Long-time The Legend of Zelda fans now have the opportunity to play one of the franchise's most beloved entries on their without the need for a Nintendo console or an emulator. The series' third entry, A Link to the Past, is now available to download as an unofficial PC port through GitHub.
The reversed-engineered game is different than using an emulator to play classic games because it means your computer doesn't need to pretend to be a Super Nintendo to run the game's code. Rather, it runs as a regular program on your machine without needing an extra program or web service to play it.
However, it does take a little doing to get it running on your machine. But, the GitHub page provides detailed instructions on how to install the game on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. The page also includes the steps necessary to play the game on a Nintendo Switch. Needless to say that this game is not officially authorized or licensed by Nintendo. So, if you choose to put it on your machine, do so at your own risk as you may be violating copyright law.
The PC port of A Link to the Past is complete, with the same levels, enemies, and puzzles as the original. But it also has some features not present in the original Super Nintendo version. For example, the port supports pixel shaders, widescreen aspect ratios, a higher-quality world map, and a secondary item slot. Additionally, the game supports MSU audio tracks, resulting in an enhanced soundtrack.
This latest unoffical port of The Legend of Zelda franchise comes on the heels of The Legend of Doom, which dropped last month. In the port, an intrepid fan converted the original 1986 game to 3D for VR headsets.
Source: Neowin