Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past has now been fully ported to PC, and it comes with brand new features.
Often considered one of the franchise’s best entries, the game has now been reverse-engineered, thanks to a programmer who goes by the username xander-haj on Github. According to the information provided about the project, this is a natively functioning PC version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and all the components of the original have been re-implemented in roughly 70–80 thousand lines of C/C++ code. The entire game can be played through from start to finish.
The levels, enemies, and puzzles from the original game are all present in this version, and it is, therefore, content complete. It currently requires the PPU and DSP libraries from LakeSNES, a SNES emulator with a number of speed optimizations that permit compatibility with modern operating systems. The code could be ported to retro hardware if it was unshackled from LakeSNES.
This version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past comes with new features that are not found in the original. A great new feature for emulation enthusiasts is this version’s ability to run the original machine code in parallel to the reverse-engineered C implementation. Additionally, the port supports pixel shaders, making way for higher quality visuals. It also includes support for widescreen aspect ratios, including both 16:9 and 16:10.
A new addition to this reverse engineered version is the higher quality world map. In terms of Quality of Life features, a second item slot that can be accessed with the “X” button is also added to the game, making it simpler and faster for players to switch between items. Additionally, players don’t have switch back and forth to their inventory screen because it’s now possible to switch between current items using L/R. This version of A Link to the Past also supports MSU audio tracks, which use a modern synthesizer in place of the SNES’s DSP chip.
