Hardware Review: Everdrive 64 X5 from Krikzz

You’re here to learn everything that there is to know about the Everdrive64 X5 and I promise not to disappoint.  But let’s jump in because there’s a lot to get into with this one!

Disclaimer: a free product was provided by the manufacturer for this review

Description:

Ever dream of having your whole library of Nintendo 64 games in a single cartridge? The EverDrive64 X5 allows you to load your personally backed-up games from a microSD card, put the microSD card into the EverDrive64, put the EverDrive64 into a Nintendo 64 and have your list of games at your finger tips.

Features:

• Supports both PAL and NTSC systems.
• UltraCIC III with region auto detection.
• Hard gold plating for cartridge contacts
• Micro SD cards are supported.
• Fast loading. Speed ​​up to 23 Mbyte/s.
• Supports .nes ROM format via built-in emulator.
• Gamepak saves support (SRAM, SRAM128Kbyte, EEPROM16k, EEPROM4k, FlashRam)
• GameShark cheats.
• IPS/APS patches.

Unboxing (will start at 3m13s):

Pros:

• Emulation. In my last article about the Master Everdrive, I discussed running homebrew on it. In this article, I want to make a point about some specific homebrew apps; emulation. This cartridge by default is able to run NES games using the built in emulator. So if you include a folder of your .NES games, then you’ve just doubled the value of this purchase. Now you have two consoles in one, saving you space in your entertainment center setup. I tested five of my favorite games, and they all worked well enough. Getting used to the controller can be interesting, but there are ways around this. You could get your hands on one of these adapters from Raphnet and then use your NES Classic Controller with it. You can also build a USB64 (instructions online) and then connect a NES controller with a USB-A connector on the end. Third parties make those for PC, but it would work here.
  The second emulator I want to discuss is rather obvious that it can work, but I’m surprised that it’s an overall newer addition. The 3.07 update from 2024 for the Everdrive64 includes a Game Boy and Game Boy Color emulator. I tested it with something I found to be funny working on it, which is the new Chromatic Tetris from Mod Retro. Remember, only dump your own games if you’re going to be using these emulators. But yeah, you can either play GB/GBC on your big screen through an SNES with a Super Game Boy…or you can just buy an Everdrive64 and put your ROMs on it. Saving you even more space and more money.

• Upgrade? In update 3.07, Krikzz no longer is pushing updates to previous Everdrive64 flash carts. So while X2 and X3 have some good features and boast near 100% ROM compatibility, they just do not have the hardware capabilities to be able to keep up with their newer brothers. Below is a list of everything that came in updates since discontinuing their support, so that you can see if you want to upgrade to an X5 at least. Of course, there are also the fact that the X2 and X3 don’t have as many features in the first place as the X5, which we’ll be talking about throughout this article. But also, who knows what future OS updates entail.

  • OS-V3.08 08.03.2024
    1) Fix for ROMs where file size not aligned to 4
    2) Animal Forest fix for MPAL systems
    3) Skip crc checks for Pokemon Stadium Rev B
    4) System folder hidden in file browser. Access to the folder via main menu
    5) Removed Random Game menu
    
    ***************************************************************************
    
    OS-V3.07 17.07.2022
    1)  Accurate fpga based NES core instead of old Neon emulator*
    2)  Included GB/GBC emulators from https://lambertjamesd.github.io/gb64/romwrapper/romwrapper.html
    3)  ED64 V3.x/V2.x is no longer supported. OS v2.x is recommended for such carts
    4)  Cheats engine update
    5)  Folders structure changed**
    6)  Menu has delete function for empty folders
    7)  Long rom id support in save_db.txt***
    8)  RTC can be mixed wit eeprom saves (for homebrew)
    9)  Improved recently played menu
    10) Rom Config menu. Set specific save/rtc/region setting for certain rom
    11) Minor fixes and files transfer function for usb (use updated usb64-v1.0.0.3)
    
    *Press L+R to switch off/on image stretching in nes games
    Unstretched image likely will looks better for hd-modded systems
    
