Consoles and Emulators

The DK64 Randomizer is able to be played on many different consoles and emulators. We will list more emulators in here as we test them; both ones that are recommended and ones to avoid.

Supported

N64

Everdrive

The DK64 Randomizer is confirmed to work with any Everdrive version 2.5 and above. This includes 2.5, 3, X5 and X7. Just simply drop the ROM into its SD card and load it as normal. We recommend that any players looking to play on N64 purchase one of these (note that only the X5 and X7 are currently sold as new).

Everdrive versions lower than 2.49 (including the Everdrive plus spinoff) does work, but may have saving issues.

For Everdrive 2.5 and 3.0 users, do NOT use the version 3 OS! The current recommended OS are as follows:

Everdrive	OS to Use
2.5, 3.0	2.13
X5, X7	3.06

Simply format your SD card then extract the contents of the downloaded folder to your SD card to install the OS.

64drive

The 64drive has not been tested, but likely works.

Wii U VC

The DK64 randomizer works via inject on Wii U VC. To do so, follow these instructions:

• Set up Aroma by following this guide
• Once Aroma is set up, use the homebrew app installer to install NUSspli Lite
• Go find the sigpatches module and add it to Aroma
• Follow steps 2-8 here: Link
• Put the SD card in the Wii U and install the randomizer rom via NUSspli Lite

Please ensure your Wii U is up to date with it's OS. OS Versions which are too old can cause issues with DK64 Hack emulation. See the below table:

Wii U Region	OS Version
US	5.5.6
Europe & Japan	5.5.5

Project 64 3.0

Project 64 3.0 introduced several changes that fixed several problems with DK64 emulation that older versions had. By default, Project 64 should detect that Donkey Kong 64 is the game being played when a DK64 Randomizer ROM is loaded. However, there are still adjustments that need to be made to make it fully playable with DK64 Randomizer.

Walkthrough Video

1. Go to Options -> Configurations to access the settings menu.
2. Uncheck "Pause emulation when window is not active" and uncheck "Hide advanced settings."
3. Click "Plugins." Ensure "GLideN64" is the selected video plugin.
4. Close Project64.
5. Navigate to the Project64 3.0 directory on your computer (usually in the C drive in the Program Files x86 folder). Go to the Config directory and open Project64.rdb in the RDB Editor Webpage. Save the output file as Project64.rdb. Once you downloaded the new version of the file, delete the old one in the PJ64 directory before placing the downloaded file here.

For transparency purposes, the editor adds the following text to the bottom of the file and saves it to the right format:

[DONKEY KONG 64-C:45]
Alt Identifier=69696969-69696969-C:45
RDRAM Size=8

[69696969-69696969-C:45]
Internal Name=DONKEY KONG 64
Status=Compatible
Counter Factor=1
Culling=1
Emulate Clear=1
Primary Frame Buffer=1
Save Type=16kbit Eeprom
Linking=Off

Bizhawk DK64 Edition

NOTE: BizHawk tries to emulate the lag of the N64 and is more PC intensive. If this doesn't sound like something you'd be happy with using, use a different platform.

Bizhawk (DK64 Edition) is a special build of Bizhawk specifically for DK64 randomizer. The game otherwise doesn't save on normal Bizhawk builds.

In order to run BizHawk, you may need to install the pre-requisites.

Rosalie's Mupen GUI

Rosalie's Mupen GUI, often abbreviated to RMG, is a Mupen-based emulator which allows you to play DK64 Randomizer after a few adjustments have been applied.

Getting the Game to Save

You have two options with getting DK64R to save:

1. Utilize the Advanced ROM Header on the DK64R website. This has to be done for every seed you play.
2. Change the settings of RMG to expect 16KB EEPROM.

If you decide to change the settings, perform the following steps for every seed you play:

1. After opening your ROM, click Settings to open the settings menu
2. Click Game and ensure you're on the Game sub-tab
3. Set the save type to 16KB EEPROM. Then click Ok to close the settings menu
4. Click Shutdown on the emulator, then reload your ROM

We would recommend using the Advanced ROM Header over changing the settings.

Reduce game lag

Without changing any settings, the in-game lag you will experience will be closer to how it would play on N64. If you would like to change this so that it lags less, perform the following steps:

1. Once you have loaded up your DK64R ROM, click Settings to open up the settings menu
2. Click Core in the settings menu, then ensure Override Game Specific Settings is checked.
3. Set the counter factor to 1. This will bring the experienced lag to be in line with PJ64.

If you are running this via Steamdeck, this setting will be located under the Quick menu option:

Do not use

Project 64 versions 0, 1 or 2

Old versions of PJ64 have game breaking bugs such as random void outs and warping across the map. Please use 3.0 or above.

Retroarch

Retroarch cannot save DK64 save files and therefore is not recommended for use with DK64 randomizer. In addition, the cores have various issues with the way the game is rendered:

• The Mupen core has the usual ugly graphical spiking bugs that exist in basically every other Mupen-based emulator.
• The ParaLLEI core does not have the graphical spiking bugs, but instead has various graphics that don't properly load when you are far away (objects are just black shapes) or simply dont load at all.

Vanilla BizHawk

Use the specific DK64 build of Bizhawk instead; you will not be able to save the game otherwise and will likely experience game-affecting graphical glitches.

Simple64

This emulator used to be supported, but is no longer supported as of DEC-01-2024 due to issues with the most recent stable build of the emulator with DK64 Randomizer that have not present in prior versions. We will revisit the revoking of support once the issues are resolved with their emulator.

Anything Else Not Listed

Anything listed under Do Not Use or anything else that isn't listed on this page will not be officially supported by DK64 Randomizer.

Mac Emulators

We do not currently support any emulators for MacOS. However, we recognize that there are some users who are only able to play on Mac. As such, we would recommend Ares Emulator for DK64 Randomizer gameplay.

Troubleshooting

BizHawk (DK64 Edition)

The game is too laggy

BizHawk tries to emulate the lag of the Nintendo 64 due to being primarily intended as an emulator to make Tool Assisted Speedruns. As such, in-game lag is expected. Additionally, for similar reasons, the emulator is more intensive on your computer than other emulators which don't strive for similar goals. If this is something you do not want, use another platform instead (except N64)

I'm getting an expansion pak message on boot/emulator setup message on the main menu

You've almost certainly downloaded regular BizHawk. Please download the DK64 Edition instead

I'm getting errors regarding Microsoft C++ Redistributable 2015 before even getting to the emulator

You've most likely not fully installed the pre-requisites for BizHawk. Please run the pre-requisites program. If you are still getting the error, Microsoft should have a download somewhere. Google is your friend.

Project64 3.0

Jittery Camera

Make sure Emulate frame buffer is on in Options > Graphics Settings > Frame buffer

Getting a fatal error or some form of other error upon booting ROM

This is most likely a symptom of Project64.rdb being incorrectly set up. I would advise re-performing those steps, ensuring that you are overwriting the existing Project64.rdb file located in the config folder, and that your file is named EXACTLY Project64.rdb

I'm getting an emulator setup error on the main menu

This is a symptom of an incorrectly set up emulator, generally Project64.rdb not being created correctly. See "Getting a fatal error or some form of other error upon booting ROM" above.

My kong's eyes are gone

Visit Options > Graphics Settings > Emulation, and then uncheck Enable N64-style mip-mapping

Rosalie's Mupen GUI

My kong's eyes are gone

Go to Settings > Graphics > Emulation, then uncheck Enable N64-style mip-mapping