The big picture: The Nintendo 64 is a classic at this point, but that doesn’t mean fans have forgotten about the console. It has been nearly 28 years since Nintendo launched the 3D-enabled gaming machine. Despite being formally discontinued in the early 2000s, the Nintendo 64 remains relevant to this day thanks to unwavering support from the retro gaming community.
Case in point is a new static recompilation tool that can quickly and easily recompile Nintendo 64 games into native executables, opening the door to all sorts of modern enhancements like higher frame rates as well as support for 4K resolutions, widescreen displays, and ray tracing.
The recompiler, from Mr-Wiseguy, is available now over on GitHub. While not as versatile as a full manual decompilation, the new tool takes just seconds compared to years of time-consuming labor. Notably, you will need to supply your own ROM files.
YouTuber Nerrel put the tool to the test. Aside from a couple of bugs that have already been fixed or that are related to specific games (meaning they also exist on the original cartridge versions), it has been mostly smooth sailing with no crashes or stability issues.
As Nerrel notes, the tool does not render traditional decompilation obsolete as having reverse engineered source code is still ideal. Indeed, for popular games like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, full-scale rebuilds are no doubt the way to go. Where the recompilation tool could thrive is with more obscure games that otherwise wouldn’t get attention from modders. Think of it as a tool that is streamlined for simplicity, designed to get you playing right away rather than focusing more on tinkering.
According to Nerrel, testing has been limited to just a handful of games so far. The tool’s creator believes it should work for most games in the N64 library, although those with custom microcodes that are not fully understood might experience some limitations.
For preservationists, this is yet another way to make the N64 platform accessible to even more gamers.
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