NotRexed/Hookshot

What it is

Hookshot is a static recompilation project for the Nintendo Switch 2 version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Rather than running the game through an emulator, it translates the game's ARM64 code to C, compiles that into a Windows program, reimplements the console system layer, and replays the game's graphics calls on Vulkan.

The repository contains the build tooling and runtime, not the game, keys, or a ready-made executable. A playable build is produced locally from the user's own copy of the game, and generated files are expected to stay on that machine README lines 26–30.

The project describes itself as experimental: testing has been limited to one PC (Ryzen 5 7600X, RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB) and mostly to the starting area. Kokiri Forest gameplay, sound, controllers, keyboard input, saves, an in-game menu, frame generation, and upscaling are listed as working. Hyrule Field and the rest of the game, plus AMD and Intel GPUs, are marked untested; frame rates without frame generation are around 50 fps while walking project status.

Build and run

The GUI path is the shortest. Download the HookshotBuilder zip from the Releases page, extract it, and keep the tools folder next to HookshotBuilder.exe. Point it at the game's .nup file, or at romfs and exefs folders, select a language and output directory, and start the build. When it finishes, run hookshot.exe from the chosen output folder.

The command-line path requires a supported .nup or matching romfs/exefs folders:

python -I nx2/make_game.py --nup "C:\path\your-game.nup" --out "C:\Games\Hookshot" --language en-US

For folder input, replace --nup with --romfs and --exefs README lines 72–74. Adding --check performs only a version check. A build is reported to take about 40 minutes.

Before building, install Visual Studio Build Tools with the "Desktop development with C++" workload, including the Windows SDK Visual Studio downloads. The command-line route also needs Python 3 with lz4, numpy, capstone, and unicorn, plus the clang from emsdk at C:\emsdk emsdk, and prebuilt third_party/ tools (a64emit, lld-link, zbic, SDL2) requirements.

Using the game

Press <kbd>Insert</kbd> in game to open the menu. Every option is off by default, and choices persist in hookshot_options.ini beside the executable. The menu covers frame generation (off/2x/3x/4x), frame pacing, internal resolution presets, Catmull-Rom or Lanczos upscaling, sharpness, game speed mode, handheld profile, ultrawide handling, and an FPS counter in-game menu.

Input works with a controller or keyboard and mouse; on keyboard, <kbd>W</kbd> <kbd>A</kbd> <kbd>S</kbd> <kbd>D</kbd> move and the arrow keys turn the camera controls.

Constraints

• Game version: only program 0400486024DEC000, update v131072, build e0f3ccfa is supported. Other versions do not work requirements.
• Platform: 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 only; Linux support is listed as a way to contribute, not a current option contributing.
• Hardware: a Vulkan 1.3 GPU with mesh shader support and current drivers; only NVIDIA has been tested. Expect at least 16 GB RAM (about 10 GB used at runtime) and roughly 60 GB free during a build requirements.
• Inputs: you must supply your own game copy. The repository does not contain the game, keys, or executables and does not explain how to obtain them README lines 26–30.
• Build footprint: the build reads but does not modify the game, writes to the chosen output folder and %LOCALAPPDATA%\HookshotBuilder, and hard-links romfs where the filesystem allows it README lines 99–105.
• Licensing: Hookshot's own code is MIT, but included Eden and suyu code keeps its GPL terms, so a compiled game as a whole falls under GPL-3.0-or-later license notes.

How the build works

nx2/lift.py translates the game's ARM64 code to C, nx2/build.py compiles that together with the host/ system layer, host/nvn_native.c records NVN2 graphics calls that gpu/vk/ replays on Vulkan, and Switch 2 Ampere shaders are lowered to Maxwell and translated to SPIR-V through Eden's shader recompiler README lines 142–151. More detail is available in the development guide and design notes.

HotRepo's take

Hookshot entered the HotRepo new-project list on 2026-11-07 with 238 stars, having gained 97 stars and 13 forks in the recorded one-hour window, and no all-language GitHub daily rank was recorded. That is a fast first-day signal for a project that requires a specific game build, a long local compilation, and a Vulkan-capable NVIDIA card. The sustained interest is notable, but the public record here says nothing about how many people completed a build or how far past Kokiri Forest it has been played.