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Wario Land 4 Recomp v0.1.0-preview

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@Zaxaerith Zaxaerith released this 15 Oct 09:06
v0.1.0-preview
a88fae8

Wario Land 4 Recomp — Windows x64 Preview (v0.1.0-preview)

This is the initial experimental desktop preview of Wario Land 4 (Game Boy Advance, USA/Europe, AWAE), statically recompiled to a native Windows x64 executable using GBARecomp and integrated with the recomp-ui native player launcher.

This is an independent, non-commercial fan project created for preservation and research purposes.

Important Legal Notice & Copyright Boundaries

  • No Original ROM or BIOS Files Included: This release package and repository do NOT contain, redistribute, or mirror any original ROM cartridge binaries, retail BIOS images, or raw copyright-protected game media assets. Players must supply their own legally dumped GBA ROM and retail BIOS.
  • Compiled Guest Code Notice: The standalone executable (WarioLand4Recomp.exe) links C++ translation units recompiled from the original commercial cartridge machine code. All rights, title, trademarks, character designs, and audiovisual assets of Wario Land 4 remain exclusively with Nintendo Co., Ltd.
  • Project Licensing: Hand-written integration code in this project is distributed under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0. Commercial use is strictly prohibited. Third-party components retain their respective open-source licenses (see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md).

Highlights & Features

  • Native Player Launcher (recomp-ui):
    • Clean graphical interface with real-time SHA-1 and file size verification for your ROM and BIOS.
    • Customizable keyboard bindings and native SDL2 GameController gamepad support (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch Pro).
    • Integer display scaling (1x–6x) and fullscreen toggle (Alt+Enter / F11), preserving the original 3:2 (240×160) GBA aspect ratio.
    • Master audio and sound effect volume controls.
    • Preferences and file paths persist across sessions (--launcher to reopen).
  • Native Windows Subsystem:
    • Launches directly into the desktop UI without an intrusive command prompt console window (-mwindows).
  • Dynamic IWRAM Interpreter Fallback (Zero Compiler Dependency):
    • Wario Land 4 constructs dynamic Thumb return stubs on the stack (0x03007D0C..0x03007D90) at runtime.
    • A dedicated runtime hook (0x03007D00..0x03007E00) transparently diverts dynamic stack execution into the built-in CPU interpreter in-place.
    • Players do not need GCC, MSYS2, CMake, Ninja, or Python installed on their PC.
  • SRAM Save Persistence:
    • Supports authentic 32 KB SRAM saves (SRAM_V112). Automatically resolves and manages saves in the saves/ folder.

Verified Gameplay

Only the following bounded behaviors have been verified by deterministic automated tests and human desktop gameplay:

  • Official GBA BIOS boot and intro animation.
  • Intro cutscene and title screen presentation.
  • File select and new game difficulty selection menu.
  • Entry into the first level.
  • Core player locomotion (walk, run/dash, jump, attack/punch, crouch).
  • Damage reaction and heart meter decrement (gHeartMeter.current 4 → 3).
  • Water reaction state (gWarioData.reaction).
  • SRAM save and load state visibility round-trip.
  • In-person player verification on real Windows desktop verifying GUI launch, input responsiveness, and gameplay.

Note: Mid-to-late game stages, Boss battles, full-level completions, endings, and multi-hour play sessions have not been exhaustively tested.

Quick Start

  1. Download WarioLand4Recomp-windows-x64-v0.1.0-preview.zip below and extract the contents to a writable directory.
  2. Double-click WarioLand4Recomp.exe.
  3. In the launcher window, click Browse to select your files:
    • ROM: USA/Europe release (AWAE, 8,388,608 bytes, SHA-1: b9fe05a8080e124b67bce6a623234ee3b518a2c1)
    • BIOS: Retail GBA BIOS (gba_bios.bin, 16,384 bytes, SHA-1: 300c20df6731a33952ded8c436f7f186d25d3492)
  4. Adjust your controller bindings, window scaling, and audio volume as desired.
  5. Click Play!

Required Game Files

File Size SHA-1 Hash
Wario Land 4 (USA, Europe).gba 8,388,608 bytes b9fe05a8080e124b67bce6a623234ee3b518a2c1
gba_bios.bin 16,384 bytes 300c20df6731a33952ded8c436f7f186d25d3492

Note: Japanese version (AWAJ) is not supported in this preview. Files with mismatched hashes will be safely rejected by the launcher identity gate.

Technical Notes

  • Static Recompilation: The cartridge ROM is pre-compiled ahead-of-time (AOT) into 8 C++ translation shards (generated/cart/*.cpp) with 15,740 native functions and a unified resume dispatch table.
  • Coverage Honesty: The project is reported honestly as NOT_STATIC. Dynamic IWRAM code generated on the stack cannot be statically discovered at build time; it is interpreted directly from memory at runtime without invoking external compilers.

Known Limitations

  • Experimental Preview: Full-game compatibility has not been exhaustively validated.
  • Level Progression: Transitions beyond room 0 and later stages require further community playtesting.
  • Audio: Audio mixer playback relies on the GBARecomp SDL2 audio pipeline; headphone/speaker acoustics may differ from original hardware.

Licenses & Credits

  • GBARecomp: PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, Copyright (c) 2026 Matthew Stanley
  • recomp-ui: MIT License, Copyright (c) 2026 Matthew Stanley
  • Dear ImGui: MIT License, Copyright (c) 2014-2026 Omar Cornut
  • SDL2: zlib License, Copyright (C) 1997-2025 Sam Lantinga
  • toml++: MIT License, Copyright (c) Mark Gillard
  • lilDavid/warioland4: MIT License, Copyright (c) 2025 lilDavid (reference decompilation)
  • WarioLand4Recomp Integration: PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0, Copyright (c) 2026 Zaxaerith
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