Code Veronica Decomp AND Port is Making Progress! The Unloved Resident Evil

Añadido: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Hey everybody, welcome back to Video GameS. So doing a fun and exciting video for you guys today because we're taking a look at the work in progress Resident Evil Code Veronica decompilation project. Just so you know, it is initially targeting PlayStation 2 and Gamecube for one very specific reason I'll get into later in the video, but you are watching Dreamcast footage here captured on real hardware from my VGA box. And to say that I fell in love with Code Veronica when I first played it back in the Dreamcast era would be an understatement. This is one of my favorite entries, and it seems like Capcom is determined never to remake this one for us because we have Resident Evil remakes for every other retro game except this one. And that is an absolute bummer. So, if this project sees 100% decompilation status, that could mean a PC port or maybe even a static recmp if they want to go that route. And it's definitely a game that deserves it. And this is absolutely big demp energy.

[00:00:50]Before I get too much further involved though, do me a huge favor. Go down below, hit like and subscribe, and ring that notification bell. Definitely helps us out. And if you feel so inclined and want to support the channel, we got a Patreon link down below as well. And honestly, with all of the different decoms, recamps, and PC ports we're seeing right now, this is definitely one I would really appreciate. But let's take a look at the GitHub page. This project is from Frozen Burn site, and he was chatting with me on Discord, giving me some more information, which I'll go over later on. But when I talk about the reason why this is starting out live on the PlayStation 2, there is one very specific reason. That is because there are still debug symbols in the actual built version of the game. And if you're not familiar with what a debug symbol is, I will explain it to you so you get a better understanding. But just know it does make this process easier. So basically in the actual compiled version of the game, these debug symbols have been left behind from the developers and they're working on actually creating Code Veronica. We've seen a couple different Gamecube games hit 100% decompiled status. And interesting enough, both of those games also had debug symbols left in the build. Think of it like breadcrumbs or hints as to what the developer was thinking, what technology they were using, and how they were actually interacting with the hardware. And that becomes very essential on these things because it basically I wouldn't call it easy mode, but it gives you a little bit of a leg up and actually trying to decompile these things. And again, as a quick primer, when you decompile something, you're basically bringing it back to its source code. But of course, these games have middleware as well, and that's also been worked on by other developers, and we'll get into that in just a bit. But a lot of these things actually had third party licency technology inside of them and different rendering engines or different effects engines or anything else. So those also need to be worked on. You can't just get to the source code of the game in and of itself. You have to deal with all of the different modules, all of the different components that would make up that compilation, how it runs on PlayStation 2. And that [music] definitely is a little bit of an advanced layer compared to stuff like N64, DEOPS, Recoms, and PC ports where those middleware actually don't really exist all that much. You get a little bit of microode here and there, but otherwise it is a different kind of environment. So you'll see here they're talking about the reverse engineering of the CRI middleware libraries, and that is something that was outside of Capcom's development systems, but that has also been taken care of as well. And that's going to be beneficial for games moving forward because a lot of these era games use something from CRI or another manufacturer to deal with that middleware. And that is going to be amazing if we actually see something like this come to fruition. Cuz if you've never played Code Veronica before, I can't stress enough just how good this game truly is. It brought Resident Evil fully into the 3D world.

[00:03:24]And I think it really does work. And even if some of the voice acting in this game is absolutely trash in all the best ways possible, imagine something like Code Veronica in 16 by9 with 60 to 120 frames per second with a ton of mods with some improvement controls, everything else like that because this game can still feel a little bit tanky.

[00:03:43]But you see when we have recaps and PC ports, a lot of times one of the first things that is changed up is going to be the control scheme. Now, that would definitely be a little bit of an intensive process because the game is basically built around those tank style controls where you basically end up running up against walls the entire time, but it can be done and it's definitely something I would look forward to. But I am curious. Leave me a comment down below and you tell me what is your favorite Resident Evil game. I would be curious. For me, Code Veronica definitely in the top three. And that's why it's so great that something like this is being decompiled. You'll see here right now it's about 34.4% 4% with that CRI middleware being 100% and the sound driver also being 100%. Which is my sound segway into the first soundtrack and voiceover sample. And I'll be right back with more.

[00:04:27]>> What are you doing here?

[00:04:31]>> Chris Redfield. Is he a relative of yours or something?

[00:04:35]>> You mean my brother?

[00:04:36]>> Ah, your siblings.

[00:04:42]Why don't you send your brother the coordinates and ask him to come help?

[00:04:45]Thanks. I'll do that.

[00:04:47]>> Hey, I was just kidding.

[00:04:51]>> There's no way he could get here, even if he is your brother.

[00:04:55]>> Yes, he can. I'm sure of it.

[00:04:59]>> No way. He won't come.

