Well, fellow wistful millennials, it’s been a whopping 30 years since Nintendo unleashed its trident-controlled N64 console to the 3D-craving masses. These aren’t tears streaming down my face, I swear. It’s ocean spray from the jet skis in Wave Race 64.
June 23, 1996 was specifically the machine’s Japanese launch date, though we wouldn’t get the N64 in the States until September 29 of that same year. Europe and Australia had to wait until March 1 of 1997 to experience the codenamed Ultra 64. Which let’s be honest, was the way cooler moniker.
To commemorate the occasion, peripheral maker 8BitDo has announced a pair of Clear Blue accessories: An Ultimate 2 wireless controller and a Retro 87 keyboard. The translucent, water-hued aesthetics obviously call to mind Nintendo’s Ice Blue N64, which was part of the company’s Y2K Funtastic lineup of limited edition systems.
Functionally, the peripherals themselves aren’t anything special. They’re the same Ultimate 2 and Retro 87 devices you might know and love, but with decidedly N64 colorways, right down to some of the buttons. The yellow arrow keys on the keyboard pay homage to the N64’s notorious C buttons, and you’ve got similar nostalgic nods to the classic N64 controller’s red start button, as well as the blue and green A/B buttons.
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While the Retro 87 appears to come with a blue set of 8BitDo’s oversized Dual Super Buttons, a matching number pad is conspicuously missing. A bit disappointing, surely. I do wonder if there will be other Funtastic-esque colorways released in the coming months, or if this is it, because I was always partial to the Fire Orange and Jungle Green bundles.
It’s truly difficult to believe it’s been three decades since I first played Super Mario 64. 1996 was such a groundbreaking year for gaming, and I’m glad Nintendo’s blurry wonder is getting some more translucent love all these years later.
The Clear Blue Ultimate 2 ($59.99) is seemingly shipping now, while the accompanying Retro 87 ($99.99) is slated to start shipping on August 14.