    **To restore all your old saves and cheats copy all files from ED64/cheats and ED64/save to ED64/gamedata
    

• EZ-PZ. The process for setup and running your Everdrive64 is just plain and simple. If you’ve read my other articles covering the Everdrive line of flash carts, you’ll remember it’s a process that takes mere moments. First, put your microSD card into your computer and then download the newest OS update from here (the newest one is always at the bottom). Extract the contents to the root of your microSD card. Now make a folder on the root for your N64 roms to live in. The Everdrive64 seems to let you have as many games as you want in one folder, but if you want an easier sorting, you can split the games into a few smaller folders. Also, as an added bonus, if you want to use the NES and the GB/GBC emulation, make a folder for each of those systems now with their respective ROMs inside. Eject the microSD card from your PC and insert it into your Everdrive64. Once you put the cartridge into the system and boot it, it will update the cart. After that, these cartridges typically have you reboot the console. After that, choose games and get to playing!

• Protective. The build quality of Krikzz’s products are always solid. This one is no different and I’m proud to say that all of the Everdrives that I own from Krikzz have held up all of these years (thus far). If you want to read about the build quality of any of them, here is a link to all of my previous Everdrive articles, take your pick! However, I wanted to bring up what you get as part of the cost, you may have noticed it in the pictures. And you definitely saw it if you watched the unboxing video up above. But what I’m referring to is the clamshell box. Not every Everdrive that you get from Everdrive.Me comes with a clamshell. I’m not sure of the reasoning behind this, maybe it’s just a cost cutting measure. But in the instance of the Everdrive64 X5, you do indeed get one of these boxes.
  Some of you may not care if you have the intent on leaving the Everdrive in your N64. I think you may be forgetting about the fact that the shipping is also benefitted by there being a clamshell. You have another layer of protection around your Everdrive64 so that it doesn’t get beat up in transit. And then you have the great build quality that Krikzz imbues into his builds from the inside to the outside. Below there are pictures of what the cart looks like from the inside so you can see the multi-layered board, gold plating, and high quality components (all of which, protect against aging). One additional point I want to make here is just how great it is that Krikzz makes it easy to get into the Everdrive cartridges. I was able to use a T6 Torx bit and get into this. If you don’t have a Torx bit, you can walk into most stores with a hardware section and buy what you need there. Unlike the triwing screws, those are not something that you can walk into a store and buy.

• Worldly. This cartridge is manufactured in such a way that the shell itself can work in most consoles. The part at the bottom back that is differently formed so it can only be played in your home country is not built into these shells. They feature a indentation on the bottom back so that they can work in all systems worldwide. The marketing specifically states that they can work on both US and PAL territory systems. But when you search online it does show that PAL and JP systems have the same molding on the back of the cartridge. So regardless of which version of the Nintendo 64 that you own, this will work on it. Unfortunately I can’t test this as I only own a NTSC-U machine for North America. But if you own a PAL or JP system and it doesn’t work for you, let the seller know and they can make it right for you since it is supposed to work.
  It’s also worth mentioning that the worldliness of the Everdrive64 doesn’t stop there. If you have a game that you love from another country, the ROM will indeed work on the system. I was able to run a JP import ROM as well as a PAL exclusive game, and they both worked. For those wondering, the N64 didn’t have a lot of regional exclusives in PAL territories. Only four from the PAL region, F-1 World Grand Prix II, F1 Racing Championship, Premier Manager 64, and Taz Express. And there were only three for Japan, AirBoarder 64, Centre Court Tennis, and Rakuga Kids. However, there were several released on the N64 in Japan, around 83 of them being exclusive to Japan specifically.

