Game Boy Advance on your N64
Cart64 turns a .gba file into a .z64 cartridge for an N64 flash cart. The cartridge carries our own Game Boy Advance player, written for the N64, so the game runs on an original Nintendo 64 or an M64. Games up to 8 MB start on any N64, but most need the Expansion Pak to run at full speed; bigger games need it to start.
How to make a cartridge
- Open cart64.com and drop your .gba file on the box. It stays on your device: nothing is uploaded.
- Choose the picture: Fit (bigger, smooth) or Sharp (exact pixels).
- Press Make my cartridge. Your browser saves a .z64 file named after the game.
- Copy it to your flash cart's SD card and start it from the menu, as you would any .z64.
Do I need the Expansion Pak?
| Game size | Without the Expansion Pak | With the Expansion Pak |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 8 MB | Runs, but most games are slower than full speed | Runs at full speed |
| More than 8 MB (for example Pokemon Emerald, FireRed, The Minish Cap) | The cartridge shows a screen asking for the Expansion Pak | Runs |
Without the Expansion Pak, Mario Party Advance, Metroid Fusion and Pac-Man Collection still run at full speed; the other tested games up to 8 MB run at about half to most of full speed. cart64.com tells you before it builds the cartridge when a game needs the Expansion Pak.
Games we have tested
Speed depends on the game: the Game Boy Advance asks far more of the N64 than the Game Boy Color does. These are the games we test every build with, measured with the Expansion Pak. "Full speed" means the game keeps up with the original handheld; some drawing-heavy games show every other frame while the game itself runs at full speed.
| Game | Speed with the Expansion Pak | Without it |
|---|---|---|
| Advance Wars | Full speed | Slower |
| Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow | Full speed | Slower |
| Disney's The Lion King 1 1/2 | Full speed | Slower |
| Donkey Kong Country | Full speed | Slower |
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords | Full speed | Slower |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap | Full speed | Needs it to start |
| Mario Golf: Advance Tour | Full speed, brief slowdowns | Needs it to start |
| Mario Kart: Super Circuit | Full speed, brief slowdowns | Slower |
| Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga | Playable, slows down in some scenes and cutscenes | Needs it to start |
| Mario Party Advance | Full speed | Full speed |
| Mario Tennis: Power Tour | Full speed | Needs it to start |
| Metroid Fusion | Full speed | Full speed |
| Pac-Man Collection | Full speed | Full speed |
| Pokemon Emerald | Full speed, slow to start | Needs it to start |
| Pokemon FireRed | Full speed | Needs it to start |
| Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire | Full speed | Slower |
| Super Mario Advance | Full speed | Slower |
| Super Mario Advance 2 | Full speed | Slower |
Loading a new area can pause for a moment while the player prepares it. Game Boy Advance support is in beta: tell us how your games run.
Saves and the clock
Battery saves of every kind Game Boy Advance cartridges use (SRAM, Flash and EEPROM) are kept by your flash cart and survive turning the console off. Games with a clock, like Pokemon Emerald, read your flash cart's clock when it has one (SummerCart64, EverDrive 64 X7); otherwise the clock runs while you play.
Controls
| N64 controller | Game Boy Advance button |
|---|---|
| D-pad or control stick | D-pad |
| A | A |
| B | B |
| Start | Start |
| L and R | L and R |
| Z trigger | L (easier to reach when you hold the stick) |
| C-down or C-left | Select |
Picture: Fit or Sharp
- Fit (the default): the game fills the screen width, smoothed.
- Sharp: the game at exact 1x pixels in the middle of the screen, with no smoothing.