How it works

The model every listed project follows

Decompilations, static recompilations and reimplementations share one shape: the port is open-source code that contains none of the original game. The player supplies a copy they already own, and the port extracts or reads the assets from it locally. That separation is what these projects rely on, and it is the only thing we distribute.

• +Port binaries mirrored from the upstream project's official releases, with their license and source linked.
• +Fingerprints of the game data each port supports, so you can check your own dump.
• −Never ROMs, disc images, extracted asset archives or "pre-patched" bundles, and never links to places that offer them.
• −Never a project that ships copyrighted game data or has been taken down. If a listed project receives a takedown it is delisted the same day.

What verified means

1. 1

   Provenance

   Every build points at a specific upstream GitHub release asset: repository, tag, file name and the original URL. Downloads are served from that release, not from a re-upload.

2. 2

   Pinned hash

   A verification job reads each release and records the SHA-256 of every platform asset. GitHub publishes a digest for most assets; when it does not, the job downloads the file and hashes it. The result is committed to a lockfile in the open-source repository, and the site only ever shows hashes from that lockfile.

3. 3

   Local check

   Drop a downloaded file on the Verify page and your browser hashes it with WebAssembly and looks it up in the pinned index. Nothing is uploaded. The same mechanism checks your own ROM against the revisions a port supports.

4. 4

   Human review

   A new upstream release does not appear here automatically. The lockfile change lands as a pull request, so a compromised or mistaken release is caught before anyone is told it is safe.

5. 5

   Scan on ingest (planned)

   Before a hash is promoted to the published lockfile, the asset will be scanned and held for a short quarantine window, so a compromised upstream account cannot push malware straight to players.

Listing policy

A port is listed when all of these hold:

• It distributes no copyrighted game data and requires the player's own copy.
• It produces a playable build, not only a matching decompilation that outputs a ROM.
• It publishes binaries as upstream releases we can pin, or we can build it from a tagged commit.
• It is not the subject of a takedown.

Open source, and the Unaudited badge

Nearly everything here is open source, and that is part of what "safe" means: anyone can read what the program does. A small number of community launchers publish only binaries. They can be listed when they meet every rule above, and they carry an Unaudited badge wherever they appear. The hash pin still proves you have the file the project published. The badge is there because nobody outside the project can review it.

Emulators

An emulator is listed under the same rule, with one addition: it must ship no console firmware, BIOS images or decryption keys, and must not download them. Where a system needs those, the page says so and they come from hardware you own. An emulator whose project has been shut down by a rights holder is not listed, whatever its forks claim.

Patches and ROM hacks

Not listed yet. Hacks such as the Pokémon difficulty mods are shared as patches you apply to your own ROM, which fits the bring-your-own model well, but two things have to be true before any appear here: the patch must be published by its author as a pinnable release, and the site must apply it in your browser against a fingerprinted ROM so no pre-patched file ever exists on our side. Until both are built, none are listed.

What is next

Questions people ask

Are the downloads on Recompiled safe?

Every download is the upstream project's own GitHub release asset, pinned to a SHA-256 recorded in a public lockfile. You can hash the file you received in your browser on the Verify page and confirm it is byte for byte what the project published. That proves provenance and integrity; it does not scan for malware in the upstream build itself, which is a planned step.

Is it legal to download these ports?

The ports are open-source code that contains none of the original game. That is why the projects exist in the open. What is not legal is obtaining a ROM or disc image you do not own, and Recompiled never hosts or links to one. You supply your own copy, and it is only ever hashed on your machine.

Do I need the original game?

Yes, always. Every port and emulator here reads the game from a copy you supply: a cartridge dump, a disc image or an existing installation. The game page says exactly which file and which revisions are supported, and can check your file locally.

What does verified mean here?

Provenance (a specific upstream release asset), a pinned SHA-256 in a committed lockfile, a local browser check against that hash, and human review of every lockfile change. It is a precise claim, not a badge.

Why is a project missing?

Either it has not been added yet, it produces a ROM rather than a playable build, it ships copyrighted data, or it has been taken down. Closed-source community launchers can be listed, but carry an Unaudited badge. The listing policy on this page is the full rule.