Fan static recompilation · work in progress

YW4 Recomp

Yo-kai Watch 4++ for the Nintendo Switch, translated into a native Windows program, with a renderer that is gradually becoming its own.

  • Up to 4K
  • 21:9 and 32:9
  • Soft and contact shadows
  • TAA · SMAA
  • DLSS · FSR
  • Frame generation
  • 60 to 144 fps
See the comparisons Showcases The launcher Project on GitHub
Mystic Grove, a bamboo forest by a river, at 3840×2160 A Yo-kai World street under cherry blossoms, at 3840×2160 The front of the school with its statue, at 3840×2160 A snowy shopping street in the past at evening, at 3840×2160 The street in front of the Adams house, at 3840×2160 The schoolyard on a sunny day, at 3840×2160
Mystic Grove · a bamboo forest by the river · 4K high
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What it is

A static recompiler in the style of N64Recomp: the game's ARM code is translated to C ahead of time and built into a Windows program, with the Switch's system services and its graphics API reimplemented on the PC (Vulkan).

Unlike an emulator, which replays the game's GPU commands as they are, the port can replace the game's renderer piece by piece. That is how it gets higher resolutions, wider screens, better shadows and DLSS and FSR upscaling.

Bring your own game. Nothing from the game is in the project. You need files from your own copy with the last update, 2.2.0.

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At a glance

Status
Work in progress, not playable end to end
Platforms
Windows x86-64 (Linux experimental)
Graphics
Vulkan
Game version
Update 2.2.0
CPU, busy street
111% of a core (emulator: 210%)
Memory
3.9 GB (emulator: ~7 GB, private + mapped)
Licence
MIT
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What the PC version adds

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Showcases

On an ASUS Zenbook (Ryzen 5 7530U, integrated Radeon graphics): about 35-40 frames/s with YW4 Recomp, 22-30 with the Eden emulator. More showcases

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The launcher and the overlay

The launcher's Play screen: the game's icon, Play, what's new in this version, screenshots, mods and DLC
Native PC launcher: Build, play, update and manage your game, all in one place. More on the launcher
The in-game overlay's Settings: the display section with window mode, resolution, aspect ratio and frame rate
The in-game overlay: Steam inspired control overlay: where you can find Graphical settings, Keybinds and more, built with full mouse and controller support in mind.
Preview: the game running in the schoolyard under a bar with the shadow settings and the frame rate
Preview: adjust game settings and see changes live.
The controls quick look with a DualSense: each button of the controller joined to what it does while exploring
Controls quick look: hold Back on a controller, or press F2, and a card shows what each button does.
The overlay in four themes: Jibanyan, Komasan, Shmoopie and Whisper
Themes: Inspired by popular characters like Jibanyan, Komasan, Shmoopie, Whisper and more, applied across the Launcher and overlay.
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Read more

ComparisonsBefore and after sliders for each improvement ShowcasesVideos of the game running The launcherFrom your game files to Play, step by step FeaturesEvery setting in detail, with measurements Building from sourceWhat you need and how to build Known issuesWhat is missing or wrong ProgressHow it got here, step by step Decision recordsWhy each part works the way it does
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Built with AI

Claude (Anthropic's model, used through Claude Code) wrote most of this project: the recompiler, the runtime, the reverse engineering notes and the docs. A person decides what to work on, plays and tests every build, compares it against the real game and reviews the changes.