 The Japanese 64GB Pack | |
| Also known as | NUS-019[1] |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
| Type | Data transfer device |
| Generation | Fifth |
| Released | |
| Introductory price | |
| Media | Game Boy Game Pak |
| Connectivity | Nintendo 64 controller expansion port |
| Dimensions | 78 mm × 93.4 mm × 69 mm (3.07 in × 3.68 in × 2.72 in)[5] |
| Weight | 88 g (0.194 lb)[5] |
TheTransfer Pak[a] is an accessory for theNintendo 64 (N64)controller. It features a cartridge slot compatible withGame Boy orGame Boy Color (GBC) games. When plugged into the controller's expansion port, it allows for the transfer of data between supported N64 and GBC games to access additional content. ThePokémon Stadium games, with which the Transfer Pak was initially bundled for sale, also feature the ability toemulate specific Game BoyPokémon games on the N64.
The Transfer Pak was supported by twenty N64 and64DD games released between 1998 and 2000, only six of which supported it outside of Japan. Several games which initially planned to utilize the accessory were either cancelled or had the functionality removed. A similar accessory for the 64DD, the64 GB Cable,[b] was also never released. As a result, the Transfer Pak is recognized as one of the first examples of connectivity between Nintendo's home consoles and handhelds, but retrospective coverage of the accessory has found it largely unnecessary.
The Transfer Pak was developed byNintendo Research & Development 3, and was first revealed at Nintendo'sSpace World 1997 trade show.[7] It was released in Japan as a pack-in with the gamePocket Monsters Stadium (1998), which required the Transfer Pak for many of its features.[8] In North America and Europe, the Transfer Pak was similarly bundled withPokémon Stadium (1999) for its English-language release in 2000, receiving a standalone release shortly thereafter.[9][10] While the device itself is physically compatible with allGame Boy and GBC Game Paks, N64 games can only connect to games from the same region.[11]
Unlike theSuper Game Boy peripheral, which allowed Game Boy games to be played on theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System, the Transfer Pak's primary use is not to play Game Boy games on the N64.[12] Nintendo andIntelligent Systems developed a separate accessory to serve this function, theWide-Boy64, but it was not released to the public and was instead only available to game developers and members of the gaming press.[13][14] However, thePokémon Stadium games include a built-in Game Boyemulator, allowing users to play compatiblePokémon games on the N64 by inserting them into the Transfer Pak.[15] The emulation software is based on the Super Game Boy, including applying the same borders and color palettes during gameplay.[16]
The 64 GB Cable was a similar but unreleased accessory, designed by Nintendo subsidiaryMarigul Management for use with the N64's64DD peripheral.[17] The cable would have connected from an N64 controller port to a proprietary port built directly into compatible GBC cartridges, to transfer data between the GBC and a 64DD storage disk, and to use the GBC as asub-screen for certain 64DD games.[18] This was demonstrated atSpace World 1999 with the gameDT Bloodmasters, atrading card game directed byMasanobu Endō that was planned to use the 64 GB Cable to exchange cards between the two systems, and allow players to privately view their cards on the GBC screen.[18][19][20] The cable andDT Bloodmasters were ultimately never released due to the 64DD's underperformance, though its GBC counterpart,DT: Lords of Genomes, was released in May 2001.[15][21][22]Derby Stallion 64 (2001) was also intended to support the 64 GB Cable, using the GBC as a second screen to place private bets on horse races, but this feature was removed after the accessory's cancellation.[15][19]
The following is a complete list of all 20 Nintendo 64 and 64DD games that are compatible with the Transfer Pak, along with the corresponding Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Some N64 games' Transfer Pak functions are only available in certain regional releases, due to their GBC companion games not being released in other markets.
