Where Classic-Game Decompilation Projects Live on GitHub: From SNES Final Fantasy to PS3 Recomps
Guide to classic-game decomp repos on GitHub with stars and push dates: Final Fantasy, pokered, Zelda, SM64, PS3/Xbox 360 recomps, and a pokered build walkthrough.
TL;DR: Decompilation repos on GitHub hold code: assembly, C, build scripts and tooling, never the game's assets or ROMs. For most you supply your own game files; pokered builds straight from source. Real decomps exist for SNES, Game Boy, N64 and PS1. For the Xbox 360 / PS3 era there are only static recompilations and tooling. Stars below are as of 2026-10-19.
What a decomp repo actually contains
- Source: hand-written assembly (SNES 65816, Game Boy SM83) or C (N64, PS1) that rebuilds the original binary, often byte for byte ("matching").
- Build scripts: a
Makefileor similar, plus helper tools. - No game assets: for most projects you drop your own ROM or disc image in and the build extracts what it needs. pokered is the exception: its Makefile builds from
.asmand.pngsources in the repo. - Progress varies: some are finished, some are WIP. Check each README before expecting a playable build.
Final Fantasy repos
| Repo | Stars | Last push | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xeeynamo/ff7-decomp | 174 | 2026-10-18 | FF7 (PS1) matching decomp in C, in progress |
| everything8215/ff6 | 88 | 2026-09-14 | FF6 (SNES) disassembly |
| roengstrom/ff8-decomp | 57 | 2026-10-18 | FF8 (PS1, USA SLUS-008.92) WIP decomp |
| everything8215/ff4 | 35 | 2022-08-02 | FF4 disassembly, stale since 2022 |
| everything8215/ff5 | 21 | 2026-09-21 | FF5 (SNES) disassembly; builds FF5 1.0 (J) and RPGe 1.10. Stages 1-3 done, stage 4 (RAM defs/cleanup) in progress |
| alexbeavs-ps1-ports/final-fantasy-ix-recomp | 9 | 2026-10-02 | FF9 (PS1) static recompilation v0.1.1, no quality claim |
| maurizi/ff9-decomp | 3 | 2026-10-11 | FF9 (PS1 NTSC-U) "matching decompilation", created 2026-10-11, claims unverified |
Chrono Trigger (SNES): the ChronoRET project site claims a byte-exact matching decomp of CT US 1.0 with 100% of reachable 65C816 code matched (249,251 bytes, 3,736 functions). I did not verify the code repo's name, so treat other CT repos as unverified.
Not decomps, but FF-related tools (all need your own game copy): FFNx (523 stars, FF7/FF8 PC engine driver), Memoria (714, FF9 Steam mod tools), makoureactor (81, FF7 field scripts), Deling (52, FF8 field/worldmap), FFTPatcher (36, FF Tactics).
No matching decomp was found for FF1-3, FF Tactics, or FFX/X-2.
Other classics
| Repo | Stars | Last push | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| n64decomp/sm64 | 8,896 | 2024-02-04 | Super Mario 64, your ROM supplies assets |
| zeldaret/oot | 5,603 | 2026-10-18 | Ocarina of Time, your ROM |
| pret/pokered | 4,999 | 2026-10-06 | Pokémon Red/Blue, builds from source |
| open-goal/jak-project | 3,589 | 2026-10-16 | Jak & Daxter (PS2): decompiler + GOAL compiler, own game files |
| zeldaret/mm | 1,749 | 2026-10-11 | Majora's Mask, your ROM |
| pret/pokecrystal | 2,532 | 2026-10-06 | Pokémon Crystal |
| FoxdieTeam/mgs_reversing | 813 | 2026-10-19 | MGS Integral (PS1): main executables 100% decompiled, overlays remaining |
| decompme/decomp.me | 634 | 2026-10-18 | Collaborative decompilation website, a tool not a game |
Related ports built on these: Shipwright (5,670, OoT PC port on zeldaret/oot), Zelda64Recomp (7,465, MM static recomp, own ROM), and the N64Recomp tool (8,266).
