I Dig the ModRetro 64's Nostalgic Fun, Even If It's a Few Updates Short of Greatness

Late last year, I reviewed the Analogue 3D , a 4K reimagining of the Nintendo 64 that offered a way to revisit my entire N64 collection on modern hardware, without (much) hassle. The system was an excellent buy for starry-eyed 30-somethings who grew up on Nintendo's 64-bit console, but it's no longer the only N64 replica on the market. The ModRetro 64 ($229, or $199 with early bird pricing) is the latest retro console that brings the beloved Nintendo console back to the living room. Like the Analogue 3D, it emulates the original hardware to accurately play N64 cartridges at higher resolutions, along with many cool screen filters to clean up the image or capture that classic CRT feel. Based on time with a pre-production model, I can say that the ModRetro 64's an excellent system that's on par with the Analogue 3D in many ways, while stumbling in others. Ultimately, your purchasing decision might come down to the frequency of its system updates and whether you dig that translucent, 1990s aesthetic that screams extreme.