| Nintendo 64 game | Game Boy (Color) game | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Choro Q 64 2: Hachamecha Grand Prix Race (1999) | Choro Q Hyper Customable GB (1999) | Each player's maximum speed is increased inHachamecha Grand Prix Race if their controller is connected toHyper Customable GB.[23][24] |
| Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 6 (1999) | Power Pro Kun Pocket (1999) | Baseball players can be transferred from GBC to N64; apassword can also be used in place of the Transfer Pak.[25] |
| Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2000 (2000) | Power Pro Kun Pocket 2 (2000) | Baseball players can be transferred from GBC to N64; a password can also be used in place of the Transfer Pak.[26] |
| Mario Artist: Paint Studio (1999) | Game Boy Camera (1998) | Players can take photographs using the Game Boy Camera and import them for use in the game's creation suite.[27] |
| Mario Artist: Talent Studio (2000) | Game Boy Camera (1998) | Players can take photographs using the Game Boy Camera and import them for use in the game's creation suite.[28][29] |
| Mario Golf (1999) | Mario Golf (1999) | The player characters from the GBC version's story mode can be temporarily transferred to the N64, allowing them to gain experience points through gameplay that will be transferred back to the GBC version.[30] The GBC version also allows players to view their high scores from the N64 game.[31] |
| Mario Tennis (2000) | Mario Tennis (2000) | The player characters from the GBC version's Mario Tour mode can be temporarily transferred to the N64, allowing them to gain experience points through gameplay that will be transferred back to the GBC version.[32] When the two versions are connected,Yoshi,Wario,Waluigi andBowser are unlocked as playable characters in the GBC game, along with their respective minigames.[33] Connecting both versions again after completing these minigames will unlock additional tennis courts in the N64 game.[32][34] |
| Mickey's Speedway USA (2000) | Mickey's Speedway USA (2001) | Connecting the two versions is the only way to unlockHuey as a playable character in the English N64 release.[35] In the Japanese release, Huey is unlocked through normal gameplay.[36] |
| Nushi Tsuri 64 (1998) | Umi no Nushi Tsuri 2 (1998) | Players can transfer data from their in-game notebooks on GBC to N64. Sea fish that are normally only present inUmi no Nushi Tsuri 2 can also be added to the fishing pond inNushi Tsuri 64[37] |
| Nushi Tsuri 64: Shiokaze Ninotte (2000) | Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 4 (1999) | Players can transfer data from their in-game notebooks on GBC to N64.[38] |
| PD Ultraman Battle Collection 64 (1999) | Any | Players will unlock different characters for play based on which Game Boy game is inserted, similar to the use ofCDs inMonster Rancher.[39] |
| Perfect Dark (2000) | Perfect Dark (2000) | Connecting the two games immediately unlocks fourcheats in the English N64 release—Cloaking Device, Hurricane Fists, R-Tracker, and All Guns—which would normally require players to complete several difficult in-game objectives to unlock them.[40] The game also originally featured a mode called "Perfect Head", through which players could transfer photos from the Game Boy Camera to create characters with real-life faces for use in multiplayer matches, but this mode was removed during development, as a result of both technical issues and a wave of anti-violent video game sentiment after theColumbine High School massacre.[41][42] |
| Pocket Monsters Stadium (1998) | Pocket Monsters Red,Green,Blue, andYellow versions (1996–1998) | By connecting to a Game BoyPokémon game, players can view and organize their Pokémon, transfer them from the Game Boy games toStadium for storage and use in battle, or emulate the Game Boy games for play on their television, the speed of which can be doubled or tripled through unlockable settings.[1][9] Players can also teach a transferredPikachu the "Surf" ability inStadium, which can be used to unlock a secret minigame inYellow.[3][43] |
| Pokémon Stadium (1999) | Pokémon Red,Green,Blue, andYellow versions (1996–1998) | In addition to retaining all the Transfer Pak features from the previous game, players can unlock special prize Pokémon to send to the Game Boy game.[43][44][45] |
| Pokémon Stadium 2 (2000) | Pokémon Red,Green,Blue,Yellow,Gold,Silver, andCrystal versions (1996–2000) | In addition to the Pokémon transfer and emulation functions from the previous games,Stadium 2 allows players to transfer items, play as transferred Pokémon in its minigames, view and customize the player character's room fromGold,Silver, andCrystal in 3D, and receive special items inGold,Silver, andCrystal using the "Mystery Gift" option.[46][47][48] The Japanese version could also connect toCrystal to watch prerecorded battles downloaded from the "Mobile System GB" networking service prior to its shutdown in 2002.[49][50] |
| Puyo Puyo~n Party (1999) | Pocket Puyo Puyo Sun (1998) | Players can view a gallery inParty of special illustrations earned inSun, some of which can only be unlocked by connecting the two games.[51][52] |
| Robot Ponkottsu 64: Nanatsu no Umi no Caramel (1999) | Any Robot Ponkottsu Sun,Star, and Moon versions (1998–1999) | Special food items that provide different stat boosts will be generated based on which game is connected.[53] Connecting to one of theRobopon GBC games will also allow players to exchange and battle Robopon characters between GBC and N64.[54] |