By console era: where real decomps stop
| Era | What exists | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| NES / SNES / GB | Full matching disassemblies | pokered, pokecrystal, FF5, FF6, FF4 |
| N64 | Full decomps plus recomp ports | sm64, oot, mm, Zelda64Recomp |
| PS1 / PS2 | Real matching decomps, in progress | FF7, FF8, MGS, Jak (OpenGOAL) |
| Xbox 360 / PS3 | Static recompilation, tools and mods only; no full decomps verified | XenonRecomp, UnleashedRecomp, ps3recomp |
| PS4 | Nothing verified beyond modding tools | Smithbox (lists Bloodborne) |
| Recomp project | Platform | Stars | Last push | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hedge-dev/XenonRecomp | Xbox 360 | 6,572 | 2025-08-04 | PPC to C++ recompiler tool |
| hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp | Xbox 360 | 5,221 | 2026-06-29 | Playable Sonic Unleashed PC port, no assets, X360 version only |
| sp00nznet/ps3recomp | PS3 | 503 | 2026-10-16 | Runtime/toolkit, early |
| soyjxck/dod3-recomp | PS3 | 60 | 2026-10-16 | Drakengard 3; README says playable start on Windows/macOS |
| sp00nznet/flow | PS3 | 16 | 2026-10-14 | flOw renders, not fully playable |
Context: the RPCS3 emulator (20,123 stars) is not a decomp. For FromSoftware games the repos are modding tools such as Smithbox (740), not decomps. Recompilation translates the original machine code to run natively; it is not the same as recovering readable source.
Build pokered step by step
You need make, git, a C compiler (gcc or clang) and RGBDS 1.0.4 (the repo's .rgbds-version). No ROM is required.
1. Install tools
- Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install make gcc git, then build RGBDS 1.0.4 from source (instructions). - Arch:
sudo pacman -S make gcc git rgbds(checkrgbasm --version; the package may not be 1.0.4). - macOS: install Homebrew, then RGBDS 1.0.4 from the pre-built downloads.
- Windows 10/11: install WSL, open it, run
apt-get update && apt-get upgrade, work under/mnt/c/Users/<user>/Desktopand follow the Linux steps.
2. Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/pret/pokered
cd pokered
make
If you cannot install RGBDS 1.0.4 globally, unpack it into pokered/rgbds-1.0.4/ and run make RGBDS=rgbds-1.0.4/.
3. Outputs: pokered.gbc and pokeblue.gbc, plus pokered.patch and pokeblue.patch. make blue_debug gives pokeblue_debug.gbc.
4. Verify
make compare
This builds everything then runs sha1sum -c roms.sha1 (shasum on macOS). Expect OK per file, meaning a byte-for-byte match. Other targets: make red, make blue, make clean, make tidy.
5. Know the layout
| Folder | Holds |
|---|---|
engine/ |
Game code |
data/ |
Tables such as trainer parties |
constants/ |
EQU definitions (species, items) |
text/ |
Dialogue |
scripts/ |
Map event scripts |
gfx/ |
PNG art converted at build time |
audio/ |
Music and sound effects |
tools/ |
C helpers built automatically |
6. First edits (from the pokered wiki tutorials)
- Change starters:
constants/pokemon_constants.asm(STARTER1..STARTER3), rival teams indata/trainers/parties.asm, Oak's text intext/OaksLab.asm, plusscripts/OaksLab.asm. - Show a custom starter's Pokédex entry:
engine/events/starter_dex.asm. - Change dialogue: edit the
text "..."lines intext/OaksLab.asm.
After any edit make compare will fail by design, since the ROM no longer matches retail. Help is on the pret Discord (#pokered). The wiki's own tutorial list is sparse, and I did not open the other tutorials, so paths for adding Pokémon or moves are unverified.
Left out or unverified
Other Chrono Trigger repos, the FF7-Disassembly annotation repo (redirects), 2ship2harkinian, Flagrum for FFXV, and Persona/Resident Evil PS3/PS4 projects were not confirmed, so I don't recommend them. Stars and dates come from the GitHub API where available; a few items rely on web snapshots.
Use your own legally owned game copies and check each repo's license.
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