GoldenEye re-release studio claims issues are ‘authentic’ to the N64 original

The studio behind the newly released version of GoldenEye 007 has claimed that some of the graphical and frame-rate issues reported by players were present in the original game.

Replying to a fan on Twitter, Canadian studio Code Mystics Inc. – which helped port the N64 title – claimed that due to the emulation technology used for the release, the issues present were already in the original code.

“Side effect of it being emulation is it picks up a few graphics quirks of the original. GoldenEye was breaking new territory on the N64.”

The company also claimed that the frame rate was “limited by the original ROM code”.

GoldenEye was released for Switch and Xbox consoles on Thursday evening, and since then the Xbox version in particular has been met with criticism from fans and members of the games media.

Digital Foundry’s John Linneman wrote on Twitter that there was “weirdness,” going on with the Xbox version of the release, in a tweet comparing the Xbox version with the N64 original.

In a reply to a reader, Linneman reiterated his criticism that the release has “a lot of issues with wobbling vertices and texture seams too.”

Code Mystics eventually responded, again claiming the issues were “authentic” to the N64 game.

“For better or worse, the occasional seams and Z fighting are authentic, not an emulation glitch. It’s just easier to see in HD. But glitches were checked against a real N64 during development. What remains were there too, just blurrier.”

Graslu00, a Goldeneye video creator and winner of the Goldeneye World Championships, commented on the port, highlighting the “disappointing 30FPS lock,” and “performance issues.”

In a reply to a viewer, they also agreed that the audio has issues, sounding “crunchy as hell.”

Original developer Rare previously said of the Xbox port: “The original experience has been updated with improved control options (including dual analogue stick support), native 16:9 resolution up to 4K Ultra HD (where supported), a consistent refresh rate and a full complement of achievements to unlock.”

The version of GoldenEye that was released for modern platforms is not the same as the cancelled Xbox 360 remaster that was leaked online in 2021.

Speaking for the first time to VGC in a GoldenEye Xbox interview in 2021, the canned Xbox 360 remaster’s co-directors said they didn’t think it would ever be officially released.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” co-director Chris Tilston said of seeing the GoldenEye remaster leak into the public domain at the time. “It means people get to see the work that was done, but it also masks some of the cockups that went on behind the scenes.”