Recompilation: An Incredible New Way to Keep N64 Games Alive

Introducing "static recompilation," a process that turns a ROM into a native port before you can say "Kooloo Limpah"
The MM Recomp: github.com/Mr-Wiseguy/Zelda64...
Wiseguy's official trailer: • Zelda 64: Recompiled f...
Dario's social feed: / dariosamo
Many thanks to Wiseguy and Dario for providing extensive tech explanations and footage
Support this channel on Patreon: / nerrel
Nerrel Discord: / discord

[@MorbidlyObeseChihuahua]

I love that N64 emulation has been so bad for so long that now were just skipping straight to making native ports of every N64 game instead. Amazing stuff.

[@bt3743]

Has it been bad? I mean outside of a few games having issues like factor 5's stuff, i dont think theres much of a problem with the old emulation methods if you just wanna play the games

[@carvman217]

@@feartheoldbloodit’s not emulation if it’s on the actual hardware…

[@DrCaesarMD]

​@@bt3743 It generally works if "functions well enough to play" is your bar, which for many people it is, but n64 emulation is kinda notorious for just being less robust and polished than other systems emulations. Tinkering and customizing it is much more laborious and fraught with problems, The emulation is not the most accurate in the world, and it tends to struggle to run properly more than most other emulators. it usually functions fine, but if one has anything more than a fairly casual interest in game emulation, n64 emulation is definitely in the worst state among major system emulators from before the xbox360 era.

[@DarkBowser64]

With simple64 you do tend to just get "it just works"-type results because it isn't plugin-based, and you can still raise the native rendering resolution. Since it's using Parallel graphics all graphical effects work as they would on N64. That said it's been bad for so long because of the HLE and plugin-based approach causing the actual cores of the emulators to be lacking because they'd just say it's a fault of the plugin instead. We've only recently really started making strides in proper accuracy and methods to make EVERYTHING work and not just specific popular games with hacky fixes to address specific problems instead of addressing the underlying issue directly.

[@lpfan4491]

@@DarkBowser64 Simple64 is genuinely the hero we needed because the plugin system sux. Like, it sucks so much that Dolphin abandoned it after the early stages, it is insane that the earlier N64 emus are still using them in 2024.

[@Bzehburger]

I can't help but notice how some ray traced upscaled N64 games manage to perfectly recreate the aesthetic of their official renders and concept art. It's amazing.

[@tentaculartaku4827]

Some of the ray traced shots look like they also have a texture pack to be fair

[@zoscarrhoads7741]

I've always looked for a visually improved experience with these titles, the texture packs looked a lot different from the original concept. This is what I was looking for.

[@jadeaaron2003]

I know right? It's sooooo cool

[@WasatchWind]

I can't wait to see if projects like render 98 pan out, I'd love to see those renders fully captured

[@No_True_Scotsman]

More evidence that lighting is generally the most important thing in computer graphics

[@BirchPlanks]

whoever made the recomp must have been some sort of wiseguy

[@gotenks157]

I love how your voice tone changed only when dissing superman lol

[@alexanderg1935]

It's a bot

[@ScandalUK]

Clearly an AI voice yep

[@jamjon6616]

@@ScandalUKyou’re so smart

[@ScandalUK]

@@jamjon6616 why thank you kind sir, I must've gotten outta bed the right side today cuz I even remembered to breathe. Which I'll quickly prevent you from doing should I get my way

[@sunnysideup137]

@@ScandalUK local netizen discovers accents for the first time (colorized)

[@punkitt]

This is probably the craziest thing I've seen in the emulation scene in forever. That's wild.

[@itzKeizo]

This is not even emulation anymore This is creating the best way to play this games on modern hardware without an emulator Nintendo really is wasting a lot of potential by not hiring these guys

[@MetrosexualGarbodor]

@@itzKeizo Nah, Nintendo would leave them to make some crap N64 emulator for the next console and then fire them. Let them be.

[@StriderZessei]

I was just gonna say, Nintendo needs to buy this and hire the makers to work on the games. ​@itzKeizo

[@diodora2381]

@@itzKeizo Nintendo isn't interested in efficiency, they make more money from selling ports individually, they probably have the source code to their excellent archiving processes it seems, and they have some of the most talented developers in the world to work on that source code.

[@poleve5409]

@@diodora2381 if they have the source code why do they emulate their n64 games? It’s 100% possible they lost the source code.

[@Majuular]

This seems like a pie-in-the-sky concept I would have come up with as an 11 year old with less than zero understanding of how programming works. But it's real. What an age we live in!

[@MrDmoney156]

kid/teenager me would never believe it... maybe a little bit cuz i was way too native back then sadly lmao, it's so crazy that's it is an real actual thing nowadays!

[@BreadLordDormammu]

Back to the Ultima mines with you!

[@AMD_Fan_98]

Shit man with my autism, I've been thinking of a concept like this since I've gotten into emulation.

[@2ndbleak]

Just think of all the terrible N64 RPGs you can review now

[@elladoros]

ikr this is something i imagined in my head cant believe this is a thing now

[@GarrusVakarian-to2uh]

This is incredible. I've been beating Majora's Mask today near 4k at 360 frames per second and it runs so well, better than emulation or even the reverse engineered stuff. This programmer is a genius. Good job with the modern DirectX. This programmer Wiseguy is a genius.

