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Summary
- The AI-assisted wave of native Switch-to-PC ports continues with letsgo-recomp for Pokémon: Let's Go.
- The project translates Arm64 code into C and builds a Windows binary via static recompilation
- Runtime recreates Switch OS/services (NVN to Vulkan, audio, controllers, touch); AI likely contributed to the port.
It seems like the wave of native AI-assisted Switch-to-PC ports has arrived.
Quickly following a static recompilation of the Zelda: Link's Awakening remake for the Switch called LASRecomp, letsgo-recomp has appeared. The port is a static recompilation of Pokémon: Let's Go Eevee and Let's Go Pikachu, a 2018 remake of 1998's Pokémon Red and Blue for the original Game Boy.
The project takes the game's ARM64 code, translates it into C, and then compiles it for a regular Windows program, according to its GitHub page. "...a runtime stands in for the Switch's operating system (kernel, system services, NVN graphics on Vulkan, audio, controllers, touch screen," according to the project's creator Raulzrrs.
AI isn't officially listed as a contributor on GitHub, but Claude almost certainly contributed in some way, particularly since letsgo-recomp is built on LASRecomp's foundation, which was "made almost exclusively with AI."
The port has an experimental 60fps mode
You'll need your own copy of Pokémon: Let's Go to play the native PC port
Key quality-of-life upgrades in letsgo-recomp include an internal 4K resolution that's supersampled on smaller screens, SMAA anti-aliasing, 16x anisotropic filtering, and a locked and stable 30fps, alongside an experimental 60fps mode.
As with other recent recompilation projects, you need your own copy of Pokémon: Let's Go Eevee or Let's Go Pikachu to play this port, which you can get by dumping the game files from a cartridge or acquiring it elsewhere. Lastly, the game requires the 1.0.0 initial build, along with extracted .xci, .nsp, .nsz, .xcz, or .nca files. Right now, the port is only playable on Windows 11 PCs.
While I didn't play Pokémon: Let's Go that much back in 2018, I remember thinking it was a solid reimagining of the original Pokémon Red and Blue and being particularly fond of seeing wild Pokémon walk around in the overworld. That said, you couldn't really battle most wild Pokémon; instead, you could catch them using a Pokémon Go-like Pokéball-throwing mechanic.
In other port-related news, for the first time in quite a while, a game has actually made its way to Mac before PC. A very unofficial port of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom recently dropped on Mac. The port seems to run extremely well on the M4 MacBook Pro and Mac mini, and can even hit 90fps.