While the Nintendo 64 is now 28 years old, emulating the platform is notoriously challenging, and that's no less true for Nintendo itself. The most recent evidence comes from the new Switch version of the N64 classic Banjo-Tooie, which features an inconsequential but virtually unmissable glitch right on the title screen thanks to the game's improved frame rate.
Banjo-Tooie was a visual standout when it arrived on the N64 in 2000, but its giant levels and detailed environments came at the cost of poor, sometimes even abysmal, frame rates. N64 games regularly ran at a 20 FPS target that would be unthinkable today, and on the original platform, Banjo-Tooie sometimes struggles to even reach that low bar.
The version of Banjo-Tooie that's now available as part of the N64 library on the more expensive tier of Nintendo Switch Online runs at a much better frame rate, but as Alex Olney points out at Bluesky, that caused gameplay demos that run on title screen to move shape too fast.
Interestingly, the Xbox Live Arcade version of Banjo-Tooie released in 2009 also runs the demo sequences too quickly, although not to the level of this Switch version. In fact, the XBLA version runs all of the game's cutscenes too quickly, but outside of the initial demos, the Switch version completely fixes that problem. You can watch the video above to see a direct comparison between the three editions.
By all indications, the XBLA edition of Banjo-Tooie is still the definitive version, but despite the bug on the title screen, the Switch version also looks like a totally good way to play. Nintendo's official N64 emulation efforts on the Switch have been spotty, but they've improved over the years, and Banjo-Tooie seems to be taking full advantage of those improvements. You know, if you ignore the obvious reminder of the challenges of N64 emulation that pops up every time you sit at the title screen for too long.
He best N64 games They deserve the best way to play them.