New Switch Online N64 Update v2.4.0 Is Live, Doesn’t Do Much

Last Updated on June 25, 2022

Since its release, the Switch Online N64 platform has failed to live up to expectations. Despite a good selection of titles, it has been prone to instabilities of various kinds, from game issues to controllers not responding correctly.

Yesterday, version 2.4.0 of the Nintendo Switch Online N64 emulation firmware was issued, but it appears that aside from adding Pokemon Snap, the update does little else of note.

It certainly doesn’t appear to fix anything. @OatmealDome on Twitter has done a bit of digging and the results are somewhat uninspiring.

[NSO – Nintendo 64]

Version 2.4.0 is out.

– Pokémon Snap added. Since EU has 4 ROMs (one per language), they get 4 boxes on the selection screen.
– The text “The microphone cannot be used when holding the controller this way” was added. (Ported from Famicom NSO app??)

(1/2)

— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) June 24, 2022

And while there has been some interest in what previous update files do, things are going to get tougher from now on. Nintendo has clocked the inquisitive and stopped using comments in their released config files (we all know how that ends…)

– Nintendo is starting to remove the comments from the config files, making it difficult to tell what was changed.
– A CPU hack was added to Star Fox 64.
– A CPU hack was added to Kirby 64.
– The AOT executable and PCB file for F-Zero X and Mario Golf were changed.

(2/2)

— OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) June 24, 2022

Without any definitive patching or notes to that effect, however, it seems as though this latest N64 update is just a handful of hotfixes. A bigger update that fixes the stability issues for the Switch Online N64 environment is surely yet to come.

The question of course, is when? Oh, and if it does ever come before Nintendo releases its Switch successor, with it actually fix the myriad Switch Online N64 issues reported?