For example, the N64 had a mere 4MB of RAM for most of its lifespan. Those assets were then manipulated or altered (or not, as the case may be) and then downsized to fit the brutal limitations of these early machines. In the early days of 3D gaming, these pioneering developers relied on data disks filled with raw, high-resolution assets, as well as other stock images. You can find their library on, and it’s a very impressive repository of raw textures that were used not only in Super Mario 64, but other turn-of-the-millennium games like Ocarina, Sonic Adventure, Banjo-Kazooie, and more.
In fact, the Render96 modders are so dedicated to this “vanilla” aesthetic that they’ve dedicated themselves to finding and matching the source textures that Nintendo developers used to craft the game’s assets in the first place. It was that ‘if he could, why shouldn’t I?’ type of mentality.” Nerrel’s pack gave me the motivation I needed. “I wanted to showcase the amount of research that went into finding each texture. “It didn’t have much to do with the look we were going for, because we were trying to keep it as accurate as possible,” PokeHeadroom says. While Nerrel redrew every texture in the game at a higher resolution, the Render96 project is all about keeping the art style true to the Silicon Graphics origins of the Nintendo 64. In fact, Render96’s HQ texture pack lead “PokeHeadroom” says he was inspired to work on the project by YouTuber Nerrel, who published an immaculate HD texture pack for The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask back in 2021. The idea of retexturing old 3D games to modern standards is nothing new. That said, the early three-dimensional graphics of the N64 represented not only the cutting-edge of technology, but also an unexplored domain that would transform the very face of gaming itself over the next few years. Such “photorealism” will be scrutinized for its every minute flaw five to 10 years from now. The vibrant colors, smooth textures, and simple reflections of the period seem quaint today, especially now that we’ve achieved near-photorealism in projects like The Last of Us 2 and God of War. When I was creating the 3D models, it was fun to deep-dive into the tiny details and figure out what the original artist’s thought process was.”Īs a child of the late ’90s myself, I also have tremendous nostalgia for the early 3D era of gaming. “I would make arts and crafts based on those styles and place them around my room. “The ’90s 3D style was ingrained in my head through countless advertisements and magazines I would read as a kid,” DorfDork says. With a number of different “HD N64”-style projects already in development, DorfDork decided on a more tailored approach: recreating the very specific art style of the N64’s promotional materials for splashy exclusives like Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64. It didn’t take long for him to decide to leverage the port’s improved modding support to fuel his own project.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA OCARINA OF TIME TEXTURE PACK HD PC
When DorfDork heard about the reverse-engineered PC port of Super Mario 64, he was amazed by the level of technical prowess on display.
The release of an unofficial PC port of the game in 2020 reignited interest in hacks and level packs, allowing a new generation of modders to play around with it far more easily than ever before. The game’s modding community has existed for decades in a primordial form, primarily working through emulators like Project64. Though Super Mario 64 is famous as the game that introduced true 3D platforming to the masses, it has remained relevant through the intervening years due to its competitive, hype-filled speedrunning scene.
“I was amazed to see the ’90s promotional renders being given new life and actually playing the game with them,” says Render96 project lead “DorfDork.” “It’s still a surreal experience for me.”
Instead, they’re recreating the colorful, ultra-saturated art renders from the game’s promotional materials. This inspired one group of modders from trying to create an improved version of Super Mario 64 that isn’t based on modern standards of graphical fidelity. However, the system’s low-poly aesthetics and obvious technical limitations can make revisiting beloved games like Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Banjo-Kazooie a shock. For players of a certain age, the Nintendo 64 is a sacred monument to nostalgia.
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