Which n64 emulator that is compatible and runs well on my pc should I use?

[Xdqwerty]

Ok so I tried/wanted to try the recommended emulators from this list and these were the issues:

• Mupen64plus-next crashes
• ares has high requirements
• simple64 and rmg dont work since I have Windows 8.1
• Bizhawk is too slow
• I also used to use parallel-n64 and project64 but I have been told that I shouldnt use them anymore.
• Project64-legacy worked like shit, and it doesnt even let me add more plugins

The n64 roms I have are Mario 64, F-zero x, zelda ocarina of time, hybrid heaven, castlevania legacy of darkness, goldeneye 007, mystical ninja starring goemon, diddy kong racing, donkey kong 64, banjo kazooie, and smash remix
So, what should I use, then?

 

[Zerpina]

I don't wanna be scolded for changing stuff on our only PC

ok simple fix. if you can get a 16 GB flashdrive. since you are just wanting to play n64. Flash batocera to the Flashdrive, use Rufus or balenaEtcher. Reboot the pc useing the flashdrive. <have to first time with batocera so it set's up the system on the flash drive> restart into windows 8, pop your games into the n64 folder <on the flashdrive> and then reboot useing the Flashdrive. it will boot into batocera, play till your done. and no permant xhange to your system
:)

 

[VampireLord1024VampireLord1024's icon]

Weird, I use Project64 and it's always worked for me.

 

[daratmp+wxqvs]

I use this version of Project64 for compatibility with some old texture packs, you could try it out see how it works for you @Xdqwerty : https://github.com/pj64team/Project64-Legacy/releases

But normally i use RMG because i like how easy it is to overclock games with it, some n64 games lag on real hardware and RMG can fix it, for example in Bomberman Hero the level Area1-Secret Room lags very badly.
Plus it has some early support for the RT64 renderer which isnt userable yet put exciting.

 

[Xdqwerty]

I use this version of Project64 for compatibility with some old texture packs, you could try it out see how it works for you @Xdqwerty : https://github.com/pj64team/Project64-Legacy/releases

Project64-legacy worked like shit, and it doesnt even let me add more plugins

 

[daratmp+wxqvs]

By 'worked like shit' do you mean it runs too slowly? you can try changing the graphics plugin to Jabo's D3D8 1.7

And setting the RSP to use HLE for graphics and audio, and not increasing the resolution so keeping it on 640x480. Those plugins and settings should be the fastest for lower end hardware.
If its still to slow, maybe even try changing the RSP to the old "RSP emulation" plugin

If by 'worked like shit' you mean the emulation is buggy? Well then try out Batocera like Zerpina said or just use Retroarch.
Or try that older RMG build that i linked to earlier which should still work on Windows 8.1

You did mention you used newer versions of Project64, but were told not to use it. If that's the only emulator that works for you, then there's not really a reason not to use it. I think the reason people recommend not to use it, is because other emulators are more better, but if those don't work for you...

Otherwise, if you have a Vita PSP or 3DS, you could try the DaedalusX64 or if you have a Wii or WiiU the Not64 emulator.

 

[thecrow2313]

Win 8.1 in 2025, EoL ended in 2023. Hope you have really good virus & malware protection. Look into a OS alternative.

 

[Leon]

I heard retroarch sucks

So i know this isn't the focus of this thread, but it's not that retroarch sucks, it's honestly got some of the best emulators for certain systems, the problem is the interface is ANNOYING AS HELL for pc users as it's designed around the gamepad, so much so that i avoid using it when i can.

 

[thecrow2313]

Ok so I tried/wanted to try the recommended emulators from this list and these were the issues:

• Mupen64plus-next crashes
• ares has high requirements
• simple64 and rmg dont work since I have Windows 8.1
• Bizhawk is too slow
• I also used to use parallel-n64 and project64 but I have been told that I shouldnt use them anymore.
• Project64-legacy worked like shit, and it doesnt even let me add more plugins

The n64 roms I have are Mario 64, F-zero x, zelda ocarina of time, hybrid heaven, castlevania legacy of darkness, goldeneye 007, mystical ninja starring goemon, diddy kong racing, donkey kong 64, banjo kazooie, and smash remix
So, what should I use, then?

Have you tried this one?

GitHub - gopher64/gopher64: N64 emulator written in Rust

N64 emulator written in Rust. Contribute to gopher64/gopher64 development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[Xdqwerty]

Have you tried this one?

