There’s a new Legend of Zelda PC port, and while it isn’t an official PC release from Nintendo, playing the classic RPG game on your computer is still legal provided you use it with a legal copy of the game’s original ROM. The Zelda PC port in question is A Link to the Past, first released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, rereleased multiple times through Nintendo’s virtual console and online offerings, and, as ever with Nintendo games, locked to Nintendo systems only. GitHub user snesrev reverse engineered A Link to the Past, also known as Zelda 3, and created a native PC port of the game that’s completely playable – so long as you have the ROM yourself.
Snesrev says the Link to the Past PC port supports snapshots, playable, saved configurations and states captured at a specific point, and there’s a small suite of commands you can use to alter how the game plays. Most notable are a turbo mode, which snesrav says should work in any snapshot, along with pre-included snapshots of specific dungeons, and a command that lets you instantly refill your magic and health meters.
The big draw here is obviously being able to play A Link to the Past on PC, but there’s plenty of room here for tinkering with the game, understanding how it works, and, of course, modding it. Since the files live on your computer, you’re technically free to modify the game however you see fit.
You can check it out yourself on GitHub.
It’s not much of a stretch to say Zelda and A Link to the Past are responsible for some of the best open world games on PC today. And if you’re looking for something a bit more modern, check out our picks for the top adventure games on PC as well.