N64 Expansion Pak - Review & Retrospective
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2020
- Hello, A-Sven-gers! Thanks for checking out my review & installation guide for the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak. Sold at retail and included with Donkey Kong 64 at launch, the Expansion Pak boosts the N64 RAM from 4 MB to 8 MB. It is an absolute requirement for only two games in the N64 library, but the Expansion Pak is compatible with and upgrades many other N64 games by increasing textures, framerates and even level gameplay unlocks.
Grab one here: amzn.to/3nRUod0
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jumper Pak Review video:
• The N64 Jumper Pak: Re...
Thanks for watching, participating at my gaming events and following & subscribing Svenny McG on your favourite social media app. Take care, and be good to each other!
Donate to the Svenny McG Channel:
www.paypal.me/svennymcg
ko-fi.com/svennymcg
Follow Svenny McG:
- Facebook: / svennymcg
- Twitter: / svenny_mcg
- Instagram: / svennymcg
#nintendo64 #n64 #expansionpak #review
DISCLAIMER: This review is not sponsored in any way and opinions are my own - เกม
![MOBYE - มีใจทำไมไม่จีบ (ASAP) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dCOdz92FU18/mqdefault.jpg)
You know what worked really well for me back in the day for ejecting the paks? The lid to the memory expansion port works great using one of it's corners. No tools required!
I could see that working just fine 🙂 Today though I'd be a little worried about the plastic being brittle due to age but who knows. Thanks for watching!
Yeah that’s the same thing I would do but I never had the expansion pack I would just fidil with it for no reason I was just a kid
Kids like to tinker! Hope you remain curious today 👍 Thanks for watching 🙂
Celebrating 25 Years of Nintendo 64 in this year!
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 🥳🎉🎊🍾 🎮
🥳 you're right! Still fun to play and a lot of great games - here's hoping we get some of them on the Nintendo Switch this year!
@@SvennyMcG You got your wish
🥳 isn't it amazing to see some of the titles get announced?! Even a wireless controller too! Can't wait to try it out. Thanks for watching 🙌
i had a feeling about mario 3d allstars limilted sell window, and then rumors and polls about one or more systems coming to switch online. kept checking local retailer for the physicall 3d allstars and wouldnt you knkw it, a week or so after giving up and getting the digital, they stocked it. now i have both. nintendo is nodding and grinning i bet. i may give the ohysical to my nephew, if he doesnt already have it:)
edit:typo (2d all stars has been released, and rereleased, and rerereleased)
@@jeffyp2483 ,
Super Mario 64 on Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Switch Online still have a problems such as too difficult in the gameplay controls using the Joy-Con controllers or Pro controllers, recommended and easy to use the Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo 64 Controller and lacked the rumble features (except Japanese version like Shindou Edition since 1997) when compared to Super Mario 64 as part of Super Mario 3D All-Stars which is easy to use the Joy-Con controllers or Pro Controllers (but not recommended to use the newly released Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo 64 Controller recently in 2021) and enjoying the rumble features since Shindou Edition of Super Mario 64 released in 1997.
Holding the ZR trigger button might access to emulate the C-buttons by using the ABYX buttons and Pressing on the Right Control Stick to applause exclusively only in Online Play.
Great information on your video about the Expansion Pak good job :)
Thank you! Appreciate the feedback, thanks for watching 😊👍
Very well explained really enjoyed whole video
Thank you so much for the kind words and feedback! I appreciate your support 🙏
4mb of ram and still runs better then my 2gb ram laptop
😅🤣😅🤣 isn't that the truth! I recently grabbed some older "Vista" laptops to run some 90s PC games and they're struggling 😭
No surprises there
🎮👍
I got one of these babies for my N64 back in 1999! I always felt though its capabilities weren't used properly. Often times it was used to give games higher graphics resolutions, whereas I feel they should have used that additional ram to increase frame rates and make games run faster, and more smoothly! Of course a few games required the expansion pack for play, like Majora's Mask, and Perfect Dark if memory serves.
