DK64Recomp-NX brings Donkey Kong 64 to the Nintendo Switch
A Switch port of the PC static recomp of Donkey Kong 64 runs the whole game on HOS 22.0.0 with Atmosphère. You still need your own ROM.
A first release of DK64Recomp-NX just dropped. It’s a Nintendo Switch port of Donkey Kong 64: Recompiled, the PC version, and the author tested it on HOS 22.0.0 with Atmosphère.
Why should a hobbyist care? The PC game is statically recompiled to native code, and this port follows the same route. Your Switch runs the game as native code. Getting a full N64 game running this way on Switch shows the approach travels to Nintendo’s hybrid hardware. The author says the whole game works from boot to gameplay, with saves.
The PC renderer, RT64, needs Vulkan, so this build uses GLideN64 on OpenGL instead. That’s the big technical swap. The game runs at 30 fps, the original frame rate, at 960x720 in 16:9 widescreen, with the HUD pinned to the screen edges. Audio is clean 48 kHz. Credits go to Rainchus and the DK64: Recompiled team, the dk64 decompilation team, Wiseguy for N64Recomp, gonetz and the GLideN64 contributors, the HarbourMasters Switch ports, and devkitPro.
You need your own Donkey Kong 64 (USA) dump. No ROM or game assets ship with the release.
- Unzip the release onto the root of your SD card.
- Put your ROM in the same folder as the .nro. Any file name works.
- Hold R while starting any game, then pick DK64: Recompiled in the Homebrew Menu.
The folder should look like sdmc:/switch/dk64recomp/ with dk64recomp.nro and Donkey Kong 64 (USA).z64 inside.
Limitations are real. Settings are fixed for now, and there’s no in-game settings menu yet. Some users report flipped face buttons, and a few people are waiting for 60 fps. The OP says mod support is still in progress, but a later comment says mods already work through an in-game extended menu. The sources don’t settle that, so check the repo. One tester saw a few texture unloads and one black screen, fixed by a relaunch. If you hit a bug, post what you were doing and attach sdmc:/switch/dk64recomp/dk64recomp.log.
My take: this is a finished-feeling port, not a tech demo, and that’s the part worth watching. Each new recomp that lands on Switch makes the next one easier to justify. Expect the fps and mod questions to decide whether people keep playing after the first run.
