Super Smash Bros Melee gets fully decompiled after over six years of effort — ambitious and technically impressive project delivers GameCube classic as C code
A Super Smash Bros Melee decompilation project hit its key long-standing goal a few hours ago.
After six years of relentless effort, a team of developers has finally completed the decompilation of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Nintendo's iconic GameCube fighting game from 2001. The ambitious project, which aimed to convert the entire game into C code, has now been successfully executed, resulting in a byte-for-byte identical binary that mirrors Nintendo's original main.dol.
The team credits OpenAI's Astra AI technology for helping them reach this significant milestone. Gamers can now enjoy the thrill of playing Melee on modern systems, but the work does not end here. Enthusiasts can now delve into the game's C code, gaining invaluable insights into the game's mechanics, physics, and engine. This could potentially unlock new avenues for modding the game, further enriching its community.
The decompiled code is available on the doldecomp/melee GitHub page, with instructions for compiling it on various platforms. However, it's important to note that this is not a port, but rather a recreation of the original GameCube release, complete with all 3.88MB of assets. The project was made possible, in part, by cutting-edge AI technology, including OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra.
As retro gaming and development communities continue to evolve, such decompilation projects serve as a testament to the passion and dedication of enthusiasts preserving and reimagining classic games.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
