Super Smash Bros. Melee PC ports (melee-pc, Melee Unlocked)

This site is not affiliated with the port developers, the doldecomp team, the Slippi team, HAL Laboratory or Nintendo. We do not host any files and only link the projects’ official pages.

What it is

Super Smash Bros. Melee came out on the GameCube in 2001 and is still played competitively, mostly through Slippi, a modified Dolphin emulator with rollback netcode.

The doldecomp/melee project, started in 2020, is “a matching decompilation of Super Smash Bros Melee (US)” that rebuilds the game’s main.dol for version 1.02 byte for byte. Once enough of it was done, two developers turned it into native programs within days of each other in September 2026.

melee-pc

melee-pc is “a native PC port of Super Smash Bros. Melee (NTSC-U 1.02), built from doldecomp/melee” on top of aurora, a GameCube compatibility layer with a WebGPU renderer, and SDL3, the same approach as the Twilight Princess port Dusklight. The README describes it as “Beta, for testing only”. Its features:

• native builds for Windows (x86-64, ARM64), macOS, Linux (x86-64, aarch64), Android and iOS;
• a launcher that verifies your disc’s SHA-1 against Redump before booting;
• an in-game settings overlay on F1;
• internal resolution up to 10× native (6400×4800) and optional CRT and other shaders;
• LAN, friend codes, unranked matchmaking and ranked best-of-three sets on a netplay branch, with rollback netcode in development.

Melee Unlocked

Melee Unlocked is “a native Windows build of Super Smash Bros. Melee (NTSC 1.02) with Slippi online play and an unlocked display frame rate”. Its launcher offers two engines:

• Source Port (the main one): the decompiled C code compiled for Windows, drawing through D3D12 or D3D11, with “no GameCube code … run, emulated or translated”;
• Static Recomp: the retail PowerPC code with Slippi’s Gecko codes translated ahead of time into C++, kept for mods that need the original code.

The game logic stays at 60 Hz, but the display can run at any refresh rate, with in-between frames computed from the game’s own animation and physics data. Slippi rollback netplay is reimplemented natively and works against Slippi Dolphin. Since version 0.8.5 it supports some mods: 20XX Training Edition saves and Training Mode CE on the Source Port, Akaneia on the Static Recomp. The README states it is free with no monetisation.

Current status

• melee-pc: beta, 0.4.2 on 21 October 2026. The project site has the setup steps, FAQ and known issues for each platform.
• Melee Unlocked: beta, 0.9.91 on 2 November 2026, for Windows (64-bit) and Linux x86-64. Releases come out every few days.
• doldecomp/melee: still in progress; its README links a live progress tracker.

What you need

• A disc image of your own Melee, US version 1.02 (GALE01). melee-pc’s site warns that another revision or region, “a scrubbed/trimmed rip, or a modded build” will not pass its check. Both READMEs state that no game data is included.
• A device: a Windows, Mac or Linux PC with a modern GPU (Vulkan, D3D12, D3D11 or Metal), or for melee-pc an Android phone or a sideloaded iPhone.
• A GameCube controller adapter or another controller, for the real Melee feel; keyboards work but are not ideal.

We do not link, host or explain how to get a disc image.

Which one to use

• For online play against Slippi users on Windows: Melee Unlocked.
• For Mac, Android or iPhone, or a single program across devices: melee-pc.
• For tournament-accurate play today: Slippi Dolphin remains the community standard; these ports are beta.

Playing in a browser

OpenSmash runs Smash 64 at smash.fun and Melee at smash.fun/melee in the browser. Its Melee engine is a WebAssembly build of melee-pc that reads your own disc image locally; the site serves no Nintendo assets. It also generates custom fighters from a name and a photo.

Common problems

• Disc check fails: your image is not a clean US 1.02 dump. Other regions and trimmed rips are rejected.
• Stutter the first time you see an effect: shader compilation on first use, listed in melee-pc’s FAQ; it goes away once shaders are cached.
• Windows SmartScreen on first run: the builds are unsigned; the FAQ explains how to allow them.

Unofficial. This page is written by an independent directory. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Nintendo (developed by HAL Laboratory) or 999sian (melee-pc); hero88go (Melee Unlocked); doldecomp (decompilation) (Super Smash Bros. Melee PC ports (melee-pc, Melee Unlocked)'s author). We do not host any files, and we never link to game files, ROMs or ISOs.