[@michelvanbriemen3459]

I wish I could. There seems to be an issue with DualSense controllers, sometimes the controls lag and fail to register and it takes 3-5 seconds for the game to catch back up again. It wouldn't be a problem if it happened every other hour, but it's happening every 3 minutes.

[@megagamer9560]

@@michelvanbriemen3459 an XInput wrapper works? could be an solution, albeit a "hacky" one though.

[@AnthonyLoPrimo]

I love the contrast between a well spoken voice over and then getting derailed when superman 64 comes up 😂

[@jamesknapp64]

That was a great touch

[@megagamer9560]

that's Nerrel quality for ya lol very good comedy in most of the videos

[@Geneolgia]

There's something so surreal about these old N64 games having RTX, I usually prefer to play these classics with minimum modern graphics enhancements but the RTX visuals here are almost ethereal or dreamy, like how my mind as a kid saw them. It just looks right.

[@MrLFJ7]

Buttery smooth

[@trashtrash2169]

I usually hate how fan updates look, but that guy's an artist for sure.

[@DarkBowser64]

The original 3D renders they used to use back in the day often used calculated lighting that looks very similar to RT, so I think that's why it just feels so fitting.

[@exonymat1471]

It's weird isn't it (in a good way). For me, I've noticed that RTX weirdly looks far better with low poly graphics than they do realistic graphics

[@IanZWhite00]

It’s heartening to see how universal of an experience this appears to be. It feels like such a strange, arbitrary place to draw the line (you don’t like texture packs or increased resolution but enjoy rtx??), but somehow the realistic shadows and lighting bring startlingly accurate form to how these games looked in my childhood dreams. It’s like an imaginary friend come to life, and not only can everyone else see them, but they’re all just as close with that friend as you were

[@MishKoz]

Dude Wiseguy was big in the Mario 64 romhacking scene for a long time, then he kinda disappeared for a while. We had a stupid little joke of "damn he went to a farm upstate 😔" that eventually just turned into "Wiseguy Farm." So THIS is what he's been busy with! This is insanely cool. Thank you Wisrguy and Nerrel for bringing something as cool as this to fruition.

[@splattwig]

Wiseguy Farm was secretly a meth lab.

[@2NDFLB]

​@@splattwig▪️ meth lab? ⬛

[@DougSalad]

@@2NDFLB did you not watch the video? homie's been COOKING

[@GlitchanBlack]

@@splattwig Wiseguy is the new Heisenberg.

[@TimmFN]

@@GlitchanBlack wisenberg

[@bigginsmcsauce]

A version of Goldeneye 64 that runs smoothly, has a modern control scheme, and multiplayer would be an absolute dream come true!

[@simeonellinger2064]

I'd rather see perfect dark. That game pushed the N64 beyond it's limits into a stuttering, laggy mess often. Though I realize at least perfect dark has a decent remake, I would still love to see it get this kind of treatment.

[@Mari_Izu]

​@@simeonellinger2064 Perfect Dark 64 already has a PC port with online play.

[@gilbezoulrattenkonig7219]

check - 1964 GEPD - , goldeneye & Perfect Dark on keyboard mouse ! work like a charme

[@Mari_Izu]

​@@gilbezoulrattenkonig7219 Perfect Dark has an actual PC port tho.

[@nicksjacku9750]

Well, get to it gentlemen!

[@MegaDrainProductions]

Mr Wiseguy should make limited announcements. The more announcements he makes and traction this gets, the sooner it'll be for Nintendo to cease and desist him.

[@pootispencerhirtf2]

Agreed. Remember AM2R? Remember Link's Awakening DX HD? Super Mario 64 PC Port? Pokemon Uranium? It's a miracle Shitendo hasn't come after the folks at Ship of Harkinian.

[@MegaDrainProductions]

@@pootispencerhirtf2 Even more recently with Portal 64, which is so incredibly petty.

[@someperson4536]

​@@MegaDrainProductions didn't valve suggest taking it down?

[@kekcrocgod6731]

The recompiler doesn’t actually include the game assets and requires you to use your own (presumably legally dumped) roms, so I don’t understand why it’d get taken down. 99% of fan projects don’t get taken down, and a majority of the ones that do get cease and desisted because the devs tried to monetize them and profit off of it

[@MarioGoatse]

He’s not actually distributing the game itself though. You need to bring the ROM file yourself. Nintendo won't do anything, because every single person here only dumps legal ROMs. Right guys?

[@SuperWiiBros08]

I fucking love the dedication of these Nintendo fans keeping preservation as alive as possible

[@dgan2304]

I'm terrified Nintendo will come and Nintendo it.

[@_Tzer]

@@dgan2304 nintendo trying not to hate its fan's dedication and noit be jealous challenge impossible

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

@@dgan2304 Yeah Hopefully Nintendo does not come and Nintendo all over it. That would be bad.

[@blacksunshine7485]

Fucking.

[@ThylineTheGay]

@@ProjectionProjects2.7182 i really hated that moment in the movie D:

[@Spebby]

The game preservation scene has never looked better.

[@krux02]

amazing for some games, very bad for other games. Just look at the state of "The Crew". Not playable by anybody on any hardware, destroyed by the publisher.

