Modder Makes NES Power Glove Compatible with N64, with Hilarious Results

One of the main reasons behind this project, according to Lambert, was to use the Power Glove with the N64. While the Power Glove gained notoriety due to its marketing campaign and appearance in the 1989 film The Wizard, it was widely regarded as a poorly functioning controller. Lambert acknowledges this, stating, ‘Having never used the Power Glove, I hear it’s actually quite awful to use, so this might be a terrible idea. But it’ll make the thumbnail look better.’

The Power Glove was designed to track finger movements and map them to in-game actions. However, it failed to live up to its potential and gained a reputation for being ‘so bad.’ When Lambert connected the Power Glove to the N64, he encountered numerous difficulties. The controller failed to register upward movements, forcing Lambert to experiment with alternative control schemes. While Mario Kart 64 somewhat worked, other games proved to be a nightmare. The only positive experience was with GoldenEye, where squeezing a finger simulated shooting a gun.

The adapter itself consists of a cut-in-half NES controller extension and a cut-in-half N64 controller extension. An Arduino, an open-source hardware device, is used to translate between the two. This part of the setup works flawlessly, and with a standard NES controller, many games are fully playable. Surprisingly, the D-pad of an NES controller performs better at replicating the functions of an analog stick in games like Super Mario 64 than the Power Glove.

It’s important to note that Lambert’s adapter is a personal project and is not commercially available. However, by closely examining the full video and applying some electrical engineering knowledge, it may be possible to build a similar adapter. Regardless, it’s hard to imagine any controller being worse than the Power Glove.

While the N64 controller itself may have its flaws, it still allows players to enjoy the best N64 games with reliable functionality. So, if you’re feeling nostalgic for the classics, stick to the original controller and avoid the Power Glove at all costs.