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Another update for your Analogue 3D has arrived in the form of version 1.2.6, and this one's for the cartridge nerds. This time, the patch enhances the FPGA retro console N64 library by letting you change the colors of each cart. That's going to make your on-screen collection look just like your shelf, or you could just make everything pretty in pink.
The specific color options in the Analogue 3D version 1.2.6 patch notes include gray, red, green, blue, yellow, gold, black, purple, and pink. Aside from the latter two girlypop colorways, all of those flavors match official cartridges released by Nintendo, and the cart plastic occasionally represents a more elaborate backstory.
For instance, Turok: Rage Wars was released in the US with a black shell, but that version is cursed with a bug that makes it impossible to 100% complete. Developer Acclaim inevitably set up a replacement process where players could mail in that copy and receive a patched version, but the replacements featured a generic gray shell. That variant is now a sought-after collector's item, so having it properly represented within your Analogue 3D library makes sense.
Not everyone's going to relate to the Turok anecdote, especially if you're in Europe, where Rage Wars was released in bog-standard grey by default. Personally, I'm just hyped that I can set my NTSC Donkey Kong 64 cartridge to its appropriate yellow attire, and you can bet I'll be setting Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards to puffball pink. It'll also be pretty fun setting homebrew and ROM hacks to whatever shade feels right, especially since flash cart files can now show as individual library entries.
These latest library improvements help the 4K N64 feel far slicker than it did back at launch, but I am itching to see bigger promised features arrive on the Analogue 3D. We'll potentially have to wait until version 1.3 for the screenshots function that acts as a photo album, or the "Memories" tab that should serve as a save state hub, but taking baby steps with the FPGA system is a wise move.
Rather than shoving every feature out the door, Analogue has been slowly fine-tuning the 3D post-launch. Alongside the colorful library carts, Version 1.2.6 also addresses SD card stability, improves the progressive output mode for games like Resident Evil 2 by fixing flickering, and polishes the 3DOS with perks like longer scrolling library titles.
That said, bigger features are still popping up on the 4K N64. Last month's Version 1.2.5 added advanced HDR to the Analogue 3D that helps it mimic the brightness of a CRT TV, and previous patches added the invaluable ability to force progressive scan rather than the original, blurrier interlaced visuals. Hopefully, the next update will finally let me take cute snaps in my favorite Nintendo 64 outings, as it feels like the natural next step for 3DOS.
Planning on playing your N64 backlog on the go? Take a peek at the best retro handhelds for emulation portables and more.
