A new Nintendo source code leak has been reported by Video Game Chronicle with videos of prototypes of several classic Nintendo titles including Yoshi’s Island and Super Mario Kart appearing online. According to an anonymous 4chan post, this leak may include source code for other games like Super Mario RPG, Star Fox 2, F-Zero, and even Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. There are also early sprite designs for beloved characters like Yoshi and Donkey Kong circulating.
This leak could be related to another that was first reported in May where over 2 terrabytes of data were released onto 4chan. According to modder Crash, RouteFree, who are responsible for iQue, was hacked resulting in a huge leak of N64, GameCube, and Wii data. iQue was a console sold exclusively in China to combat the piracy of Nintendo games there. It was basically a miniature N64 and could play titles like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Mario Kart 64.
RouteFree(ppl responsible for iQue) were hacked and a bunch of n64/gc/wii stuff got leaked
— Crash?? (@crashoveride953) May 2, 2020
If these leaks are legit, it could be a huge win for the ROM hack scene, giving modders the ability to bring these classics to PC and even edit them. Having access to more source code and other data could smooth out the process for these communities, though some have already proven resourceful enough to reverse engineer source code to create a working PC port of Mario 64 without the aid of leaks. How long these projects will last is always in question, however, since the legality of these efforts is often in question and Nintendo has proven its not afraid to take these creators to court.
A bunch of Nintendo prototypes are apparently currently being compiled from leaked source code right now as of this post
First up there’s this Yoshi’s Island proto with different UI graphics, placeholder music from Mario World, and has a prefix of ‘Super Mario Bros. 5’ pic.twitter.com/Qqock5RZaS— Akfamilyhome @ Origami King (@Akfamilyhome) July 24, 2020