Animal Crossing (Anbernic handhelds)

<p align="center"> <img src="docs/logo.svg" alt="OpenCrossing Anbernic" width="640"> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://github.com/TechProGabe/OpenCrossing-Anbernic/releases/latest"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/TechProGabe/OpenCrossing-Anbernic?color=4ea83a" alt="latest release"></a> <a href="https://github.com/TechProGabe/OpenCrossing-Anbernic/releases"><img src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/TechProGabe/OpenCrossing-Anbernic/total?color=f59e1b" alt="downloads"></a> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/device-Anbernic%20H700-8a5526" alt="device: Anbernic H700"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/disc-not%20included-lightgrey" alt="disc not included"> </p>

Animal Crossing for the GameCube, running natively on Anbernic handhelds. No emulator. The game's own decompiled C code runs on the handheld's CPU, and a translation layer turns GameCube graphics calls into OpenGL ES.

It runs close to 60 fps in town on an RG-34XX SP, and the NES games in your house work too. Expect the odd bug and save often.

Maintained by TechProGabe and Dia2809.

Install

You need a PortMaster-capable device (muOS, Knulli and friends) and your own dump of Animal Crossing (USA), game ID GAFE01. .iso, .gcm and .ciso all work. PAL and Japanese discs are not supported.

1. Grab opencrossing-anbernic-vX.Y.Z-armhf.zip from the latest release and unzip it.
2. Copy the ports folder to the root of your SD card. Merge it if one already exists.
3. Copy Animal Crossing.sh into ROMS/Ports/.
4. Put your disc image in ports/ac-gc/rom/.
5. Launch Animal Crossing from the Ports menu.

The first launch is slow because it builds a shader cache. After that it starts quickly. Saves, settings and logs all live in ports/ac-gc/. On Knulli that folder is /userdata/roms/ports/ac-gc/, and the launcher finds it either way.

Updating? Back up your saves, then copy the new files over the old ones.

Devices

Every H700 Anbernic uses the same chip, so one build runs on all of them.

Device	Screen	Status
RG-34XX SP	720×480	Tested (dev device)
RG34XX	720×480	Should work, same hardware as the SP
RG35XX SP / H / Plus / 2024 / Pro	640×480	Community tested
RG40XX V / H	640×480	Community tested
RG28XX	640×480	Community tested
RG CubeXX	720×720	Untested, expect letterboxing

Older RG35XX models won't work. RK3566 and other Rockchip handhelds are untested: if your firmware ships 32-bit libraries, give it a go. Tried a device that isn't listed? Open an issue with ports/ac-gc/log.txt attached, whether it worked or not.

Troubleshooting

When reporting a bug, attach ports/ac-gc/log.txt, plus crash.log from the same folder if the game crashed. The log is rewritten every launch.

• "No game disc image found" or "Wrong game version": your disc image is missing from ports/ac-gc/rom/ or isn't the USA GAFE01 release.
• Black screen with no error: that's a real bug. Please send the log.
• No audio: quit and launch again. The first start after install sometimes comes up silent.
• Can't walk: devices without an analog stick get D-pad walking automatically. To set it yourself, open Options (Select), go to Input and change "D-pad walks".
• Wrong resolution: the panel is detected at launch. To force one, uncomment window_width and window_height in ports/ac-gc/settings.ini.
• Modded stock OS: Select and Menu are swapped for all PortMaster games there. Menu opens Options and Select+Start quits.
• Lid sleep acts weird on muOS clamshells: that's a firmware quirk. Press power to wake.

FAQ

Do the NES games work? Yes. The original game's emulator is PowerPC assembly, so the port runs the games with fixNES instead. Hold L1, R1 and R2 to go back to your room. High scores save. Clu Clu Land D is a Famicom Disk System game and won't start. The plain NES item plays .nes files you put in ports/ac-gc/nes_roms/.

The gyroid at my door says "I am currently processing data" and won't save. Is saving broken? No. That's the gyroid saying no, same as on GameCube. Finish Nook's part-time job or chat with villagers until one remembers you, and saving unlocks. If a save really fails, the log will have a GCI save: line saying why.

Why only the USA disc? The decompilation targets GAFE01, and the port expects that disc's exact data layout. PAL and JP releases are different builds of the game, so they're detected and refused at launch.

Does the Deluxe mod work? Not yet. It's possible, but it's a big job.

How much RAM does it need? It runs fine on both the 1 GB and 2 GB models.

Desktop Linux or Windows? That's what the upstream PC port is for. See the credits below.

Saves, settings and texture packs

• Saves are standard GCI files and work with Dolphin in both directions. Slot A lives in save/card_a/ and Slot B in save/card_b/. With the game closed you can copy them out to back up, delete them for a fresh town, or drop in a Dolphin export. Saves are checksum checked on load, so use a save editor that fixes the checksum.

• Options opens from the title screen, or with Select in game (the town pauses while it's open). Change a value with Left and Right, then pick Apply. The Game tab has the gameplay options:

  • Endless acres (on): the camera follows you smoothly from acre to acre instead of stopping at each edge.
  • Bells to wallet (on): bell bags you pick up go straight into your wallet when they fit.
  • Shop upgrade (no visitor): Nook's can grow into Nookington's without a visitor from another town.
  • Resetti (enabled).

  The other tabs cover FPS target, render scale, the FPS counter, volumes, controls and performance options. Everything is also in settings.ini, along with button rebinding in keybindings.ini. The D-pad works in menus and speeds up text.

• Texture packs use the Dolphin format (XXHash64 DDS) and go in texture_pack/. The community HD pack works, but it costs some performance.

Building

You only need this if you're working on the port. main is the release branch and dev is where daily work happens, so dev can break. To cross-build the device binary in Docker from any machine:

docker run --rm --platform linux/arm/v7 \
  -v "$PWD":/work \
  debian:bookworm bash /work/pc/build-armhf-docker.sh

The binary ends up at pc/build-armhf/bin/AnimalCrossing. On Windows you can skip Docker: pip install cmake ninja, then python pc/tools/build_windows.py. Desktop builds and more detail are in BUILDING.md.

Credits

• ACreTeam/ac-decomp, the full C decompilation of Animal Crossing. None of this exists without it.
• flyngmt/ACGC-PC-Port, the original PC port and its GX to OpenGL layer.
• Dia2809/ACGC-PC-Port, which added Linux support, the OpenGL ES renderer and the ARM branches this project started from.
• FIX94/fixNES, the NES emulator behind the NES furniture.

AI tools (Claude) helped with the porting and optimization work. That covers platform code only, not the decompiled game code.

Legal

This is an unofficial fan project. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo. Animal Crossing and related names are Nintendo trademarks, used here only to describe what this works with. No game assets, disc contents or original code are included. You need your own legally obtained copy of the game.