[@Spebby]

@@krux02 Yes, that's not great. However, there is a fan initiative to patch that game for offline and host emulated servers. It's pretty inspiring. The ultimate solution would be some legislation to prohibit companies from destroying art like this, but that's a long ways off and likely will be EU specific.

[@Neverknot47]

What an odd thing to say when Nintendo has been killing emulators harder than ever as of last few months

[@_xeere]

…for N64 games.

[@qu1253]

You say that as if Nintendo hasn't been on a warpath against emulation the past few months. Switch emulation is dead, as is 3DS emulation.

[@snickothemule]

This is staggering! Not only is it recreating the game practically perfectly, keeping the audio sharp and latency low, the enhancements are breathing new life into these legendary games. The dudes working on this project have achieved something incredibly special. I loved the n64 as a kid, still do and look forward to experiencing this all again.

[@AwesomeGames56]

I’m stoked to see all of this come out, I’ll be following this project to see where it goes.

[@WasatchWind]

It's incredible how much the lighting makes Hyrule field seem so much more bright and alive.

[@raven75257]

Lighting is the most important part of 3D art. Good light setup can make an ugly game beautiful, and bad light setup can kill your entire scene

[@inendlesspain4724]

@@raven75257 Yup, just look at Sonic Adventure DX.

[@Vingul]

@@raven75257 Lightning =/= Lighting

[@raven75257]

@@Vingul Thanks for the correction

[@islandboy9381]

@@Vingul Lightning returns

[@jammy2897]

Can we mention how absolutely BEAUTIFUL Kirby 64 looked in that short clip

[@Hysteria98]

That made me moist more than anything else

[@SillyVaporeon]

I know, right?

[@megamillion5852]

I was in complete denial, for just a moment, that it even was Kirby 64.

[@GlitchanBlack]

4:19 for the short Kirby 64 Retraced footage, in case anyone is curious.

[@GBDupree]

I was impressed when I saw the shadows on the house in Paper Mario, but then the Kirby 64 clip played and my Jaw dropped. That game's artstyle works perfectly for it. I want to see more!

[@JibbSmartGD]

What an incredible project! Thanks for the great break-down, Nerrel!

[@Jabbernut-games]

Hope we get to see Nerrel’s texture pack in the recomp soon. Playing in 60 fps beats the heck out of the original, but I like the enhanced textures

[@thederpysage]

"like my body" gets me every time

[@nullset2]

Fat nerrel is a new piece of lore for me.

[@coreyander286]

@@nullset2 I don't want him to be fat, I've always pictured him as an Adonis-like twink, wearing a Yoko Taro style mask but instead of Emil it's the Moon from Majora's Mask with Sy Snootles's face

[@BBWahoo]

​@@coreyander286Sounds cringe, make him a fat samson bastard like Wario or Weinstein wearing a giant tingle costume as his ballsack produtes proudly.

[@umageddon]

Have you watched this multiple times already or does he say this in every viideo?

[@nisnast]

​@@umageddonhe said it before in his video talking about advancements done by multiple emulators

[@420malbania4]

I appreciate that Nerrel's body still supports ultra-wide all these years later. The devs care.

[@islandboy9381]

There are dozens of us DOZENS

[@yourfriendlyneighborhoodbe5996]

This literally brings me so much joy. I love MM and I'm so ready to jump back into this game.

[@pineapplequeen13]

This could result in SUCH a huge step towards preserving more games! The historical value of this project is immense, imo. I'll definitely be following the progress on this now!

[@hotcocoabomb_]

The best result for this is if it somehow leads to a Superman 64 modding scene

[@ribbrana]

Superman 64 becomes the best Superman game decades later. the good ending.

[@tulio829]

The real challenge. Make sup64 not suck

[@_Tzer]

@@tulio829 the superman 64 beta would be a good place to look cuz surprisingly its a better game. no ring levels too.

[@SigmaMan1448]

Dude, imagine if it became a masterpiece through modding lmao

[@hotcocoabomb_]

@@SigmaMan1448 atp id settle for a 5/10 lol

[@garsifeld4510]

Being able to nativley port n64 games is actually ground breaking for emulation, I really hope software like this can be adapted for all systems notably for games that have never received ports for modern systems.

[@chuviis3508]

Exactly.i really hope they manage to expand this beyond N64 since these gives new heights for preserving games

[@bt3743]

Is it really emulation if its a native port

[@infectedanimal9830]

Exactly what I wad thinking, would be awesome to finally try bloodborne out on pc

[@dan3817]

Thing is, all this was only possible due to countless hours reverse engineering a single game's engine (an engine which by today's standards is very archaic) Reverse engineering is a painstakingly slow thing to do specially the more complex the software is, so it's not something that can be done at a mass scale, only focused passion projects

[@dan3817]

​​@@infectedanimal9830Tbh I'd say it's infinitely more feasible for PS4 emulation to become a mature thing before a reverse engineering of that game is achieved (the game is just too big to feasibly fully reverse engineer) It's in theory already possible to mod PS4 games, specially since they're essentially PC games running on a modified FreeBSD OS

[@danriley282]

I love your channel, Nerrel! Thanks for doing what you do! :D

[@Cyranek]

wiseguy living up to the name

[@GavinKn]

8:43 the lighting looks so good in this room

[@crowlsyong]

Ya wow

[@Osai1234]

Never thought I'd see purple-bluish hue and shadows inside of the water temple. That's actually refreshing and cool

[@animationai9109]

It’s crazy how good everything looks

[@AceLeader101]

This honestly puts just about every "oot in Unreal" project to shame. I'm excited for what's to come

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

That's exactly what I was thinking.

