Another day, another unofficial PC version of a classic console game. This time, we’re looking at an unofficial PC port of the fantastic arcade speedboat racing game, Wave Race 64. So, let’s dive in.
This PC version was created by statically recompiling the game’s MIPS code into C with N64Recomp. It runs on N64ModernRuntime, using RT64 as the renderer and RecompFrontend for the menus and controller support.
Now, the good news is that the game supports widescreen monitors and unlocked frame rates. The game keeps its own update rate. It runs at 30 Hz during races and 20 Hz in the menus and Time Trial mode. RT64 then smooths each object’s movement between game frames, allowing the game to run at your display’s refresh rate. The physics, camera, and timers are all left untouched.
Wave Race 64 was one of the best-looking games of Nintendo 64. At that time, it had some of the best water effects. And, since this game never came out on PC, it’s cool to have an unofficial PC version of it.
What’s also cool is that the latest version of this PC port comes with an HD texture pack. Brian Tate has improved 1,828 HD texture mappings across 1,806 images. He has also replaced nine recordings and added native rendering. This includes Direct3D 12 on Windows and Metal on Mac. HD textures, custom music, and high water are enabled by default on a fresh install.
Those interested can download it here. As with most recompilations, it does not include any in-game assets. This means you’ll need to own the original game and provide your own ROM file to play it. Right now, this PC port is only compatible with Wave Race 64 (USA) (Rev A).
In case you are into projects like these, you can also download the unofficial PC ports of Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Crash Team Racing, and Duke Nukem: Zero Hour. You can also play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Perfect Dark, and Jak & Daxter.
Furthermore, Brian Tate has brought the three classic SNES Donkey Kong Country games to PC. For our SNES fans, we also have a PC port of Star Fox. And, since we’ve already gotten four SNES games, I’d really love to see a PC version of Jurassic Park with KB&M support and HD textures. Now that would be awesome.
And that’s not all of them. We also have the unofficial PC ports of Mario Party 4, Sonic Unleashed, GoldenEye 007, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Silent Hill, and Super Smash Bros 64. Last month, we shared the unofficial PC ports of Gears of War 2 and Syphon Filter. Earlier this month, we shared the PC ports of Diddy Kong Racing and Ace Combat 6. Finally, you can download the unofficial PC versions of Blue Dragon, Tekken 3, Mario Kart Wii, and Pokemon Crystal.
Have fun!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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