Excitebike 64 - High Resolution Mode (Actual N64 Capture)

This is a capture of the optional high resolution mode in Excitebike 64 on the Nintendo 64. This is not an emulator. This footage was captured directly from my Nintendo 64 using an actual Excitebike 64 cartridge.

Here's a look at the high resolution mode from Excitebike 64. This mode has to be enabled in the options menu, and it only activates during actual races. It will not work with the Special Tracks such as the Desert level.

One of the neat things about the Nintendo 64 was that it offered a so-called high resolution of 640x480 for several games. This mode typically required use of the separate Expansion Pak which upgraded the system's RAM to 8mb total. However, one game, World Driver Championship, offered a letterbox high resolution mode without the Expansion Pak.

Excitebike 64's high resolution mode is unusual because it both requires the Expansion Pak and utilizes a letterbox format. Most Nintendo 64 games simply utilized the Expansion Pak for a high resolution mode and then filled the entire screen with the image. However, for some reason Excitebike 64 needed both the extra RAM and a letterbox format to achieve a 480i resolution. Perhaps the game was just too demanding based on the number of objects on screen at once.

The high resolution mode drops the game's frame rate to rather poor levels, but it's still not as bad as Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness. I typically avoid using this mode because the low frame rates make it harder to pull off split-second timing for turns and whatnot.

Recorded with the Hauppauge HD PVR and the official N64 S-video cable. I used a Toshiba model D-R550 DVD Recorder to standardize the N64's native 240p/480i signal so that the Hauppauge could capture the console's audio/video signal.

I'm using a standard Nintendo 64 controller.