Just when you thought they were over, the Zelda 64 discoveries continue, and this time, it’s within the game code itself. A fan group known by the name of Zelda Reverse Engineering Team (ZRET) has successfully reverse engineered all of Ocarina of Time’s game coding into readable C code commonly used by today’s modern computers. The project opens the doorway to preserving the iconic game in its original beta format, along with the potential for fans to create mods.
It took two painstaking years for the group to finally complete the project. ZRET recently told VGC that, rather than pulling from Ocarina of Time’s source content (which would not be legal), the group created the reverse-engineered coding itself with modern coding languages. When compiled, the coding then reproduced the game. Allegedly, no copyrighted assets such as sound or graphics were used. This technique is called “matching” decompilation.
The group modeled the project after Ocarina of Time Master Quest, but the decompiling process could also work with at least one dozen other versions of the beloved classic. How valuable is a soup of Zelda 64 code to a layperson fan? According to ZRET, it’s a big achievement. The decompilation may allow fans to create some imaginative mods in the game. It could also allow speedrunners to discover bugs and win world records. More importantly, it could pave the way to the historical preservation of its beta content which might have been lost to time otherwise.
Earlier this year, fans in the online gaming community made a groundbreaking discovery of Ocarina of Time beta content that had never been seen before. The beta leaks included fascinating “rough drafts” of areas like Karariko Village, Lake Hylia, and Ganon’s Tower. They divulged elements and mechanics that were left out of the game. They even contained story content that never made the final cut, like Gerudo bandits roaming the future Hyrule instead of monsters.
Much like the behind-the-scenes content of a Star Wars movie, the beta code of Ocarina of Time quite simply provides remarkable insight into a creative masterpiece. As time passes and people move, will its history be remembered 20 years from now? With the help of beta content, that future is looking a lot brighter.
