This fan-made N64 Minecraft box art takes us back to a 90s that could’ve been

A Minecraft player under the Reddit username ilTizosArt has made a rather convincing render of what box art could have looked like if the game were released on the Nintendo 64. The fan-made art features a pasty white Steve contending with Zombies and Creepers just outside of a mine.

For anyone who didn’t grow up staring at all the N64 games on a Blockbuster shelf, this is largely what Minecraft’s box art could have represented if it were made and released during this time. With 3D graphics being such a new staple in gaming, games were marketed with art that looked quite different from the actual game. Our one point of criticism is the grass is too texturized for most N64 covers and there wouldn’t be shadows, but we love this image for the nostalgia it brings back for us.

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When thinking of how an N64 version of Minecraft would work, we think of a game that is significantly held back from what it is today. To get it to run on that hardware, there definitely wouldn’t be infinite worlds or world generation. You would be given one sandbox Overworld location that you could mine from with the most barebone Minecraft resources like Dirt, Stone, and probably a couple of ores like Iron and Diamond. Zombies could certainly have worked, but we are unsure about Creeper explosions.

These days, Minecraft runs on just about everything, but hardware today is much more powerful than it was at the time of the Nintendo 64. Many of the features you love almost assuredly wouldn’t be able to function in a legitimate N64 build. Given its blocky graphics, we definitely think it could have been altered and cut down to be in a playable state.

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Given how popular 3D platformers were at the time, we also think the playstyle would have revolved around that instead of survival and building. Going up against the likes of Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would also probably make this a forgotten gem on the platform rather than the highest-selling game of all time.