Following the 16-bit glories of the Super Nintendo, its successor often gets short shrift from gamers these days. Of course, it’s adored by Nintendo fans of a certain age who doubled down on it during the PlayStation generation, but it’s a wilfully ‘odd’ system and arguably tough to love if you weren’t there at the time.
Its odd-looking three-pronged controllers didn’t do it any favours, but for some of us the Nintendo 64 has a retro-fetishistic allure that few other consoles have. The system played host to myriad accessories, many of which never made it to the west, and its compliment of ‘Paks’, peripherals and add-ons frequently have us browsing auction sites and considering bidding on hardware we don't have the means to play. No, we couldn't actually use the modem connection cartridge that Morita Shogi 64 came on, but it sure looks ace. Oh, how we'd love to get our hands on a 64DD disc or fondle a Doctor V64!
Despite its reputation as the console which ceded Nintendo's industry dominance to Sony, the N64 pioneered innovations that are still with us today. We all know it birthed 3D gaming as we know it with Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and the Rumble Pak brought haptic feedback to the masses. Although it’s now integrated into your controller, there was something immensely satisfying about loading it into the back of your pad with a chunky click.
The console's other accessories were also significant. The Memory Pak was a less welcome entry in the lineup - publishers offloading the cost of memory onto the player is nothing new - but later in the system’s life we got the Expansion Pak, with its hot rod red grille, that doubled the console’s RAM to a whopping 8MB, not to mention the mysterious 64DD, with its big discs and mouse. Japan gets all the cool stuff.
However, one of the oddest accessories did see release outside Nintendo's homeland: NUS-019, or the common or garden Transfer Pak. Plugging into the rear of the controller just as the Rumble and Memory Paks did, this intriguing device enabled you to connect a Game Boy cartridge to your N64 and opened up a new world of cross-console opportunities.
Seeing the peripheral, we recall jumping to conclusions; this was obviously the new version of the Super Game Boy – time to play GB games on the big screen! Unfortunately, this turned out to be incorrect. The developer/press-only Wide-Boy 64 was essentially the N64’s Super Game Boy, although it was never made publicly available, and the Transfer Pak didn't contain any Game Boy or emulation hardware itself. However, it was possible to play the handheld’s biggest game on your N64.
The accessory initially came bundled with Pokémon Stadium and, armed with a copy or Pokémon Red, Blue or Yellow, you could move your Pocket Monsters back and forth between the cartridges, view them and transfer them with friends far more easily than via Game Boy alone, and also witness your Pokémon fight in stunning, colourful three dimensions. A host of minigames rounded out the package (gotta love the Lickitung Sushi-Go-Round) and, yes, you could play through the Kanto region games on your telly by heading to the Game Boy Tower (the GB emulator software was on the Pokémon Stadium cartridge). Beyond the increased screen dimensions, there was another reason to do this – completing the Poké and Prime Cups on all difficulties unlocked double and triple gameplay speed options with special Doduo and Dodrio Game Boys, extremely handy for speeding through level grinding in the original games.
Firing up old carts these days comes with a feeling of trepidation. Is the battery still working? Will my saves still be there? We plugged in our trusty Pokémon Yellow cart and – sure enough – all our original Gen 1 Pokémon were still there, including our original monsters from Blue that we transferred to Yellow when we upgraded. After so many years, saying hello to 'Rocky' the Geodude, ‘BATMAN’ the Zubat and, of course, ‘piddle’ the Weedle once again gave us a warhead-sized hit of nostalgia that briefly left us considering transferring the lot to Stadium for safety before replacing the battery in the Game Boy cart and buying ourselves another 20 years of storage. It's comforting to know that our very first mons are still preserved there, 'forever' locked inside the amber of that little cartridge.
Pokémon Stadium 2 would offer the same features with Gen 2 games, and a recent ROM hack of the game enables you to play various other Game Boy games on the N64 using the cart's onboard emulator. For many, the Pokémon titles alone justified the Transfer Pak’s existence, but there were a handful of other releases that made use of it. The Camelot-developed pair of Mario Golf games across the platforms enabled you to transfer your Game Boy Color character to the N64 game and subsequently transfer XP back. You could also copy your N64 stats to the Game Boy Color game for portable bragging rights amongst your golfing buddies. Mario Tennis, another Camelot gig and notably the debut of Waluigi, featured more extensive connectivity, and owning both games unlocked courts and characters that were otherwise impossible to get.
Perfect Dark was famously supposed to support it. In conjunction with the Game Boy Camera, the idea was to allow players to map their own faces to models for use in the multiplayer portion, but the events at Columbine High School in 1999 altered those plans and connecting the Game Boy Color Perfect Dark via the Transfer Pak merely unlocked some hard-to-get cheats in the N64 version.
In Japan, however, the Pak could be used with the Game Boy Camera in Mario Artist: Talent Studio, a 64DD game which enabled you to capture video to the N64 and animate 3D models. A fusion of Mario Paint with the avatar creation that would go on to inform the Miis of the Wii generation, you could import Game Boy Camera photos onto the 3D models (you could even then transfer them to Sim City 64 for 64DD and have these proto-Miis populate your city).