| Super B-Daman: Battle Phoenix 64 (1998) | Super B-Daman: Fighting Phoenix (1997) | Items can be transferred fromFighting Phoenix toBattle Phoenix 64.[55] |
| Super Robot Taisen 64 (1999) | Super Robot Taisen: Link Battler (1999) | Players can transfer character experience between games, as well as unlock playable units in each game that are otherwise exclusive to the other.[56][57] Players who link the two games can unlock up to 4 additional units in64, and up to 21 additional units inLink Battler.[58][59] A set of maps featuring the four additional units will also be unlocked in64.[58] |
| Transformers: Beast Wars Metals 64 (1999) | Any Kettō Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Senshi Saikyō Ketteisen (1999) | In the Japanese version, the player's default health and energy capacity can be positively or negatively affected based on the connected game.[60]Kettō Beast Wars grants the greatest possible boost, and unlocks the secret bossMegatron X as a playable character.[60][61] |
Some games were intended to include Transfer Pak features, only to remove them prior to release. During development ofPokémon Snap (1999),Satoru Iwata experimented with transferring photos to theGame Boy Camera so that they could be printed using theGame Boy Printer; however, the development team found the printer's output quality to be insufficient, and the feature was abandoned in favor of printing stickers through specialized stations at specific retailers.[62] The GBC version ofThe World Is Not Enough (2000) was initially reported to feature Transfer Pak connectivity with itsN64 counterpart, allowing players to strengthen their characters in the N64 game's multiplayer mode, but this was dropped before release.[63][64]WWF No Mercy (2000) was meant to use the Transfer Pak to import points earned in its GBC counterpart, to be spent on rewards in the N64 game's "SmackDown Mall".[65] However, this feature was removed following the cancellation of the GBC version.[66]
Other games with planned Transfer Pak support went unreleased in any form. One of these wasCabbage, a 64DDbreeding simulator game, which would have featured the Transfer Pak as a major gameplay component.[67][68] The game was planned to allow players to transfer their pet to the Game Boy and continue to nurture it throughout the day.[19][69] Another unreleased game was64 Wars, a planned N64 entry in Nintendo'sWars series ofstrategy video games. The game would have featured connectivity withGame Boy Wars 2 (1998), allowing players to transfer their in-progress battle and continue playing it on the Game Boy.[70]
Reviews of thePokémon Stadium games praised their use of the Transfer Pak, with some claiming that players who played the games without using it would find their appeal and features severely limited.[46][48][71] Similarly, Peer Schneider ofIGN considered the Transfer Pak functionality inPD Ultraman Battle Collection 64 to be the game's sole redeeming feature.[72] When reviewing theWiiVirtual Console re-releases ofMario Golf andMario Tennis, Lucas M. Thomas ofIGN was disappointed by the removal of their Transfer Pak functionality, lamenting the games' incompleteness due to the inability to unlock their Transfer Pak-exclusive content.[30][32] Some members of the press identified the Transfer Pak as an influence on later examples of connectivity between Nintendo's home consoles and handhelds, most prominently theGameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable.[1][15]
In the years following the N64's discontinuation, the Transfer Pak has been regarded as a largely underutilized and unnecessary add-on. In a retrospective forNintendo Life, Gavin Lane stated that the Transfer Pak, while interesting, never truly reached its full potential.[1] Brett Elston ofGamesRadar+ claimed that many players misinterpreted the Transfer Pak as a device meant to play Game Boy games on the television, leading to disappointment. Elston also described most games' Transfer Pak integration as "an afterthought, with features that were barely worth the hassle of digging it out of the closet."[12]Den of Geek's Daniel Kurland considered the Transfer Pak to be "a frivolity rather than something fundamental", particularly given the meager number of games that supported it.[73] Writing forGamesBeat, André Bardin was also critical of the Transfer Pak's lack of support, particularly outside of Japan.[74] In contrast, David Craddock ofShacknews called the device "ahead of its time", noting the novelty of interconnectivity between game systems when it released.[75]
Some games have retained their Transfer Pak-exclusive content in digital re-releases. The2010 remaster ofPerfect Dark forXbox 360 unlocks the same selection of cheats if the game detects aPerfect Dark Zero (2005) save file.[76] In the 2024Nintendo Classics re-release ofMario Tennis (GBC), the Transfer Pak-exclusive characters and minigames are accessible by default.[33]
Other unofficial examples of Transfer Pak functionality have been developed since the Nintendo 64's discontinuation. In 2019, an independent software developer created aROM hack ofPokémon Stadium 2 that expanded the emulator's compatibility, allowing players to emulate other Game Boy games connected via the Transfer Pak.[1]Hero of Law, a 2025ROM hack ofThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998), also includes custom Transfer Pak support.[77] In December 2023, as part of its update to add N64 support, thePolymega aftermarket console implemented Transfer Pak functionality, allowing players to use the device todump their Game Boy games and save files to the system's memory for play.[78]