[@viewtifuljacob]

Man, those videos are awful. Oversaturation and bloom with a wobbly camera. It's the equivalent of the ultra realism GTA with puddles and wet road reflection trend.

[@brunop.8745]

this is what happens when nintendo DOESN'T hire that man

[@inakilukac]

Nintendo should unironically NEVER "hire this man". They'd make them do a terrible job

[@Alexander-ix2jp]

Oot in Unreal 5 remake here on KZbin looks gorgeous.

[@skettismyname]

Just wanted to pop in and say thank you. I'm going through such a nostalgia trip right now. I cannot wait for Ocarina. Or other games, like Kirby, Mario, Mario Party and Kart?? Ugh I'm so hype

[@TheMatthew]

Absolutely stunned with how much N64 progress the last few years has brought! I thought Nerrel's pack was the best MM could ever get, now look at us! I'm also beyond hyped that you're making textures for the OoT exclusive items, because now I'll finally have the full Nerrel icon pack for both Zeldas!

[@GamerOverThere]

Holy crap Wiseguy is a wise guy

[@MixAndMash]

Freakin sweet Lois

[@clamdove3292]

oh hey our pfps match

[@coreyander286]

Do not confuse technical ingenuity with wisdom. It was very foolish of Wiseguy to create this. This could be the end of human civilization. Such hubris.

[@GamerOverThere]

@@clamdove3292 call us the strolling bros

[@inendlesspain4724]

"カレーは華麗" aah comment.

[@trolatrolatrola]

I had my jaw dropped throughout the whole video. Majoras Mask port with 60fps, widescreen, ray tracing, and many more games coming. I'm salivating.

[@stardustsdd]

"I'm salivating" is the perfect way to describe our reaction

[@jeffboy4231]

In a few months there's gonna be a humongous amount of ports. Hoping for such programs to come to other consoles like PlayStation and such

[@Xbob42]

Just played it at 120 FPS, looks so good, feels perfect. But it still doesn't have freecam on the right stick so I'mma wait, haha.

[@eletgres519]

superman 64 gets the proper treatment it deserves

[@Professor_Utonium_]

Widescreen destroys any sense of framing of area layouts in the game, these titles were never intended to be played in anything but 4:3 aspect ratio.

[@mymusicaljesus]

NGL...even the Superman audio sounded absolutely incredible at the end of this video. Like, the voice was so warm and had a really smoothe low end while still sounding dynamic, which is WILD for Superman 64!

[@Tenshiyo]

This is truly incredible, I never thought I'd ever play my favorite game in what is essentially HD. I have just two very significant (and possibly very stupid) questions. 1) How long until we can inject your astounding texture packs into this program to create true HD? and 2) How long until we can inject Randomizer roms into this program?

[@sw4a]

FYI the recomp will support texture packs later down the road, so you can definitely play this with Nerrel's texture pack in the not so near future

[@moxieswaygan]

thats all i want

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

That sounds awesome. Hopefully this progress will continue into the future.

[@user-gn4ci9et6d]

I have been sitting on this channel for years waiting to hear these words

[@williamvarner7948]

I was wondering how to get the retexture pack Nerrel is using, running on my end. Pretty sure my potato laptop could run it

[@atrocewins]

Stunningly awesome. The fact that it is not limited to Windows is even more amazing. This is really a new age for retro games. I hope to see this for PS1 one day.

[@serraramayfield9230]

or PS2

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

At the moment, Duckstation is in a very good state for regular PS1 emulation. That'll tide you over until we get something this magical for it.

[@octorokreviews]

This is fantastic. I've been having so much trouble recording footage for my Ocarina of Time Review due to how terrible Project N64 is (it kept crashing right before the shadow temple, and I lost hours of progress), so it'd be great to use something more stable in the future.

[@gerboog]

Wht didn't you just play Ship of Harkinian then?

[@TheNezperdian]

First time I ever heard of this. Thanks for covering it!

[@PurpleLPikmin]

This is one of the coolest potential solutions to the N64's notoriously rough emulation scene I've ever seen. Nothing against the efforts of decompilations & making emulators better, both are still very important and have been so for years, but a tool which could bypass emulation entirely without years of manual effort on a game by game basis is truly special.

[@stuartcarter4139]

Years of manual effort to automate the manual effort is the key to the future hahaha

[@JJAB91]

3:21 Rocket: Robot on Wheels was actually the first game made by Sucker Punch, the same studio that later made Sly Cooper, Infamous, and Ghost of Tsushima. I had it as a kid, its a very fun 3D platformer.

[@megamillion5852]

I'm still eagerly waiting on that Sly decomp. The first game was always my favorite.

