OpenShao (Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks PC port)

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, the 2005 co-op beat ’em up starring Liu Kang and Kung Lao, came out on PlayStation 2 and Xbox and never on PC. OAleex created the repository on 17 October 2026 and released 0.1.0 the same day; 0.2.0 added Linux and mods two days later. In late October the project was renamed OpenShao and moved to github.com/OAleex/OpenShao; 0.3.0 (25 October) brought a new launcher with automatic updates, and 0.4.0 and 0.4.1 followed on 30 October. Releases before 0.3.0 are no longer listed. The Brazilian site Critical Hits covered the first release.

This site is not affiliated with OAleex, RanggaCasper, TGP482, Warner Bros. Games or Midway.

What it is

• A static recompilation: TGP482’s XboxXBERecomp translates the Xbox executable (default.xbe) into native code ahead of time; the game is not emulated.
• What’s in the download: the project’s build script compiles the game and packages it, so the release (about 10 MB) contains the game’s code translated for PC. The repository and releases hold no game data: levels, sound and video are read from your own disc image.
• Licence: the project’s own code is GPL-2.0-or-later.
• AI use: the README says AI assistance is used for analysis, code, tests and documentation, reviewed by the maintainer.

It works like the other console recompilations in our recompiled games list.

Current status

Features listed in the README and release notes:

• a launcher with game selection, mods, folders and automatic updates (from 0.3.0);
• widescreen (16:9, 16:10, 21:9, 32:9), render scale from 25% to 400%, and 60 or 120 FPS with interpolation over 60 Hz game logic (0.4.0);
• Local Ko-op with two controllers, or keyboard and mouse plus one controller;
• Restore Lost Dialogue, on by default, which brings back story lines and unused boss taunts the original cut off, and optional cinematic bars;
• mouse and keyboard, and Xbox, PlayStation and other SDL controllers with hot-plugging and remappable buttons (the game shows Xbox prompts);
• English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, plus Brazilian Portuguese text and dubbing through a language pack;
• a Mods tab that installs and updates language, texture and gameplay mods from the project’s own catalog, OpenShao-Mods;
• an FPS and frame-time display (F9), and movable data and save folders.

Known problems: the Mortal Kombat II arcade bonus and The Suffering demo do not run. Some graphics glitches remain, and some effects can pause briefly the first time they appear. On 30 October 2026 there were 19 open issues. We didn’t play it through ourselves.

What you need

• Your own original Xbox copy, USA or Europe release, as an ISO or XISO image, a ZIP, an extracted folder or default.xbe. Keep the image or folder where it is after setup. We don’t explain how to obtain or copy game data.
• Windows 10 version 1903 or later, or Linux with glibc 2.38 or later.
• An x64 CPU with SSE4.2 and POPCNT.
• A Direct3D 12 GPU, or Vulkan 1.2 with dynamic rendering and timeline semaphores.

How to install

From the official README, at a high level: download the package for your system from the project’s GitHub Releases page, extract it, open OpenShao, choose your game image or folder, and select Play. From 0.3.0 on the launcher updates itself; anyone on an older build has to download 0.3.0 or later once by hand. Building from source needs Python, the USA/Europe default.xbe and either Visual Studio with LLVM (Windows) or Clang (Linux); see the repository’s build guide.

Shaolin Monks on Android

ShaolinMonks-Android by RanggaCasper is a separate, MIT-licensed port of the same Xbox game for Android phones and tablets. It was created on 21 October 2026, four days after OAleex’s PC port.

• Features: on-screen Xbox controls with a layout editor, controller and keyboard support, render resolution from 20% to 200%, FXAA/SSAA, CRT and scanline filters, an unlocked frame rate and cheats, per the release notes.
• Status: the README still warns that the port “has not been played through on a device yet”. Open issues report crashes from running out of memory, a freeze on the first fatality, a crash in the Living Forest snake cave, and problems with the German release and PowerVR GPUs. The project’s video shows gameplay on a Xiaomi Pad 7 at 60 FPS. As on PC, Mortal Kombat II and the bonus demo don’t run.
• What’s in the APK: the recompiled game code, built by the project’s automated pipeline, which keeps an encrypted copy of the game’s executable for that purpose; game data still comes from your own copy.
• AI use: the repository includes instructions for an AI coding assistant; its README makes no AI statement.

Which to pick: on a PC, use OAleex’s port. The Android port is the only option on a phone; it is newer and less stable. We didn’t compare them ourselves.

Is it legal and safe?

• Both are unofficial fan projects, not affiliated with or endorsed by Warner Bros. or the owners of Mortal Kombat. Both READMEs say they include no game assets.
• Use only files from a copy you own.
• Get the ports only from their official GitHub repositories. Sites offering “Shaolin Monks PC download”, ready-made game packs, keys or “unlocked” installers are not affiliated with either project and often carry malware.

Not working?

• Your game is rejected: only the USA/Europe Xbox release is supported.
• Error dialog on PC: the dialog names the session log; attach it when you report an issue on GitHub.
• Android crashes mid-level: update to the latest APK, which lowered the texture cache for out-of-memory crashes, and lower the render resolution.

More Xbox recompilations: BLACK on PC, Burnout 3 on PC and MVP Baseball 2005 on PC.

Unofficial. This page is written by an independent directory. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Midway Games (developed by Midway Los Angeles) or OAleex; Android port by RanggaCasper (OpenShao (Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks PC port)'s author). We do not host any files, and we never link to game files, ROMs or ISOs.