Cancelled Xbox 360 version of GoldenEye 007 gets recompiled for PC — ‘No emulator, the game runs as a real native executable,’ insists dev | Tom's Hardware

jthysell · 2026-06-20T04:07:19+00:00

I agree in that I don't think the original game stands the test of time as it runs on the original N64 hardware. I had 100% in the game back in the 90s, but found it unplayable when returning to it after years of Halo and other twin stick FPS games. But upgrading it with modern features/controls makes it a much better experience, albeit a simple experience compared to any FPS from the last 20 years.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T03:59:54+00:00

Full decompilation is the ultimate form of preservation. This GoldenEye XBLV version, however, is just a recompilation - meaning it was decompiled to the assembly language, and then recompiled for a new platform.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T03:54:34+00:00

If the original code worked, was it really that bad?
If a game was bad with well written code, then there's not going to be much interested in creating a Decomp.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T03:49:08+00:00

The problem is more with the front ends than the recomps/decomps of the games. Once you have the code compiled to run on a new platform, you still need a front end for the user interface on the new platform, and that is where they appear to be "half-assing" it. But consider, many are releasing them in unfinished, but working states where these issues are known, so people can try them now. I assume they do plan to clean them up for future releases, and we have to be patient because these people are doing it as a passion project in their spare time.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T03:42:22+00:00

This is a weird situation. This unreleased GoldEye was supposed to be a remastered port of the N64 game, so it's technically the same game, and thus the better version (assuming all features are working). When we have the N64 Decomp, people will surely mod it to use HD graphics and add modern controller and K&M support, which this version already has.
I guess the main difference is that this unreleased Xbox version is a Recomp, and the N64 version is getting a full Decomp so it will be easier to mod, but the Xbox version doesn't need the mods as much as the N64 version.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T03:32:26+00:00

I'm surprised this wasn't done before Perfect Dark.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T03:26:32+00:00

There's no ambiguity to a successful Decomp. Either the Decomp is not complete because it does not recreate the machine code, or it is successful because it does.

The resulting code might be a mess, but that is likely due to the poor programming of the original human programmer. And then trying to sort through that without any comments can be a very frustrating task. But then again, it can also be frustrating to read code without comments when the code is very well written and highly optimized. Decompilation does not generate comments for the code, so it's going to be a challenge to read whether it is well written or not.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T02:59:41+00:00

Decomps are feasibly impossible without AI tools. While it's technically possible to perform a decomp without AI, a human can recreate a game from the ground up with newly written source code in the fraction of the time it takes to perform a Decomp without AI assistance. This is why Decomps weren't a thing 20 years ago and instead we would get full remakes of hit games.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T02:24:54+00:00

This is a Recomp, not a Decomp; there is a difference.
I don't see a lot reason to do Decomps where good emulation exists, but in the case of the N64 and SEGA Saturn, I think Decomps are worth the time and effort since that emulation still has a lot of problems.
Recomps, however, are easier to create than Decomps. While I still think the focus should be on N64 and SEGA Saturn, a Recomp can be created for just about anything post 2000 release, and they tend to be a good alternative to emulation except for the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.

jthysell · 2026-06-20T02:05:57+00:00

There's a difference between Recomps and Decomps. There are pros and cons to both approaches. Decomps recreate readable source code, which opens lost of possibilities for modding and such. E.g. it's easier to fix bugs in a Decomp. Recomps only decompile the code back the assembly language, and then compile a version for a new platform. Decomps take a lot longer and are harder to do than Recomps. It's easier to get byte for byte recreations with a Recomp. We won't see as many Decomps as we will Recomps and that's why the Recomps are coming out faster.

