Project Picori (Zelda: The Minish Cap PC port)

The Minish Cap came out on the Game Boy Advance in 2004, made by Capcom and Flagship for Nintendo, and has only been re-released on Nintendo’s own consoles. The PC port appeared at the start of May 2026: Time Extension and DSOGaming covered it within days, when audio was still mostly missing and the developer called rendering and gameplay “still rough”. Over 0.x releases since then it has gained sound, widescreen, a randomizer and an Android build.

This site is not affiliated with 999sian, MatheoVignaud, the zeldaret team or Nintendo.

What it is

• A decompilation-based port: zeldaret/tmc rebuilt the game’s code as C. Project Picori compiles that code for x86-64 and ARM64 systems instead of turning it back into a GBA ROM.

• No emulator: SDL3 handles the window, input and sound, a vendored software renderer (port/ppu) draws the GBA graphics, and the agbplay engine plays the music. An optional SDL_GPU backend adds shader presets such as CRT and LCD looks.

• Who made it: the first tmc_pc builds came out in MatheoVignaud’s fork of the decompilation on 3 May 2026. 999sian’s fork of that repository, created on 1 May and later named Project Picori, has carried the work on since; MatheoVignaud’s last build was a 0.2.0 pre-release on 17 May. Time Extension credited 999sian and DSOGaming credited MatheoVignaud. Picori’s own changelog lists builds from 2 May onwards.

• AI tools: the README says nothing about AI, but the repository includes instruction files for AI coding agents (AGENTS.md), and the 0.9.6 release came from a branch named after OpenAI’s Codex. We couldn’t confirm how much of the port was written with AI; the game logic comes from the decompilation.

Other decompilation-based ports are in our recompiled games list.

Current status

Features listed in the README and changelog:

• widescreen, with backgrounds extended into the side margins, and an optional Console-Parity mode that keeps the original GBA picture;
• upscalers (nearest-neighbour and xBRZ 4×), shader presets on the GPU renderer, and an optional smooth “HD dialogue” text mode drawn from the game’s own lettering;
• a built-in randomizer, and quality-of-life options taken from the Minish Cap Reborn hack, such as quick item shortcuts;
• quicksaves (F5 / F6), fast-forward, a debug menu (F8) with warps and items, and rebindable controls;
• built-in text-to-speech for screen-reader users (F7), using NVDA or SAPI on Windows;
• opt-in RetroAchievements (softcore only; not available on Android);
• an experimental 3D view of rooms.

Known problems: the README still says many rendering and gameplay paths are rough. On 20 October 2026 there were 14 open issues, among them a softlock at the Wind Tribe Tower, randomizer crashes on Windows, a crash on ROM select for one Windows user, an audio problem and touch controls not showing on Android. The 0.9.6 notes say full playthroughs in every region and Android device tests were not done for that release. We didn’t play the game through ourselves.

What you need

• Your own Minish Cap ROM of the USA, European or Japanese release. The README gives a SHA-1 hash for each; one program handles all three and picks the region from the ROM. Put it next to the program as baserom.gba (USA), baserom_eu.gba or baserom_jp.gba. We don’t explain how to obtain or copy game data.
• Windows, Linux or macOS on x64 or ARM64, or an Android device for the APK.
• On first launch the program extracts the game’s graphics and sound from your ROM into a local assets folder, which takes a few seconds. Nothing from the game ships with the download.

Saves go to tmc.sav; the README says they use the same format as mGBA and VisualBoyAdvance-M, so an existing save can be moved over.

How to install

At a high level, from the official README: download the archive for your system from the project’s GitHub Releases page, unpack it anywhere, put your ROM next to tmc_pc, and start it. To build it yourself, place the ROM in the repository folder and run python3 build.py, which checks the dependencies (xmake, SDL3, libpng and others), verifies the ROM and builds the program. A Nix flake is also provided.

Other Minish Cap projects

• zeldaret/tmc: the community decompilation that every port here builds on. On its own it rebuilds the GBA ROM; it is not a PC port.
• MatheoVignaud/tmc: the fork where the PC port started. It has had no new build since May 2026.
• Ports to other devices: several projects build on Project Picori, including a Nintendo 3DS port by EstebanPdN with dual-screen support, a Switch-focused edition, a Nintendo 64 experiment by 999sian and builds for Linux handhelds. They come from different people, and we haven’t tested them.

Is it official, and is it legal?

• Project Picori is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo or Capcom. The README says all Nintendo intellectual property remains Nintendo’s and that a legitimately owned ROM is required.
• The download contains no ROM; the game’s data comes from your own copy.
• Get builds only from the official GitHub repository. Legality depends on where you live.

Not working?

• “ROM not recognised”: the program only accepts the three retail ROMs listed in the README; check the file name and that the copy is unmodified.
• The first start seems to hang: it is extracting assets from your ROM; wait for the progress bar.
• Randomizer crashes on Windows: there are open reports for 0.9.5; try a normal game or the latest build.
• Problems on Android: the APK was not tested on devices for the latest release; report problems on the issue tracker.

The window title shows the version number; include it when you file an issue on GitHub. Other Zelda ports: A Link to the Past on PC, Ocarina of Time on PC and Wind Waker on PC.

Unofficial. This page is written by an independent directory. It is not made by, endorsed by or affiliated with Nintendo (developed by Capcom and Flagship) or 999sian and contributors (port started in MatheoVignaud's fork of the zeldaret/tmc decompilation) (Project Picori (Zelda: The Minish Cap PC port)'s author). We do not host any files, and we never link to game files, ROMs or ISOs.