ROTK Recompiled v0.3.3

PvP (co-op Duel)

• Skills now hit the other player. Most skills used to miss them: casts, lingering effects, projectiles, summons, Two Towers skills and the original heroes' area skills only looked for enemies.
• Hero bonuses (passives, Frenzy, twists) now count on basic attacks against a player, and on-hit effects such as bleed and venom now apply to them.
• A stunned player recovers: stuns on players last at most 1.5 s, then 1.5 s of immunity. Before, a stun could freeze a player for good.
• Go for the Throat and other execute skills read the other player's real health. Devour can't take a player.

Co-op

• Turning on Omens (Twists) no longer drops the co-op link at the start of a level.
• Custom-colored hero effects (Guard of Gondor trails, Witch-king Morgul smears) keep their colors in co-op.
• Wargs (and other low-bodied heroes) can now go through small doorways, like the door to Saruman's tower in Gandalf's first level.

Warg

• Long Stride: +6% speed per level (was +3%).
• Blood Scent: Rend bleeds harder. Hunter's Patience: Pounce and Hunt Down chain to more foes. Savage: Go for the Throat triples on healthier foes. Howling Wild: Howl weakens more. Alpha: Feeding Frenzy holds more stacks.
• New hero select portraits for the Warg, Spider and Corsair.

Fixes

• Auto-loot gems no longer swallows your R press, which could stop chests opening and items being picked up near a gem stack.

Windows download: unzip ROTK-Recompiled-v0.3.3-windows.zip anywhere, run ROTK-Recompiled.exe, pick your Return of the King GBA ROM (SHA-1 ec3d126d37ea6e2ad7030d8a99cf87c6e46c03fd) and GBA BIOS, optionally your The Two Towers ROM (USA, Europe), tick Expanded and press Play. Start the game from ROTK-Recompiled.exe, not from TTT-Recompiled.exe. If you used an earlier version, pick your unmodified ROM again: the launcher makes a new Expanded ROM, and your Expanded saves carry over. Both co-op players need v0.3.3.

Pre-release. GBARecomp is PolyForm Noncommercial, so this download may only be shared for free.

ROTK Recompiled v0.3.2

The Two Towers

• The intro movie was black when The Two Towers was started from ROTK's main menu. It plays now, and so do other scenes that went black the same way.
• Aragorn with Dual Wield and a second sword now swings through ROTK's full combo, and both swords show. He used to repeat one plain swing.

ROTK Expanded

• Woodsman now adds its damage bonus against spiders, wargs and mumakil. Before, it was granted but never applied.
• Saruman draws loot from Gandalf's item types, matching his equipment.
• Co-op: a joining player keeps their bought rank in skill row 5. Both players need v0.3.2.
• The Uruk Crossbowman fires a real arrow that uses his full attack (Strength, crits, procs), with a shot sound. Cold Eye also adds bolt speed. His save card shows "Crossbowman".
• Hero select: hero sprites stay inside their cards.
• Charge of Dol Amroth: the rider uses an always-loaded palette, so busy fights no longer scramble its colors.

Windows download: unzip ROTK-Recompiled-v0.3.2-windows.zip anywhere, run ROTK-Recompiled.exe, pick your Return of the King GBA ROM (SHA-1 ec3d126d37ea6e2ad7030d8a99cf87c6e46c03fd) and GBA BIOS, optionally your The Two Towers ROM (USA, Europe), tick Expanded and press Play. Start the game from ROTK-Recompiled.exe, not from TTT-Recompiled.exe. If you used an earlier version, pick your unmodified ROM again: the launcher makes a new Expanded ROM, and your Expanded saves carry over.

Pre-release. GBARecomp is PolyForm Noncommercial, so this download may only be shared for free.

ROTK Recompiled v0.3.1 (preview)

Fix for v0.3.0: the main menu's The Two Towers row was missing in the download even with a Two Towers ROM picked
in the launcher. The zip did not include The Two Towers executable (TTT-Recompiled.exe), so the game hid the row.
It is included now. Earlier release zips had the same gap.

Windows download: unzip ROTK-Recompiled-v0.3.1-windows.zip anywhere, run ROTK-Recompiled.exe, pick your
Return of the King GBA ROM (SHA-1 ec3d126d37ea6e2ad7030d8a99cf87c6e46c03fd) and GBA BIOS, optionally your The Two
Towers ROM (USA, Europe), tick Expanded and press Play. Start the game from ROTK-Recompiled.exe, not from
TTT-Recompiled.exe.

Everything from v0.3.0 is here too: five new playable enemy heroes (Orc Captain, Warg, Spider, Corsair, Uruk
Crossbowman), reworked Witch-king, Uruk-hai, Denethor, Mouth of Sauron and Army of the Dead, drawn sprite effects for
every enemy hero's skills, and a cleaner hero select. See the
v0.3.0 notes.

Pre-release. GBARecomp is PolyForm Noncommercial, so this download may only be shared for free.

