Zelda: Ocarina Of Time PC Port Is '91% Complete'
We're happier than the Happy Mask Salesman, as the long-awaited true PC port of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is closer than ever. While you can play Ocarina on PC through emulation, we've never had a natural version since the game first hit the Nintendo 64 all those years ago.
First released in 1998, the N64 classic was the first Zelda game to make the move into 3D, and with its gripping story of two halves, rousing soundtrack, and cast of colourful characters, it's remembered as one of the best video games of all time. Still, it's strange to think no one's managed to deliver a full PC port.
What is the Ocarina of Time PC port?
Click to enlargeInstead of just running a game through an emulator, this "true" PC port of Ocarina is the work of the Zelda Reverse Engineering Team (ZRET). The team has been working on the project for 18 months and is proud to report we're at 91% completion.
The aim is to reverse-engineer the N64 version of Ocarina into a parsable C Code. ZRET's work is technically legal because it doesn't use leaked source code (which can be easily obtained), and instead, builds the retro classic from the ground up with modern coding.
Added to this, the ZRET doesn't use any original copyrighted assets like graphics or sound. Basically, fans can use the basic "blueprints" left behind by Nintendo, but have to build everything from the source code to the HUDs from scratch. With the OG Ocarina only being used as a reference, it means this is a long process.
When will the Ocarina of Time PC port be ready?
This labour of love has been in the works for what seems like an eternity. Last year, project member ‘Rozlette’ spoke to Ars Technica and explained, it's "not as easy as just [saying] 'compile it for Windows'...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".
Whereas emulation can use a "close but not quite" mentality, that doesn't cut it for a re-engineered version of a game. For those who've followed this kind of movement for a while, you'll know a PC port of Super Mario 64 finally saw the light of day last year.
In sad news, the main aim of the ZRET is NOT to bring Ocarina to PC. It would apparently take a lot of work from a different team, however, when the build hits 100%, another crack-team of devs could take over. Just a few months ago, only 15% of Ocarina had been unspooled, so we expect ZERT will be done pretty soon.
While the idea of Ocarina on PC is a tempting offer, the history of video games isn't exactly kind to this kind of ingenuity. Take-Two Interactive recently issued a mass takedown of GTA mods, and let's remember, Nintendo is perhaps the most protective of its IPs. Still, the chance to play a true version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on PC is no longer a pipe dream.
