Ghost Return: Goemon’s Great Adventure on PC (N64 Recomp)

What it is

Ghost Return runs Goemon's Great Adventure (1998, Nintendo 64) as a native Windows program. It is a static recompilation: the game's code was translated once, and the game itself comes from your own ROM, which is never changed.

It adds widescreen drawn to the edges, high frame rates at the original game speed, four players on one PC or online, and an optional tube TV picture. One program installs, sets up and starts the game.

What it does

Free

• The game as a native Windows program, from your own ROM
• Widescreen 16:9 and wider: level, scenery and effects drawn to the edges, HUD in the corners
• High frame rates at the original game speed
• Up to 4 players on one PC: players 3 and 4 join like player 2, with their own HUD
• Online play for 2 to 4 players with a join code, using the host's settings
• Controller Pak saves, also shared online
• Français and Deutsch with the European ROM, song lyrics with the Japanese ROM
• ROMs and CD tracks from .zip, .rar and .7z files
• Draw distance x2, resolution, anti-aliasing, window modes
• Cheats: all entry passes, all levels, Sasuke and Yae from the start
• CRT filter with scanlines, mask and curved glass, nine kinds of screen and an optional 3D living room, every option adjustable
• Repair and complete removal from inside the program

Plus

• Japanese Songs: the song sequences cut from the western releases
• CD Songs: your own CD tracks "Smile Again" and "Double Impact" replace the two songs (needs your own CD tracks)
• Replay Castles: enter a beaten castle again with A
• Two Item Slots: a second item square for every player
• Lucky Enemies: one enemy in twenty drops eight coins
• Co-op Coins: with 2 or more players, enemies drop 2 coins by day
• Golden Cat Drops: an enemy rarely drops a golden cat
• Fair Pickups: items you do not need stay for your teammates
• Silver Cat Armor: a silver cat gives armor when the weapon is at its best

Under the hood

Ghost Return is a static recompilation. The game code was translated to native code once. All game data is read from your own ROM at runtime and is never modified. No game files are included. Rendering runs on Direct3D 12.

The Plus features were built and tested in single player. With 2 to 4 players and online they are experimental: they are included and worked in testing, but have not been tested in every situation. Online, everyone can play with everyone. The Plus features are active in a session when every player has Plus.

Third-party: N64: Recompiled and N64ModernRuntime, RT64, Goemon64Recomp, RmlUi, SDL2, roehre and the CRT shaders crt-guest-advanced, the fonts Dela Gothic One and Zen Maru Gothic (see THIRD_PARTY.md).

Download

One download for everyone. With Plus you get the key that unlocks every feature, right next to the download.

Ghost Return (Goemon’s Great Adventure) Also in Plinth?

Goemon's Great Adventure (N64) as a Windows program from your own ROM: widescreen, high frame rates, four players, online, CRT filter.

by DieMilchgebendeKuh

1Download

• Version 1.0 Freefixed Nov 10, 2026

  Windows 10/11 · 64-bit · .exe · 89.4 MB · Nov 10, 2026

  What’s new?3

  • First release.
  • Free: the game as a Windows program from your own ROM, widescreen, high frame rates, up to four players, online play, CRT filter with a 3D living room.
  • Plus: nine extra features (Japanese songs, your own CD songs, replay castles, a second item slot, five features around coins and cats).

  Checksum

  SHA-256?f8846612ef59f91e39f4368e8822255b9aedba99d2fa5bffebace3525106dac7Copy

  READMEChangelogThird Party
  Download

2Unlock the full versionPlus?

The download is the same for everyone. You unlock the full version in the tool with a key. With Plus you get the keys of all tools in your account automatically – every new version as soon as it’s out, and they stay yours. Plus is cheapest right here on the website.

Unlock with Plus– from €6.66 a month

Plus costs €7.95 a month or €79.95 a year (works out to €6.66 a month).

You keep all this going – new tools, updates and projects like the Terranigma decompilation. Plus pays for my time to make them.

or

Short on cash right now? Subscribe to me on Twitch – free with Prime, too – and link your account. You’ll have Plus for as long as the sub runs. Thank you – every bit of support counts.

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What you need

• Your own ROM of Goemon's Great Adventure (US)
• Optional: the European ROM (Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon) for Français and Deutsch, and the Japanese ROM (Ganbare Goemon: Derodero Douchuu Obake Tenkomori) for the song lyrics
• Windows 10 or 11
• A Direct3D 12 graphics card

Install

1. With Plinth: Library → Recomps & Decomps → Ghost Return → Install, then Play.
2. Without Plinth: run Ghost Return v1.0.exe. It installs itself and opens.
3. Press SET UP and choose your ROM. The button then says PLAY. Add more ROMs or CD tracks with ADD FILES.
4. In the game, Esc (or the menu button on your controller) opens the settings.

REMOVE on the INSTALLATION page takes the program off your PC again and asks whether to keep your save games. Your own ROM files are never touched.

Found something weird?

If something looks off or the game misbehaves, tell me on Discord or by email. I’m always happy about testers.

Unofficial fan project. Goemon's Great Adventure is a trademark of Konami. No game files are included. Ghost Return is not affiliated with Konami.