LAS Recomp
[!IMPORTANT]
This project was made almost exclusively with AI. Nearly all of the code, tooling, reverse engineering and
documentation in this repository was written by and will be maintained by an AI (Anthropic's Claude, through Claude Code),
directed, tested and reviewed by a human. As a huge fan of this game, I made this for myself. Sharing it is a courtesy.
If you don't agree with the use of AI or don't trust code written by AI, that is your right, but I'm not interested
in the controversy in relation to this project. You may simply ignore this project and its code.
As with anything on the internet, you run the code at your own discretion.
LAS Recomp is a static recompilation of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Nintendo Switch, 2019) into a
native Windows, macOS and Linux application.
[!NOTE]
Currently supported platforms:
- macOS - Apple Silicon only, Metal graphics backend + MetalFX
- Windows - x86-64 only, Vulkan graphics backend
- Linux - x86-64, Vulkan graphics backend (AppImage)
- Linux aarch64 (ARM) - experimental: built but untested on real hardware; reports welcome
(docs/linux.md lists what to include)
System requirements
These are the minimums during the beta and may change as development continues.
macOS: any Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer) on macOS 15 or newer. Intel Macs aren't supported.
Windows and Linux:
| Minimum |
|---|
| OS | Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), or 64-bit Linux from about 2022 or newer (including the Steam Deck) |
| CPU | x86-64 with AVX2 and FMA: Intel 4th gen (Haswell) or newer, or AMD Ryzen |
| GPU | Vulkan 1.3 with an up-to-date driver, about as fast as a Switch or faster. For example: NVIDIA GTX 900 series or newer, AMD Radeon RX 400 series or Ryzen integrated graphics or newer, Intel Iris Xe or newer |
| RAM | 8 GB (16 GB recommended) |
| Disk | About 12 GB free for setup |
Not supported: Intel UHD 600-series and older Intel integrated graphics, and anything slower than a Switch. Linux on ARM (aarch64) is experimental.
[!NOTE]
No game files are included. LAS Recomp needs your own legally obtained copy of the extracted game files of
Link's Awakening v1.0.0, v1.0.1 or v1.1.0. When setting up, choose a folder that contains the exefs
and romfs folders, or their contents. Instructions on how to obtain these files will NOT be provided.
On first launch the app sets up what it needs, including the actual recompilation locally. No game files, assets or fonts are included.
The screenshot shows the start screen after setup; no Nintendo artwork is included until provided by the user.
Project Discord
https://discord.gg/DhrgdYqdcY
Status
This is a beta release. That means bugs are likely, crashes could occur, randomizer seeds could possibly be unsolvable (dungeon room shuffle modes are especially experimental at this point) and some graphics issues remain (especially in wide and ultrawide aspect ratios). This is a work in progress, hence the beta designation. To report a bug or a possible randomizer logic issue, open a GitHub issue - see CONTRIBUTING.md for what to include.
Known issues
Known issues and their status are on the GitHub issues page.
Steam Deck
- Add the AppImage to Steam as a non-Steam game and play it from there. In Desktop Mode, games Steam didn't launch
get Steam's desktop controller layout, which sends extra keyboard presses.
- If it won't start, add this to the game's launch options in Steam:
APPIMAGE_EXTRACT_AND_RUN=1 %command%
Features
Runs natively
- This is not emulation. It runs natively on Windows, macOS and Linux.
- Works with game versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1 and 1.1.0.
- Wider screens show more of the island, up to ultrawide. You can switch back to the original 16:9.
- Higher resolutions, a "match your display" option and dynamic resolution, with MetalFX (Mac) or FSR 1 (Windows and Linux) upscaling and SMAA anti-aliasing.
- Shaders are prepared ahead of time, so new areas don't stutter.
- A start screen where you pick vanilla or a randomizer seed, set up your game files and choose your settings.
- In-game menu: F1, or Minus + Plus on a controller.
- Switch between vanilla and any randomizer seed without restarting.
- Keyboard and controller support, with every button remappable. Button prompts match your controller (Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo).
- Controller rumble, and the light bar on PlayStation controllers shows Link's health.
- Controllers that aren't recognised can be added with a mapping file (see SDL_GameControllerDB).
- Play in English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Korean or Chinese (Simplified or Traditional).
- Optional extras: 360-degree movement, blur removal, mirror mode, faster walking and hiding the Hero Mode icon.
- Cosmetics: change Link's tunic, hair, skin and shield colours, the colour of the grass, leaves and sand (with season presets), give enemies random colours, or play with a Game Boy, Game Boy Color or grayscale filter.
- Optional run timer, with LiveSplit support.
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
