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Nintendo 64 decompilation projects have gained a lot of traction, and with tools like N64 Recomp available to the public, the process of creating a PC port and binary executable for any given Nintendo 64 decompilation project became easier thanks to it.

While some games have proper PC ports yet to be made from scratch, other have seen the implementation of the Recompilation tool in order to be able to compile and create a running executable of the decompiled N64 game working in their computers, and the latest one to get a recompilation is the N64 exclusive RPG title, Quest 64.

The recompilation project for Quest 64 by Rainchus is in very early stages, currently at v0.1, but the overall game is now playable as a PC port, with some new features added in, but still with some of those features being in alpha stages at the moment, with those alpha features being worked on and ironed out in the meanwhile, and surely more features will come down the line once the initial features are properly implemented.

Here's some of the features that the Quest 64 Recomp has at the moment of writing:

• Borrows the launcher from Star Fox 64 Recomp, but plays the US version of Quest 64
• Interpolation is not perfect, but mostly fine at 60hz (Brian's hair flickers when running)
• Widescreen is also not perfect but mostly fine
• Pressing F1 allows for changing a bunch of the settings

Those interested in trying out this recompilation of Quest 64, can do so by visiting Rainchus' repository for the project, and compiling the project on their PC. As with each and every decompilation and recompilation project, the user is required to provide their own ROM of the game (Quest 64), in order to be able to extract all of the copyrighted assets from it for the compilation, as none of the repositories include any kind of copyrighted assets.

"Quest 64" Recompilation repository on GitHub

 

[Kraken_X]

Ah, Quest 64, the "N64 has RPGs too" game that I played while everyone else got FF7 and the rest of PS1's legendary RPG library.

I'm still upset that the game required a memory pack to save, and I wasn't able to really even play it for a few months after I got it until I saved up enough money to buy that too. Like wasn't saving on cart the major advantage to using a cartridge? Nearly every other game on the N64 managed it.

 

[Tooch59]

Aww man, with this much control over the game, it's possible we can fix some of the more egregious issues like the terrible spell balance and grinding!

 

[raxadian]

Once the game is fully decom it is getting modded, the thing is unfinished to start with and could use several improvements.

 

[Robert Newbie]

Why?

Why decompile an unfinished game that is definitely not that popular?

Eh probably because there is not that many English N64 games to start with.

Once the game is fully decom it is getting modded, the thing is unfinished to start with and could use several improvements.

I was intrigued by this, so I started looking up some info. I didn't go too far in because I am interested in trying the game myself.

I guess it's less about the game having obvious unfinished content, like open voids in the environment or stilted animation cycles, and it's more about the game feeling barren. The fact that the game takes a mere 10 hours to complete hints at the possibility of a troubled or rushed development cycle. Typical JRPG's of the time usually required over 20 hours to complete. (For reference, Final Fantasy VI is about 35 hours, and Final Fantasy VII is about 40 hours.)

 

[raxadian]

I was intrigued by this, so I started looking up some info. I didn't go too far in because I am interested in trying the game myself.

I guess it's less about the game having obvious unfinished content, like open voids in the environment or stilted animation cycles, and it's more about the game feeling barren. The fact that the game takes a mere 10 hours to complete hints at the possibility of a troubled or rushed development cycle. Typical JRPG's of the time usually required over 20 hours to complete. (For reference, Final Fantasy VI is about 35 hours, and Final Fantasy VII is about 40 hours.)

The game was so rushed the Japanese version added some stuff. It wasn't even the N64 limited storage space; the game clearly needed more time, at times it feel like playing a prototype build that a full game.
I guess they rushed the game because the Nintendo 64 wasn't doing well?

 

[Robert Newbie]

The game was so rushed the Japanese version added some stuff. It wasn't even the N64 limited storage space; the game clearly needed more time, at times it feel like playing a prototype build that a full game.
I guess they rushed the game because the Nintendo 64 wasn't doing well?

I always remembered the game as an early N64 release, but Quest 64 launched in 1998, which was the same year as Ocarina of Time. (For reference, the N64 launched in 1996.) If nothing else, the publisher probably wanted the game shipped before development became expensive, and it was probably smart to release before Ocarina of Time hit. (Quest 64 launched in the Summer of 1998, and Ocarina of Time came out during the Christmas season.)

At the end of it all, the PSOne sold over 100m units, and the N64 was around 33m. I do think of the N64 as a big hit to Nintendo's pride and reputation.

