A Kickstarter for a "modern take" on the classic Nintendo 64 controller named the Retro Fighters N64 Controller is already extremely successful less than a week into its campaign. With 25 days of crowdfunding left, the N64 controller has garnered almost $100,000, substantially beating its original $13,000 goal. With a starting buy-in price of just $20 the Retro Fighters N64 is quite the deal. Especially considering standard controllers are becoming more difficult to find. Expect deliveries to tentatively go out in November later this year.

The Retro Fighters N64 Controller is described as a "functional" and "modern" take on the official Nintendo 64's 3-pronged controller of 1996. Its key appeal is offering a modern controller made to work on a classic console, but the controller is less of a faithful recreation of the original controller so much as a replacement. The new controller mimics certain aspects of the classic Nintendo 64's button layout, along with its coloring. But in terms of shape, comfort, button-feel, and more, there's little held over.

Since being a faithful recreation is not the Retro Fighters N64 Controller's priority, improvements and extra features have been added to make the controller exceptional. The "C" buttons have been made larger, two "Z" buttons have been added as triggers below the shoulder buttons, the joystick is a modern analog substitute, the D-pad has been upgraded, and then a turbo button was added.

The Retro Fighters N64 Controller Kickstarter did have a couple stretch goals, though they've both been passed very quickly. The $20,000 and $30,000 Kickstarter stretch goals had to do with additional color options for the controller, with the upper goal being for "Limited Edition" color options. The Retro Fighters team is currently evaluating what colors they can do without additional costs. They did tease that a translucent option was one of the most popular. Additional stretch goals are unlikely, given the very low price of the controller already.

It must be reiterated that the Retro Fighters N64 Controller is for the Nintendo 64. It plugs into the N64 controller slot and nothing else. There is no USB version of the controller, though there are N64 to USB dongles available online already. Unlike other third-party controllers trying to capitalize on nostalgia, the Retro Fighters N64 Controller is purely intended to be a great alternative for excited gamers who are still playing their Nintendo 64s. It's even compatible with Memory Cards and the Rumble Pak.

Check out the Retro Fighter N64 Kickstarter for more information. The campaign closes in 25 days, with deliveries planned to go out in November later this year.

Source: Kickstarter