ROTK Recompiled v0.3.0 (preview)

Windows download: unzip ROTK-Recompiled-v0.3.0-windows.zip anywhere, run ROTK-Recompiled.exe, pick your
Return of the King GBA ROM (SHA-1 ec3d126d37ea6e2ad7030d8a99cf87c6e46c03fd) and GBA BIOS, tick Expanded and
press Play. No ROM, BIOS or build tools are included or needed.

New in the Expanded edition

New playable enemy heroes (hero select, Servants of Sauron and Free Peoples tabs), each with a kit of its own:

Hero	Signature
Orc Captain	The lash: whip lines, a boot, taunts, a war-banner haste, a cleave around him
Warg	Frenzy stacks: leaps, howls, bleeding bites, a throat-bite finisher
Spider	Web traps, stacking venom, reeling foes in, cocoons, Shelob's Lair
Corsair	Plunder (kills drop loot), grappling hook, cutlass flurry, smoke powder, powder kegs, a broadside
Uruk Crossbowman	Shoots bolts as his basic attack; piercing bolts, volleys, a pavise, spreading fire, steady aim, a rain of bolts

Also reworked: the Witch-king (rebounding crown, terror, cheating death), Uruk-hai (mud hide, lifesteal), Denethor
(rampart, madness), Mouth of Sauron (his attacks now land), Army of the Dead (shorter hurt stagger).

Every enemy hero's skills have drawn sprite effects instead of shared stock flashes: hooks, cannonballs, whips,
crowns, mud hands, claw rakes, ghost skulls, the White Tower, and more.

Hero select: the stock heroes draw cleanly (no seams), long names fit, new portraits for the Uruk-hai and the
Crossbowman.

Notes

• The new heroes passed automated headless checks; a full manual playthrough is still pending. Reports welcome.
• Pre-release. GBARecomp is PolyForm Noncommercial, so this download may only be shared for free.
• Source: this repository at 357a235, with the mod at
  ROTK-Expanded-experimental@38a2d74.

ROTK Recompiled v0.2.0 (preview)

ROTK Recompiled v0.2.0: a native Windows version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (GBA), with the ROTK Expanded mod built in.

New in v0.2.0: controls

• Both players, any device, any time. Each player plays on Auto (the keyboard and the first free controller), the keyboard, a chosen controller or nothing. Change it on the launcher's front page (Player 1 / Player 2, then Configure) or in game: press Esc, or the controller's Xbox / PS / Home button, then Controls.
• Press to choose a device: in game, pick "Player 2: press to choose device" and press any key or controller button; that device becomes theirs. Swap players trades devices and keys.
• Press to bind: select a GBA button and press the key or controller button you want. Binding something already used swaps the two. Esc (or waiting 10 seconds) cancels. Each page has a reset, and each controller has its own stick dead zone.
• Player 1's controller can be remapped now, and moves with the left stick as well as the d-pad.
• Layouts belong to the controller: a pad keeps its buttons whichever player picks it up.
• Buttons are named the way your pad prints them: Cross and Circle on PlayStation, LB and RT on Xbox, ZR and + on Nintendo. On Nintendo pads, GBA A is the button marked A.
• Controller unplugged? That player gets the keyboard until it is back, with a notice on screen. Plugging it in again hands it back with its layout.
• The split-screen co-op start caption shows player 2's real controls.
• Fixed: when the game was started from a shortcut or another folder, keyboard changes made in the launcher did not reach the game.

Your keys carry over. Player 2's old settings from the Mods page are moved into the new controls once; those old rows are now listed under "Old player 2 controls" and do nothing.

Updating from v0.1.x: unzip into a fresh folder, or over the old one.

How to play

1. Download ROTK-Recompiled-v0.2.0-windows.zip below and unzip it anywhere.
2. Run ROTK-Recompiled.exe. On the front page, use Browse For ROM and Browse For BIOS to pick your own files:
   • The Return of the King (GBA, USA/Europe), SHA-1 ec3d126d37ea6e2ad7030d8a99cf87c6e46c03fd
   • A GBA BIOS dump, SHA-1 300c20df6731a33952ded8c436f7f186d25d3492
3. Tick Expanded on the launcher's front page for the Expanded mod, or leave it off for the original game, and press Play.

No ROM, BIOS or game art is included, and no build tools are needed.

What's in it

• PC engine upgrades: more memory, actors and sprites, optional CPU boost, widescreen, split-screen co-op (experimental). On by default: HD audio, smooth motion (60 fps), real transparency and HD skill icons. Everything can be changed on the launcher's Mods page.
• Expanded mod (v0.9): page 2 skill trees for every hero, the Ringwraith and Saruman, Eowyn, Gauntlet, co-op support, Versus (Friendly Fire and Duel).
• The Two Towers (Expanded, work in progress): put your Two Towers ROM (and its .sav) beside your ROTK ROM. Import heroes from the Load Game menu (L on an empty slot), and buy their Two Towers skills on skill page 3. Mod Options > Two Towers > Legacy Skills turns it off.

