Developer uses AI to bring a native version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to iOS — no emulation required to play one of gaming’s all-time greats on an iPhone or iPad

As fans wait for Nintendo’s announcement of a release date for its The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for the Nintendo Switch 2, developer Chris “Kahris” Sotraidis has introduced something to tide over the more impatient among them. HarkinianPad is a port of the Nintendo 64 classic that runs natively on iOS and iPadOS.

Leveraging OpenAI’s Codex and GPT-5.6 Sol, Kahris overcame the limitations of traditional emulation and the restrictions of the Nintendo 64 and delivered modern features like widescreen, full-screen support, and buttery-smooth 60 FPS gameplay—but you’ll still need to bring your own ROM.

Released in 1998 on the Nintendo 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as one of the greatest titles in gaming history. Nintendo later launched a remake for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011. For those without a Nintendo 64 or Nintendo 3DS, the classic was eventually available on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 through the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Those restrictions were a drag for gamers who wanted to experience the game but did not own a Nintendo console.

Fortunately, a group of developers known as the Zelda Research Team (ZELDARET) decompiled The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time into C in 2021, which enabled developer Harbour Masters to create Ship of Harkinian, an unofficial native port of the Nintendo 64 classic, compatible with Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Wii U.

As you can probably guess by the name of Kahris’s project, HarkinianPad is based on the engine from Ship of Harkinian. Kahris had Codex 5.6 Sol adapt the already decompiled C code for iOS. The agent essentially rebuilt it as a native Arm64 application with rendering through Apple’s Metal API. It paves the way for better performance and support for higher native resolutions and features that were not available with the original.

HarkinianPad not only runs at full resolution with widescreen support, but it does so at a buttery-smooth 60 FPS. That’s a big upgrade over the original’s 240p resolution at 20 FPS, which is the best the Nintendo 64’s hardware could do at the time.

With HarkinianPad, Kahris introduces a new touch-friendly control scheme. You can use the iPhone or iPad’s touch controls or opt for a more traditional setup by connecting a Bluetooth controller, mouse, or keyboard. This flexibility lets newcomers and diehard The Legend of Zelda fans enjoy the game that best suits their play styles.

HarkinianPad is compatible with both iOS and iPadOS, allowing gamers to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on a wide range of Apple devices, from iPhones to iPads. As an open-source project, HarkinianPad is freely available to anyone interested; the latest version and source code are live on the project’s GitHub page. Although HarkinianPad, in keeping with Ship of Harkinian, is not a traditional emulator, it still requires users to possess a legally owned or obtained copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ROM. The ROM serves as a library where HarkinianPad pulls assets, such as graphics, music, and sound effects, during gameplay.

While Nintendo’s official Ocarina of Time remake will doubtless be a boon for Switch 2 owners, it’s interesting to see how AI coding tools can allow a solo developer to bring an existing community preservation codebase to a new audience. As these tools become more capable, it’ll be interesting to see which other retro titles get a new lease on life as motivated developers pursue new ports for modern platforms.