• Loading. Let’s quickly discuss what loading an N64 game looks like on the Everdrive64. When you get onto the main screen, you’ll choose the folder with your N64 games in it. Scroll to the one of your choosing and press A on it. First it will ask you what you want to do with the game. Do you just want to start the game, if so, you can do that. If you want to bake some cheats in, there is a system for that. There is ROM information and below that there is something called ROM Config. You can of course view the hex code of the ROM if you’d like, if you know what you’re doing in it. And finally, my favorite feature, an option to delete the ROM. This would be useful if the ROM isn’t working correctly or if you decided that you just hate the game altogether.
  Once you’ve finally selected that you want to start the game, there is a blip of time where the ROM has to be loaded into memory.  I counted the time that it took to load most of the ROMs in my testing. The worst I saw was three seconds at maximum, but the thing about three seconds is that it still feels like 1-2 seconds. It’s so fast and I could’ve been counting at a slow pace. In other words, don’t stress over the load times on the Everdrive64 X5.

• Operating System. There is also a slew of options and features in the main operating system of the Everdrive64 X5. You’ll find a picture down below that reflects everything and in the order that they’re in, but I want to touch on everything quickly. You can choose to play a random game from the list or you can see your recently played games. You can go into the cheats settings, I never use these, so I wouldn’t know how to even judge it. After that, you can look into the memory card using the CPak Manager. Or you can see the device information as well as diagnostics and finally the “About” section. If you click on the “Options” section at the very top, there’s even more to utilize.
  You can turn the background picture on or off with the “Background” option. You can entirely disable cheats from the Everdrive by turning “Cheats” on or off. You can put patches on the cartridge with games and enable them with the “IPS/APS Patcher” by default it’s turned on here so it simply automatically applies patches to the respective games. The “CRC Check” verifies the checksum of a ROM and won’t load invalid checksum games. I turned mine off, I don’t want to fight the console, I just want the game to launch. There is an option to turn on the system directory, this is currently turned off. There is a final setting about the real time clock, but this isn’t maintained on the X5. More on that later in the article.

• Best of all! With the advent of emulating, this is a way to feel like you’re in the middle ground between being an emulatist and a full on Nintendo purist. Sure you’re using a flash cart, but you’re also playing on real hardware. Especially because for some reason the N64 isn’t always easily emulatable (depending on your setup). And on the console side it isn’t always practical to change games over and again.

Cons:

• Saving. I wouldn’t call this a con so much as a trade off, but if you need to save, you have to get up from your seat and reset the console. It’s one of the major reasons why the price is so affordable and why the X7 also exists. So it’s one of the instances you have to look inside yourself and ask would you rather save money or save yourself the convenience of getting up to make a save state. It may not be a save state per se, but basically, you should save in your N64 game first and then press Reset on the console to go back to the main Everdrive OS. Once you start the game again, it will have the ROM pick up from where you left off. Still better than only relying exclusively on the default save method of the N64. This method also saves you the money of having to buy a whole bunch of memory cards for your console.

• RTC. There is also a cost cutting measure that may be worth noting, or it may not. It will have to be another one that you decide for yourself. What I’m referring to is the Real Time Clock function that exists on the X7, it is not present here. Again, this may be a non-issue for you, but let’s talk quickly about the single game that utilizes it. It may help you decide if the X5 is right for you. And that game is Animal Forest or Animal Crossing on the N64. Knowing that, is it a deal breaker for you? Is the game functioning correctly the sole thing you want from your N64? If not, an X5 may be the right choice for you. Or if Animal Crossing does matter to you, then you may want to skip straight to getting an X7. Or you could save money, buy the X5, and also just put in your copy of Animal Crossing whenever you want to play it.

• Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers. Finally, the last point, is one that too few will care about, but I believe that more people should show interest in, is developing homebrew for the N64. If you’re not into it, then the X5 may very well be the choice for you. On the other hand, if I can convince you to trying out development for the N64, then you’ll need the Everdrive64 X7.

Final Thoughts:

I think the X5 is the best price with the most functionality for the every day person just wanting to reinvigorate life into their N64. If you’re reading this article, then you’re very likely interested in playing games that you grew up with the modern conveniences that a flash cart would entitle you to.

Purchase Link:

Everdrive64 X5