# God of War II: native PC port (PS2 → Windows)

> [!NOTE]
> **Work in progress (WIP).** There is no version to download and play yet. What there is is real, documented progress: the game already reaches the first playable area, with sound, cutscenes and memory card, at ~60 FPS. If you want to follow it, help, or base your own fork on it, you're in the right place.

Static recompilation of **God of War II** (PS2, 2007) into a native Windows executable with [PS2Recomp](https://github.com/ran-j/PS2Recomp). It is not an emulator: the game's code is translated to C++ and compiled as a PC program, together with a runtime that plays the part of the PS2 (GS, VU1, IOP, sound, controller, videos and memory card).

It is the team's second project after [God of War](https://github.com/cxldsakeb/ROMS-nativas-PS2), which is already playable at ~60 FPS on Waffle565's runtime. GoW II uses an evolution of the same engine, so we start from that runtime and what we do here is the game-specific part: the function map, the recompiler configuration, the overrides and the runtime fixes the game requires.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> This repository **contains nothing from the game** (ISO, ELF, IRX, disc data) nor the C++ generated from it, and **it never will**. The only exception are the few screenshots of the port below. Everyone needs **their own legal copy** of God of War II (NTSC-U, `SCUS-97481`, v1.01). Don't ask for or share ISOs in the issues.

## Screenshots

The port running on PC (October 2026, internal resolution x2): the title screen, the opening of the first level with the Colossus of Rhodes, and combat in the first area.

| | |
|---|---|
| ![Title screen](docs/screenshots/1-title.jpg) | ![The Colossus of Rhodes](docs/screenshots/2-colossus.jpg) |
| ![Combat in the first area](docs/screenshots/3-combat.jpg) | ![Combat in the first area](docs/screenshots/4-combat.jpg) |

## Status

**Phase 4 (playable), in progress.** What works today, verified by playing:

- Boots and gets through the logos, the title screen and the menu.
- **Cutscenes** at 30 frames per second, with the audio in sync.
- **First playable area (Rhodes)** with sound, scenery, shadows and combat.
- **Memory card:** formats, saves and loads.
- **Real 16:9** (more view at the sides, not a stretched 4:3) or the original 4:3.
- **Higher internal resolutions** without the usual upscaling glitches: the ghost, the edge bands and the lines at scale 3, the wavy lines under water and in the underworld, and the bubbles and steam of the bath room are fixed.
- **Speed:** 60 FPS in the menu and ~44–59 FPS in the first area with combat (measured on a team member's PC), with the VU1 and the IOP compiled to native code.
- **Launcher** to choose the graphics settings and start the game (see below).

What's missing: a few graphics glitches (the filtering at internal scales x2 and x4, the videos still stretched to 16:9, a flicker in the second cutscene, a moving pixelated filter), checking the rest of the game beyond the first area, and reaching a stable 60 FPS in combat.

| Phase | Status |
|---|---|
| 0. Environment | Done |
| 1. Function map and recompiler configuration | Done: 6,607 functions, 76 Sony library stubs, 240 hardware register accesses |
| 2. First boot | Done: loads the 8 IOP modules, reads the disc and reaches the title screen |
| 3. Menu and videos | Done |
| 4. Playable at full speed | In progress: 26 blockers solved so far; a few graphics details and combat speed remain |

Details in [docs/ROADMAP.md](docs/ROADMAP.md). Every blocker, with its cause and its fix, is in [docs/NOTES.md](docs/NOTES.md): it is also a good guide to how a PS2 game is brought to PC with PS2Recomp.

## Getting started

You need Windows, Visual Studio 2022 and your copy of the game. Follow [docs/SETUP.md](docs/SETUP.md). In short: extract your ISO with `scripts/extract-iso.ps1` (the ELF's SHA1 must match the one in NOTES.md), build the tools, `scripts/recompile.ps1` and `scripts/run.ps1 -Config RelWithDebInfo` (the first build takes ~20–50 min depending on the PC). To run at full speed you have to generate the native VU1 and IOP with data from your own playthrough (SETUP.md, section 7b).

**Controls:** a PC controller or the keyboard. Keyboard: arrows = D-pad, `Z`/`X`/`C`/`V` = square/cross/circle/triangle, `Enter` = Start, `Q`/`E` = L1/R1, `1`/`3` = L2/R2, `WASD` and `IJKL` = sticks.

**Launcher (optional):** `.\scripts\build-launcher.ps1 -Run` builds and opens a small window to choose the graphics settings (internal resolution, 16:9 or 4:3, fullscreen at startup, FXAA, anisotropic filtering, sharpening, vsync, FPS counter) and start the game with **PLAY**, without recompiling anything. It hides while you play and comes back when the game closes, so you can try other settings. Details in [launcher/README.md](launcher/README.md).

**Window keys:** `F12` = fullscreen / windowed · `F10` = FPS counter (like PCSX2's) · `F1` = debug panel.

## Contributing

All help is welcome: testing on your PC, reporting bugs or sending fixes. Read [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) before opening an issue or a PR. The runtime lives in our PS2Recomp fork ([DaniSBR1/PS2Recomp](https://github.com/DaniSBR1/PS2Recomp), branch `godofwar2`), which is the `PS2Recomp/` submodule.

And if you'd rather take it your own way: it's GPLv3, so you can make your own fork as long as you keep the same license and credit the source.

The context for Claude Code (and for anyone who joins) is in [CLAUDE.md](CLAUDE.md).

## Credits

- [**PS2Recomp**](https://github.com/ran-j/PS2Recomp) by ran-j and contributors (GPLv3): the recompiler and the base of the runtime.
- [**Waffle565/God-Of-War-Native-Port**](https://github.com/Waffle565/God-Of-War-Native-Port): its `runtime` branch (GPL-3.0) is the base of our runtime; `tools/iso_extract.py`, `tools/iop/` and `tools/vu1/vu1n_gen.py` come from its `main` branch, with the author's permission and through KIexster.
- [**KIexster/god-of-war-recomp**](https://github.com/KIexster/god-of-war-recomp) (GPLv3): the patches that put that base on top of PS2Recomp and, for GoW1, the configuration and overrides that we keep as a reference in `referencia/gow1/`.
- [**PCSX2**](https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2) (GPLv3+): hardware reference.
- Team: [@cxldsakeb](https://github.com/cxldsakeb), [@DaniSBR1](https://github.com/DaniSBR1) and [@Alejrr2](https://github.com/Alejrr2).

## License

**GPLv3** ([LICENSE](LICENSE)), same as PS2Recomp. God of War is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment; this project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sony. No game files, nor anything derived from them, are distributed.