
Many have praised the ModRetro Chromatic as an excellent choice for a modern Game Boy Color. From its excellent screen quality to its accurate D-Pad, it definitely feels like it delivers that classic feel to a modern world with nice quality-of-life improvements.
After the success of the Chromatic, ModRetro set their sights on a modern take on the Nintendo 64, which they, to no one’s surprise, call the M64. Although many in the FPGA gaming scene suspected it would likely be using a port of the excellent MiSTer FPGA N64 core, it was something that was never confirmed, at least not until the video shown in the X post embedded below. The post shows the Frames Per Second counter in the top left, exactly as it is on the MiSTer FPGA core.
You would actually think, “Would I actually need an M64 if I have a MiSTer FPGA, or should I just get a MiSTer FPGA?”
Well, according to Robert Peip, the developer of the MiSTer core, they stated over on Discord that they worked together with ModRetro engineers on the N64 core, which uses a larger FPGA and can pass any restrictions that were present due to the limitations of the DE10-Nano that is the heart and soul of the MiSTer project.
What are your thoughts on the M64? Is this something you’ll buy or skip given that we now know one of the best FPGA core developers on the planet is behind the core and is actively improving it? Please see the full text of the message left by Robert Peip (FPGAzumspass) over on the MiSTer FPGA Discord server.
“Just a few words for now, have to go to work:Yes I am working together with Modretro on the M64.I know the engineers for a while, and I enjoy working with them. They offered me to develop the M64 together with them and we designed a powerful hardware that can solve all the shortcomings the core has on the DE10-Nano.Like much faster and larger FPGA as well as fast and low latency memories.You all know that the n64 is my favorite console and it’s so much fun for me to work on it without all the workarounds and shortcomings.Also I have promise that it will stay open source and I will backport bugfixes to Mister (if possible)”
I just wish that not Palmer Luckey would be the guy behind that company because their products seem to be good and making it open source is even more than Analogue does (given that this applies to the M64’s OS and not only the core).