Sonic R may soon be heading to the Dreamcast in a whole new way, as a fan developer has successfully decompiled the game from scratch and is now working toward a future port.
Originally announced by developer Falco Girgis on Twitter, the Sega Dreamcast application developer shared footage showing Sonic R running natively on macOS. According to Girgis, the work was handled by Sonic Mania Dreamcast contributor jnmartin, who built the project from the ground up without relying on any existing decompiled codebase.
Girgis explained that jnmartin began from square one by decompiling the full PC version of Sonic R from scratch. The project is now said to be running natively on macOS using fixed-function OpenGL for rendering, along with several code updates for 64-bit compatibility.
While the build is not yet complete, Girgis said it is already fully playable, though it still contains a few glitches and some missing content. He also noted that the project continues to improve day by day.
The long-term goal is to clean up the macOS version and then use that work as the foundation for a full Dreamcast port. One of the most notable possibilities teased for that future version is network play, which could potentially bring online races to Sonic R for the first time.
jnmartin also reportedly confirmed in a now-deleted Bluesky post that the decompilation was assisted by an LLM. That may account for some of the remaining gaps in the code, though the project has still made significant progress.
If completed, the port would mark a major fan achievement for one of the Sonic series’ most distinctive racing titles, and could open the door to new features well beyond the original release.
Stay tuned to Sonic City for more Sonic R News and Updates!
Discover more from Sonic City ⋆★ Sonic the Hedgehog News, Media, & Community ★⋆
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