Losing major third parties was a huge blow. (Capcom, Konami, and Squaresoft had built up the Nintendo brand as much as Nintendo themselves.) Plus, my generation was maturing, so Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid had more appeal alongside familiar names like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest/Warrior. It's interesting that the N64 didn't even get its own port of Tomb Raider.

The PS1 managed to amass a respectable library, and the N64 had a difficult time keeping up, due to higher-priced cartridge games and fewer recognizable properties. I always give Rare a lot of credit for helping elevate the N64. Without Banjo Kazooie, Goldeneye 007, etc., the N64 "best of" list would look much more sparse. Nintendo's choices really paved the way for the PS2, which became the big success of the sixth gen.

TL;DR: Quest 64 released in 1998, the same year as Ocarina of Time. Nintendo should not have gone with cartridges for the N64.

 

[raxadian]

People tends to forget the Nintendo 64 launched two years after the Playstation.

That's cause the first two years of the Playstation weren't that great, lots of 2D games with huge load times, 3D games that were just okay to bad, it was Crash Bandicoot that really made the Playstation popular.

Although granted Pandemonium for the PS1 was good, stores usually had that one early on to show the Playstation.

 

[Marc_LFD]

People tends to forget the Nintendo 64 launched two years after the Playstation.

That's cause the first two years of the Playstation weren't that great, lots of 2D games with huge load times, 3D games that were just okay to bad, it was Crash Bandicoot that really made the Playstation popular.

Although granted Pandemonium for the PS1 was good, stores usually had that one early on to show the Playstation.

I grew up playing Pandemonium and it's one of my favorites on PS1, Saturn, and NG. A few years ago I learned the Japanese version featured anime characters and for some reason the Western replaced it with clowns... Why clowns?!

 

[Kraken_X]

I grew up playing Pandemonium and it's one of my favorites on PS1, Saturn, and NG. A few years ago I learned the Japanese version featured anime characters and for some reason the Western replaced it with clowns... Why clowns?!

The video said it was the other way around and Bandai replaced the clowns for the Japanese release.

 

[Marc_LFD]

The video said it was the other way around and Bandai replaced the clowns for the Japanese release.

The JP was released a day later than the US @ https://segaretro.org/Pandemonium!

If that was Bandai's decision, then good on them as I never liked playing as a damn clown.

 

[Robert Newbie]

People tends to forget the Nintendo 64 launched two years after the Playstation.

That's cause the first two years of the Playstation weren't that great, lots of 2D games with huge load times, 3D games that were just okay to bad, it was Crash Bandicoot that really made the Playstation popular.

Although granted Pandemonium for the PS1 was good, stores usually had that one early on to show the Playstation.

I remember an infographic in a magazine that basically showed how the N64 reached a certain amount of units sold in a few days vs. the Saturn and PlayStation over two or so years. Obviously, that momentum did not continue, since software makes the machine.

As a kid, I slowly realized that the N64 wasn't going to be the next NES or SNES. I did enjoy the games I had access to, especially Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, because Rare and Nintendo made each game count. However, the lack of third party games (and reasonable prices) really hurt the experience.

 

[raxadian]

since software makes the machine.

Super Mario 64 was good and so was Mario Kart and Zelda and let's remember Banjo released before Zelda.

Nintendo really should have bought Rare, they were masters of pulling the best out of the N64 hardware.

 

[Robert Newbie]

Super Mario 64 was good and so was Mario Kart and Zelda and let's remember Banjo released before Zelda.

Nintendo really should have bought Rare, they were masters of pulling the best out of the N64 hardware.

Yeah, the N64 had some solid hits (I had completely forgotten how much I used to play Mario Kart 64.), but it didn't have the wide variety that the PS1 had because of all the different developers working with it. There are core genres that go underrepresented on the N64, such as the JRPG, but they're better represented on the PS1.

When it comes to Rare, my thinking at the time was that, even though Rare did excellent work, they did take a long time to bring out a product.

Dinosaur Planet comes to mind. It ran up against the end of the N64's life cycle, and Nintendo wanted to rework it as a Star Fox game for better marketability. (They probably wanted Star Fox to branch out too, since they were having trouble innovating on the "on-rails shooter.") Between reworking the game and the eventual sales/review scores, I think Nintendo just kind of let them go. It was all a shame because they had proven to be a formidable duo in the worst of times. There's no accounting for whatever is going on behind the scenes, I suppose.

Any future would have been better than the Kinect H**l that Rare found themselves in.

 

[aoimatsuri]

Cute.
Reminds me of Tales of the Tempest

 

[Chellarina]

Also, Nintendo did own Rare at the time. They sold then to Microsoft during the GC times, probably because they had lost key talent and Dinosaur Planet had a very long development time.

