Monado II

Monado II

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, recompiled for PC.

A community fork of Monado by TheMonadoGuy / Monado contributors, built on Peiikai’s LASRecomp. Monado II adds a native Linux port and optional quality-of-life features, while preserving the original Windows implementation.

Get started · Latest release · Linux guide · Windows guide · Changelog

Linux highlights

Feature	What it adds
Native launcher	A themed settings screen, controller configuration and a locally generated launcher AppImage.
High-refresh improvements	Timing, animation, menu-navigation and footstep corrections, plus a choice of 30 FPS-style or faster 60 FPS-style menu navigation.
DLSS Super Resolution / DLAA	Native support on compatible NVIDIA hardware, included in normal Linux builds.
Shader preparation	Prepare shaders before playing with the launcher’s Precompile shaders button.
Exit to desktop	Native title-screen and in-game System menu entries, with confirmation and Cancel/No selected by default. Exiting does not save progress.
Built-in updates	Stable-release notifications, local rebuilds when required, progress, cancellation and automatic cleanup of superseded builds.

The Linux-specific launcher, timing, menu, save and Quick Step improvements have not been backported. Windows retains its upstream launcher and vendor/shader integrations; backporting the Linux improvements is not currently planned.

A dedicated Quick Step gem slot

Equip an owned Quick Step gem in an extra character slot without using an ordinary equipment gem slot. The option uses the game’s native equipment menus and is off by default, so you can keep the original equipment setup.

Linux 0.1.11 stabilizes saved assignments, Load Game/Continue restoration, equipped indicators and native menu feedback. See the Quick Step guide.

More room for your playthroughs

99 manual saves plus a separate autosave for each story. Main-game and Future Connected saves stay separate. Scroll through four native save cards at a time; unused slots show No data and create no files until used. Existing saves keep their native format and filenames.

Initial Save/Load scanning batches ready native read steps within a small budget and yields for pending I/O and callbacks. Menus and Continue scanning can still take time; 99 populated slots and every save/recovery case have not been qualified.

Getting started

Download a setup/build kit from the latest release and verify it against the release’s SHA256SUMS file. Both kits contain reviewed source and setup tools. You build locally from your own game dump.

Platform	Current setup kit	Full instructions
Linux x86-64	Linux .tar.gz	Linux build guide
Windows x86-64	Windows .zip	Windows build guide

Linux quick start

1. Extract the Linux kit into a folder you want to keep.

2. Check the prerequisites, then place your own extracted input in game_files/exefs/ and game_files/romfs/ inside that folder. The guide also explains how to link an existing input folder without moving it.

3. Open a terminal in the extracted folder and run:

   ./Build_Monado_II.sh
   ./Play_Monado_II.sh
   

The build generates Monado-II-x86_64.AppImage for the launcher. Play_Monado_II.sh also works without FUSE. Keep the build folder alongside the AppImage: the game executable, libraries and state live outside its launcher payload. The image is a workspace launcher, not a standalone game download.

For Quiver and other Linux app launchers, select App_Monado_II.sh. It shows first-build progress in an installed terminal, then opens the launcher. See Quiver setup and limitations.

Normal Linux builds include DLSS Super Resolution / DLAA and frame-generation capability. The build fetches the pinned official NVIDIA SDK locally; its binaries and models are not included in source kits or launcher images. To omit both providers, use:

./Build_Monado_II.sh --without-dlss

Frame generation is experimental and disabled by default. To try it, select DLSS/DLAA and enable the launcher checkbox; no extra build flag is needed. Performance varies: it may run worse, stutter or show visual glitches. Leaving it off is recommended. See experimental frame generation.

Your game files

No game files are included in this repository or its releases. You must own a legally obtained copy of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition and supply your own legally dumped files from your own legally obtained Nintendo Switch console, including the supported 2.0.0 update.

I will not provide game files, keys, firmware, download links, or tell anyone where to get them. I will not provide instructions for obtaining or dumping them. Requests for those files, links or instructions will not be answered.

Only already-extracted exefs/ and romfs/ folders are accepted. Package/key extraction is not supported. Game-derived C, executables, shaders and caches are generated locally and must stay out of Git and releases. Do not post game files, keys, saves, generated game code, shaders or caches in issues or pull requests; read the contribution rules.