[@lradmclovin9]

Iirc it’s also the first physics-based 3D platformer

[@BunnLilah]

The music is awesome too. Really jazzy and off-beat which I imagine is hard to pull off with MIDI or the MIDI-like music the 64 uses. Very underrated game.

[@Vexcenot]

once a again a single person can do so much that a multi billion dollar company cant

[@selohcin]

5:54 "Much like my body, there is support for ultra-wide aspect ratios" 😆😂🤣

[@fluffycritter]

Static recompilation is a technique that’s been around forever but never got very popular in emulation circles for some reason. I’m glad to see someone managing to make it visible! Not to mention all of the amazing work they’ve done on the graphical improvements, especially the drawcall interpolation stuff which is super cool. It’s also pretty much how Apple’s “Rosetta” works for running Intel applications on Silicon Macs and why that emulation is super efficient.

[@ZipplyZane]

I've always wondered why it wasn't used more for running games on limited hardware. I assumed it was just really hard to do, and that JIT (just in time) recompilation was the best we could do.

[@ru0nrunes297]

The answer is generally that dynamic recompilation is easier to make, I don't doubt that the efforts of emulator developers and enthusiasts over the years documenting the N64 hardware and its quirks is related to why this could be made now. Even in the video, he mentions that part of why the MM port could be refined so quickly was because of the decompilation existing, nothing like the current understanding of N64 hardware existed back when PJ64 was made. Also, the graphics are effectively being handled the same way an emulator does, so it's weird to me that they keep claiming it's not emulation. It's more like half-recompilation/half-emulation.

[@Reonu]

@@ru0nrunes297 The graphics part isn't emulation in the same way that the graphics part isn't emulation in other PC ports (sm64pc, SoH, etc). It's using a translation layer for the graphics. It has to, there is no other way, unless you want to convert every single model and effect in the game to modern formats, but that's kind of pointless. Think of it like a native Linux game that uses DXVK to translate DirectX calls to Vulkan calls. Is that emulation? No, you're not emulating anything. DXVK is not an emulator. Same here, RT64 is not an emulator either. It's a renderer that uses a translation layer to interpret models and such in N64 format. The RT64 renderer CAN be used by an emulator, but here it's being used by a native PC game instead.

[@SerBallister]

Static compilation may have some problems with decrunchers, code relocations and self-modifying code. I'm not sure if this is even a problem for N64 games. Dynamic recompilation is a good solution for the mentioned problems as they can sense when uncompiled code is about to be executed just-in-time.

[@uauei183]

what has always held back static recompilation is statically finding jump targets of indirect jumps and most importantly of virtual functions. and, also with self-modifying code.

[@sapphirebulletbill]

I'm going to say this once: Diddy Kong Racing with Online Multiplayer

[@chaoslord8918]

Two words (though it's actually typed as one word): JointVenture

[@RAFMnBgaming]

that definitely seems like a thing you'd need a proper decomp/port for.

[@vRyanXOXO]

me when retroarch netplay:

[@beardalaxy]

there are already several ways to play N64 games online with your buddies. definitely not anything like the super mario 64 online tool though, and that is something that would require decompilation.

[@leedolian4482]

Say it once and never again. That game sucked dick

[@Liam-pf7ih]

The people behind this are for sure extremely talented, I wonder what properties static recomp has that made it the way to solve the issues with past n64 emulators.

[@SethizFTW]

I am very much looking forward to raytracing. Nerrel's texture pack and raytracing is a dream I didn't know I wanted.

[@Ro-qp8rb]

*slaps N64 automatic recompiler* "This programme can run so many [redacted] games natively on PC"

[@stardustsdd]

Throwback meme

[@tombcruisin]

perfect example of work smarter, not harder Wait, THAT'S what the laundry pool screenshot on twitter was??

[@clonblurmin8194]

This is crazy stuff. I hope we see a bunch of cool projects come out of this

[@krozareq]

These are amazing. Just finished a playthrough of Zelda OOT with the Ship of Harkinian project port. It was glorious. Time for some MM.

[@Joskilani]

Getting flashbanged with Rocket Robot on Wheels on PC was insane

[@TheKeybladeKeeper]

Same I thought I was one of about 15 people to play the game

[@Coconut-219]

In laymen's terms: A regular decompile takes machine code and tries to translate & reverse-engineer back into readable interpreted code (that can then be edited and compiled back into machine code) , where as "recompile" if I'm understanding uses lots of tricks and patterns to translate machine code into different, new & more 'computer-readable' machine code (for instance using modern hardware-accelerated rendering available in openGL).

[@RyanStorey1231]

Thanks! I'm computer savvy and I have a huge interest in emulation, but I'm nowhere near smart enough to follow the techno jargon Nerrel is throwing at me here lol

[@alexjeffrey3981]

Yeah a recompilation converts from one architecture (n64) to another (eg x86, Apple M1/M2). Sounds like in this case they decompile to unreadable C and then take advantage of C's stellar architecture support to recompile to the target, meaning supporting new platforms is much easier.

