SwitchWakerHD 0.4.1

SwitchWakerHD runs The Wind Waker HD (Wii U, version 0: USA 00050000-10143500 or Europe 00050000-10143600) natively on a Switch with custom firmware: the game's code is statically recompiled to C and drawn with deko3d. No emulation.

No game inside, no binaries. Every build carries the game's code recompiled from your own dump, so you build it on your computer with one script and copy the result to your SD card. Do not share what you build.

Install

1. Download SwitchWakerHD-v0.4.1.zip below and unzip it.
2. Follow INSTALL.md: one command builds everything from your dump:

   python3 tools/switch/make_sd.py --image game.wux      # or --wua game.wua, or --game-dir <extracted game>

   On Windows this now works with a native devkitPro: no Docker, no WSL.
3. Copy build/sd/ to the root of the SD card and start the Homebrew Menu in title mode (hold R while starting any game).

Updating from 0.3.0: build the same way and copy wwhd.nro over the old one. Saves and settings.ini stay. The graphics compiled on the console are made again once, in the background, the first time each place is visited (the shader compiler changed).

What's new since v0.3.0

The European version (issue #4)

• The European game (title 00050000-10143600, version 0) builds and plays like the USA one, in its own five languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish), chosen from the console's language. make_sd.py recognises which version your dump is.
• Tested on hardware with both versions: new game, save states and warps.

Windows without Docker or WSL

• On Windows 10/11 the game now builds with a native devkitPro install: no Docker Desktop, no WSL, just Python and devkitPro, from a normal PowerShell window. It is now the recommended way on Windows (INSTALL.md, "Windows: devkitPro"); Docker with WSL still works.
• Cemu .wua archives work directly (--wua), with no keys, for both the USA and the European game (on every system, not only Windows).
• The HOME-screen icon on Windows: with your console's own prod.keys (in %USERPROFILE%\.switch\, never inside the release folder), make_sd.py also builds the forwarder .nsp, so the game starts from the HOME menu without holding R. Without keys that step is skipped and the game builds as usual.

New

• The GamePad screen in a corner of the TV picture (Switch tab, off by default): the map, the items and the Picto Box view without switching screens.
• Run and swim faster (Mods tab, off by default): hold L3 (or another button, or toggle) to make Link run and swim 1.25x to 4x faster.
• Save states remember the controller mode (Pro Controller or GamePad) and restore it on load.
• A performance report for bug reports (Switch tab → Debug, with the render profiler on).

Fixed

• Dots of light around torches and lamps (a shader compiler issue).
• Loading a save state no longer races the GPU.
• The Master Sword cheat now only equips the Master Sword and Mirror Shield until the next reload; before, it gave them for good, which the game takes as story progress (Medli stayed away from Dragon Roost, upstream #85).
• The developer debug server no longer hangs the game after many connections.

Also

• Upstream ZeldaWWHDRecomp v0.2.9–v0.2.11 merged (European support, the cheat fix, run/swim speed, mod manager updates). Upstream's code mods and native guest mods are desktop features and are not available on the Switch.
• The Language / About tab shows the build's version.

Thanks

A big thank you to @digdat0, this project's first outside contributor, for the Windows build and the Windows forwarder (#2, #3), tested on Windows 10 and on a Switch. 🎉

Known limits

• The first visit to a place compiles its graphics in the background: an object may appear a moment late, once per console.
• The sun's corona and lens flare are not drawn yet (the renderer does not read depth back).

Credits, licenses and how AI was used: see the README. Built on ZeldaWWHDRecomp by Lukas S and its contributors. License: MPL-2.0.