Nintro 64
Nintro 64 is a Nintendo 64 homebrew demo released on 01 March 1998 by Split. These guys are some of the most ambitious demo developers out there, having made others such as Summer 64 and another I have yet to write about.
You can download the ROM here on the download page by using the password “Nintrohomebrew”.
Video transcript
Presence of Mind ’98
The demonstration you are about to watch was coded entirely ona V64 backup unit… This has nothing to do with the fact that it’s a pile of shit.
Split!
It’s a-me, Mario!
Nintro 64 00% No HWkit involved*100% Pure Bedroom Job
They made it possible!
Actraiser Breakpoint Fractal Hartec Jovis Kidsdust Lac Locke Nagra NaN Redbox Rene Silo Sispeo Ste Titanik Twinsen ???/CML #N64dev
RPA – Rom Pimps Anonymous
Op:Palpy +Moon Full Cable Modem Speed 11 Gigs N64-PC-PSX
Nintro 64
Brought to you by the Split Team
Code: Lem
Moore code: Gin
CG Design: PatGuest Talents
Music: Don Gato/???
N64 ST Player
LAC/DXT
file_id.diz
ÛßßßÛ ÜÜÜÜ Ü ÜÜÜÜÜ _ ÜÜ ÛÜÜÛ Ü Û Û Û ÜÜ __________________. ³ Û Ü Ü Û Û | ³ Û Ü ³ ³ ßßßßß ³ ³ 1st Place : Nintro64 by SPLiT! ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³.ÄÄ-P-R-E-S-E-N-C-EÄÄ-O-FÄÄ M-I-N-DÄÄ-.³ ( the dextrose demo competition '98 ) `ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ'
pom.nfo
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This demo is great, I love it. It has all the energy and weird creativity that the 90’s were known for, all in a Nintendo 64 ROM. It’s one of those that has a lot of different scenes, so it’s best if we take a look at it bit by bit.
The demo starts with a banner showing that this is a PoM Demo for a few seconds. It then moves on to the rest of the intro which has a working typewriter that punches in the keys. I like this because it’s a really interesting deviation to the classic marquee we’ve seen tima and time again in other demos.
Once the text is finished, a rotary telephone comes in and… It’s Mario!
The music starts and the intro screen pops up, emphasising that it wasn’t made with any devkit.
We’ve then got this character. I don’t know who he is, but he might be a chibi version of someone from a fighting game. More likely he’s an original character.
The text gives shout-outs to members of Dextrose, much like many of these demos do.
Fork Knife Twisted Heart Helix Apple
Then there’s a flying / rotating fork and knife which fly around a bit, contort and bend and finally form a hear. How sweet!
They then twist into a helix shape and the final scene shows the knife cutting an apple in half.
Running Punching
The guy appears again, this time running and punching at the air.
We then get all these strange toast guys flopping around in different positions and from different perspectives, all with a trippy background to confuse you even more. I like it.
The demo then ends with a credits screen, showing the names of everyone who directly contributed to the making of Nintro 64.
Final thoughts on Nintro 64
Team Split has made some of the greatest demos on the platform, and this one is no exception. The models and animations are great, the music / sfx are in sync and it has that bizzarro style that makes it stand out.
There isn’t much accompanying info so there’s not much about the history or context of the ROM other than this Dextrose snippet:
The Winning Demo of Presence of Mind 98 .. featuring a lot of 3D-Effects, Music, Objects
That said, it does deserve the award, it really goes above and beyond what most other demos do.