Awesome! You are correct with Majora's Mask, and with Perfect Dark (to unlock the campaign, at least) and Donkey Kong 64 (it was included with the game). I did a separate video on Perfect Dark.
But otherwise the Expansion Pak was definitely underutilized.
Thanks for watching!
i want my //better ai//
And vigilante 8
@@SvennyMcG
It worked well with Donkey Kong 64.
The game ran smoothly, had incredible lighting effect's & was fast in alot of scenes.
Well it had alot of varied gameplay, but I could not find a point where it chugged despite pumping out alot of graphical eye candy.
Conker's Bad Fur Day actually boasted the best graphics on the N64 though, but it did it without the expansion pack.
Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak was an add-on for the Nintendo 64 that doubled the amount of RAM the N64 had to 8MB.
This allowed for greater resolution, longer draw-distance, and more detailed graphics.
Some games it seemed to slow down, like Vigilante 8.
Although the max resolution cheat code for Vigilante 8 didn't have this problem, certainly it looked vastly better than it's PSX counterpart.
Rare pumped out some beautiful games on the N64, like DK64 & Conkers you mentioned, even Banjo & Diddy Kong Racing had bright, vibrant colours 👍
I bought the N64 Expansion Pak back in 2010 at the Berryessa Flea Market. I later bought Turok 2 to take advantage of the Pak. I have yet to get Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64 and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
That's awesome! While a gamer can definitely enjoy an N64 without the Expansion Pak, I'd still say it's an essential pickup to get the best of your games 👍 Thanks for watching!
Every actual level on Perfect Dark requires Expansion Pack.
I would also say, that Indiana Jones 64 requires it, because system can't really handle the game fine without it.
Quake 2 also practically needs it, and few games lack a lot of features without it (RUSH 2049/Hydro Thunder/StarCraft, etc).
Dinosaur Planet and few other unreased titles also require Expansion Pack.
I did a follow up video on Perfect Dark showcasing that multiplayer is available but that the campaign is not
Theres some games that can't run properly with Expansion pak and requires the basic jumper pak. One game I have is Duke Nukem 64. I got Duke 64 after I got DK64 and had my 64 run with the expansion pak only to find with Duke 64 that there were wavy lines and the picture being slightly blurred but once I removed the expansion pak and placed the original Jumper pak in, the game ran fine. Not sure if other games had this happen.
Very interesting! I'll have to look into this, thanks for the heads-up!
@@SvennyMcG Iv'e gone back to trying Duke 64 again and it works fine now and I understand why I think this is. I realise the pak I had originally may be an unofficial one. Mine came with Donkey Kong 64 which I got off ebay but was seperate, not in the game box and was large.
The outer shell on top of the expansion pak was wider and because of this I couldn't put the lid on the pak hole cause of this expansion paks larger outer shell. I have since then gone through 3 N64s (my Original I got on my Birthday and the 2nd I got off ebay which was the Special Pikachu one) all 3 have since stopped working and won't load any agmes at all sadly and recently got my 3rd one off ebay which came with the Official Nintendo Expansion pak (The Red one) which allows me to place the lid on too and Just recently loaded up Duke 64 which works fine.
I have an awful feeling this 3rd party pak may also be the cause of my first 2 N64 consoles breaking. It made me angry but now I have an official one and so far everything works fine.
Glad you found out but certainly wish it wasn't this way 😞 Did you try with Jumper Paks back in the consoles that stopped working? Just in case it was that 3rd party Expansion Pak that faulted and not the systems.
Glad your games are working on the new one but hope you get the others going so you can at least recoup some bucks
@@SvennyMcG I tried placing back the Original Jumper paks but to no avail, the games still won't read. But Im keeping both 64's just to have as a display. Especially the Pikachu Version, who knows maybe one day i can donate to a Video Game Museum.
Sorry to hear 😞 At the very least I'd consider swapping the internals of the unit that's working with the Pikachu case 👍
Are there any third-party expansion paks that work without issue?
The original ones can be quite expensive to buy...
