It seems like every time I'm in a open environment it jerks around and stutters like crazy. I've never played the original N64 game, was it like this? Or is this an emulation issue?

I noticed a little bit of stutter when I first launched the game with Conker at the tavern. Haven't noticed any big stutters since then. Sometimes it would slow down though. Not sure if it's an emulation thing or not. My memories of what N64 games played like and what they really played like are two different things.

This was definitely not how it played on N64. It was really one of the showcase games on that console, and having played it all the way through, I only remember it having framerate issues during heavy action scenes. Those were pretty typical of the console, though.