The source tree keeps Monado_Linux/ and Monado_Windows/ separate. Use one read-only game-input location, with independent per-port generated files, builds, configuration, caches, logs and saves. Never direct runtime output into game input.

Updating and keeping your saves

The Linux launcher checks quietly for newer stable releases on startup. When an update is available, choose Update or Later. Updating downloads the source kit, prepares it locally with progress and cancellation, then restarts the launcher. It never presses Play.

• Compatible launcher-only updates retain the verified game build; other updates rebuild the game locally.
• Saves, settings and shared game input stay in the original installation. Failed or cancelled preparation keeps the previous version selected.
• Updating to 0.1.11 requires a full local game rebuild for the Quick Step and queued-rendering fixes, including the reported Bionis Interior crash correction. The updater handles this without converting, replacing or deleting your saves.
• Keep the complete save folder, including hidden files, when backing up or moving saves. Quick Step metadata accompanies the unchanged native .sav files.
• From 0.1.6, the original folder’s update-version.json reflects the active version. After successful activation, only the current launcher and its game payload are retained. Older releases can be downloaded and built manually.

The updater is available from 0.1.3. 0.1.2 has no updater: apply a verified 0.1.3-or-newer Linux source kit to the same original installation and rebuild once, preserving input and profile directories. A fresh kit in a new folder is a separate installation and does not import an older profile. Follow Linux updates and storage.

New downloads use the -setup kit. A legacy Linux -source archive remains in releases solely for installed-updater compatibility. Both contain source, not precompiled playable games. No compiled game binary, private vendor SDK binary, game-derived cache or user data is distributed. 0.1.11 is a regular stable release; the optional Quick Step feature is stable, while frame generation remains experimental. Windows has no updater in this release.

Platform status and limitations

Platform	Current state
Linux x86-64	Native SDL/Vulkan port. Opening cutscenes and battles through first character control were tested by the maintainer. Expanded saves, scan responsiveness, Quick Step, trading and the Bionis Interior crash correction received positive manual feedback.
Windows x86-64	Original Monado implementation retained. The original author reported full-game playability on NVIDIA RTX; this fork has not independently built or validated Windows. Linux backports are not currently planned.

Full-game, Future Connected, long-session, other-GPU/driver and save/recovery coverage remain incomplete. Passing source CI and component tests do not establish full-game compatibility. FSR 3.1 Super Resolution is unavailable on Linux; Windows retains its own vendor integrations. See platform status and remaining work.

The public source accepts plain TTF/OTF/TTC font input. It does not ship Nintendo fonts or proprietary-font deobfuscation. The Linux launcher uses the Monado II wordmark/theme and the reviewed generated landscape illustration; its exact asset and origin are documented in artwork provenance. The separate local sword icon is excluded. Broader gameplay/UI validation remains incomplete.

Guides and reference

Guide	What you’ll find
Linux build instructions	Requirements, game-input layout, building, updates and storage.
Windows build instructions	Building the preserved Windows implementation.
Quick Step guide	Enabling the optional slot, equipping gems and keeping save metadata.
Quiver setup	Launcher entrypoint and integration limitations.
Release verification	Setup-kit contents, checksums and publication boundaries.
Changelog	Releases and differences from upstream Monado.
Platform status	Validation, supported paths and known limitations.
Contributing	Source, attribution and content rules.

Credits and license

Monado II is a fork, not a claim to the original recompiler/runtime. Credit belongs to TheMonadoGuy / Monado contributors for Monado and Peiikai for LASRecomp. The name acknowledges the original project and the game. Full attribution is in CREDITS.

This fork was developed using AI coding tools throughout, under maintainer direction and with manual testing. The original Monado author also documented substantial AI assistance. Human review, tests and reproducible results matter; known limitations are tracked openly.

Monado II’s authored code is MIT-licensed; see LICENSE. Dependencies retain their respective terms in NOTICE. The source license grants no rights to Nintendo/Monolith Soft game content, trademarks, fonts, artwork or other third-party assets.

Monado II is an independent community project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo or Monolith Soft.