machine was preloaded with other relevant cartridge information. So, whenever I inserted a title into the Analogue 3D, the system immediately matched the game with its cover art and metadata, including the release year, supported accessories, region, and revised carts. The Analogue 3D doubles as a cool virtual museum, of sorts.

Thanks to all the additional details, I learned that I owned a revised copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Before the days of day-one patches and instant updates via the internet, a game had to have its cartridge fully remanufactured to receive an update.

I like the 3DOS functionality a lot. It keeps my N64 game library tidy and alphabetically organized, making it easier to keep track of my collection. Although the Analogue 3D stores a wealth of interesting game data, you must keep a cartridge in the system to play (it doesn't rip ROMs). In a welcome move, the console comes with two small, eraser-like cleaners, allowing you to safely remove dust and debris from inside the cartridge.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

A button press launches the configuration menu, where you can tweak the display mode, sharpness, image size and fill, gamma, and the interpolation algorithm. On the hardware side, you can also enable and disable antialiasing, as well as automatic de-blur. You can adjust these settings either before or during a gameplay session, and tweak them for each game.

I played most of my games with the CRT filter activated, but the system also has eye-catching BVM (broadcast video monitor) and PVM (professional video monitor) settings. The Analogue looks terrific on a 4K gaming monitor, but your display must support 4K 50/60Hz 4:4:4 RGB and be connected with the included HDMI cable or an HDMI 4K certified cable. In some cases, certain 4K displays may support only 1080p video, as they have incompatible refresh rates or limited color formatting at 60Hz.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

During testing, I particularly enjoyed the experimental hardware options that let me overclock the system. Although this doesn't suddenly make titles run at 60 frames per second, it improved the frame rates in the games I popped into the system. It's especially noticeable in first-person shooters like Perfect Dark and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, as well as graphically demanding titles like Banjo-Tooie and Donkey Kong 64.

Interestingly, the Analogue 3D supports Wi-Fi connections, but it wasn't available during our review period. In addition, the Analogue 3D's product page indicates the ability to take screenshots and create save states, although those features weren't available during my test period, either. Analogue confirmed that these features will be included in a future update, along with several additional features yet to be announced. Still, I was impressed by the Analogue 3D's ease of use, and I’m looking forward to what type of community-driven features will be added as the system matures.

Games: Playing the Classics

The Nintendo 64 is a system that's near and dear to my heart. I must've been about 6 or 7 years old when my dad showed up with a Nintendo 64, complete with Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, three vastly different games that I credit with helping to develop my gaming palette. Digging the carts up now, more than 20 years later, I felt a sense of pride upon inserting them into the Analogue 3D–just in the fact that they survived this long.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

In total, I tested 38 games on the Analogue 3D, comprising 34 US cartridges and 4 Japanese ones, and all of them ran well. In fact, the only issues I encountered occurred when I overclocked the system. While playing GoldenEye 007, audio was present in the main menus but not in the levels. Besides that, I encountered a very minor visual glitch while playing Cruis'n USA, and a few games, like Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs and BIO F.R.E.A.K.S., didn't detect a Rumble Pak.

Chances are that many people are playing Nintendo 64 games via Switch emulation, so I fired up my Switch 2 to compare its titles with the originals running on the Analogue 3D. As I mentioned earlier, the Analogue 3D doesn't emulate games and filters; these are re-engineered recreations of reference CRT and PVM displays. Comparing the two Super Mario 64 versions side by side, both with CRT filters enabled, revealed significant presentation differences. 

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

On the Switch 2, Super Mario 64's polygonal edges are completely smoothed out, and the colors appear more saturated and vibrant. However, the UI assets look bad, which is not a problem on the Analogue 3D. The Analogue 3D's CRT mode is also leagues better, as it preserves the game's "soul" by replicating the original image on a modern display (the Switch 2's version was far too clean). It's something you appreciate when you grow up with a favorite title.

I observed the same phenomenon when comparing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Analogue 3D and Switch 2. This highlights the crucial interplay between the N64's hardware and the CRT. Because when the CRT layer is active, the Analogue 3D looks more authentic.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Of course, this is subjective. However, there's no debate when it comes to the UI and text elements. You can immediately see the differences when comparing Banjo-Tooie's save menus on the Analogue 3D and Switch: Analogue's version is much better. Another thing you'll notice in head-to-head comparisons is input lag. On that front, the Switch 2's input lag is a significant drawback; the Analogue 3D maintains low input lag across all games, making it terrific to play with either an 8BitDo controller or an original N64 gamepad.