# ngp-link: reconstructing the Neo Geo Pocket Color link cable

> ngp-link reconstructs the Neo Geo Pocket Color serial link cable and uses the recovered behavior for browser netplay. A hardware sniffer, ROM disassembler and headless emulator compare real traffic with game link code. The documentation covers UART framing, BIOS COM calls, handshake states and games that drive the serial chip directly.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game · Protocol
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-08
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-08
- Original resource: <https://github.com/caioluders/ngp-link>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/caioluders/ngp-link/blob/a3a07695e5533f9c42cd17f3fa6b33583232c3b9/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/ngp-link-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/ngp-link-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/ngp-link-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** Requires a user-supplied, legally obtained NGPC ROM for game play and ROM analysis.
- **Prerequisites:** Building the WebAssembly core requires Emscripten.
- **License:** Original code uses MIT, hardware CERN-OHL-P and documentation CC-BY-4.0; vendored emulator and disassembler components retain GPL-2.0 and BSD-3-Clause terms.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/caioluders/ngp-link/blob/a3a07695e5533f9c42cd17f3fa6b33583232c3b9/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/caioluders/ngp-link/blob/a3a07695e5533f9c42cd17f3fa6b33583232c3b9/docs/protocol/overview.md>

## More in Games

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- [NMS Shipwright: reconstructing No Man's Sky ship generation and saves](https://awesomerea.org/resources/nms-shipwright-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Novluno: parsing Redmoon Online data for a modern client](https://awesomerea.org/resources/novluno-case/index.md) · Case study
- [O21: a black-box remake of U95](https://awesomerea.org/resources/o21-u95-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Ocarina of Time: an early ROM disassembly and NTSC 1.0 memory map](https://awesomerea.org/resources/camthesaxman-zelda-oot-disassembly-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Ocarina of Time: version 1.0 disassembly](https://awesomerea.org/resources/glitterberri-oot-disassembly-case/index.md) · Case study

## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.