In an era where console generations are separated by advances in frame rates and rendering, it's hard to overstate how dramatic the leap from the Super Nintendo to the Nintendo 64 was back in 1996.

Now, thanks to the long-awaited analog 3D retro console announced at the beginning of the year and revealed in its entirety today, we will soon have the chance to relive (or experience for the first time) the 64-bit glory days of gaming.

Analog 3D comes from the makers of the hugely successful handheld console Analog Pocket, which allows you to play every Game Boy cartridge ever released in crisp QHD resolution.

Taking the Analog Pocket concept even further, Analog 3D is “100% compatible with every original N64 game ever released. In other words, it is region-free, and there are no PAL or NTSC formats to worry about. So if you don't want to give up your N64 game collection, it's time to blow the dust off your cartridges*.

Described as a “re-creation of the N64,” Analog 3D can upscale NINTENDO64 games to 4K resolution via HDMI.

Also, because it is designed entirely on FPGA (field programmable gate array) integrated circuits, Analogue 3D can natively play N64 cartridges without emulation. As Analogue explains, this means “there are no more incompatibilities found in software emulation, such as input lag, graphics/audio inaccuracies, or timing/frame rate issues.”

Of course, the polygon rendering of the original N64 relied on CRT TV technology for convincing textures and shading. To recreate this feel, Analog 3D offers an “original display mode” that is said to “virtually indistinguishably replicate a CRT display” and outputs only in 4K.

Analog 3D offers four original-style controller ports, Bluetooth LE support for wireless controllers, and dual-band Wi-Fi capability.

Speaking of controllers, Analog has worked with well-known third-party peripheral manufacturer 8BitDo on the new 8BitDo 64 controller. [The 8BitDo 64 controller is modernized in two ways: it offers a Hall effect joystick, which means there is no possibility of the stick drifting, and the controller has two grips instead of three, and the joystick is the official Nintendo Switch It is located on the upper left side of the controller, similar to the Pro Controller.

Priced at $249.99 (roughly £192 / A$374), Analog 3D will be available for pre-order exclusively through the Analog store beginning Monday, October 21 at 8:00 a.m. PDT, with a planned release date of Q1 2025. The console is available in black and white.

Judging by the popularity of analog pocket handheld gaming consoles, which have been difficult to obtain for years after their release, one will need to act quickly if one wants to acquire an analog 3D console.

*Breathing on the cartridge is not recommended. Moisture can corrode the cartridge contact pins.