My N64 is dead :'(

[Sacred Jellybean]

The little bastard was just working last night. I had an impulse to play an N64 game. You ever get that vibe like old 64 games are like fever dreams? There's a kind of beauty in their imperfection, in the same way that certain weirdos like listening to record players or cassette tapes. I think that's part of the reason the first Silent Hill is the favorite (I know, PS1, but you get the point). The primitive graphics and gravelly sound all lend themselves to a nightmare world.

I rummaged through a bunch and settled on Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Nothing was amiss. I thought I might try to see the game through, as I've never been able to in the past, for one reason or another. Damn it, the game is actually pretty good, albiet the controls and camera are meh. But I like the overall aesthetic it has going for it.

So anyway, every time I turn on the system, it just flashes a black screen. The power is on, but there's no audio or video. It's something that's pretty typical, honestly, but it usually works after a few tries of removing/reinserting the cartridge. I've tried several games, and games that recently worked, but this is the first time that I can't start any of them up. I even tried swapping rubbing alcohol on the cartridge and in the system itself.

Y'all are smart. Any idea what the issue could be?