GitHub - gopher64/gopher64: N64 emulator written in Rust

N64 emulator written in Rust. Contribute to gopher64/gopher64 development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Didnt know about it

 

[thecrow2313]

Didnt know about it

Update @ https://github.com/gopher64/gopher64/releases/tag/v0.1.18

 

[Tirirbak]

Hey pal, I wished I could send you a DM and not reply here since I don't want people to suffer reading my broken bad english
so, I thought I could be of some help since I'm also on Win8.1

If you don't already know, RMG switched from QT5 to Qt6 in the v0.2.5 2022-12-14 release
The last official release that officialy support Win8.1 (QT5) is the v0.2.4 2022-12-8 (but it sucks, since no 7z support and it's quite old)

Release v0.2.4 · Rosalie241/RMG

Changes Fix Discord Rich Presence breaking when opening the settings dialog Fix install update window not showing Fix 'Limit FPS' not working with new RMG-Audio (this disables the 'synchronize aud...

github.com

But you can use this QT6 patched version of RMG v0.5.2 for Win7,8.1(By Alan_A)

https://www.patreon.com/posts/win7-fix-for-rmg-78073888

---------------------------------
then you can update these files yourself to get the most updated experience possible

RMG\Data\gamecontrollerdb.txt

GitHub - mdqinc/SDL_GameControllerDB: A community sourced database of game controller mappings to be used with SDL Game Controller functionality

A community sourced database of game controller mappings to be used with SDL Game Controller functionality - mdqinc/SDL_GameControllerDB

github.com

I deleted this thingy, prob used for speech recognition or something (if someone knows what's is uded for, let me know)
RMG\Data\vosk-model-small-en-us-0.15.zip

then get the x64 msvc version of mupen64plus.dll here
Appveyor is more up-to-date and has a new dynarec build version (probably faster)
RMG\Core\mupen64plus.dll

AppVeyor

ci.appveyor.com

Releases · mupen64plus/mupen64plus-core

Core module of the Mupen64Plus project. Contribute to mupen64plus/mupen64plus-core development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

you can update following files from the latest RMG builds or github actions)
Data\mupen64plus.ini
Data\Cheats\
Plugin\GLideN64.custom.ini
Plugin\Input\mupen64plus_input_gca
Plugin\Input\mupen64plus-input-raphnetraw
Plugin\RSP\mupen64plus-rsp-cxd4
Plugin\RSP\mupen64plus-rsp-hle
Plugin\RSP\mupen64plus-rsp-parallel

Don't update these plugins: (prob need a patched Qt6widgets.dll & Qt6svg.dll)
Plugin\GFX\mupen64plus-video-angrylion-plus
Plugin\GFX\mupen64plus-video-GLideN64
Plugin\GFX\mupen64plus-video-parallel
Plugin\Audio\RMG-Audio
Plugin\Input\RMG-Input.dll

Can also update these Dlls if you want;
D3Dcompiler_47.dll
libb2-1 libbrotlicommon libbrotlidec libbz2-1 libcrypto-3-x64 libdouble-conversion libfreetype-6
libgcc_s_seh-1 libglib-2.0-0 libgraphite2 libharfbuzz-0 libhidapi-0 libiconv-2
libintl-8 libjpeg-8 libmd4c libminizip-1 libpcre2-16-0 libpcre2-8-0 libpng16-16
libsamplerate-0 libsll-3-x64 libspeexdsp-1 libvosk libwinpthread-1 SDL2.dll zlib1.dll
SDL2_net.dll (added this, prob needed for the new mupen64plus.dll)

DOn't update these Dlls:
libRMG-Core.dll libstdc++-6

Note that the app store the settings & stuff in %APPDATA%\RMG' unless a portable.txt or Config\mupen64plus.cfg is there
One another disvantage of using this (besides the outdated RMG executable), is that you can't update the video plugins (RMG plugins are all built with QT6), so u can't just grab em from anywhere else (like recent GlideN64 builds https://github.com/gonetz/GLideN64/)
or add other ones (that works perfect in low-end laptops, like mupen64plus-video-glide64mk2, mupen64plus-video-rice, mupen64plus-video-glide64, mupen64plus-video-z64, mupen64plus-video-arachnoid
---------------------------------------------
EMG (Electron mupen64plus GUI) is another mupen64plus gui that works just fine on Win8.1
but sadly it doesn't support 7z so you'll have to decompress all your roms, so that's a big no for me.

I personally use Project64 v3.0.1-5664-2df3434 x32
it's stable, and can use both new and all sort of old video plugins since it's x32.