# Unleashed Recompiled: a static recompilation port of Sonic Unleashed for PC

> Unleashed Recompiled turns the Xbox 360 PowerPC build of Sonic Unleashed into C++ and HLSL you compile and run on Windows or Linux. It ships no game assets, so the installer is only as good as the disc dump you bring to it.

**hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp** — An unofficial PC port of the Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed created through the process of static recompilation.

- Repository: https://github.com/hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp
- Stars: 5,097 · Forks: 427
- Language: C++
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-09-23 · Updated: 2026-09-23 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/hedge-dev-unleashedrecomp

## What static recompilation buys Sonic Unleashed players

Emulators interpret or just-in-time compile PowerPC and Xenos instructions while the game runs. Unleashed Recompiled does that work once, ahead of time: XenonRecomp converts the game's original PowerPC code into C++, and XenosRecomp converts its Xenos shaders into HLSL. The result is a native build rather than a console running inside a compatibility layer, which is why the project can offer resolutions, ultrawide aspect ratios and frame rates the original hardware never produced. The README credits N64: Recompiled and Zelda 64: Recompiled as the direct inspiration for both recompilers.

The audience is narrow and specific. You need a legally acquired US or EU copy of Sonic Unleashed for Xbox 360, an Xbox 360 storage device, and either a hard drive transfer cable or a compatible SATA to USB adapter if you are dumping from an internal drive. The README states plainly that the project includes no game assets, so nothing here is playable until you supply your own files. Japanese copies are not supported.

## The installer, the integrity checks, and why a modified dump fails

The release archive contains an executable that walks you through installation and asks for the content you dumped. It accepts two kinds of input. Add Files expects containers or images dumped from an Xbox 360, often very large files with no extension, and the installer detects what is inside them. Add Folder expects a directory of raw game files for the specific piece of content being requested, and it does not scan that folder for anything else.

The design decision worth noting is the refusal to proceed on modified files. The README says it is not possible to complete installation if your files have been modified, and it also warns against reinstalling when you hit a black screen or a crash, because the process cannot produce an invalid installation. That is a deliberate trade: the installer is strict enough that a bad dump is diagnosed at install time instead of producing a subtly broken game later. The cost is that a user with a patched or repacked dump has no path forward inside the tool. The installer is also reachable from the title screen, so DLC can be added after the fact rather than forcing one long session.

## How to install Unleashed Recompiled and reach the title screen

Start by dumping your own copy. The repository ships two guides, docs/DUMPING-en.md for hard drive dumping and docs/DUMPING-USB-en.md for USB dumping, and the README tells you to follow one of them before touching the installer. Then download the latest release and extract it to where you would like the game installed. The README gives no command line for this step, so use your platform's usual extraction and launch method rather than a command line copied from here.

On first launch the wizard asks for the files you dumped. Choose Add Files for containers or images, or Add Folder for a directory of raw files for one specific piece of content. The installer runs its integrity checks and, if everything matches, drops you at the title screen.

If you want the Adventure Packs, add them through the same wizard from the title screen. The README calls the DLC optional but highly recommended, and notes that it includes high quality lighting for the entire game. Budget storage accordingly: 6 GiB without DLC, 10 GiB with it, and possibly more if you provide uncompressed game files.

The minimum hardware is not decorative. Your CPU needs AVX (Intel Sandy Bridge or AMD Bulldozer and later), your GPU needs Direct3D 12.0 with Shader Model 6 or Vulkan 1.2 (GeForce GT 630, Radeon HD 7750, Intel HD Graphics 510 and up), you need 8 GB of memory, and the supported systems are Windows 10 version 1909 and a modern Linux distribution such as Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

## What the port adds, and where the documentation goes quiet

The built-in options menu is reachable from the title screen and the pause menu with full controller navigation, and it exposes graphics and quality-of-life settings without leaving the game. On the rendering side the README lists multisample anti-aliasing beyond the 2x the original used and a higher quality depth of field, an effect it notes commonly breaks in emulators when the game's resolution is raised. Achievements are recreated with in-game notifications and a dedicated menu, with a gold trophy for completing the set, and the README states they cannot be used with Steam or RetroAchievements. The new menus are localized into English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish and Italian, and switching to Japanese also swaps the title screen logo.

On color, the project made a visible choice. The README says the colors match the PlayStation 3 version, which did not apply the color correction filter present in the Xbox 360 release, and that this matches the original artistic intent. A toggle restores the warm Xbox 360 filter for anyone who prefers the version they remember. That is a reasonable position, though it does mean the default output is not a pixel match for the console most people played.

The README is thinner elsewhere. It links to a Known Issues section and an Update Roadmap in its table of contents, but their contents are not reproduced in the README text, so what is currently broken and what is planned next cannot be confirmed from this page. The same applies to modding: it is listed as a built-in enhancement, but no mod format, directory or loader is documented in the README.

## Where Unleashed Recompiled is the wrong tool

The hard boundary is the Japanese release. The README lists US or EU only and states that JP is not supported, so a Japanese disc or digital copy is not a starting point for this project at all. The second boundary is dump quality. Modified files cannot complete installation, and the README's warning against reinstalling after a black screen or crash means you should treat those symptoms as a signal to check your dump rather than to run the wizard again.