Nintendo would go on to experiment with connecting their handheld and home consoles with the Game Boy Advance Link Cable for GameCube – connectivity that continued with token unlocks and transfers between home and handheld game versions, but also led to limited ‘second screen’ experiences such as the Tingle Tuner in The Wind Waker, or the four-player The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure. Having the requisite friends and consoles to make it work was its own problem, but the potential for a shared Zelda experience made befriending the ‘weird’ kid worth it. All were welcome, provided they had their own GBA and link cable!
Only a handful of other games made use of the Transfer Pak, but its strange fusion of tech fired our imaginations back in the day. Perhaps it was the fact that you plugged it into the controller rather than the console, but whatever the reason, its melding of two entirely separate consoles felt somehow forbidden or otherworldly; a Frankenstein concoction of hardware that shouldn’t go together but now could. The potential this unlocked boggled our young minds. We plugged the Game Boy Camera into it simply because we could – it felt ‘wrong’, but imagine the possibilities…
Ultimately, its potential was never fully realised, but the Transfer Pak signalled the convergence that Nintendo would continue to pursue with its hardware line. Looking back there’s a fairly clear line that arguably starts with the Transfer Pak before moving on to the GBA/GameCube connectivity which foreshadows the hybrid nature of Switch, the true realisation of handheld and home console convergence.
Nintendo never bins a good idea, even if it’s impractical to implement or simply doesn’t work the first time round. The Virtual Boy’s undoubted failure led to fresh outings for virtual reality Labo VR and, likewise, the original 3D experiments of Luigi’s Mansion on GameCube would come to fruition on 3DS. This recycling of concepts is constant and consistent, meaning that if we were clever enough, we could very probably plot the future course of the company’s hardware based on the collection of ideas and consoles sitting in our closets right now. Alternatively, we could crack out the dartboard and do what most of the analysts seem to do. Regardless, Nintendo's rich tradition of off-the-wall ideas and accessories is alive and well in the Switch era, so the future is sure to bring some jolly surprises as the company strides forward while keeping one eye on the past.
Do you have good memories of the Transfer Pak? Can you think of any missed opportunities to make use of it back in the day? Share your memories and ideas below.
Comments (31)
With the Switch, it's a shame that products like the Transfer Pak wouldn't exist today. The feeling of unlocking characters in Mario Golf N64 with the GBC game, or using your own Pokémon in Pokémon Stadium rather than rentals, felt so ahead of its time.
It's kind of what they do with amiibos! But yeah, it's not the same than putting games together.
I got a great deal of use of the transfer pak back when I was a kid. Pokemon Stadium 2 was such an amazing partner game to Pokemon Gold.
I think i still have my transfer pak laying around somewhere either packed in with my N64 in my gaming closet or on one of my small shelves in said closet.
I'm surprised they didn't release a standalone cart that contained the emulation needed to play all GB/GBC carts. Thanks to Pokemon Stadium 1 and 2, I saved a lot on batteries and played my Pokemon games via the TV instead of the Game Boy.
Incredibly well-written article! Love the what's in your closet/dartboard line, great understanding of Nintendo's quirks!
For years I've been kicking myself because we purchased Pokemon Stadium used, which had a 100% completed save on it, complete with a Mewtwo available in Free Battle. Young me decided to go ahead and delete the save, for reasons best known to myself at the time. I've long since lost my original copy of Red and we still don't yet have the necessary accessory to transfer Pokemon. I'm considering grabbing a second-hand cable and a copy of Red just to blast through it on the DS and transfer Mewtwo (perhaps Mew, as well?) over so I can wreak havoc in multiplayer mode again.
I had the adapter thing for Gamecube to play Gameboy games, playing Pokemon Red on my TV was cool even though it was just a blown up imagine and probably looked terrible, but that didn't matter. I don't think we ever had the transfer pak though.
This was such a pleasure to read!!!!
I used my Crystal a lot with Stadium 2. Fond memories
The connectivity between different types of hardware was also visionary in the sense that today all our devices are inter-connected. Watches, tablets, smartphones, TVs... Nintendo was a few steps ahead in the game, but the world was not entirely ready then.
Still have mine for use with stadium 2.
@Majora101 do it, getting Mew is easy peasy and getting a Red cartdrige is not that expensive. Though the Transfer Pak might prove trickier.
I still have the Transfer Pak that came with my Pokemon Stadium game. It's been used just a couple of times as I never owned the GB Pokemon games, I played them thanks to a friend who had RBY and later GSC (their parents imported them from US).
Even then I couldn't use my Pokemon because I always had to return the games before I could really train them to win the cups. Completing that game (and Stadium 2) with just the rental Pokemon was one of my greatest childhood achievements.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Another example.of just how forward thinking Nintendo are:
Super Gameboy ~ Transfer Pak ~ GBA Link Cable ~ DS Demos ~ Wii U ~ Switch.
I bought this and a GameBoy Camera so I could scan my face into Perfect Dark. I had spoke with Nintendo reps who had it up and running in office in Redmond. I was so psyched. Then Nintendo quietly killed it and said the feature never worked. Come to find out it was because Nintendo did not want people scanning pictures of friends and family to shoot at. But just think about how far ahead of the game Nintendo would have been. That feature came later to PS2 and Tony Hawk, but we are talking years later.
