The Steam Deck might be showing its age, but it can still do a ton of things Nintendo’s Switch 2 can’t. While the Switch 2 can play official Nintendo 64 games, the Deck can do one better by playing decompiled ROMs of these classic titles, meaning fans will be able to play these older games with widescreen support and 60 FPS.
Although it will take some tinkering, playing these decompiled ROMs with little issue is making the Steam Deck an ultimate N64 handheld. Fans could already play most of the library on this system through emulation, but having the option to play some of these titles natively is just pure bliss for retro gamers.
Decompiled N64 games have been going on for a while now, with Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 getting them a while back. A recompiled port of the classic Mario Kart 64 was recently spotted, making that game better than ever. While it won’t make fans of Mario Kart World jealous, this is still a great way to re-experience the classic.
Full disclosure, fans will need their own legally obtained N64 ROMs to play these decompilations on their Steam Deck. While there are other ways to get these ROMs, we implore fans to try and use their original N64 carts for the ROMs, just so it feels more official.
Some Nintendo fans would argue that you can already play some of the best N64 games on Switch and Switch 2 through NSO, which is correct. For a $50 yearly fee, fans can play the original Paper Mario, Mario Kart 64, and Pokémon Stadium, among other titles, in a legal way. In terms of legality and proper support, this is probably the best way to play these beloved older titles.
However, you won’t get incredible widescreen support for N64 games on your Switch 2, nor do HD texture packs exist on the system. Gamers who want to play the best possible versions of these titles can do so on their PC or, you guessed it, Valve’s amazing Steam Deck. They can also do the same on an ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion GO, but those are much pricier than Valve’s cool machine.
It’s always fascinating seeing these developers go all the way to recompile an N64 game and make them even better on PC for no money. This shows how much of an impact these classic titles have had on devs, so seeing them improve these titles for free is admirable. They might not be “proper” remasters, but in some ways, they’re better like this.
For more nostalgic gaming takes, stick with us here at Gfinityesports.com: the best website for Steam Deck users.