What is static recompilation?
A static recompiler translates a game binary into C or C++ before you compile it for a PC. The result is native code. It is not an emulator interpreting the old processor each frame, and it is not a matching decompilation of the original source.
Static and dynamic
Static recompilation happens ahead of time. You compile the translated code into a program, then run that program. Dynamic recompilation translates code while a game is running. That is an emulator technique. This directory lists static recomps and other ports. It does not list emulators.
The translator does the first pass, so a recomp stands up faster than a matching decomp. It still does not understand the game. Each port needs configuration, a renderer, and a lot of fixes before it is pleasant to play.
Pick the tool for the console
The machine the game shipped on decides the tool. Read a finished port in the directory before you start a blank project, and follow that repository's README.
- Nintendo 64 games use N64Recomp. Majora's Mask and Donkey Kong 64 are finished examples.
- PlayStation 1 games use PSXRecomp. Pepsiman is the example in this directory.
- Xbox 360 games use XenonRecomp to emit C++, and ReXGlue as the later runtime. SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 is built on a ReXGlue fork.
What you bring
The recompiler does not include the commercial game. You bring a copy you own, and the port's README names the file it expects. recompiled.games does not accept that file and does not explain how to create it. Tools & Engines links the docs for each toolkit, and the static recomp filter lists the ports already in the directory.