The transfer pak, Pokemon Blue, and Pokemon Stadium pretty much made up most of my summer vacation when I was a kid. Plus some Mario Tennis thrown in for good measure.
I still have my stadium 1 and 2 carts and transfer pak unfortunately not boxed it blew my young mind to see and battle with my pokemon in 3D
I remember I stayed home from school the one day to go to the doctor for either myself or my mom, I can’t remember. But I convinced my mom to get me Stadium 1 from Toys R Us. I remember staying in the car while she did the rest of her shopping and stops elsewhere that day, reading the manual and complaining how I wanted to go home already and play it. Makes me really miss the inclusion of color manuals and the packaging that used to go into games. I have very fond memories of my 64 days. I’ve posted on here enough times for someone to say “alright man! We get it!” But here goes anyway:
I’m dying to have Mystical Ninja 64, Castlevania 64, quest 64, and a few others ported over to Switch or ... whatever even an N64 mini. I’m so close to buying a 64 again to play those games.
@ChromaticDracula I still play the N64. Some of the best games ever made. The first three Nintendo systems are my favorite but I would have to say, the N64 is my #1 gaming console.
I will always love the N64 more than PS1 and nothing anyone says will change my mind. Even love those controllers everyone on this site seems to take every chance at mocking. (though even I concede they have serious durability issues!) And while it seems this site loves the SNES like God's greatest gift to humanity, I also prefer the 64 to the SNES. (not that I dislike the SNES, I'd just rank the 64 above it.)
I think a big part of why I ADORE the Switch is because I grew up loving this idea of connecting my handheld gaming to my console gaming! I had these add on items and loved using them. That's why the Switch was like a dream come true in device design for me. Here it is, we have finally reached a point where the line between console and handheld gaming is close enough to have a device that does both!
Man, I'd love to revisit many of those classic games again on Switch. The obvious ones like Mario and Pokemon, but also the Star Wars games and of course 007 Goldeneye!
It would be so cool to get both the Game Boy pokemon games and N64 Stadium games on the Switch and be able to relive that experience of transferring your team to stadium to play! I did that a couple years ago with original hardware, but it's hard to get all that old equipment out of the closet, hooked up to a CRT, running again.
The Super Game Boy married console and handheld hardware long before Switch.
@TenEighty honestly I’m right there with you on that statement. 3DS is neck and neck for my favorite console but that might be due to the fact that it also has remastered N64 games on it. The 3DS is a monster of a console too! I think next month I’m going to take the jump and get myself a 64 again. I foolishly sold it years and years later so I could buy a PS2 and Silent Hill 2.
Never used the transfer Pak. Didn't offer enough for me to want it. I was disappointed it didn't work like a super gameboy. Used to play Pokemon on the super gameboy with my SNES a lot when I was home.
That reminds me, nintendo could easy make docks with gameboy, nes, snes, ect readers for the switch, just to be nice people to their fans.
If you have an N64 flash cart (and a Transfer Pak), there's a homebrew utility that allows you to back up your GB/C ROMs and save files; including the Game Boy Camera!
@Majora101 Unfortunately, the DS only supports GBA cartridges, not GB. You'll have to find an older handheld to play the original Red on.
@Asaki @Majora101 If you are looking at using a ROM of an orignal GB game on a DS/Lite. Look at the EZ Flash Omega. It is cheap and Flash card and can emulate GB games on it. It can emulate them with a SGB boarder etc.
One of the high points of my archive is a complete 64DD collection. Infact I still have a PAL and Japanese N64 connected to my downstairs TV. The 64DD is always attached the Japanese N64.
I also have a boxed copy of Morita Shogi 64.
Perfect Dark does still support it. Plug the GBC version into the console version and it will unlock some cheats.
@ChromaticDracula If you do get a N64. Look for a LCD TV with S-video input or a S-video to VGA converter. I say VGA and not HDMI because VGA can be scaled to 4:3 aspect ratio and not all S-video to HDMI converters even bother adding the option to do so. Although, Hyperkin recently made a N64 HDMI cable that has a 4:3 option. I believe it just converts S-video to HDMI through its cable. https://www.amazon.com/Hyperkin-Hdtv-Cable-GameCube-N64-SNES/dp/B07SCPHHVB/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=hyperkin+hdmi&qid=1562761004&s=gateway&sr=8-1
The Transfer Pak was such an amazing device. It's just a shame it didn't get used much.
I got mine when I bought Pokémon Stadium 1, and later on Pokémon Stadium 2. Seeing the Pokémon that I have raised on the Gameboy in 3D was amazing! Plus playing the Gameboy game on the TV was mind blowing (although the loading times were slow).
Does anyone remember Mystery Gift for Gold, Silver and Crystal? Using the Infrareds on the GameBoy, you both recieve a random gift (done once per day, per person). Pokémon Stadium 2 had the option to Mystey Gift with a girl, which was a great way to try and get some good gifts.
@TenEighty
I didn't think about using a S-Video to VGA. Thanks for the tip.
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