[00:05:03]You'll just end up disappointed if you rely [music] on others. Believe me, I know.

[00:05:12]>> What was that all about?

[00:05:16]So, the interesting thing when we talk about remakes versus PC ports or versus static recmps is the vibe. Now, of course, if Capcom remade this game, you're not going to get those original voice lines. And even though they are not good in any way, shape, or form, they are part and parcel part of the entire Code Veronic experience. Steve there absolutely just has the whiniest voice ever possible in any sort of survival horror game. And even if it isn't good voiceover acting, it is very Code Veronica and it kind of just brings the entire vibe to the table. So sometimes when companies like Capcom remake a game, yes, that remake is outstanding, but it kind of changes the overall vibe. And that is why I would love to see a decomp of this game and a ported to PC because then we could have that same absolutely janky voice acting in the actual game in and of itself without changing up the overall tone.

[00:06:03]Because basically when Capcom does remake these games, they make a ton of fundamental changes. Yes, the story line is generally the same, but there might be new areas, there might be new voice acting, and while that is fun, you kind of have to wait against the original version of the game to decide for yourself which one it is you like more.

[00:06:19]For me, I think I always want to hear Steve be absolutely awanie baby when it comes to actually playing Code Veronica.

[00:06:25]Now, the Dreamcast version is being looked at as well, but the tool set and overall information on decompiling Dreamcast games really isn't as robust as something like PlayStation 2, GameCube, or even N64. A lot of these projects end up based upon community work done to the different tool chains and everything else. So, that's why you really haven't heard much about Dreamcast decompilations yet in any way, just because it kind of isn't there.

[00:06:50]That's when we talked about the PS2 recap tool getting its start in development. It's not quite ready for prime time, but when it is, that will definitely go a long way to aiding some of these projects. So, big thanks to Frozen Burnside. I will leave a link to his channel below. He told me I could share some of the behindthe-scenes process that he's put up on YouTube about actually decompiling these things.

[00:07:09]And you'll see here using the debugger in something like PCSX2 is a very useful feature because it basically tells you exactly what's going on in hardware.

[00:07:18]every different memory access address, every different function and module that's being loaded in where anything is having a fundamental flaw. I get it's a ton of text and for most people it's not really going to mean much whatsoever.

[00:07:30]But this is basically how it's done. You start decompiling stuff. You start using debuggers. You start checking things and seeing whether or not that decompilation is matching what the actual retail version of the game would do. Because to get a 100% successful decompilation, it should then be able to be recompiled and be a 100% match of the functionality of what the actual retail game would be. If it's not a match, that means it's not a 100% successful decompile. And taking a look at a different video here, you will see some things start showing up in red.

[00:07:59]It can be very hard to read, but it says TLB miss. We talked about TLB or translation look aside buffers in the N64 MR FPJ development videos and it basically just is a memory addressing system where you can kind of pivot the addresses around. So right now this build was trying to find something in a TLB address and it was a miss. Now, I'm not sure if that miss is intentional or not because you can have hits or misses, and that does happen even in compiled software, but it is kind of a fun observation. And trust me, we're getting a little bit nerdy when we start looking at translation look aside buffers, but it is fundamentally important to getting these things running.

[00:08:36]And that is why I absolutely love these demp, pre-MP, and PC port projects and love showcasing them on the channel.

[00:08:42]There are so many incredible retro games out there that maybe modern audiences wouldn't want to play. Now, if Capcom re-released Code Veronica, you'd get a ton of people that weren't even alive during the Dreamcast era buying the game, playing it, and realizing how good it is. But in the meantime, when Capcom isn't doing exactly that, you have projects like this that should hopefully one day, 18, 24, 36 months from now, render out an actual playable PC version of Code Veronica. And that is absolutely a world I want to live in. But do leave me a comment down below because if you're watching my channel, you know I love asking this question. If you could snap your fingers right now and make a PC port of any retro game appear playable, which one would it be? I love reading the answers because I get a lot of fun ones. But honestly, Code Veronica is very deserving of this. Not only is it useful to start getting more PS2D comps going on, but it's also a game that I just feel like could use the modernization. Cuz don't get me wrong, playing this thing on a CRT television or a VG monitor absolutely outstanding.

[00:09:40]But it definitely has aged a bit. And that is the fun thing with these decampbased ports. They can improve a lot of things like graphics and controls and just give you a smoother playing experience. But Code Veronic is just definitely one I am excited about. So big thanks to Frozen Burnside for sharing some of the information. Like I said, the GitHub as well as the channel link is in the description below. You can definitely take a deeper dive if you want into the technicalities behind it.

[00:10:04]But we're done here. Hopefully one day we're playing Code Vernica on PC as a modern port. Sure that I'll see you guys next time. Bye-bye.