Quick Answer: Ocarina Recomp is an experimental project that runs Ocarina of Time natively on Windows without an emulator. It translates the game's ARM64 code to C and compiles it on your own PC from your own copy of the game. The repository ships no game files, keys, or executable, and the build needs Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), a Vulkan 1.3 GPU, and game version 1.1.1.
Most people hear "Ocarina of Time native PC" and picture a polished port you download and double-click. That's not what this is. Ocarina Recomp is a fan project that builds the game on your machine, and as of the current source it's honest about its limits: the opening, the Deku Tree, and Kokiri Village work, while Hyrule Field and the rest of the game haven't been tested yet. Here's what it does, what it needs, and where it still breaks, based on the project README.
What "native" means here, and why it's not emulation
An emulator runs the original machine code inside a software model of a console, instruction by instruction. A recompiler does the translation once, ahead of time, and then the result is an ordinary Windows program. That's the core difference, and it's why the project can talk about frame rates and shader behavior rather than CPU cycles.
The pipeline has four stages, and each one matters when something goes wrong:
recomp/gen.pytranslates the game's ARM64 code into C.tools/build_game.pycompiles that C together withruntime/, which stands in for the console's operating system.runtime/converts the NVN 2 graphics calls into Vulkan.- Shaders written for Switch 2's Ampere GPUs are downgraded to Maxwell (
lower_to_maxwell.h), then translated to SPIR-V by a patched build of Ryujinx.
Vulkan and SPIR-V are open standards maintained by the Khronos Group, so the graphics path isn't locked to one vendor's proprietary API. The catch is that step four is where most of the complexity lives, and it's where the first-run problems come from.
What works today and what doesn't
The README lists its status in a table, and it's worth reading as a checklist rather than a promise. Working in the tested region: the title screen and new game through the Deku Tree, Kokiri Village (trees, plants, houses, lighting), sound, controller input, saves, and videos. The author reports about 59 fps standing still and 51 to 55 fps while walking, measured on a Ryzen 9 9950X3D with an RTX 5090.
Several things are still open:
- Area-transition hitches still happen, mostly the first time you enter a new area.
- Ocarina playing has a fix applied but hasn't been tested in-game.
- Hyrule Field and the rest of the game are untested.
- AMD and Intel GPUs have never been tested.
That last point matters more than it looks. Every benchmark in the project comes from one PC, so treat the fps numbers as one data point, not a guarantee for your rig.
Hardware you actually need
The requirements are specific, and skipping any of them is the fastest way to a failed build:
- Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with a CPU that supports AVX2.
- A GPU with Vulkan 1.3 and mesh shader support, with a current driver installed. The author recommends NVIDIA.
- 16 GB of RAM or more is recommended. The README says that with less, the project was never tested, and the build or game may fail.
- Your copy of the game at version 1.1.1. Other versions don't work.
Disk space depends on the install route, which we'll get to. Plan for 40 GB free with the ZIP installer, and 60 GB plus roughly 15 GB on drive C: for the tools if you take the other routes. The build itself takes 30 minutes to 2 hours, and you can keep using the PC while it runs.
Three ways to build it, and how to choose
The project offers three install paths. They produce the same result; they differ in how much control you get and how much you have to install yourself.
| Route | Disk space | Admin prompts | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
ZIP installer (Instalar-Ocarina.exe) | 40 GB | None | Most players who want the simplest path |
PowerShell scripts (verificar.ps1, compilar.ps1) | 60 GB + ~15 GB on C: | Possible, from tools you install | Readers who want to inspect each step first |
| Manual build from the build guide | 60 GB + ~15 GB on C: | Possible, from tools you install | Troubleshooting and full control |
The ZIP route is the easiest because it doesn't install anything into Windows or ask for administrator rights. The README is upfront about a practical side effect: the executable isn't digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may warn you, and some antivirus products flag unsigned new programs and PowerShell scripts. The project publishes the SHA-256 hash on its releases page and links the launcher source, so you can check before running.
The scripted route has a useful property: compilar.ps1 -Simular prints every command without running any of them. Run that first. If you stop mid-build, rerunning the script picks up where it left off.
The stutter is shader compilation, not your GPU
Here's the counter-intuitive part. When players hit a hitch the first time they enter an area, the usual assumption is that the GPU can't keep up and you need a faster card. The README points at something else: the first-time stutter comes from shaders being compiled, and it gets better the second time you pass through the same place.
The author's own note says that on first launch, vegetation can take several minutes to appear while shaders compile in the background. That's a cache-warming problem. The fix is patience and repeated visits, not a hardware upgrade. Once shaders are cached, the same area renders without the hitch.
This matters for how you judge the build. If you test a new area for five seconds and call it broken, you're measuring the cold cache, not steady-state performance. Walk the area twice before you decide.
When something goes wrong
Most failures fall into a few buckets, and the README gives you a specific response to each:
- "This game is not version 1.1.1." You've selected the wrong or an updated copy. Check the version before anything else, because no other version will build.
- The game opens and closes immediately. Update your graphics driver first. Then open
ultima-partida-erros.login the install folder, which captures the error. - The game crashes mid-session. Each session's log is kept in
logs\, the last 10 of them. The project'sjogar\medir-partida.ps1script reads those logs and reports the crash alongside performance numbers. - Stutter on first entry. This is expected shader warm-up, covered above.
When you open an issue, include the exact error text and your GPU model. The README is explicit that you should never upload game files, and that rule applies to logs too if they contain anything from your copy.
Caveats you should weigh before you start
Three limitations shape whether this is worth your time right now. First, the project is experimental and has been validated on a single machine, so you're one of the testers, not a user of a finished product. Second, the controls and some features depend on what's been tested, so check the controls doc before assuming a key does anything. Third, the license is GPL-3.0, as the original project, and third-party components keep their own licenses listed in the repository's third-party notices.
The project is also a fan project with no connection to Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda and Ocarina of Time are Nintendo trademarks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ocarina Recomp?
Ocarina Recomp is an experimental Windows project that runs Ocarina of Time without an emulator. It translates the game's ARM64 code into C and compiles it on your PC from your own copy of version 1.1.1. The repository contains no game files, keys, or executables.
How do I build an Ocarina of Time native PC version from my own copy?
Use the ZIP installer, which needs about 40 GB free and no administrator rights. Extract the whole ZIP, run Instalar-Ocarina.exe, choose your game's .nup file or a folder with exefs and romfs, and click Install. The build takes 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Why does Ocarina of Time PC stutter the first time I enter an area?
The stutter comes from shader compilation. The game's Ampere shaders are translated to SPIR-V the first time they're needed, which causes hitches. Repeated visits use the cache, so the same area runs smoother after the first pass.
Does Ocarina Recomp run on AMD or Intel graphics cards?
It hasn't been tested. The only validated hardware is an NVIDIA RTX 5090 on a Ryzen 9 9950X3D, and AMD and Intel cards have never been tried. Reports from other GPUs are welcome and help the project.
Give it a real test, and report back
If you have a Windows PC with a Vulkan 1.3 GPU and a copy of version 1.1.1, the most useful thing you can do this week is build the project and walk through Kokiri Village twice, once cold and once warm. Note the fps and where the hitches happen, then compare. If you're on AMD or Intel, a short report of what works and what crashes is more valuable than any guide, so send it to the project's issues page. Pass this along to anyone stuck on a failed Ocarina of Time native PC build, and point them to the version check first.