Hyperkin is floating the idea of an N64 handheld with cartridge support, in response to a fan asking if we would ever see a portable N64 from the company, with Hyperkin replying that it could happen “potentially in the future,” though not “in the next year or two”. This is not an announcement, just a rare glimpse into what Hyperkin is quietly thinking about while it wrestles with getting the Mega95 Genesis handheld out the door.
If Hyperkin does build an N64 portable, do not expect an FPGA miracle like the Analogue 3D. Instead, it would follow the same approach as the Retron GX and Mega95: dump the cartridge ROM into memory, then run it through a system-on-chip emulator. That means all the usual headaches of N64 software emulation, graphical glitches, frame timing quirks, and game-by-game compatibility issues, only now with the added complexity of making sure the cartridge slot and dumping process work reliably. The upside is that you could play your actual carts on the go without needing to flash them to an Everdrive or fiddle with ROMs, which is a genuine party trick even if the execution gets messy.
On the hardware side, Hyperkin has a head start. The company makes a range of N64-style controllers and a popular Hall Effect joystick for the original controllers. The real question is whether they can nail the emulation firmware, and right now, the Mega95 is stuck in limbo with “visual artifacts and occasional tearing” that Hyperkin refuses to ship.
If they can solve that for Genesis, a console with relatively straightforward emulation, then maybe an N64 version becomes plausible. But N64 emulation in 2026 still has quirks even on mature desktop emulators, so asking a handheld SoC to handle it cleanly while also dumping carts feels optimistic.
Source: Games Radar
What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
This page may contain affiliate links, by purchasing something through a link, Retro Handhelds may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you.