Zero Racers Recompiled

New settings default to 4x internal resolution. Existing saved settings keep your choices. Enhanced internal resolution currently applies to stock graphics; optional color presentation retains native resolution.

A recompilation of Zero Racers for Virtual Boy, playable on Windows. Built with vbrecomp and recomp-ui.

<p> <img src="docs/color-ready.png" alt="Colored machines on the Zero Racers starting grid" width="49%"> <img src="docs/color-repair.png" alt="Yellow repair lanes and beams inside the silver tunnel" width="49%"> </p>

Screenshots show the optional color mod. Original red graphics are the default.

Version 0.1.1 reduces color, memory-access and rewind overhead while preserving the existing gameplay and optional multiplayer features.

• Play with a keyboard or controller, with customizable controls.
• Adjust fullscreen, window size, filtering and audio through recomp-ui.
• Keep your progress with persistent saves and settings.
• Enable F-Zero-inspired colors: silver tunnels, distinct machines, colored menus and HUDs, and yellow repair areas, preserving the original wireframes.

Play

1. Download the Windows ZIP from Releases.
2. Extract the entire ZIP and run ZeroRacersVirtualBoyRecomp.exe.
3. Choose Browse For ROM, select your extracted .vb file, and press Play.

You need your own supported ROM; none is included.

For color, open Mods, choose Install .vbmod, select the included zero-racers-full-color-0.2.1.vbmod, and enable Wireframe color. Turn it off to return to the original red graphics. The mod does not patch your ROM.

Controls and settings

Controller: Select your connected controller in the launcher. The D-pad or left stick steers; the right stick handles the Virtual Boy's right D-pad. Face buttons, shoulders and Start/Select have ready-to-use defaults.

Keyboard: Arrow keys and WASD control the two D-pads. X/Z are A/B, Q/E are L/R, Enter is Start, and Right Shift is Select. Hold Tab for turbo.

Use Configure to remap controls and Settings for display and audio. Press Escape to open settings during play. Close the game normally to save.

F7 opens the save-state browser: choose one of twelve thumbnail slots, press S to save or Enter to load. F8 opens the rewind filmstrip: use Left/Right to browse, Enter to resume there, or Escape to cancel. Controller shortcuts are Select+R for save states and Select+L for rewind; A selects/loads, X saves, and B cancels. Both menus pause single-player play.

Rewind keeps 32 snapshots every six frames by default; Settings controls its enablement, depth and interval. F5/F6 remain quick save/load shortcuts. Snapshots belong to the current build; native cartridge progress is saved separately.

Versus mode

On Mods, enable Multiplayer / VS (Experimental) before launching. The bundled mod is installed and disabled by default; turning it off restores the stock four-choice title. Changes take effect when the game restarts. Then choose VS MODE on the title screen for two to four human racers. Choose the course and machines, have every racer press A to ready, then start the race. Assign local controllers in the launcher's controller settings. Two players share a top/bottom split; three or four use a four-pane layout, with standings in the spare three-player pane. Each racer sees one eye. Small P1-P4 tags above visible ships identify each racer in every view.

<p> <img src="docs/multiplayer-player1.png" alt="Player 1's independent view with P1 and P2 ship markers" width="49%"> <img src="docs/multiplayer-player2.png" alt="Player 2's independent view in the same multiplayer race" width="49%"> </p>

Player 1 and Player 2 in a network race, each with an independent camera. The optional color mod is enabled.

<p> <img src="docs/multiplayer-2p-split.png" alt="Local two-player race in top and bottom split screen" width="49%"> <img src="docs/multiplayer-4p-split.png" alt="Local four-player race with four independent camera panes" width="49%"> </p>

Local split screen: two players on the left, four players on the right.

For remote play, create or join a room through Netplay in the launcher. LAN and Direct IP use the local network; online rooms use the shared lobby and host ICE transport. Every computer controls one racer and shows that racer's full view. Use identical game builds, ROMs and enabled mod contents. There is no mixed couch/online mode, spectator mode or joining a running race.

Start opens a live race menu; the other racers keep moving. Select in that menu retires your racer. Finished racers wait for the rest; equal-field finishes tie, and a last survivor wins without a fabricated finish time. At results, Start rematches, B changes the race, and Select returns to the title locally or the waiting room online. F10 leaves an online race for its room; the other peers also return. Losing the host ends that match.

F7/F8 are available between local races and operate on the whole session. Online, the host can use F7 between races to save or load everyone together; online rewind is unavailable. Multiplayer execution snapshots are separate from native single-player cartridge progress.

When updating, close the game and extract the new ZIP into its folder. Keep vbrecomp.cfg, keybinds.ini, saves/ and mods/ to retain your setup and progress.

Supported ROM

Extract the ROM from its ZIP before selecting it. The launcher checks that it matches this revision:

Cartridge	Value
Revision	Zero Racers (Japan, USA) (En) (Switch Online)
Size	1,048,576 bytes
CRC32	71553796
SHA-256	47421cd82dfd414d042d2f7f9db51e657d414d4ddfa46887efb544029fa11ce7

Coverage pass

See the October 2026 coverage record for the tested gameplay, native/fallback results, reproduction commands and limits.

For developers

You need Windows 10/11 x64, Git, Python 3.11+ on PATH, MSYS2, and the supported ROM. Install the build tools in an MSYS2 terminal:

pacman -S --needed mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc mingw-w64-x86_64-cmake mingw-w64-x86_64-ninja mingw-w64-x86_64-make mingw-w64-x86_64-SDL2

Then clone and build from PowerShell:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/mstan/ZeroRacersVirtualBoyRecomp.git
Set-Location ZeroRacersVirtualBoyRecomp
.\tools\build.ps1 -Rom 'C:\Games\zero_racers.vb'
.\build\vbrecomp\runtime\ZeroRacersVirtualBoyRecomp.exe --launcher --rom 'C:\Games\zero_racers.vb'

For an existing clone, run git submodule update --init --recursive first. The build script handles code generation and compilation. It expects MSYS2 at C:\msys64; use -Toolchain or -Python for custom installation paths.

Add -Build build-release -Production to build the player version. To try the color mod after a regular build, run python tools/play-color.py.

License

See LICENSE.md for project licensing. Dependencies retain their own licenses. Zero Racers and its artwork belong to Nintendo; see artwork attribution.

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