To be honest I haven't experimented with the 3rd party ones yet. Naturally it's fair to be reserved of knock offs but hopefully given that it's a small amount of ram by today's standards it should be easy to replicate
Yes! I had one on my original 64. I tried looking for the brand that made it. I can not find it 😒
Awesome! No issues with it?
sillicon valley space station has a programming error that causes the game to freeze on random when using the expansion pack in the American version
I haven't verified but did read that somewhere too. Guess it's worth keeping the Jumper Pak on hand 😊
Still remember selling my Expansion Pak for like 10X what I bought it for in the late 90's.
Scarcity baby! Yeah!
Haha thankfully there are third party options today (plua emulation etc) but these can still grab a fair price
@@SvennyMcGthe 3rd party ones have some problems, but I have no first hand experience
@@legokingcandy I've heard that too though I can't verify. For $10 versus $90 though I'd probably roll the dice and see if it worked well enough
@@SvennyMcG yeah it would definitely be worth a shot
With this pack, game companies could’ve made 2d fighting games with high quality on this system with it. Sadly there were only 3d fighters.
Love 2D fighters, and you're right, definitely missing a presence on the N64 😔
@@SvennyMcG yeah, unless someone tries to make an unlicensed 2d fighting game and ported onto the system!
Even an original homebrew would be awesome!
While it's a shame that it's only needed in like 3 games, i have to say that DK64, majora's mask and perfect dark are huge in content and worth it in my eyes. I think it's still better than having to buy an entire console revision in the middle of the gen.
I agree, this upgrade instead of a new "slim" or "pro" edition is pretty great in comparison 👍 Thanks for watching
I noticed your TV says DVD are you using a modded Nintendo 64 or component red green blue
I've been using an S-Video cable. I believe it's third-party, not an official Nintendo product.
Nice video, you forgot to mention that Perfect Dark requires the Expansion Pak for 90% of the game however
Hello! As the Perfect Dark scenario is a unique one, I dedicated a whole video to it!
th-cam.com/video/fvEpAV1QKqo/w-d-xo.html
@@SvennyMcG I see, I'm PepsiBoy428 btw.
Oh hi pal! Good to hear from you!
diddy kong racing also required the N64 Expansion Pak.
I don't see evidence that it required it at all, let alone utilized it in any significant way for resolution improvements etc. Have you tried it with a Jumper Pak?
nice thanks for info, i was wondering the function of expansion pack N64 because i'm watched lot of japanese youtuber who always buying retro game junk and he always hoping there are expansion pack inside N64
Thanks! You could argue that it's even more useful in Japan as it's required for the 64DD attachment that we didn't get in NA. If you want to see more on the Expansion Pak here's its use in Perfect Dark: th-cam.com/video/fvEpAV1QKqo/w-d-xo.html
Hi there,
I have a Pal Nintendo 64 because i live in Italy. Can i buy ANY original expansion pack? Are they region free?
Hi! Great question, yes, I believe the Expansion Paks are all region free 😊
@@SvennyMcG thanks mate👍👍👍
You bet! Happy gaming 🎮
are there games that require taking out the expansion pak?
Hi, great question! Space Station Silicon Valley is the only known title to crash when an Expansion Pak is installed. My understanding is the game is mostly playable but one part will always crash if the Expansion Pak is in, so you'll want to play this title with the Jumper Pak in place 👍 Thanks for watching!
Where did you get your expansion pack? And how much was it?
First one came from family, second was installed in a console from Value Village (aka Savers in the US). Never bought one on its own, but later got the packaging for one in a bundle of boxed games. Not sure what they're worth now but they're out there so keep your eyes open for a deal. Good luck! 👍
@@SvennyMcGahh I see. Thanks!!
Got ours for $40 recently (or 30 i can’t remember)
Online or local shop?
I just bought mine. $55 the cheapest I could find. From a flea market. I couldn’t find a cheaper one online.
i dont know if id call this a review, but i enjoyed your video nontheless. thank you.
and now for something completely related🦶
imagine my disappointment and, yes! anger! when i tried perfect dark and realised it was me and some bots till i found and purchased an expansion pack. dont remember right off what i gave for it, but it was fetching a decent price then. well after the 'heyday'? of the N64.
