Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Other Nintendo 64 Games Get Native PC Ports Through Unofficial Modding Tool
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask now has a native PC version thanks to a modding tool which allows Nintendo 64 games to be ported with ease, albeit unofficially.
As reported by DSOGaming, Mr-Wiseguy on developer platform Github has uploaded a new tool called N64Recomp, which allows N64 games to be statically recompiled into native executables, meaning they can then be converted into whatever form users require, which in most cases will mean games.
While users who download the tool will therefore be able to port any game, Mr-Wiseguy has released their first port in Majora’s Mask, available separately in a launcher called Zelda64Recomp. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be added to the same launcher “soon.”
Being a native PC port, Majora’s Mask is available with some extra features too. Mr-Wiseguy has added higher framerate functionality, which doesn’t break the game as an emulator would, widescreen and ultrawide options, and DualShock 4, DualSense, and Switch Pro Controller support, complete with gyro functionality if players wish.
Wiseguy has created a tool to make PC ports of N64 games without full decompilations, which means we should see many more PC ports. The first of these is Zelda Majora’s Mask and uses @dariosamo RT64 renderer for widescreen and high framerate support and plays beautifully pic.twitter.com/SVWqJ3o1Hs
— Carl (@AVGN82) May 11, 2024
Building upon features already in the original, the port also improves some graphics by using framebuffer effects, has improved shadows, and has autosave functionality too. Ray tracing support will be added at a later date. All of these features, as well as a comparison between the game running traditionally and running through the native port, can be seen in a trailer released by Mr-Wiseguy.
My friend Wiseguy’s been working in secret for a year on a tool to make PC ports of N64 games without complete decompilations. The result doesn’t include assets and only requires a ROM to play.
He’s managed to run games like Banjo-Kazooie, Rocket Robot and even Superman 64. pic.twitter.com/sKGuViEsJZ
— Darío (@dariosamo) May 10, 2024
Creating unofficial ports of Nintendo games comes with certain risks, of course, including legal action from the gaming giant. Nintendo issued a takedown request to Github for more than 8,500 copies of code of Switch emulator Yuzu earlier in May 2024, for example.
This came after Nintendo sued the creator of Yuzu, who had to pay $2.4 million in damages, and follows a string of similar cases.
Game file sharing website RomUniverse was ordered to pay $2.1 million in damages to Nintendo in 2021, while another instance in 2018 saw it receive more than $12 million in damages. It also blocked GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin from releasing on PC game platform Steam.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
