Should You Buy the Hyperkin HyperConvert Region Free Cartridge Adapter for the Nintendo 64?

In this episode, we unbox and test out the Hyperkin HyperConvert universal cartridge adapter for the Nintendo 64.

Nintendo had some unique approaches to region locking back in the cartridge era, most of which involved a physical difference to the cartridge shell on each region. In the 8-bit era the cartridges were different sizes and had a different number of pins. In the 16-bit era the pins were the same but the cartridge shells were shaped differently. In the 64-bit era, the backs of the cartridges were indexed differently.

For many, the easiest way around this is to cut the tabs out of their N64s. While effective, you're taking a piece of retro history and chopping it up. There are 3D printed cartridge slots that make systems region free, but then you need to open your system to swap out the piece. Hyperkin's HyperConvert is plug and play and promises the ability to play any region have on your system.

The HyperConvert is really simple in it's design. A molded housing that bypasses the region tabs holds a Passthrough board. That's it, it's quite elegant in its simplicity.

One thing I noticed right away was how tightly the adapter held my cartridges. I wouldn't call it a death grip and it's not as right as the Blinking Light Win, but it's snug. And while the pins held the cartridge tight, there was a decent amount of wiggle to the cartridge itself. Finally, I could not remove a game without holding the HyperConvert down or else the entire thing would come out of the system.

Once I had the HyperConvert installed, it was time to play. Now, my primary N64 is region free, so this wasn't a big deal to me, but the HyperConvert just plain works. Mostly. I did discover a few of my games that played on my N64 needed an extra cleaning to work with the HyperConvert. No worries, a quick scrub with 1Up cards is all it took to play my US & Japanese carts.

Why it RoX:
- Plug-N-Play
- Works on US and Japanese Carts
- No tools required
- Allows you to expand your library for less

What could be improved:
- Over-priced for what it does
- Soldering was not terrific on my board
- Tight cartridge fitment
- Carts are not held firmly and wiggle
- Less expensive options are out there

Should you buy one?
At $15, I'd say this is a slam dunk, and even at $20 it's worth considering. At $25, for something you can do yourself for 1/2 the price I think the cost really hurts the potential here. It is truly plug-n-play, which is awesome, but you're being charged a premium price for the sake of convenience. For comparison, their own 60-to-72 pin adapter, which does this same basic thing but for the NES and Famicom games, is available at $12.99 or less, yet this costs twice as much? I'm one who believes something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and I see the price of the HyperConvert being a major hurdle.

Gameplay through the HyperConvert was literally no-different than on my N64 with the Region Free cartridge slot installed, and that was what I was expecting. Audio and video was perfect, I just don't have any PAL N64 games to test to see how they'd work. I was a bit disappointed with the tight grip on the cartridges, as the entire HyperConvert came out of the system when I tried removing a cartridge, something I wasn't thrilled with. Overall, the HyperConvert has potential, and the ease-of-use can't be understated.

#Hyperkin #HyperConvert #Nintendo64 #RegionFree #N64

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