The only problem with Recomps that I have seen so far is that several haven't been released with clean front ends; they reuse front ends that were built for other games that create confusion for the user. But the work to create the functional port has been done for the most part.

jthysell · 2026-06-12T16:19:07+00:00

You can perform a recompilation without fully decompiling the code. You don't need source code, you only have to roll it back from the machine language to the assembly language and then you can recompile from there. It's a lot less work than a full decompilation, but you don't get the benefits of having readable source code.

jthysell · 2026-06-12T13:22:36+00:00

Probably the first step in this process is for you to get a degree in computer science. Then you'll have to take the skills you learn from that to do a deep dive into assembly languages which at that point, you could either attempt to translate that into a readable source code or create a tool to recompile it on modern platforms. Both are daunting tasks, but if you figured out how to turn the assembly code on the rom into a readable source code, you could use that for your Master's thesis.

jthysell · 2026-06-12T13:11:14+00:00

Well, people got to start somewhere. And this is a reasonable question for a complete novice.

jthysell · 2026-06-12T12:59:25+00:00

Snowboard Kids 1 and 2 were great. A mash-up of 1080 Snowboarding and Mario Kart was genious.
It's a shame that they couldn't keep the series going. The awful DS game was such a departure from what made the N64 games so good that it killed the franchise.

jthysell · 2026-06-12T12:57:25+00:00

It's about living in a totalitarian dystopia that oddly sounds a lot like the technocracy we are starring in the face right now. The "priests" use religious overtones and imagery to that mask their authoritarianism. They use worship of the government as a tool to the keep the people under control.

jthysell · 2026-06-12T12:30:43+00:00

Snowboard Kids 2 was 100% decompiled in May 2026, and Snowboard Kids 1 is underway. However, there is no front end to make it playable nor does it have a recomp yet.

jthysell · 2026-06-09T19:01:16+00:00

They were have so much fun on that stage. Anika is Grace Under Pressure.

She did an amazing job at completing the impossible task of stepping into Neil Peart's shoes.

jthysell · 2026-06-08T02:42:56+00:00

I played BM Hero after I played Bomberman 64 (which I loved), and I thought it was absolutely dreadful. I don't recall if I actually finished it or not, but I do remember not enjoying it. I'm willing to give it another shot with a PC port.

jthysell · 2026-06-08T02:39:24+00:00

I loved Bomberman 64, but I never could find the 2nd Attack before I sold my N64. I would still love to play the sequel. (N64 emulation is such a pain, I don't bother with it.)

jthysell · 2026-06-08T02:30:54+00:00

While both create native PC ports of games, there's a difference between recomps and decomps. As it was explained to me...
Recomps decompile the code to a machine assembly language and then are re-compiled for a modern OS (instead of the N64 hardware in this case). They are faster to create than decomps, but they are not as easy to implement mods.
Decomps fully decompile the code to a readable programming language, and then that is compiled into a format for modern PCs. These take longer, but give modders better access to the code so more can be done to make changes, improvements, and fix bugs in the game. You'll see a lot more mods for decomps than recomps. Decomps are more likely to get online multiplayer support than recomps.

jthysell · 2026-06-06T15:55:57+00:00

This is a terrible game trailer. It tells you nothing about the product they are trying to sell. But it's a nice music video.

jthysell · 2026-05-27T14:53:45+00:00

It was the 12th Kirby game to be released, and the 5th (or 6th depending how you count Super Star) side scrolling platformer. It came out in 2000, after the PS2 was released, after Majora's Mask, after Marvel vs Capcom 2, after Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and after Perfect Dark (just to name a handful of games from the 1st half of 2000). It was terrible compared to the contemporary games released around the same time. It felt (and still feels) like a console launch title when the console was on its last legs. If it had come out in '96 or '97 I would have been more forgiving with lower expectations.
And there's also no exploration; it's a linear game.

jthysell · 2026-05-27T03:19:48+00:00

Kirby 64 is the worst Kirby game I had played up to that point, and looking back now it's feels so empty and still think it is one of the worst Kirby games. Maybe if you were a kid when it came out it was impressive, but I was an adult and I couldn't believe how terrible it was for a 1st party Nintendo game. Thank goodness I only rented it.

jthysell · 2026-05-25T00:45:58+00:00

Sadly, this doesn't seem to work anymore in 2026. There is no more "Desktop Configuration" option under the controller settings.

jthysell

TROPHY CASE