Playing 007 Goldeneye on a piano

There are many different controllers released for the Nintendo 64, both official and unofficial. However, this seems to be the most impractical of all: a piano.

Youtuber Jackson Parodi released a video this week where he connects a keyboard to his PC and plays 007 Goldeneye. The setup is pretty simple, rather than connecting a normal controller, you just need to map keys on the keyboard to buttons on the Nintendo 64 controller.

The ‘method’ of completing the level is a bit fast for what is a technical demonstration, almost as if he was trying to do a speedrun and get a record. Though I guess he did get a record considering that this is a new way of playing the game.

The controls look a bit stiff. You have to consider that the keyboard keys are digital and the N64 joystick input is analogue so moving and aiming is going to be a bit choppy.

Overall, it’s a pretty cool idea. The key presses make the viewing experience a bit more immersive, since you can hear the key presses more clearly. It would be pretty cool if other speed runs or let’s plays had button sounds so that you can tell where the most complicated parts are.

Parodi plays some quick themes from the game during the cut scenes, which is a fun little addition if you know how to play the piano well. I can only play it with Synthesia (and even then, poorly) so that will never happen.

It would be great to see how this kind of controller pans out through the rest of 007 Goldeneye or even with other genres of games. I’d love to see how a 1v1 in Smash Bros would sound using these kinds of controls. It would also be a fun challenge to make a famous scene (like fighting Bowser in Super Mario 64) actually sound good with these kinds of controls. The possibilities are endless, really.