[@miroaja1951]

​@@alexjeffrey3981 It isn't entirely automatic yet, and currently relies on some config and an ELF to get symbols (a disassembly can work apparently but a decomp would make the process easier)

[@alexjeffrey3981]

@@miroaja1951 ah gotcha, thanks for the clarification! Still sounds like a massive step forward for porting nonetheless :)

[@Daniel15au]

Emulators already use recompilation to convert N64 code to code that can run on a computer, but at runtime. This is called dynamic recompilation. Because this is done in real time, it needs to be fast. Static recompilation means the work is done ahead of time instead, as part of a build process. Now that it's no longer happening in real time, it's okay for it to be slower and do more stuff.

[@jeffreystoner5131]

One of the best thumbnails I've ever seen.

[@JupiterSailfish]

I have no idea what any of this means but I've heard some of these words before. The games look beautiful with this. This is amazing! Great video!

[@nomorenames]

Actually insane what talented developers can come up with

[@enorma29]

as a labour of love!!!!! this is proof against the millenia-long argument that only a salary can incentivize work. this is humanity evolving out of monetaryism and it's beautiful.

[@toxeia]

​@@enorma29 but dude still needs to eat.

[@megamillion5852]

​​@@enorma29 Glad to see someone else gets it. People will do things out of intrigue, curiosity, and sheer fvcking will. And they'll be able to do so much more than a company's mandates and deadlines will ever allow.

[@protocetid]

Isn’t Dolphin fairly accurate in terms of emulation? Emulation doesn’t compare to this but Dolphin does put N64 emulators to shame. As for balance tweaks and new characters, Melee players are fiercely protective of the game’s meta. There’s one major mod that adds a few characters and leaves the old characters unchanged, it’s not played in tournaments because the Melee player base is rather purist. If you want a rebalanced Melee cast with plenty of new characters check out Project+, it turns Brawl into the true Melee sequel it should’ve been.

[@CrAzYpotpie]

​@@megamillion5852but dude still needs to eat.

[@thebestworst8002]

The ocarina of time and majora’s mask with real time lighting looks like an official HD remake made for the switch

[@gastondelacaze4863]

Huge HUGE congrats on this! You guys blow my mind. What I didn't understand is if we can already use the software. Can we play it already? Majoras. 🤩

[@glitchy_weasel]

What a phenomenal idea! I wonder if the decompiled source files could then be compiled for different hardware. Specially for hardware that struggles to run full-blown N64 emulators, like a PS Vita, a Nintendo 3DS, or, hey, maybe even a smart-fridge.

[@TrevorAvrett]

Proper decompilation will be tremendously helpful for faithful fan remasterings of games, which is something I believe just about everybody wants

[@balsalmalberto8086]

If only Nintendo would cease and desist being pricks to their fans and community.

[@Vospi]

1) This is mindblowing. The developers are heroes. 2) Please tell me this is at least possible for PS1, my youth love...

[@nonameyethangonaminute]

In theory, any console game can be decompiled and ported like this. *In theory.*

[@matheusrios4223]

Yes, it is indeed possible. Idk if there is any project for it atm tho

[@jaykelley103]

Duckstation is so good that a project like this for ps1 isnt as in demand, but maybe someone will just do it anyway. Would be based

[@64bitmodels66]

@@jaykelley103 Duckstation still can't completely remove the shimmer and warping of textures that PS1 has, and not all games have proper 60fps or widescreen support.

[@jaykelley103]

@@64bitmodels66 I know. But playing games on it isnt miserable like with n64 emus. (((I personally like the texture warp. Is part of ps1 identity)))

[@palmleafcooking]

these kinds of efforts are great examples of how impressive modern technology can be

[@OmegaGlops]

Wow! I'd love to see this kind of approach applied to other consoles in the upcoming years. I wonder how many years it will take for the world see recompilations of PlayStation, Dreamcast, GameCube, and Wii games in this manner!

[@superbro6413]

The project covered here is the coolest thing, but let me say, that thumbnail goes hard. Nerrel must of been an Nintendo Power magazine cover artist in a past life or something lol It looks really good, that's it

[@owenl7598]

The ZeldaRET team whose Majora's Mask decomp just hit 94% and has been a labor of love for 3 years: fuck

[@APEXGuerilla]

F

[@fewef32f]

1) The ZRET team wasn't making PC Ports themselves anyway. That was Ship of Harkinian. Also another group made a separate PC port, but they had skeletons in their closet so we don't talk about them. At most, ZRET suggested if people were going to make PC Ports from their work, wait until the code's properly documented. Which this Wise Guy's project doesn't need to account for, and all the other PC Ports are just ignoring anyway because 2 1/2 years later, ZRET's still not given an update on if documentation is done or not. 2) The MM decomp is still immensely useful for mods. The Majora's modding scene wasn't really a thing until the decomp anyway. Wise Guy's project can't make rom hacks alone. Plus there's the overall idea that the more source code about games we can replicate in general, the more knowledge we have about some of the most notorious games in history. That will always be useful.

[@owenl7598]

@@fewef32f it's only a joke buddy the more documentation and preservation of videogames we have the better

[@imhaddanitattaxx4172]

@@fewef32f skeletons in their closet? I tried looking as I saw someone else say the same thing but couldn't find anything. Could you elaborate?

[@link4585]

​@@imhaddanitattaxx4172 I want to know too

[@thepunisherxxx6804]

This really is amazing. I also love how well they light the games with the added ray tracing. It stays true to the original arts intent, while looking better, and much closer to the pre-rendered marketing. Its really cool seeing that retro 3d style realized in real time. I cannot wait for the day where I can play Ocarina of Time at 4k, 120hz, with ray tracing on a PC!