Hardware is the third boundary. Without AVX on the CPU, or without Direct3D 12.0 Shader Model 6 or Vulkan 1.2 on the GPU, you are outside the stated minimums. If you have no Xbox 360 storage device and no way to dump one, the project has nothing to offer you, since it distributes no assets and the Xbox Store listing is only the source of the game, not of the files the installer wants.

Finally, achievements are self-contained. If your motivation depends on Steam achievements or RetroAchievements, the README rules both out, and no amount of configuration changes that.

## Unleashed Recompiled against emulation and against a native port

The obvious alternative is running the game in an Xbox 360 emulator. The difference is where the translation cost sits. An emulator translates PowerPC and Xenos work at runtime and exposes its own settings layer; Unleashed Recompiled pays that cost once through XenonRecomp and XenosRecomp and produces C++ and HLSL that compile into the shipped build. The README's depth of field note is the clearest illustration of the trade: it says DoF commonly breaks in emulators when resolution is increased, and higher quality DoF is listed as a feature here. Emulation still wins on breadth, since one emulator covers many titles while this build covers exactly one game on exactly the platforms its authors targeted.

The second comparison is with a hypothetical native remaster. Unleashed Recompiled is not that. It is a recompilation of the existing Xbox 360 binary, which is why the US and EU regional constraint exists and why the installer validates the exact files you provide. A remaster would ship its own assets and need none of that. This project instead keeps the original game data as the user's responsibility, which is also what keeps it out of the business of distributing copyrighted content.

## Licence, build cost, and what upgrading actually involves

Unleashed Recompiled is GPL-3.0, and the repository carries a COPYING file at the top level. Two practical implications follow. If you redistribute a modified build, the licence's source availability terms apply to what you distribute, and the project's own statement that it ships no game assets means you cannot fold those assets into a GPL-3.0 release. This is a description of the licence text, not legal advice; read COPYING before you ship anything.

Building from source is a heavier proposition than installing a release. The repository root holds CMakeLists.txt, CMakePresets.json, a vcpkg.json manifest, a vcpkg directory, toolchains, a flatpak directory, and a submodule update script, update_submodules.bat. Submodules are part of the checkout, so a plain clone is not a complete source tree. The README's Building section is where the actual steps live, and this page does not reproduce them.

Upgrades are the quiet cost. Releases are tagged, with v1.0.1, v1.0.2 and v1.0.3 published in March and April 2025, and the last push to the repository was on 2026-06-29. The README does not document a migration path for saved data between versions, so what happens to your progress when you move from one release to the next is not something this page can answer.

## Conclusion

Adopt it if you own a US or EU Xbox 360 copy of Sonic Unleashed, a 360 storage device, and a transfer cable or SATA adapter, and you want high resolutions, ultrawide and modding on Windows 10 1909 or a modern Linux distro. Do not adopt it for the Japanese release, for an unmodified or otherwise altered dump, or for consoles such as Switch, PS4, Android or macOS, none of which the README lists as supported. Before you start, verify three things: that your copy is the US or EU version with the title update applied, that your CPU supports AVX and your GPU supports Direct3D 12.0 Shader Model 6 or Vulkan 1.2, and that you have 6 GiB free without DLC or 10 GiB with it. The installer refuses modified files, so a clean dump is the one thing you cannot work around afterwards.

## FAQ

### Is Unleashed Recompiled illegal?

The project itself is GPL-3.0 licensed and ships no game assets, and the README states you must provide files from your own legally acquired copy of the game to install or build it. Whether your specific dump is lawful depends on your local rules and on the copy you own. This is not legal advice.

### Is Unleashed Recompiled finished?

The README lists an Update Roadmap and a Known Issues section in its table of contents, but their contents are not reproduced in the README text, so the current completeness of the port cannot be confirmed. Releases v1.0.1 through v1.0.3 were published in March and April 2025, and the last push to the repository was on 2026-06-29.

### Is Unleashed Recompiled available on Nintendo Switch?

The README states the port offers Windows and Linux support, with Windows 10 version 1909 and a modern Linux distribution such as Ubuntu 22.04 LTS as the supported systems. No Switch build is mentioned.

### How do I install Unleashed Recompiled?

Dump your own US or EU Xbox 360 copy using the guide in docs (DUMPING-en.md for hard drive, DUMPING-USB-en.md for USB), download the latest release and extract it, then run the executable and follow the wizard, choosing Add Files for containers or images or Add Folder for a directory of raw files. The installer performs integrity checks and will not complete if your files have been modified.

### How do I install Sonic Unleashed Recompiled?

The README's How to Install section lists three steps: acquire the game files by following the dumping guide for your storage device, download the latest release and extract it to where you want the game installed, then run the executable and provide the files the wizard requests. A title update is required and the Adventure Packs are optional but highly recommended.

## Sources

- [hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp on GitHub](https://github.com/hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp)
- [Issues](https://github.com/hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp/issues)
- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [README](https://github.com/hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/hedge-dev/UnleashedRecomp/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/hedge-dev-unleashedrecomp