The Nintendo 64DD is the magnetic disk drive add-on for the Nintendo 64, released in Japan only. Its games never boot on their own: the 64DD always needs the host console and, depending on the title, a cartridge inserted alongside the disk.
In Recalbox, your files go in /recalbox/share/roms/64dd. Disks use the .ndd extension, cartridges .n64, .v64 or .z64.
Two cores are available: Libretro ParaLLEl N64 (default) and Libretro Mupen64Plus-Next. The procedure below relies on RetroArch's subsystem mechanism, which only works with Mupen64Plus-Next — so you have to switch cores.
64DD emulation remains experimental and compatibility is low on both cores. Expect games that simply refuse to start.
.ndd disk you want to play in /recalbox/share/roms/64dd.Super Mario 64 (Japan).z64, for instance, which acts as the boot medium.64dd system list, highlight the cartridge and press START.EDIT GAME > RUN WITH and pick LIBRETRO MUPEN64PLUS_NEXT.HOTKEY + B.Back once, then enter Subsystems.Load N64 Disk Drive, then select your .ndd file.Subsystems, choose Load N64 Disk Drive again, and this time select the .z64 cartridge.Subsystems one last time and choose Start N64 Disk Drive.The emulator restarts with both the disk and the cartridge mounted: the game boots.
A few N64 titles received an expansion distributed on a 64DD disk. The best known is F-Zero X, whose Expansion Kit adds tracks and a course editor.
The procedure is exactly the one above, except that the host cartridge is not just any game but the game the expansion extends:
F-Zero X (Japan).z64 and F-Zero X - Expansion Kit (Japan).ndd in /recalbox/share/roms/64dd..ndd first, then the .z64 game.On boot, F-Zero X offers the extra content from the expansion.
📷 Screenshot coming:
64dd-subsystems.png