Although the DS series is pretty much a portable version of the Nintendo 64, one DIY project, the Grape64, creates a portable version of the N64 as it might have looked had one come out in the ’90s.
This cool system comes to us from Zachariah Perry Cruse via Instructables. Here’s a video showing the cool homemade console in action:
Cruse said he chose the “grape” color because it was used for Nintendo’s Game Boy Color and Nintendo 64 systems in the second half of the ’90s. It looks closer to the portable systems that Nintendo’s rival Sega came out with in the same decade, but with a recognizable Nintendo styling. It even uses parts from the original Nintendo 64 controllers.
If you want to actually build one, the detailed instructions are found in the sites linked above. You’ll need a Nintendo 64, which you can no doubt pick up on eBay if you don’t already have one packed away somewhere. You’ll also need 3.8mm and 4.5mm Gamebit screwdrivers to dismantle the system. You can probably cannibalize an LCD screen from a portable DVD player. Of course, you’ll also need the battery. The one Cruse choose lasts about three hours I won’t go into too much detail, but the process does involve disassembling the N64, plugging in various wires and putting it all in the case.
This cool design echoes the work of Ben Heck. We recently covered an Xbox 360 controller with a Hot Pocket holder he did. (Yes, I’m hearing Jim Gaffigan in my head, too!) Another one of Ben Heck’s projects, an Atari 800 laptop, is covered in our list of brilliant ways to reuse your older laptop.