Known limits

This is a preview. The new controls were tested with virtual controllers, not yet on every real pad; please report anything odd with Xbox, PlayStation, Switch or Steam Deck controllers. Expect bugs, especially in co-op, Versus and The Two Towers features. Windows only.

Built with GBARecomp (PolyForm Noncommercial), so this download may only be shared for free.

ROTK Recompiled v0.1.1 (preview)

ROTK Recompiled v0.1.1: a native Windows version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (GBA), with the ROTK Expanded mod built in.

New in v0.1.1

• The Expanded edition is the mod's v0.9: Eowyn's page 2 has its own icons (HD in this version), and Aragorn gains a sixth active, Paths of the Dead.
• The Two Towers page is there for every Two Towers hero, imported or not: buy its skills with skill points. Mod Options > Two Towers > Legacy Skills turns it off.
• Fixed: after playing Expanded, the launcher reopened on the patched ROM and Play failed. It now always opens on your original ROM.
• Fixed: the game no longer prints "compile FAILED" lines; it compiles missed functions on your PC with the bundled TinyCC, and opens no console window.
• New: Browse For BIOS on the launcher's front page.

Updating from v0.1.0: unzip into a fresh folder, or over the old one and delete RotkPcLab.exe and RotkPcLabExpanded.exe (the old names).

How to play

1. Download ROTK-Recompiled-v0.1.1-windows.zip below and unzip it anywhere.
2. Run ROTK-Recompiled.exe. On the front page, use Browse For ROM and Browse For BIOS to pick your own files:
   • The Return of the King (GBA, USA/Europe), SHA-1 ec3d126d37ea6e2ad7030d8a99cf87c6e46c03fd
   • A GBA BIOS dump, SHA-1 300c20df6731a33952ded8c436f7f186d25d3492
3. Tick Expanded on the launcher's front page for the Expanded mod, or leave it off for the original game, and press Play.

No ROM, BIOS or game art is included, and no build tools are needed.

What's in it

• PC engine upgrades: more memory, actors and sprites, optional CPU boost, widescreen, split-screen co-op (experimental). On by default: HD audio, smooth motion (60 fps), real transparency and HD skill icons. Everything can be changed on the launcher's Mods page.
• Expanded mod (v0.8 content plus PC-only work): page 2 skill trees for every hero, the Ringwraith and Saruman, Gauntlet, co-op support, Versus (Friendly Fire and Duel).
• The Two Towers (Expanded, work in progress): put your Two Towers ROM (and its .sav) beside your ROTK ROM. Import heroes from the Load Game menu (L on an empty slot). Skill page 3 gives Frodo, Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf, Eowyn and Gimli their Two Towers skills, bought with skill points. Every hero has their passives; so far only Gandalf has his actives, two of them still ROTK stand-ins. Mod Options > Two Towers > Legacy Skills turns it off.

Known limits

This is a preview. Expect bugs, especially in co-op, Versus and The Two Towers features. Windows only.

Built with GBARecomp (PolyForm Noncommercial), so this download may only be shared for free.

ROTK Recompiled v0.1.0 (preview)

The first downloadable build of ROTK Recompiled: a native Windows version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (GBA), with the ROTK Expanded mod built in.

How to play

1. Download ROTK-Recompiled-v0.1.0-windows.zip below and unzip it anywhere.
2. Run ROTK-Recompiled.exe. On the front page, use Browse For ROM and Browse For BIOS to pick your own files:
   • The Return of the King (GBA, USA/Europe), SHA-1 ec3d126d37ea6e2ad7030d8a99cf87c6e46c03fd
   • A GBA BIOS dump, SHA-1 300c20df6731a33952ded8c436f7f186d25d3492
3. Tick Expanded on the launcher's front page for the Expanded mod, or leave it off for the original game, and press Play.

No ROM, BIOS or game art is included, and no build tools are needed.

What's in it

• PC engine upgrades: more memory, actors and sprites, optional CPU boost, widescreen, split-screen co-op (experimental). On by default: HD audio, smooth motion (60 fps), real transparency and HD skill icons. Everything can be changed on the launcher's Mods page.
• Expanded mod (v0.8 content plus PC-only work): page 2 skill trees for every hero, the Ringwraith and Saruman, Gauntlet, co-op support, Versus (Friendly Fire and Duel).
• The Two Towers (Expanded, work in progress): put your Two Towers ROM (and its .sav) beside your ROTK ROM. Import heroes from the Load Game menu (L on an empty slot). Skill page 3 gives Frodo, Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf, Eowyn and Gimli their Two Towers skills, bought with skill points. Every hero has their passives; so far only Gandalf has his actives, two of them still ROTK stand-ins. Mod Options > Two Towers > Legacy Skills turns it off.

Known limits

This is a preview. Expect bugs, especially in co-op, Versus and The Two Towers features. Windows only.

Built with GBARecomp (PolyForm Noncommercial), so this download may only be shared for free.