A group of modders has been hard at work reverse engineering The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for PC, and it’s almost ready to be released.
The 1990s were a heady time for gaming, as those who remember it can attest to. The industry was finding its feet, and people were beginning to see video games as something more than just gimmicky toys. Forming a huge part of this era, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, one of the greatest Nintendo 64 games of all time, was released towards the latter parts of the millennium, as the 2000s were fast approaching. Given its general influence, fans have been hoping for a PC to be released at some point, and it looks like that will be coming to fruition soon.
According to a recent report, an unofficial version of Ocarina of Time, which brings the beloved title to the PC, is due for release next month. Along with a "Nintendo-Direct style" presentation on March 22, the mod team that has been working on the project will be launching the game on April 1. Called "OpenOcarina," this version will allegedly include widescreen support, upscaling, and the ability to run the game at 60fps.
The source code from the original game was leaked back in 2020, and it seems the modders have been hard at work ever since. A few weeks back, some footage from the PC port of Ocarina of Time surfaced, which showed the work that had been done so far. At the time, it was said that the project was around 90% complete, meaning that there was a possibility of it being finished within the coming weeks or months. There was no release date given at that point, but now it seems as though a launch window has come almost out of nowhere, which will be a pleasant surprise to fans.
It's also worth mentioning that, for anyone concerned about copyright issues, the game has been reverse-engineered with assets built from the ground up. This means that the modders should hopefully be able to release the port without incurring the wrath of Nintendo's law department. Of course, it's possible the company could still come down on them. After all, fans who reverse-engineered GTA 3 and Vice City were sued by Take-Two, so there may still be trouble ahead.
Given that there have been numerous videos of people remaking elements of Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine 5, it shows that, after 24 years, the classic RPG is still fondly remembered by the community. Maybe an official remaster or remake will appear at some point, but it's unlikely, given that Nintendo seems keen to march forward with new installments in the long-running franchise instead.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is available on Nintendo 64, GameCube, and 3DS, as well as the Nintendo Switch.
Source: DSO Gaming
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