Case study
FFTARecomp: static recompilation of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Recompiles the user’s Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (USA) Game Boy Advance ROM ahead of time into native code for Windows, Linux and Steam Deck, building on JRickey’s gba-recomp toolkit. ARM and Thumb code is translated to C and compiled locally, while a Rust runtime models the console’s graphics, sound, DMA, timers and BIOS calls. The port adds widescreen, zoom, fast-forward and remappable controls.
- Targets
- Game
- Category
- Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship
- Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed
Requirements & limits
- Prerequisites: Supply your own Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (USA) ROM, serial AFXE; the project manifest records the expected SHA-1. No console BIOS is needed, because BIOS calls are high-level emulated. The installer recompiles the game on the user’s PC, and the project excludes ROMs, saves, memory dumps and generated game C from its uploads.
- Prerequisites: Building from source needs Rust and Windows PowerShell (build-all.ps1). A C compiler is also a runtime requirement: the recompiler emits C11 and links a per-title library. The Windows installer downloads the w64devkit 2.10.0 GCC toolchain, and Linux release builds use Zig as a build-only cross compiler.
- Scope: Reviewed source follows the v2.0 release (2026-10-13) and is labelled a work in progress. README targets Windows 10/11, Linux and Steam Deck; its recomp manifest also lists Android and calls the game fully playable from start to finish. Without a C compiler the recompiler falls back to an interpreter, which upstream keeps for self-modifying code and as a differential-testing oracle. Known issues include brief sprite silhouettes in the first level and a gamepad that may go undetected on first launch.
- Testing evidence: A dated release audit (2026-10-12) reports clean source-upload scans, 26 passing input-configuration and menu tests and successful Windows and Linux release builds, and leaves physical-controller behavior unmeasured. README cites no hardware or emulator comparison results.
- License: FFTARecomp changes are MIT and retain upstream gba-recomp notices (MIT OR Apache-2.0); gamedb.sqlite function metadata is CC0 1.0, and w64devkit tools keep their GPL-family licenses. Square Enix and Nintendo retain their game rights. Upstream gba-recomp describes itself as AI-assisted.
About this entry
The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Primary sources
- README.md GitHub · Jorge262007/FFTARecomp · Revision 7af6256
- .recomp.json GitHub · Jorge262007/FFTARecomp · Revision 7af6256
- BUILDING.md GitHub · Jorge262007/FFTARecomp · Revision 7af6256
- docs/architecture.md GitHub · Jorge262007/FFTARecomp · Revision 7af6256
- docs/release_audit.md GitHub · Jorge262007/FFTARecomp · Revision 7af6256
- Licenses/CREDITS.md GitHub · Jorge262007/FFTARecomp · Revision 7af6256
- Licenses/LICENSE GitHub · Jorge262007/FFTARecomp · Revision 7af6256
- README.md GitHub · JRickey/gba-recomp · Revision de4edf5
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