Savage Wind Alpha 3: BOTW-ready folders and first launch on Windows
ItsOOGWAY · PC guides & recorded tests
Savage Wind Alpha 3: BOTW-ready folders and first launch on Windows
Set up The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Windows with Savage Wind Recomp. This step-by-step walkthrough covers the Windows download, preparing your own base game and update, choosing the correct exefs + romfs folder, first-time recompilation, shader preparation and gameplay on the Great Plateau.
The key checkpoint: Finish extraction first, then select BOTW-ready—the parent containing both exefs and romfs. Packages is intermediate output, not the game folder.
Before you start
- Use the Switch 1.9.0 game with its matching update.
- Keep the helper separate from the Savage Wind application.
- Look for Extraction Finished before starting game-file setup.
Resources from this video
Links, downloads & documentation
Every original URL from the video description is collected here, including recorded releases, setup discussions and related videos. Use the version-specific notes when following a recorded build.
Watch the complete video
Open this video on YouTube ↗. Screenshots below link to their exact recorded moments.
Walkthrough 01
Download the Windows application
Start with the Savage Wind repository linked in the resources section and open Releases. Download the Windows ZIP, rather than the source-code archive or one of the Linux downloads. The build recorded here is 0.3.1, Alpha Three. Check the release notes if the version has changed by the time you watch this. Extract the complete Windows package into a folder you can write to. Keep its contents together and avoid Program Files, because the application stores its prepared data and settings alongside the program.
We will come back to savagewind.exe after preparing the game files. This walkthrough uses the Nintendo Switch version of Breath of the Wild, with the version 1.9.0 update. Don't substitute a Wii U package or assume an older update will behave the same way. This is an unofficial static recompilation project, and the game code is built locally from your own files. For the current release, the project lists sixty-four-bit Windows ten or later, a processor with SSE4.2 support, and a graphics card supporting Vulkan 1.3.
It supports a slower compatible build on processors without AVX2. The application's setup needs around thirty-five gigabytes, with additional space for your input files and extraction output, so leave extra room before starting.
Walkthrough 02
Prepare the base game and update
Now for the preparation tool. I use my separate Savage Wind extractor helper, which I'll link in the resources section and on Discord. Extract the whole helper package into its own working folder. The batch launcher, PowerShell script, and extraction tool need to stay together. Read its included instructions before you run it. You'll need your own base-game dump and matching update, plus the console key export required by the helper. Those are your inputs, separate from the application download.
Keep your key files private and follow the helper's instructions for placing them. If you already have a compatible extracted folder containing exefs and updated romfs, you can go straight to the Savage Wind setup section. In the recording, I first unpack the archives holding the game and update. If your files are still inside an archive, extract them before selecting them in the helper. If you have a split archive, keep all its parts together and start extraction from the first part.
You don't select a compressed archive where the helper asks for the actual game package. I place the base game and update in the working folder to keep this demonstration easy to follow. You can also browse to their existing locations when choosing the inputs. The important thing is knowing which file is the base game and which is the update; don't choose between them just by guessing from their file sizes. Open Extract for Savage Wind.bat.
The first file picker asks for the base-game NSP. Select the base game and confirm it. The next picker asks for the update NSP. Select the matching update and confirm that separately. Base first, update second. Leave a moment between these steps so you can check the file you are about to open. The command window now works through unpacking the base, unpacking the update, checking the contents, and preparing the updated files. Keep that window open while it is running.
Some stages look quiet because detailed output goes into a log, so a short pause in the window is not by itself proof that the extraction has failed.
Walkthrough 03
Check extraction before importing
I've shortened the passive waiting in the video. What matters is the result at the end: the green Extraction Finished message, followed by the path to the prepared folder. In the successful retake, that folder is named BOTW-ready, and inside it are exefs and romfs. The longer extraction folder name around it includes a timestamp, so yours will be different. This is where my earlier attempt went wrong: it ended with an NSTool extraction error instead of the finished message.
That is not a successful result, even if some folders have already appeared. If you get that error, keep the extraction log and check the helper's instructions before continuing. Don't import an incomplete output and then try to solve the problem inside the game launcher. For the rest of the walkthrough, use the completed output from the successful run. You may also see a Packages folder next to it. That contains temporary processing files; it is not the game folder we are going to select.
Keep the BOTW-ready folder intact, with both of its main folders inside.
Walkthrough 04
Select BOTW-ready and finish compilation
Now return to the extracted Savage Wind application and open savagewind.exe. On the first setup screen, choose the option to browse for your game files. Go to the extraction output and select the BOTW-ready folder itself. Don't select Packages, and don't go inside exefs or romfs and choose only one of them. Think of it as selecting the parent folder that holds both halves of the prepared game. Once that location is selected, click Set Up Game Files.
In the recording, the application starts checking and copying the files, then builds its data image. That is the first stage of the program's own setup, after the separate extraction has finished. Next comes recompiling the game code. This can take a while, and the percentage does not have to move at a constant speed. Let the program finish. After that, the recording shows shader precompilation as another stage. These are separate jobs, so reaching the end of the game-code build does not necessarily mean every setup step is finished.
I'll speed through the waiting while keeping the transitions visible, so you can recognise the same stages on your screen. Don't compare your computer against the edited duration here. This is preparation work before play, and it is better to let it finish than to interrupt it because the video moved ahead faster.
Walkthrough 05
Test the opening and settings
When setup completes, acknowledge the information prompt and let the game start. The message also explains where Savage Wind's settings live: in the game's Options, including through System and Options from the pause menu. If you want the separate configuration screen later, use the Savage Wind Configuration program included in the application folder. Here we can get through the opening, move Link around the shrine, use the inventory, collect equipment, and reach the outside area.
This is the result we were working towards, rather than stopping at a setup progress bar. The footage demonstrates this opening section and the Great Plateau. It doesn't establish that every quest, every area, or the complete game is problem-free. Savage Wind is still an alpha project. If something goes wrong later, note the build and game version, and save savagewind.log soon after the problem; the project says a new launch writes a new log.
Walkthrough 06
Keep a useful troubleshooting record
The whole setup comes down to a few clear checkpoints. Use the compatible game version. Prepare the base and update successfully. Confirm that the output contains exefs and romfs together. Select that parent folder in Savage Wind, let its setup finish, and then launch. Keeping those stages separate makes it much easier to understand where a problem is happening.
If your result differs
| Situation | Next useful check |
|---|---|
| NSTool extraction error | Keep the helper log and check the extraction inputs before importing any incomplete output. |
| The launcher asks for a folder | Select BOTW-ready, containing exefs and romfs together—not Packages or an individual child folder. |
| Expecting a verified 4K/120 result | The description separates a creator-reported thumbnail test from the setup footage. This guide is not an FPS benchmark. |
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