I usually use an Everdrive for convenience, and I didn't see anything in the rules for DK64 that explicitly bans it (unlike some other N64 games).

In the event they are allowed, are the de-blur gameshark codes or de-blur ROM patches allowed? Currently waiting on that N64 Digital restock and want to know if I can improve the video quality without disqualifying myself.

If I recall correctly, using an ED64 for DK64 is disallowed and only the official VC release or original cartridges are allowed, and I'm pretty sure any GS code that removes AA (or deblurs) is definitely banned, as this most likely affects performance in the game. IIRC, some games with AA disabled has less lag, which gives a clear advantage, especially in a speedrunning environnment.

I'd wait for an official answer from mods for confirmation of this, naturally, but one thing is sure; Forget GS codes.

That makes sense to me, I'm glad I asked instead of assuming.

official answer from mods Yes, everdrive is banned.

Fantastic, thanks for the confirmation! Little sad about it, but ehh, it's not like DK64 carts are expensive or anything.

Clueless ruling. Playing a verified good ROM dump from an EverDrive is exactly the same as an original cartridge.

@the_kovic This ruling was reversed by community vote as of 3/6/2022. Everdrive and Wii U VC inject are currently allowed as long as it's done using an officially released rom.

EDIT: Oops, the decision wasn't done via community vote, rather mutual agreeance via discussion amongst runners with no dissention.