Magic64 firmware will turn ModRetro's M64 into a six-system FPGA console, PlayStation included

The ChroMagic developer's from-scratch firmware for the M64 runs Game Boy, NES, SNES, GBA, N64 and PS1 cores from SD card, with RetroAchievements planned. A beta is hoped for in October.

AI-drafted from 3 sources. This story was written with AI from the outside reporting listed under Sources, and checked by automated tools before it went up. The originals have the full detail.

ModRetro's M64, the FPGA-based Nintendo 64 console that plays original cartridges, has a second custom firmware on the way. Magic64 comes from the developer known as CursedToast, who already makes ChroMagic, the free and open-source firmware that adds cartridge backups and SD card playback to ModRetro's Chromatic handheld. Retro Dodo interviewed him for a report published on 11 October.

According to that report, Magic64 is a complete replacement rather than a patch. Both the FPGA images and the microcontroller code were written from scratch instead of being modified from ModRetro's own. It currently runs six systems, each as a separate FPGA image loaded from the M64's SD card reader: Game Boy and Game Boy Color, NES, SNES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64 and the original PlayStation.

MiSTer cores, PlayStation discs from SD

The systems are built on the open-source MiSTer cores, which means the games run on reconfigured hardware rather than in a software emulator. More cores may follow, but the developer told Retro Dodo he would "rather launch with a more limited list that's been quality tested, rather than have a bunch of buggy cores immediately at launch with HDMI output of 4K60".

PlayStation games load from the SD card in cue/bin or CHD format, with memory cards and multi-disc games supported from the start. Players will need to supply their own BIOS for now, though Retro Dodo says open-source replacements could be shipped with the firmware later. RetroAchievements support is planned for all six systems, something ModRetro's stock firmware does not offer.

Nintendo 64 cartridges still work in the slot, and Magic64 can back up a cartridge and its save to the SD card. Owners who also run ChroMagic on a Chromatic can connect the handheld over USB, where it acts as a Transfer Pak for games such as Pokémon Stadium, and as a cartridge reader that lets Game Boy and Game Boy Color carts play on the M64.

When it arrives

Standard Nintendo 64 controllers and the wireless M64 Pro controller work, with custom button mapping. USB controllers and third-party wireless dongles are planned. The developer described the project as being in its polishing phase and said he hopes to release it "sometime in October" if everything goes to plan, with a first beta "very soon". Retro Dodo's own write-up is more cautious and expects the beta within the next month or two. Longer term, he wants Magic64 to read NES, SNES, Game Boy and Game Boy Advance cartridges as well.

Magic64 is not the only M64 project. A separate fan firmware, OM64, was shown in September with Game Boy and SNES cores, while its Nintendo 64 core was still unfinished. As with any replacement firmware, flashing a console carries some risk, and neither project is made by ModRetro.

Sources

Image: Retro Dodo

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