[@cody8538]

This is insane, I used to do an annual playthrough of OoT and fell off that the last five years or so. I’ve been really itching, this looks like the way I’m gonna do it!!!

[@ChromeGonzalez]

BABE WAKE UP NEW NERREL VID JUST DROPPED

[@shatteredakuma]

My reaction every single time I see the notification

[@keithflippers4429]

Who are you and how'd you get in my house!?

[@quatreraberbawinner2628]

I love nerrel he's so dreamy

[@phantomdaroomphie9673]

Oh fuck, I'm up babe, I'm up 😲

[@holyflutterofgod]

I am so happy Nerrel could be the bearer of Best News. This seriously sounds like a dream; it just works??

[@hizzousekakashi8836]

Love that this was the first game and can't wait to see the old line up running like new!

[@booschman]

Holy shit, this is amazing!! I'm excited for my next replay

[@LastGreatDen]

4:10 is approaching higher "Hire This Man" energy than previously though possible outside of Unreal

[@user-nw6xh7mn3h]

I never imagined that people would solve the problem of the N64 being so hard to emulate via bypassing the need to emulate in the first place. This is a truly amazing development.

[@tinoesroho]

✋ emulation 👉 direct API translation

[@tinoesroho]

pretty sure 'static recompilation' is how xbox's backwards compatibility works on the xbox one/series family specifically, and it's why every 360 game weighs like 18gb on the One

[@kyoopihd]

Thanks for bringing more attention to this!

[@chexo3]

I’ve seen similar attempts for NES games, but I think the issue there was that 6502 assembly code was much harder to automatically reverse engineer like this. It was a manual process like before. I’m guessing since N64 games are mainly programmed in C originally, and are on a newer, more complex CPU architecture, there was more information to work with in order to enable static binary translation. This is less like Wine/Proton and more like Rosetta 2 or Box64, just with different target architectures. Actually, it’s more like using Box64 or another x86 emulator with Wine, which is a thing you can do to run x86 Windows programs on Arm Linux

[@Anthony-mt3sn]

Wow! Very informative and interesting! Another great video nerrel 👍 also, the vomiting tingle Superman at the end was just revolting! Another disgusting and horrifying image that’s sure to haunt me, nerrel! ❤

[@Nerrel]

Not sorry

[@coreyander286]

In the first edition of the video the vomitus was red, but it was changed to green after being deemed too heavy for an E-rated video.

[@8strate8]

MYSTICAL NINJA. SPACE STATION SILICON VALLEY. SNOWBOARD KIDS. ALL 90FPS NATIVE ON THE STEAM DECK?? INSANE.

[@cybertruckeralpha]

Mystical Ninja is especially exciting. The final boss was known to slow an emulator down to a crawl.

[@ZOOTO]

I immediately downloaded this and tried it when I heard. It is so nice playing Majora's Mask like this. Finally, a clear best version of the game.

[@joecotteneye6069]

this is the most amazing and mind blowing video i have seen in my life. I can't believe what I'm seeing

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

Its crazy how far we have come to understanding how N64 games work. Now we can effectively run these games natively on PC which will help massively with enhancing these games. Hopefully one day we will have this for more newer systems like the Game Cube.

[@platyhelminthes2877]

I love seeing people dig into the code of these classic games and systems. It's like peeking inside the mind of the developers who made them all those years ago.

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

​@@platyhelminthes2877 I agree, Especially when people make videos using the findings of digging into the code to explain how these games work on a technical level to a large audience. It highlights the intellect of the developers who made the game and gives us a greater appreciation of their work.

[@megamillion5852]

I desperately need a decomped/recomped Smash Bros. Melee with eventual moveset tweaks, expanded control options, and rebalanced characters.

[@MoonSarito]

One thing I love about these recompilation projects is that not only does it give you the freedom to run the game as best as possible on PC, but it also gives people the opportunity to port the games to whatever platforms they want. It was incredible to be able to play Ocarina of Time on Wii U in Widescreen at 60fps, seeing the original Super Mario 64 running on a DSi was incredible, not to mention other projects like Sonic Mania that finally got a version for 3DS (which was going to be released but was canceled) and people are porting it to the Dreamcast, or OpenLara/Tomb Raider which runs on basically everything like the Sega 32x or GBA, there's even a port for a super unknown console called Zeebo, we even have a port of Street Fighter 2 for the Virtual Boy and I don't even need to talk about Doom then. This is simply incredible and ends up giving other old or forgotten consoles a chance to shine too.

[@mymusicaljesus]

Someone(s) made a port of SF2 for the Virtual Boy?! That's awesome. I appreciate this as a Virtual Boy apologist. I know that they were able to get Virtual Boy games to run on a modded 3DS with the whole 3D depth perception trick working, but do you happen to know if this SF2 port will also work on the 3DS?? I've been meaning to aquire one of the New 3DS handhelds for awhile now and should probably get around to actually buying one sooner than later.

[@themoocow7718]

@@mymusicaljesus since the shop closed down, you can homebrew it to do pretty much anything. the VB emulator is Red Viper, and it's pretty fun.

