Latest news with #HarbourMasters
Metro
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Mario Kart 64 is available on PC with track editor thanks to fans
If you're not built for the rail-grinding frenzy of Mario Kart World, fans have released a revamped PC port of Mario Kart 64. As with Pokémon (and Doctor Who and James Bond), there's an argument that the best Mario Kart is the one you grew up with, even though going back to past entries can seriously harm your nostalgia. That's firmly the case for Mario Kart 64, the first 3D entry in the series, which while great at the time but is pretty pedestrian and plain by modern standards. The best part of it today are the courses, with classics such as Wario Stadium and Choco Mountain (both represented in Mario Kart World); as well as Kalimari Desert, Royal Raceway, and the branching path chaos of Yoshi Valley. If you're in need of a trip down memory lane,a team of fans under the name Harbour Masters have released a PC port with modern graphics settings, including ultrawide and 4K resolutions, high frame rates, and antialiasing. As you can see, based on the launch trailer, it no longer runs like sludge and, incredibly, it comes with a track editor where you can make your own courses too. The project, named SpaghettiKart, also includes a custom track importer, a freecam, and the option to increase the difficulty of CPUs. Like other works by Harbour Masters, including their previous ports of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time and Star Fox 64 (aka Lylat Wars), this reverse engineering project is legal because it doesn't contain any of the original code and it is isn't sold for money – although that probably won't stop Nintendo's lawyers entirely. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. As such, this is the result of months of work from a 'vast number of contributors' and, as noted by the team, it is still a 'work in progress' with the occasional 'crash for a small minority of users'. More Trending 'We would like to thank the tool developers, decompers, compiler researchers, torch, n64split, splat, game researchers, and a special thanks to the OverKart 64 community,' a note reads on the YouTube description. 'This project garnered a vast number of contributors, as such we cannot list them all here, however, a big thank you to all involved and anyone who contributed over the years. Our sincerest of apologies if we left anyone out!' To play SpaghettiKart, players have to provide their own legally-sourced ROMS, but that's the only barrier to entry. You can download the port here. Alternatively, if you're not into the PC scene, the original Mario Kart 64 is available for anyone with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: The most successful game of the year is almost 50% off on PS5 and Xbox MORE: Persona sells more than Sonic the Hedgehog in leaked Sega sales numbers MORE: Death Stranding 2: On The Beach review – the postman rings twice
Android Authority
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
No emulator required: Star Fox 64 fan port now available on Steam Deck and Switch
TL;DR The Star Fox 64 recomp got a big update, with new releases for the Steam Deck and Switch. Running natively on modern hardware, it offers enhanced graphics, cheats, and more. This is the first major update to the project since it was released in December 2024. It's been just over six months since the Star Fox 64 recompilation called Starship brought the N64 classic to Windows, but the project has now received a huge update with new features, bug fixes, and two additional platforms. Called Starship Barnard Alfa (v2.0.0), it brings the new, native code to the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch for the first time. Sure, you can already play Star Fox 64 on both platforms via N64 emulators or Nintendo Switch Online (also an emulator), but the native fan port brings several key modernizations. For example, it supports higher resolutions, widescreen output, upscaling, cheats, 5.1 surround sound, and more. You can even invert the stick! The fan port works without an emulator and has many modern enhancements. Granted, you will still need a working ROM of Star Fox 64 to start playing. Like all recompilation projects, the developers have created a tool that extracts the copyrighted assets from a legally acquired ROM. This completely sidesteps any piracy concerns, so it's a huge win for game preservation. The latest version now works on the US, JP, and EU versions of the ROM for all you Lylat Wars fans out there. This is one of many recompilation projects from the Harbour Masters team, which has previously released ports of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask under the names ShipofHarkinian and 2Ship2Harkinian, respectively. Those two later received ports to Android phones by third parties, although as of writing Starship hasn't gotten the same treatment. You can download the code for the project on the official GitHub, but again, you'll need to source your own ROM, preferably by dumping your own physical copy. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
