Transfer Pak

The Transfer Pak^[a] is an accessory for the Nintendo 64 (N64) controller. It features a cartridge slot compatible with Game Boy or Game Boy Color (GBC) games. When plugged into the controller's expansion port, it allows for the transfer of data between supported N64 and GBC games to access additional content. The Pokémon Stadium games, with which the Transfer Pak was initially bundled for sale, also feature the ability to emulate specific Game Boy Pokémon titles for play on the N64.

Transfer Pak

The Japanese 64GB Pack
Also known as	NUS-019[1]
Manufacturer	Nintendo
Type	Data transfer device
Generation	Fifth
Release date	JP: August 1, 1998[2] NA: March 6, 2000[3] EU: April 7, 2000[4]
Media	Game Boy Game Pak
Connectivity	Nintendo 64 controller expansion port
Dimensions	78 mm × 69 mm × 93.4 mm (3.07 in × 2.72 in × 3.68 in)
Weight	88 g (0.194 lb)

The Transfer Pak was supported by 20 N64 and 64DD games released between 1998 and 2000, only six of which supported it outside of Japan. Several games which initially planned to utilize the accessory were either cancelled or had the functionality removed. A similar accessory for the 64DD, the 64 GB Cable, was also never released. As a result, while recognized as one of the first examples of connectivity between Nintendo's home consoles and handhelds, retrospective coverage of the Transfer Pak has found it largely unnecessary.

History

The Transfer Pak was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 3, and was first revealed at Nintendo's Space World 1997 trade show.^[5] It was released in Japan as a pack-in with the game Pocket Monsters Stadium (1998), which required the Transfer Pak for many of its features.^[6] In North America and Europe, the Transfer Pak was similarly bundled with Pokémon Stadium (1999) for its English-language release in 2000, receiving a standalone release shortly thereafter.^[7][8] While the device itself is physically compatible with all Game Boy and GBC Game Paks, N64 games can only connect to games from the same region.^[9]

Unlike the Super Game Boy peripheral, which allowed Game Boy games to be played on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Transfer Pak's primary use was not to play Game Boy games on the N64.^[10] Nintendo and Intelligent Systems developed a separate accessory to serve this function, the Wide-Boy64, but it was not released to the public and was instead only available to game developers and members of the gaming press.^[11][12] However, the Pokémon Stadium games included a built-in Game Boy emulator, allowing users to play compatible Pokémon games on the N64 by inserting them into the Transfer Pak.^[13]

A similar accessory for the 64DD, the "64 GB Cable",^[14] was designed by Nintendo subsidiary Marigul Management to connect an N64 controller port to compatible GBC games with proprietary ports built directly into their cartridges, and would allow data to be transferred from the GBC to a 64DD storage cartridge, as well as for the GBC to be used as a "sub-screen" for certain 64DD games.^[15] This was demonstrated at Space World 1999 with the game DT Bloodmasters, a trading card game directed by Masanobu Endō that used the 64 GB Cable to exchange cards between the two systems, as well as allow players to privately view their cards on the GBC screen.^[15][16][17] The cable and DT Bloodmasters were ultimately never released, though its GBC counterpart, DT: Lords of Genomes, was released in May 2001.^[18][19] Derby Stallion 64 (2001) was also intended to support the 64 GB Cable, using the GBC as a second screen to place private bets on horse races, but this feature was removed after the accessory's cancellation.^[13][16]

Supported games

The following is a complete list of Nintendo 64 and 64DD games that are compatible with the Transfer Pak, along with the corresponding Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. Some N64 games' Transfer Pak functions are only available in certain regional releases, due to their GBC companion games not releasing in those markets.