[@RobbieGuitar66]

I hope so much for Wii ports of N64 games. The emulators on it give so much trouble with certain games.

[@XxFunkMachinexX]

Dude I'm getting this today if possible. My love for Nintendo games is only tempered by their horrible cease and desist practices

[@blarghblargh]

starting a video with an error message? now THAT'S a show of dominance. I had a quarter of a panic attack. well played

[@_nRool]

That split second of Goemon was all I needed, so excited.

[@jcags]

You're right in considering Superman 64 an affront, but hear me out, projects like this could be used to fix the game and even make it an open world Superman game. The possibilities are endless. Also games like WWF No Mercy, holy fuck!

[@islandboy9381]

you'd need decompile to be able to do more for actually fixing the game on a fundamental level

[@ScandalUK]

Yeah... no

[@wonko-the-often-sane]

That would be a great promotional prize for the scene, like the Ansari X prize did for commercial spaceflight. Offer like 10 thousand dollars for the first devs to make Superman64 a bearable game. The challenge alone would mean a legendary payoff.

[@PauLtus_B]

It'd be less effort to build something like that from scratch.

[@wonko-the-often-sane]

@@PauLtus_B No doubt, but wouldn't it be a fun series to follow?

[@WarlockX4]

Love Nerrels videos. His dry sense of humor is perfection.

[@dobbersanchez1185]

Are you being sarcastic?

[@Dairunt1]

This guy sounds like he just got home from 8 hours of customer support and I love it.

[@dalgusmaximus4557]

3:23 rocket: robot on wheels is a pretty good platformer from what I've heard. The devs that made that game also made the sly cooper games.

[@M30W3R]

Has this method been attempted for other notably hard to emulate consoles? Seems like an incredible tool for game preservation.

[@beardalaxy]

Man, Nerrel really made this sound easier than it is. You can't just import an N64 game into a program and set some values with a GUI to make it work. It's a lot more complicated.

[@youraverageyoutubeviewer]

Did you figure it out? I’ve been wanting to recompile Paper Mario 64 but after I build the Recomp tool I have no idea what to do next.

[@miroaja1951]

​@@youraverageyoutubeviewerYou do need to provide symbols in an ELF, so you do need to do *some* disassembly or decomp for this to work. This project is mostly an amazing tool to port games, but it isn't automatic decompilation or anything (so no cool decomp mods). Haven't tried it but you should be able to disassemble your game with ghidra and provide some symbols for the tool to run. Just google things till it works

[@beardalaxy]

@@youraverageyoutubeviewer not really. from the looks of it, it's pretty complicated and wiseguy intends on making it easier for people who aren't developers soon (tm). as it stands, you need to find some way to get an ELF file from a decomp in order to pass metadata to recomp, but nobody seems to know what that ELF file is supposed to be other than wiseguy himself and there's no documentation on it. that's what it seems like, at least. i can't find an ELF in the star fox decomp repo so i assume it is another thing you have to somehow compile with a different tool.

[@FunctionallyLiteratePerson]

​​@@beardalaxyELF files are executable linkable files that store the libraries needed. I can't confirm if it works, but try searching the following on Google, it's a script for linux that requires MIPS I believe: "JayFoxRox" "elf" "n64"

[@acabusarmies7279]

@@beardalaxy I found one in the paper mario decomp. Now I've gotta wait for the ability to log back into my github account to ask for the Cic address that starts the game data

[@Abbadon120]

This is so fucking rad can't wait to play Superman 64 with Ray Tracing!

[@KokoroKatsura]

HUGE ANIME BREASTS

[@Korosivv]

I can't wait to use your texture pack and ray tracing with a recomp'd port

[@Zed_Oud]

This will be amazing for making VR adaptations.

[@Electrosa]

Your Majora's Mask HD texture pack has long been a massive inspiration of mine, and I've been tenuously tossing up the idea of doing a retexture pack for Kirby 64 thanks to you. This breakthrough sounds like a huge step forward in making that entire process easier, without even mentioning the massive strides it takes in every other area!

[@ArcadeTheatre]

Wiseguy came out of nowhere with MM PC on a silver platter for us.

[@NIGHT-GAURD]

Majoras mask looks a bit buggy but looks amazing

[@Spenerico]

Praying for Mystical Ninja! This is absolutely incredible. I tried it last night and just things like the fairies flying around in the fountain looked incredible in 60fps

[@platyhelminthes2877]

This is a great time for everyone - those of us who are just discovering N64, those of us who have been playing since the 90s, and everyone in between.

[@udance4ever]

yes! it was one thing to rediscover the game cube (like I did this past year) and it'll be a whole other level to revisit when a process like this comes to other platforms! N64 titles never got a lot of love until I discovered the remasters & i can tell this ain't Kansas anymore from this video - exciting times indeed!

[@MeBloxboy305]

Thumbnail work is insane, props to whoever worked on it

[@manrique_1984]

Just tried this. I'm blown away. Looked so good on my oled. I hope we can get star fox 64, Diddy Kong Racing, the wrestling games....

[@TheShadowHatter]

I don't even understand a word that's being said in this video.......and I'm still containing my excitement and hype as much as I can because this is SO AWESOME! The future is amazing!