Game news Nintendo 64 video games playable on PC without emulator? This is the incredible work of this enthusiast
It’s a small revolution in the world of retro gaming. After working for a year in total secrecy, this Internet user has developed a way to play Nintendo 64 games natively on PC, without having used an emulator! The result is impressive.
For several decades now, the practice of emulation has been democratized in the world of video games. As a reminder, the principle is to simulate the operation of a console on PC or others in order to be able to play old games. Obviously, over time, the tools have become more and more perfected to offer performance that comes closest to the original experience, without lag, or even going further. But today, the world of emulation has just passed a major milestone.
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A new way to enjoy the N64!
Spotted by the French speedrunner 1TLAU, Wiseguy is an Internet user who has developed software, or rather a method, to recompile Nintendo 64 games so that they run natively on PC. Concretely, this means that there is no need to use an emulator, nor to configure numerous parameters to be able to enjoy a Nintendo 64 game in optimal conditions. So, no obligation to go through decompilation, we do not find the faults of the emulator and we can even go further since games can be played at 120 frames per second!
To explain how this tool works, @dariosamo, a friend of Wiseguy, provided some details on X (formerly Twitter). In the thread, we learn that this N64 Recompiled uses software called RT64 as a renderer because it gives access to many improvements such as effects linked to high resolution, widescreen and an image rate that can go beyond 60 fps. If you want to know more about the issue, a complete video was made on the subject in collaboration with Wiseguy.
An initiative that will displease Nintendo
If we can welcome the initiative which allows you to enjoy Nintendo 64 games in good conditions, not sure that Nintendo will like it. In the past, we remember that the Japanese manufacturer does not really appreciate it when its intellectual properties are used to do something else.. AM2R, Pokémon in Palworld, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX widescreen version on PC… We can no longer count the number of fan initiatives that have been banned by Big N in recent years. And unfortunately, there is reason to fear that the same will be true for N64 Recompiled.
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