SerenityG4K/SpaceAnimalsRecomp

What it is

SpaceAnimalsRecomp is a static recompilation project for Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 (update 2.0.0). It translates the game's ARM64 code to C++, compiles it to native x86-64 on the user's PC, maps the Switch 2 NVN graphics API onto Vulkan, and translates the game's shaders to SPIR-V. The result is a native Windows program, not an emulator.

The project ships a launcher that verifies the user's .nup dump by SHA-256, extracts executables, recompiles the game (roughly 20–30 minutes), links recomp_main.exe, and precompiles shaders for the local GPU. It targets players who own the Switch 2 game and want a native PC build, and developers interested in static recompilation, NVN-on-Vulkan and Switch 2 reverse engineering. The README states that nearly all code, tooling and documentation were written by Claude under human direction and testing.

Getting started

Requirements: Windows 10/11 64-bit, a CPU with AVX2, a GPU with Vulkan 1.3, about 6 GB free disk for the build, and 32 GB RAM recommended. The only tested configuration is an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X with an NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti. You also need your own Star Fox Switch 2 copy with the 2.0.0 update (v131072, title ID 0400E88025B1A000), dumped from your own console as a single .nup file.

1. Download SpaceAnimalsRecomp-1.0.3-windows.zip from Releases; it bundles Python, Clang, GCC and glslang.
2. Extract it to a writable folder whose path uses only Latin characters, for example C:\Games\StarFox, not Program Files.
3. Run lanceur.exe, choose your .nup copy under COPY › choose, then click BUILD THE GAME.
4. Wait for extraction, recompilation, linking and shader translation, followed by first-launch shader precompilation for your GPU (about a minute).
5. Click PLAY; full screen or windowed, language, resolution, frame rate and controls are configured in the launcher or via SETTINGS.

Your copy is read-only and never modified. Saves live in %APPDATA%\SpaceAnimalsRecomp\save.

Constraints and status

• The launcher is Windows-only today; Linux is on the roadmap. Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck have not been tested.
• The project is experimental and not optimized. 80 of 2,468 shader stages are not yet translated, and 90/120 fps modes are unstable; 60 fps is the stable target.
• No DLSS/FSR or frame generation yet, so rendering is at native resolution and demands more GPU power than the console version.
• Input is limited to keyboard (remappable) and one XInput controller; mouse, PlayStation/Switch Pro controllers, rumble, amiibo, mods and online play are planned.
• Game files, keys and firmware are not included and will not be provided; builds made from your copy contain Nintendo code and must stay private.
• The project's own code is GPL-3.0; bundled build tools keep their own licenses.

HotRepo's take

HotRepo first recorded the repository on 2026-11-13, when it appeared on the C++ new-project list with 20 stars gained over a window of roughly 9.5 hours, reaching 121 stars and 5 forks in the sampled hourly series. There is no GitHub daily-rank entry and no Hacker News discussion in the available data, so the record shows early, modest pickup in the C++ list rather than broad ranking momentum. The technical substance is specific: a local, file-verified recompile pipeline with Vulkan pipeline libraries and published progress tables, plus candid notes about untranslated shaders and a single tested hardware configuration.