Nintendo 64 Rumble Pack - N64

Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak

The Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak makes an original Nintendo 64 controller vibrate during events in supported games. Insert the grey accessory into the expansion slot on the controller's back. A small motor provides feedback for events such as collisions or attacks. Software determines when and how this happens. Connecting it gives no rumble feature to an unsupported game. Check the accessory information for the original Nintendo 64 release.

This original model uses two AAA batteries. Insert them in the indicated direction and remove them for long-term storage. Follow the original manual when inserting or removing the Pak. The single expansion slot cannot hold both this Rumble Pak and a separate Controller Pak at once. Switch for saving only as instructed by the game; do not simply disconnect accessories during a save operation.

The Rumble Pak stores no progress and does not expand console memory. It is therefore neither a Controller Pak nor an Expansion Pak. You also need the console, a compatible controller and a supporting game. Batteries and other parts are included only when explicitly listed. The modern wireless Nintendo 64 model for Switch is a different controller; this plug-in accessory is described for the original hardware.

History

Nintendo introduced the Rumble Pak in 1997. It linked on-screen events to a physical response in the hands alongside picture and sound. Star Fox 64, known in Europe as Lylat Wars, became closely associated with its introduction. A flight through a dangerous area could thus also be felt through the controller. Rumble was not yet built into the standard controller but provided by a separate accessory.

The expansion slot let the Nintendo 64 controller accept different accessories. A Controller Pak stored data, a Transfer Pak linked certain Game Boy games, and the Rumble Pak supplied vibration. These functions were not interchangeable. The distinction remained important as more games supported extra hardware. Players needed to choose not only the cartridge but also the accessory behind a stated feature. Similar names or cases did not mean identical functions.

Later Nintendo 64 games used the accessory beyond space combat. In Ocarina of Time, for example, the Stone of Agony could provide a physical signal near hidden features. Adventures and action games each defined their own use. In subsequent console generations, vibration increasingly became part of the controller, without making the old Pak universally compatible. It remains part of the original Nintendo 64 setup with its own batteries, connector and software-dependent support.

Five Nintendo 64 Games

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64 is an action adventure in which Link leaves Kokiri Forest on a journey to protect Hyrule from Ganondorf. You explore villages, plains and dungeons, talk to their inhabitants and work out which item opens a blocked route. The Z Button focuses Link's attention on an enemy. You can then move around that opponent, use your shield and wait for an opening. The fairy Navi points out important places and provides information about enemies.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for Nintendo 64 takes Link to Termina, where the moon will crash down in three days. From Clock Town, you travel to swamps, snowy mountains, the coast and abandoned ruins. You fight with your sword, target with the Z Button and solve dungeon puzzles using items you find. Meanwhile, the clock keeps running. Residents follow their own daily routines, so missing an appointment sometimes means returning in another cycle. This game also requires an Expansion Pak; the Rumble Pak does not replace that memory expansion.

Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64 is a three-dimensional platform adventure in which you stop King K. Rool and recover the stolen Golden Bananas. From Kong Isle, you unlock areas containing jungles, temples, a factory and underwater passages. You run, jump, swim and climb, but a conspicuous door or switch does not always respond to the Kong you currently control. As you rescue Donkey Kong's friends, you gain more ways to investigate such places. This game also requires an Expansion Pak; the Rumble Pak does not replace that memory expansion.

In Banjo-Kazooie for Nintendo 64, you travel with Banjo the bear and Kazooie the bird through the home of the witch Gruntilda. She has kidnapped Banjo's sister Tooty. The passages in her lair lead to nine worlds, from a sunny beach to a rusty cargo ship. You search for jigsaw pieces to open new worlds and musical notes to progress through the lair. Along the way, you help inhabitants, rescue Jinjos and investigate places that seem unreachable from the ground.

Perfect Dark for Nintendo 64 is a first-person shooter in which Joanna Dark investigates a conspiracy surrounding dataDyne for the Carrington Institute. Her first assignment begins in a heavily guarded corporate building, but the case grows into a conflict involving extraterrestrials. You find contacts, use equipment and complete the objectives associated with your chosen difficulty. Simply clearing a room of enemies is therefore not always enough: sometimes you must protect someone, gather information or operate a device before proceeding. The campaign also requires an Expansion Pak; the Rumble Pak does not replace that memory expansion.