Available now: Windows32/64-bit; Linux desktop/Steam Deck32/64-bit; Anbernic ARM beta. EU/US/JP included. Android, web and console updates are being built and verified and will be added to this same release.
v2.9
Gameplay and stability
- Faster GBA picture rendering on Windows 32/64-bit and Linux 64-bit through CPU workers, with isolated buffers and unchanged game speed. GPU composition and scaling remain in use.
- Improved image pacing at the original GBA rate (about 59.7275 Hz), including menu exit and recovery after a late frame. The FPS counter measures submitted images, and loading a quickstate no longer causes a false Hz spike.
- Windows 64-bit now exposes the VRR option when its presentation path supports it. Actual variable refresh still depends on the monitor, driver and display settings; unsupported paths fall back to VSync.
- Fixed an invalid battle-camera access during Pooh's tree-collision sequence and a race while preparing Darkside's beach tables.
Display, art and imports
- The three optional GBA borders work with every view, zoom and selected aspect. Decorations keep their proportions; the original GBA frame remains unchanged.
- Jiminy's extended pages have consistent edges, rounded corners and footer placement with HD cards on or off.
- Includes the accepted Atlas scene, arena and HD synthesis updates. Later proposals and review comments remain in Atlas for separate review.
- Basic HD imports now include
zz_event_062, the floor6 movie replacement, without importing every story scene (#573). Re-run the importer from your owned media to add a clip missing from an older import. - General → Hide title hint can hide the added SELECT OPTIONS label. SELECT still opens Options (#596).
- Optional LCD pixel grid follows the GBA pixel scale across zoom and aspect changes, with configurable strength and cached GPU masks. It is off by default and keeps decorative borders clear (#598).
- The native launcher's 405 synthesis recipes now match the accepted source and Python importer, including update detection for older imports.
- Linux includes the launcher action Import HD HUD, cards and sprites..., as well as
--import-sprites(#616).
Packages and verification
Windows and Linux desktop packages contain 32-bit and 64-bit paths and EU/US/JP game support. Android contains both ARM32 and ARM64. Anbernic, Android and console packages retain their beta labels. No ROMs, personal saves or imported HD media are included.
Desktop checks include pixel comparisons between single-core and parallel rendering, actual gameplay and quickstate tests, and packaged boot tests. Local field measurements improved from about 18.6 ms to 8 ms in the 64-bit PPU; native Windows32 controls improved from 8.7–9.4 ms to about 4.1 ms. These are workload-specific results, not a guarantee for every scene or device.
Physical RX6900XT/144Hz scanout, Steam Deck Gaming Mode and physical mobile/console performance were not tested here. Issue #610 remains under follow-up to match the reporter's crash to the corrected access.