# The Phantom Menace: a PlayStation static recompilation and matching decompilation

> The Phantom Menace project runs a static recompilation of the USA Rev 1 PlayStation game natively on desktop and M5Stack Tab5. Its recompiler translates MIPS code into C at build time and runs it with a PlayStation hardware runtime. A matching decompilation aims to replace the generated code function by function; the author reports native gameplay, while the initial handwritten C functions remain nonmatching.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-09
- Original resource: <https://github.com/esp-cpp/tpm-decomp>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/esp-cpp/tpm-decomp/blob/d51af21f74cccaf1a5d492c7ef39a48c3468bb98/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/phantom-menace-psx-recomp-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/phantom-menace-psx-recomp-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/phantom-menace-psx-recomp-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** A user-owned USA Rev 1 PlayStation disc image and SLUS_008.84 executable are required.
- **Prerequisites:** The matching build uses PSY-Q 4.3 GCC 2.8.1 and associated MIPS tooling.
- **Limits:** The author reports that the initial hand-written C functions remain nonmatching.
- **License:** MIT license.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/esp-cpp/tpm-decomp/blob/d51af21f74cccaf1a5d492c7ef39a48c3468bb98/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/esp-cpp/tpm-decomp/blob/d51af21f74cccaf1a5d492c7ef39a48c3468bb98/recomp/README.md>

## More in Games

- [The Simpsons Arcade Game: recompiling the PS3 arcade wrapper](https://awesomerea.org/resources/simpsons-arcade-ps3-case/index.md) · Case study
- [The Simpsons Arcade: an Xbox 360 static recompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/simpsons-arcade-recomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [The Simpsons Game: an Xbox 360 static recompilation for Windows](https://awesomerea.org/resources/the-simpsons-game-recomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [The Simpsons Wrestling Recompiled: a psxrecomp PlayStation static recompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/simpsons-wrestling-recompiled-case/index.md) · Case study
- [The Sims 2: statically recompiling the original Xbox game](https://awesomerea.org/resources/sims2-xbox-recomp/index.md) · Case study
- [The Two Towers Recompiled: an original Xbox static-recompilation port](https://awesomerea.org/resources/two-towers-recompiled-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.