Banjo-Kazooie N64 has been decompiled, opening the door for PC ports
The code can now be used to add improvements to the game
Banjo-Kazooie is the latest Nintendo 64 game to be decompiled, making PC ports of the game possible.
As spotted by X user BringBackBanjoK, a fan-made decompilation project for the game has now hit 100% completion.
Decompilation involves reverse-engineering the code of indivisual Nintendo 64 games and turning them into C code, which can then be compiled into playable PC versions.
Modders can also use this decompiled codes to add improvements to the game while recompiling them, such as the ability to turn on improved frame rate, ultra-wide support, 4K resolutions and ray tracing.
Should a PC port become available, players will have to provide their own legally-sourced N64 ROM of Banjo-Kazooie to run it – the software takes assets from the ROM (such as character models, audio and textures) and combines them with the decompiled code to create a native PC version.
The belief is that this helps shield the projects somewhat from legal ramifications. Reverse engineering projects such as these are technically made legal because the developers involved do not use any leaked content or copyrighted assets.
In May, a tool called N64: Recompiled was released, which automatically recompiles N64 binaries into C code in a fraction of the time it takes full decompilation projects.
However, its created Nerrel points out that “the automated process isn’t perfect and the recomps usually require manual fixes for things like modern hardware speeds being way faster than expected”, meaning full user-led cecompilations are generally more accurate.
Previous decompilation projects have led to PC ports of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.
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