Sega’s chunky top-loading top-loader is the gift that keeps on giving. The Sega 32X version of Virtua Racing Deluxe has been fully decompiled, with a fan-developed project producing a complete, buildable disassembly of the game’s source code.
The work comes from developer and preservationist Matias Zanolli, who has released the decompiled code along with tools and documentation for rebuilding the ROM on his GitHub. According to the project notes, this is a clean reconstruction that can be compiled back into a functionally identical version of Virtua Racing Deluxe. The process reportedly involved extensive reverse engineering of both the main game code and the 32X’s architecture, which handled the polygonal visuals that made Virtua Racing such a showpiece in the mid‑’90s.
Practically, what this opens up is flexibility. A clean disassembly gives the community a base for bug fixes, balance tweaks, and even potential enhancements or unofficial updates to the game. This follows a growing trend of high‑profile decompilation projects, where classic console titles are being picked apart and rebuilt with modern tooling to ensure they’re better understood and easier to maintain. For Virtua Racing Deluxe, which was already a standout on the 32X thanks to extra tracks and improved performance over the Genesis version, it could mean a long and experimental afterlife.
Decompilations like this turn closed commercial binaries into something more akin to documented code bases, making it easier for future developers and historians to see how specific effects, physics, and systems were implemented on constrained hardware. In the case of Virtua Racing Deluxe, that includes Sega’s early experiments with 3D racing on a home console, laying the groundwork that influenced everything from Saturn racers to later arcade hardware.
Whether anything cool emerges from this specific project or not, having Virtua Racing Deluxe in a buildable, study‑friendly form is a win for anyone who cares about how these games actually work under the hood.
Source: GitHub via Time Extension
What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
This page may contain affiliate links, by purchasing something through a link, Retro Handhelds may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you.