Whoa is that a Monty Python reference? 🦶
Oh boy, I could only imagine how disappointing that would be, especially if you had played 007 GoldenEye and had high hopes for Perfect Dark!
@@SvennyMcG yes, and yes.
Ni!
Um hey may I pls get a expansion pack I cant find them anywhere and if I do it's like 200 dollers
Unfortunately I don't have any for sale. Try your local retro store or pawn shops, keep an eye out at yard sales or try eBay. Good luck!
Hit up my boys from Miami the game island they have some selling for 50 bucks
I think it would have been a cool idea instead of doing DD add on, which flopped. Leave a slot in the top of the expansion pak for a later added one that expands it to a total of 16MB. Where it comes out of the system to a cool shape like a engine, PokeBall or mario 🍄 ...
Definitely would have been cool to have add ons to improve its power! Unfortunate that the disk drive didn't take off 😅
@@SvennyMcG Yeah the DD came out in 2/01 and only sold 100k. I believe they could have released dual expansions 8mb and full 12MB packs for people who didn't get the first expansion pak. I also think they could have did it sooner than 2001 and it would have easily sold more than 100k. I say this because I seen that the N64 could indeed support up to 16MB of RAM.
Wow that's crazy, I didn't know it could support up to 16MB! It would be interesting if someone made 3rd party ones today and games to support it 🤔
@@SvennyMcG very interesting
Thanks for watching! 😊👍
Tony hawk pro skater 1 Nintendo 64 needs a expansion pack to.
My understanding is that it uses the Expansion Pak and is improved with it, but doesn't *need* it in that you can still play the hame without the insert
N64 DK on a Sony TV, thats what i`m talking about!
All about the retro throwback here! 🙌
Bad fur day didn't need 8mb and it's the best looking game. So I don't believe dk64 was intended to use it
Interestingly, both games were developed by Rare and they definitely knew their way around the N64 - so it certainly can add to the speculation 🤔
@@SvennyMcG probably a corporate move from Nintendo to help push this thing.
We'll probably never know but you may be right
I'd say Perfect Dark needs the expansion pak due to the story being blocked without it...
Hard to disagree! At least it boots without the Expansion Pak but it's certainly lacking without it! I did a video on it here:
th-cam.com/video/fvEpAV1QKqo/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for watching! 😊
You mean we can't play majoras mask until we put the expansion pack on the console?? Can I play it without the expansion pack??
Unfortunately no, not at all! It's one of two games that wholly requires the Expansion Pak
You can play LOZ Ocarina of Time without but Majora's Mask will not play - as shown, you will get a prompt indicating that the Expansion Pak is required and the game won't load any further
@@SvennyMcG woow this is really new for me, I mean I'm a collector of games and I own the game but I didn't know that I must buy the expansion pack because I never try it, thx for telling me
No worries! It's really just Donkey Kong Country, Majora and *half* of Perfect Dark. I made a separate video on Perfect Dark
th-cam.com/video/fvEpAV1QKqo/w-d-xo.html
I don't feel like it makes enough difference to be worth it for 99% of games. If you don't own (or plan to own) Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, or Majora's Mask, it is not worth having.
For many games I would agree, the changes are minimal. If anyone asks if they *need* an Expansion Pak, I generally tell them no outside of the 3 games you mentioned as their gaming experience will not be hindered without it. I prefer to use the one I have, but it's because I have one and am not oaying some of the heavy fees for one in today's market. Thanks for watching 👍
My n64 came with it, and perfect dark, majoras mask, and smash remix are 3 of the games I play mainly, and they all require it. Also quake 2 and turok 3 are vastly improved with it. I still don’t think it’s worth 90 dollars, I would not have one if mine hadn’t come with one.
$90 is definitely a big leap, especially since 3rd party ones are available
Star wars episode one racer looks alot better with it.
