It looks like a Zelda 64 PC port is in the midst, as fans of the Nintendo 64 title are almost done with decompiling the entire game.
A fan decompilation project is on its way for Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time right now. According to their latest update, the game is at 80% decompilation. This work points out to a potential Zelda 64 PC port in the near future.
Zelda 64 team recreated game from scratch
The Zelda 64 is one of the most beloved titles of all time. Many players grew up playing this fantastic title and it solidified the franchise in 3D. Fans are looking to not only revive the game but also mod it for the sake of hacks and historical preservation.
For more than a year now, the Zelda Reverse Engineering Team (ZRET) endeavored to reverse engineer the game. Their goal is to create a parsable C code version, not dissimilar to the Mario 64 PC port.
Some may question the legality of the work they do, but the magic is in the details. In many cases, Nintendo can immediately stamp down such projects, calling them illegally sourced codes and ROMs. The entire process for reverse engineering is different.
ZRET team won’t do PC port
The Zelda 64 PC port has a good chance of seeing light of day because of a few crucial details. For starters, the game undergoes recreation by using coding languages. Their work is also not taking advantage of Nintendo’s copyrighted assets.
With that said, Zelda 64 will reap a lot of the benefits that came to Mario 64 for the PC. These include enhancement mods, full scalability, and even new graphics. Some have even added ray tracing to the game to create an entirely new experience.
ZRET itself notes that they are using the Master Quest version of the game for the GameCube. This version allows them full freedom, including a way to debug the game.
The team itself won’t handle the porting, however, as their focus is entirely on the decompilation. Another external team will likely handle porting and would take somewhere between three to four months to complete it.
“There is a lot of code that deals with talking to N64 hardware. The N64 render pipeline is very different than modern OpenGL, for example,” said Rozlette, one of the members of ZRET interviewed by Ars Tecnica.
Much like any fanbase, fans of Zelda are looking forward to the Zelda 64 PC port. Once decompression completes, it’s only a matter of time before fans get their hands on it.
Featured image courtesy of ElAnalistaDeBits/Youtube Screenshot