Transfer Pak compatible games

Nintendo 64 game	Game Boy (Color) game	Features
Choro Q 64 2: Hachamecha Grand Prix Race (1999)	Choro Q Hyper Customable GB (1999)	Each player's maximum speed is increased in Hachamecha Grand Prix Race if their controller is connected to Hyper Customable GB.[20][21]
Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 6 (1999)	Power Pro Kun Pocket (1999)	Baseball players can be transferred from GBC to N64; a password can also be used in place of the Transfer Pak.[22]
Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 2000 (2000)	Power Pro Kun Pocket 2 (2000)	Baseball players can be transferred from GBC to N64; a password can also be used in place of the Transfer Pak.[23]
Mario Artist: Paint Studio (1999)	Game Boy Camera (1998)	Players can take photographs using the Game Boy Camera and import them for use in the game's creation suite.[24]
Mario Artist: Talent Studio (2000)	Game Boy Camera (1998)	Players can take photographs using the Game Boy Camera and import them for use in the game's creation suite.[25][26]
Mario Golf (1999)	Mario Golf (1999)	The player characters from the GBC version's story mode can be temporarily transferred to the N64, allowing them to gain experience points through gameplay that will be transferred back to the GBC version.[27] The GBC version also allows players to view their high scores from the N64 game.[28]
Mario Tennis (2000)	Mario Tennis (2000)	The player characters from the GBC version's Mario Tour mode can be temporarily transferred to the N64, allowing them to gain experience points through gameplay that will be transferred back to the GBC version.[29] When the two versions are connected, Yoshi, Wario, Waluigi and Bowser are unlocked as playable characters in the GBC game, along with their respective minigames.[30] Connecting both versions again after completing these minigames will unlock additional tennis courts in the N64 game.[29][31]
Mickey's Speedway USA (2000)	Mickey's Speedway USA (2001)	Connecting the two versions is the only way to unlock Huey as a playable character in the English N64 release.[32]
Nushi Tsuri 64 (1998)	Umi no Nushi Tsuri 2 (1998)	Players can transfer data from their in-game notebooks on GBC to N64. Sea fish that are normally only present in Umi no Nushi Tsuri 2 can also be added to the fishing pond in Nushi Tsuri 64[33]
Nushi Tsuri 64: Shiokaze Ninotte (2000)	Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 4 (1999)	Players can transfer data from their in-game notebooks on GBC to N64.[34]
PD Ultraman Battle Collection 64 (1999)	Any	Players will unlock different characters for play based on which Game Boy game is inserted, similar to the use of CDs in Monster Rancher.[35]
Perfect Dark (2000)	Perfect Dark (2000)	Connecting the two games immediately unlocks a selection of cheats in the English N64 release, which would otherwise require players to complete several difficult in-game objectives.[36] The game was also originally intended to support transferring photos from the Game Boy Camera to create characters with real-life faces, but this function was removed during development, as a result of both technical issues and a wave of anti-violent video game sentiment after the Columbine High School massacre.[37]
Pocket Monsters Stadium (1998)	Pocket Monsters Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow versions (1996–1998)	By connecting to a Game Boy Pokémon game, players can view and organize their Pokémon, transfer them from the Game Boy games to Stadium for storage and use in battle, or emulate the Game Boy games for play on their television, the speed of which can be doubled or tripled through unlockable settings.[1][7] Players can also teach a transferred Pikachu the "Surf" ability in Stadium, which can be used to unlock a secret minigame in Yellow.[2][38]
Pokémon Stadium (1999)	Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow versions (1996–1998)	In addition to retaining all the Transfer Pak features from the previous game, players can unlock special prize Pokémon to send to the Game Boy game.[38][39][40]
Pokémon Stadium 2 (2000)	Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal versions (1996–2000)	In addition to the Pokémon transfer and emulation functions from the previous games, Stadium 2 allows players to transfer items, play as transferred Pokémon in its minigames, view and customize the player character's room from Gold, Silver, and Crystal in 3D, and receive special items in Gold, Silver, and Crystal using the "Mystery Gift" option.[41][42][43] The Japanese version could also connect to Crystal to watch or play against prerecorded battle data downloaded from the "Mobile System GB" networking service prior to its shutdown in 2002.[44][45]
Puyo Puyo~n Party (1999)	Pocket Puyo Puyo Sun (1998)	Players can view a gallery in Party of special illustrations earned in Sun, some of which can only be unlocked by connecting the two games.[46][47]
Robot Ponkottsu 64: Nanatsu no Umi no Caramel (1999)	Any Robot Ponkottsu Sun, Star, and Moon versions (1998–1999)	Special food items that provide different stat boosts will be generated based on which game is connected.[48] Connecting to one of the Robopon GBC games will also allow players to exchange and battle Robopon characters between GBC and N64.[49]
Super B-Daman: Battle Phoenix 64 (1998)	Super B-Daman: Fighting Phoenix (1997)	Items can be transferred from Fighting Phoenix to Battle Phoenix 64.[50]
Super Robot Taisen 64 (1999)	Super Robot Taisen: Link Battler (1999)	Players can transfer character experience between games, as well as unlock playable units in each game that are otherwise exclusive to the other.[51][52]
Transformers: Beast Wars Metals 64 (1999)	Any Kettō Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Senshi Saikyō Ketteisen (1999)	In the Japanese version, the player's default health and rate of energy depletion can be positively or negatively affected based on the connected game.[53] Kettō Beast Wars grants the greatest possible boost, and unlocks the secret boss Megatron X as a playable character.[53][54]