Good game too
@McRcFly definitely a fun game, and one that supports using two controllers for dual analog thumbstick action! Thanks for watching
Sucks that res2 n64 don’t work rite with the expansion pack , who really keeps the old jumper pack around….. good thing I did lol
Yeah definitely wouldn't recommend throwing the Jumper Pak away, though many did I suspect
It does support Expansion Pack beautifully. The problem you have is that your TV is too slow when it comes to response time. You need TV with less than 6ms gray to gray response time, like a Plasma TV or CRT.
do you need the pak to save and what’s the difference between the expansion pak and jumper pak?
Hi Fiona! Here's a summary but please check out my videos on each of these!
The Jumper Pak is in all base models and gives you the standard output.
The Expansion Pak is a boost of RAM for the system and enhances some game textures etc.
The Controller Pak is the device for game saves and inserts into the controller.
Has anyone ever tried to make an even bigger expansion pak? If so, what did it do?
Good question 🤔 There are some that have multiple built-in cards - like the Performance Memory Card Plus - that uses a switch. Essentially, you keep the card in your controller and flick an actual switch on the memory card itself to toggle between four memory cards so 4X the storage of a Controller Pak. I'm not readily aware of a single card with more capacity though
@@SvennyMcG I know about the multi page memory packs/cards... Bigger expansion packs, like the one you are reviewing, to add even more ram memory. What would be the maxium amount of ram the N64 could use.
Ah sorry, Expansion Pak - to my knowledge no, no one has developed a larger RAM module but on the same front no one programmed for larger either so I'm not sure it would accomplish much more, like makes textures more smooth etc
@@roughy762004 N64 is 64bit system so it could manage even 8 GB of RAM. But for 94Mhz CPU it's not locigal or necessary to use more than 8 MB. N64 simply would not benefit more RAM since it's cartridge system anyway.
Awesome, thanks for the technical response 😊 👍
can it save games???
No - you need the Controller Pak for that. Watch this video:
th-cam.com/video/PVS7xoYBU7k/w-d-xo.html
and perfect dark
Perfect Dark works without the Expansion Pak but is limited - check out my video!
th-cam.com/video/fvEpAV1QKqo/w-d-xo.html
I got my 64 so late it was almost a dead system maybe 3 games came out
Still a lot of fun to be had on it these days! Not the largest of game libraries but plenty of great games to check out 😊
1:27 Most Obvious overdub ;)
😅😅 to be honest I don't recall if it was or if it was just a mic pickup inconsistency. Either way, always room for improvement 😁 Thanks for watching!
it came with a tool? lol I just used a butter knife
Haha yes indeed, but hey, whatever works! 👍
These things are pricy. I bought an n64 last year for 150 CAD, it came with 4 controllers and an expansion pak. Considering they go for around 90 dollars, I think it was a bit of a steal
For sure, four controllers is a good start too!
4 megabytes wow
Haha that was a decent amount back then!
@@SvennyMcG yeah I just checked and I have 6 expansion packs in my collection. Not sure where I got them from.
Haha that is a lot! Might be a good idea to sell or trade some of at your local retro store
@@SvennyMcG i'll just keep them as i do have 7 n64 still in my household for my kids.
Good call! They are worthwhile to have and allow you to get the most - and best - out of your N64 (or in your case N64s plural 😁)
You'd think conkers bad fur day would require the expansion pak...
Rare really were the masters of the Nintendo 64! They sure knew how to push it to its limits 👍
do you know if you're color blind or not btw
Not sure, why do you ask?
@@SvennyMcG at 1:04 I see you call the green on the bottom of the box blue and the blue top of the box purple, just found that curious when watching. great vid btw
:)
Oh haha thank you for your concern, I misspoke but I do indeed see it as you do; the bottom is definitely green and the blue top I see as close to purple so perhaps it's somewhere in between or else my eyes are colourblind 😊 Appreciate the comment and glad you enjoyed the video! 🙌
Seems as tho n64 was mainly to sell useless packs
Only for me to make videos on them 😊