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What did the N64 Jump Pack even do?
- Thread starter Alphahawk
- Start date
InsanerBrainer
Member
It gave your N64 the ability to do a double jump.
VeryGooster
Banned
It killed the RAMBUS if you took it out. That was it.
ncsuDuncan
Member
Funny timing, I just bought an N64 off eBay and it didn't come with the jumper pack. The seller said that it was a working system (and didn't mention the absence of the pack) so I'm filing a complaint.
dr3upmushroom
Banned
Does every 64 have one? I guess that means that Nintendo knew from the beginning that they'd be doing the expansion pack?
IIRC Donkey Kong 64 only came with the Expansion Pak because it inexplicably fixed a but that Square couldn't find any other way to deal with. Other than that, all I can remember using it for was Majora's Mask, Perfect Dark, and I think the South Park game used it. Supposedly it did something in Rougue Squadron but I could never tell much of a difference as a kid, I'd be interested to see if I could now.
Overall kind of a pointless and bizarre idea.
It was the basic console ram, and they boosted it with the expansion pack.
It made good games, excellent games.
IIRC Donkey Kong 64 only came with the Expansion Pak because it inexplicably fixed a but that Square couldn't find any other way to deal with. Other than that, all I can remember using it for was Majora's Mask, Perfect Dark, and I think the South Park game used it. Supposedly it did something in Rougue Squadron but I could never tell much of a difference as a kid, I'd be interested to see if I could now.
Overall kind of a pointless and bizarre idea.
What's a Rambus?
BigPickZel
Member
It fractured the user base.
Prior to the Wii, all their first-run systems were designed with ports with the intention of adding future functionality that may or may not have been in development at the time.
Does the console work without the jumper pack inserted?
Also in an unrelated matter: had the controller pak a default save menu? My mother never wanted to buy one, so I had to live without the ability to save in certain -- and with the nagging question mind if the N64 had a default save manager a la PS1 or if the save management was done in game only.
Also in an unrelated matter: had the controller pak a default save menu? My mother never wanted to buy one, so I had to live without the ability to save in certain -- and with the nagging question mind if the N64 had a default save manager a la PS1 or if the save management was done in game only.
It did this:
Inside your controller.
That's the rumble pack. The Jumper pack is this.
The save files saved inside the cardridge. Only some game had to be saved using the Controller pack, mosly for individual character save like Ghosts in Mario Kart or characters in Gauntlet.
The console will not run without any the Jumper or Expansion pack.
Not as much as you might think, most games that needed it, came with it. Like Majora's Mask and Donkey Kong 64. Those helped spread it around.
Xbudz
Member
That's the rumble pack. The Jumper pack is this.
D'oh. Never had N64- my bad.
Yeah that's weird then.
MisterHero
Super Member
You needed the Expansion Pak to use the N64DD, which was planned even while N64 hadn't released.
Fox Mulder
Member
I might have a spare around.
I assume you're talking about the expansion pak. Only three games required it, and DK64 included it in the box at great expense to Rare due to a bug. The rest of the games that supported the expansion pak just added higher resolution textures, increases the framerate, or even allowed 4 player multiplayer.
crankypants
Member
It's probably so kids didn't stuff the empty bay with Cheetoes.
Effigenius
Member
Why? Doesn't it work just fine without it?
Majora's Mask didn't come with one, it came with DK64 only.
Tathanen
Get Inside Her!
wat
It was commonly used for resolution upgrades. Turok 2 was most notable for goin from 320 to 480. 480 N64 games were pretty unheard of.
Both used the expansion pack.
Taco_Human
Member
I remember wanting both DK 64 and Majora Mask. I remember the month the ps2 came out, my older brother had the current issue of Newsweek Magazine and they did an article on Mm. No idea why but it fueled my want.
Ahh thanks for the info. Dont think it helped framerate much. Didnt the game have an optional widescreen mode that allowed the game to run a tad smoother, though not much?
That was the expansion pack, it boosted the ram from 4MB to 8MB. The Jumper pack is pretty much a place holder without much use.
Fox Mulder
Member
people are confusing the jumper pak with the expansion pak. The n64 will not work without the jumper pak unless you replace it with the expansion pak.
That was the expansion pack, it boosted the ram from 4MB to 8MB. The Jumper pack is pretty much a place holder without much use.
Totally news to me. Damn i thought they were both the same.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
At the time of launch you didn't know what it did, but it somehow meant "high tech".
"It's basically a silicon graphics supercomputer, bro."
"It's basically a silicon graphics supercomputer, bro."
Nope. Developers had to program their memory card managers from scratch per-game. So the only way to manage your memory pak was to put in a game that used it.
Terminator Pack sounds way more badass.
If you want more info on the N64 accessories, go check the Wiki, they even have a list of all the games that supported the Expansion pack and what it did.
Only 3 video game required the Expansion pack.
DK64 , Majora Mask and Perfect Dark is only 30% of the whole game without the expansion pack.
out0v0rder
Member
Semantics, it matters. Jumper Pak is not Expansion Pak
Why would you do that?
Member
That is very interesting. I guess it is a common misconception that the Jumper Pak contains memory.
The Jumper Pak is not just a name, it's actually a jumper and pretty much does nothing. It's weird that the system requires something there to work, though.
MisterHero
Super Member
N64DD components
Majora's Mask did not include it.
I remember I rented Perfect Dark... then had to go out and buy a $20-30 expansion pak in order to play the game outside of the tutorial. WTFFFFF
No, but the only use of the Jumper was a place holder to allow the expansion pack to come later in the life span.
8MB of memory would have boosted the console price on release so they did that instead. I'm kinda sad that consoles dont have upgrade ports anymore, and have to rerelease a whole console to change stuff.
Wait, the store didnt rent the expansion pack with Perfect Dark? My store did that.
I swear, the Wii U Gamepad has some unused ports.
So the Jumper Pack was the thing that the Expansion Pack replaced? I always thought the Jumper Pack WAS the ram, but it's not?
edit: oh, okay, so it's true, the Jumper Pak literally bridged some circuitry and did not contain memory.
The Vita actually have a useless port who serve no purpose right now.
Pointless and bizarre? It doubled the system ram. How is that pointless? As for Rogue Squadron, yes, there was a huge difference.
I remember testing it with and without the expansion pack. It was like night and day how much better it looked at the higher resolution.