Cancelled support

Some games were intended to include Transfer Pak features, only to remove them prior to release. During development of Pokémon Snap (1999), Satoru Iwata experimented with transferring photos to the Game Boy Camera so that they could be printed using the Game Boy Printer; however, the development team found the printer's output quality to be insufficient, and the feature was abandoned in favor of printing stickers through specialized stations at specific retailers.^[55] The GBC version of The World Is Not Enough (2000) was initially reported to feature Transfer Pak connectivity with its N64 counterpart, allowing players to strengthen their characters in the N64 game's multiplayer mode, but this was dropped before release.^[56][57] WWF No Mercy (2000) was meant to use the Transfer Pak to import points earned in its GBC counterpart, which could be spent on rewards in the N64 game's "SmackDown Mall".^[58] However, this feature was removed following the cancellation of the GBC version.^[59]

Other games with planned Transfer Pak support went unreleased in any form. One of these was Cabbage, a 64DD breeding simulator game, which would have featured the Transfer Pak as a major gameplay component.^[60][61] The game was planned to allow players to transfer their pet to the Game Boy and continue to nurture it throughout the day.^[16][62]

Reception

Reviews of the Pokémon Stadium games praised their use of the Transfer Pak, with some claiming that players who played the games without using it would find their appeal and features severely limited.^[41][43][63] Similarly, Peer Schneider of IGN considered the Transfer Pak functionality in PD Ultraman Battle Collection 64 to be the game's sole redeeming feature.^[64] When reviewing the Wii Virtual Console re-releases of Mario Golf and Mario Tennis, Lucas M. Thomas of IGN was disappointed by the removal of their Transfer Pak functionality, lamenting the games' incompleteness due to the inability to unlock their Transfer Pak-exclusive content.^[27][29] Some members of the press identified the Transfer Pak as an influence on later examples of connectivity between Nintendo's home consoles and handhelds, most prominently the GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable.^[1][13]

In the years following the N64's discontinuation, the Transfer Pak has been regarded as a largely underutilized and unnecessary add-on. In a retrospective for Nintendo Life, Gavin Lane stated that the Transfer Pak, while interesting, never truly reached its full potential.^[1] Brett Elston of GamesRadar+ claimed that many players misinterpreted the Transfer Pak as a device meant to play Game Boy games on the television, leading to disappointment. Elston also described most games' Transfer Pak integration as "an afterthought, with features that were barely worth the hassle of digging it out of the closet."^[10] Den of Geek's Daniel Kurland considered the Transfer Pak to be "a frivolity rather than something fundamental", particularly given the meager number of games that supported it.^[65] Writing for GamesBeat, André Bardin was also critical of the Transfer Pak's lack of support, particularly outside of Japan.^[66]

Legacy

Some games have retained their Transfer Pak-exclusive content in digital re-releases. The 2010 remaster of Perfect Dark for Xbox 360 unlocks the same selection of cheats if the game detects a Perfect Dark Zero (2005) save file.^[67] In the 2024 Nintendo Classics re-release of Mario Tennis (GBC), the Transfer Pak-exclusive characters and minigames are accessible by default.^[30]

In 2019, an independent software developer created a ROM hack of Pokémon Stadium 2 that expanded the emulator's compatibility, allowing players to emulate other Game Boy games connected via the Transfer Pak.^[1] In December 2023, as part of its update to add N64 support, the Polymega aftermarket console implemented Transfer Pak functionality, allowing players to use the device to dump their Game Boy games and save files to the system's memory for play.^[68]

See also

• Nintendo 64 accessories
• GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable

Notes

1. Known in Japan as the 64 GB Pack (Japanese: 64GBパック, Hepburn: Rokujūyon Jī Bī Pakku)