OVERMonster Hunter Generations Ultimate runs natively on Android: MHGU Recomp adds an Android build, and the gu-native fork adds touch controls
A week after Monster Hunter Freedom Unite went native on Android, the series' Switch entry has followed. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate now runs on Android phones and handhelds without a Switch emulator, in two flavours released on November 1.
How it works
Both come from MHGU Recomp by morerokk, an MIT-licensed static recompilation of the Switch game (version 1.4.0). The game's 32-bit ARM code is translated into C ahead of time and compiled for your device, while a runtime recreates the Switch system services and translates its NVN graphics to Vulkan. Started as a Windows and Linux port, it added an experimental Android build in 0.13.0 (Nov 1) and fixed Android's portrait-mode launch and file import in 0.13.2 that evening. That build is controller only: the developer says touch controls won't be officially supported. It was tested on an NVIDIA Shield and a Pixel 5.
gu-native: the touch-friendly fork
gu-native ("MHGU for Android") by khorne-hub builds on MHGU Recomp and is made for phones. Its first release, 0.1.0, came out on the afternoon of November 1, and it reached 0.1.4 by that night. It adds:- Touch controls built for hunting: a fixed movement pad, drag-anywhere camera, a tap-to-lock monster target like newer Monster Hunter games, a swipeable item bar, Hunter Arts panels and three attack button layouts.
- A layout editor to move and resize every button, plus opacity and camera speed settings. The HUD is rearranged to stay clear of your thumbs.
- Controller support: the touch controls hide as soon as you connect one.
- Up to 120 fps on strong phones, adjustable 3D resolution, and from 0.1.4 a Low-end mode (no bloom or depth of field, lighter textures, 40% resolution and a 30 fps cap by default).
- Save import from an emulator or another device, with a backup of your current save.
- Vulkan 1.1 support for some Mali-G57 devices (experimental).
How fast is it?
The developer's own numbers: a Galaxy S25 Ultra (Adreno 830) runs it at 120 fps. An Anbernic RG406V (Unisoc T820, Mali-G57) manages 48 fps at full resolution and 60 fps at 50%, and a budget moto g06 power holds a steady 30 fps in Low-end mode. On 4 GB phones, close other apps first or Android may close the game.
What you need
- Your own copy of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, updated to 1.4.0, with its exefs and romfs folders. Neither project includes game code, game files or keys, and Overclocked doesn't link any.
- For gu-native: Android 10 or newer, 64-bit, Vulkan 1.2, about 13 GB free, and a Windows or Linux PC for a one-time setup. A Python script in the repo turns your own game files into the game library (libmhgugame.so), which takes about 6 minutes on a fast PC after a one-off download of Google's Android compiler. Then you copy the folder to your device and point the app at it.
- For MHGU Recomp's own Android build: arm64, Android 10+, Vulkan 1.2, a controller, and the developer suggests a Snapdragon 865-class chip with 6 GB of RAM or more.