They also needed the financial resources at the time and I'm pretty sure there was a quote from an insider that the sale of Rare helped finance the launch of the Wii.

It's weird to think of Nintendo financially struggling in these times, but they did.

 

[LoggerMan]

Also, Nintendo did own Rare at the time. They sold then to Microsoft during the GC times, probably because they had lost key talent and Dinosaur Planet had a very long development time.

They also needed the financial resources at the time and I'm pretty sure there was a quote from an insider that the sale of Rare helped finance the launch of the Wii.

It's weird to think of Nintendo financially struggling in these times, but they did.

Actually Nintendo only owned 49% of Rare. Rare owned 51% of itself. Rare's IP was of limited use to Nintendo as the Mario universe replicated Banjo already. Nintendo's IP was actually more useful to Rare, if Nintendo bought Rare then I bet Rare would have become a standard second party developer. Which would have been nice, the flavour that Rare brought to the table. But oh well. I bet Rare making Perfect Dark a bloody violent game and Conker a bawdy adult game might have tipped the scales away from Nintendo wanting to buy Rare, but maybe Nintendo simply couldn't afford Rare like you said.

 

[Chellarina]

Actually Nintendo only owned 49% of Rare. Rare owned 51% of itself. Rare's IP was of limited use to Nintendo as the Mario universe replicated Banjo already. Nintendo's IP was actually more useful to Rare, if Nintendo bought Rare then I bet Rare would have become a standard second party developer. Which would have been nice, the flavour that Rare brought to the table. But oh well. I bet Rare making Perfect Dark a bloody violent game and Conker a bawdy adult game might have tipped the scales away from Nintendo wanting to buy Rare, but maybe Nintendo simply couldn't afford Rare like you said.

I didn't realise they didn't own the controlling share. Now I have egg on my face. Just presumed they were second party.

Yeah, after Banjo Kazooie, it did feel like Rare were trying to annoy Nintendo. DK64 is a shocking use of IP, even back then. But they also understood the market of the time better, when I consider the competition.

They definitely understood the hardware better than Nintendo themselves. I guess Nintendo have always shied away from outright owning studios. Even those contributing to their IP over decades.

 

[LoggerMan]

I didn't realise they didn't own the controlling share. Now I have egg on my face. Just presumed they were second party.

Yeah, after Banjo Kazooie, it did feel like Rare were trying to annoy Nintendo. DK64 is a shocking use of IP, even back then. But they also understood the market of the time better, when I consider the competition.

They definitely understood the hardware better than Nintendo themselves. I guess Nintendo have always shied away from outright owning studios. Even those contributing to their IP over decades.

I think Nintendo may have paid for 100% of the SGI machines Rare used to make DKC and N64 games on, so they were very invested in what Rare could do. Rare bought the initial SGI Challenge workstations, but later Nintendo bought a "truckload" of SGI machines for Rare to use. I guess Microsoft own those old machines now, if they haven't disposed of them already.

Gemini says:

Nintendo acquired a 25% stake in Rare in
1994, which it gradually increased to 49%shortly thereafter, making the developer a key second-party partner for the company during the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 eras.

So I guess 49% still counts as being a Nintendo second party developer.

 

[Robert Newbie]

That's interesting. I think you have a point, @LoggerMan. Perfect Dark and Conker may have hinted that Rare wanted to mature more with the times. Older kids and young adults migrated towards the PS1. The N64 had more of a child-centric userbase, if Yoshi's Story is anything to go by.

As a result, Nintendo may have suffered loses with both of those games, especially since Conker came with controversy and a content warning. Rare probably angled to make the games they wanted, and the N64's position in the market forced Nintendo's executives to take the gamble. Perfect Dark even had an M rating, which likely led to poorer sales.

Yeah, after Banjo Kazooie, it did feel like Rare were trying to annoy Nintendo. DK64 is a shocking use of IP, even back then. But they also understood the market of the time better, when I consider the competition.

I'm intrigued. How did DK64 end up being divisive? Even though it was a massive collect-a-thon, it was one of the best-looking games on the N64. Estimates state that it takes about 30 hours to do everything the game has to offer. (I always figured it'd be much longer.)

I think I know: Rare k*lled Wrinkly Kong.

As egregious as that is, I'm still upset that Rare aged Peppy in Dinosaur Planet Star Fox Adventures and benched him.

 

[LoggerMan]

Conker only sold 55k copies on N64. The remake on xbox sold over 400k by 2006. DK64 sold 5.27 million in n64.