See what some of your favorite Nintendo 64 games would look like with an HD makeover

Releasing HD versions of older games has become a common practice in the games industry - so much so that even games released in "HD" originally are being remastered on newer hardware to give them a little extra polish and shine.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to know when, or even if an HD version of your favorite classic game is on the horizon.

Those questions are still up in the air, but thanks to YouTube user and graphical designer "CryZENx," we can see what some games from the late 90's and early '00s would look like if they were made today.

CryZENx recreates levels, primarily from Nintendo 64 games, using the Unreal Engine, the same graphics engine powering modern games like "Bioshock: Infinite," and the "Batman Arkham" series. The levels can be downloaded and played on computers capable of running the Unreal Engine, but keep in mind CryZENx is just recreating these levels graphically, he isn't recreating any gameplay. That means no enemies, no other characters, and no story - just an open level reworked with modern graphics for you to explore.

Nintendo is notoriously strict about people making remakes or homages to their games, so while it would be great to play a fan-made HD remake of "Super Mario 64," watching these videos is probably the closest we'll get.

To give you a taste of how CryZENx's recreations stack up against the original games, we've stacked the two side by side, and you can switch between the two by dragging the slider across the screen. What a difference new graphics can make.