That headline is not misleading, the original Legend of Zelda III: A Link to the Past on Super Nintendo has received an update by fans that includes Full Motion Video (FMV) cutscenes and CD quality audio.  This is all accomplished thanks to a hardware hacker named Byuu, who created BSNES and Higan and more importantly the MSU-1 chip that is housed inside of the SD2SNES cartridge (if you want to play this on actual hardware).  You have to watch the video to get a true feeling for the differences, something words simply cannot convey.

For most retro gamers the knowledge of the SNES CD-ROM that never surfaced is common knowledge.  Sadly, had it actually made it to market, we might have been enjoying SNES games like this hack, 20+ years ago.  No matter though, thanks to Byuu we can now enjoy this particular classic in revived aural magic, complete with 256 color FMV cutscenes that help move the story along.  How cool is that?

The MSU-1 chip is unique in that it is similar to the Super FX chip but offers nearly 100% improvement in two specific areas.  FMV capabilities (the SNES had this already but it was done with really low frame rates) and sound improvement.  While the SNES is known for its sound capabilities, the system was quickly overshadowed by the following generation of game consoles that supported true CD quality audio.  The MSU-1 chip corrects this in a fashion that does not take anything away from the processing power of the SNES itself.

The FMV scenes are pulled from the Zeldamotion animation with the audio derived from orchestral versions of the original music.  Using the MSU-1 chip powered SD2SNES flash cart will allow you to enjoy this updated SNES classic on your actual hardware, just like if it had been intended.

We will have more specific coverage on the enhancements in an upcoming issue of Retro Gaming Magazine.

Source: Retrocollect

Carl Williams

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