Retro Rewind Patches

Last updated: May 18, 2026

This page summarizes the parts of Retro Rewind's Patches system that matter when working with UI files.

INFO

This page is supplemental documentation based on Patches on Tockdom Wiki. Check the original page for the latest specification.

Overview

Patches is a file override system. When the game requests a file, the system can load a user-provided file instead. If no matching user file exists, the game falls back to the file bundled with the pack.

It can be used similarly to My Stuff, but it is more flexible. You can replace an entire .szs file, or patch specific files inside an archive.

Implementation references:

• LooseArchiveOverrides.cpp
• LooseBRSAROverrides.cpp

Supported Override Types

Patches supports the following override types.

Type	Description
Full-file override	Replaces a requested game file with a loose file.
.szs archive member override	Replaces, adds, or deletes files such as .brlyt, .brlan, or .tpl inside an .szs archive.
revo_kart.brsar sound override	Replaces .brwsd, .brbnk, or .brseq files by BRSAR File ID.
Packed patch archive	Bundles multiple patch files into a single U8 / SZS archive.

Full-File Overrides

To replace an entire file, place the edited file in the Patches folder and give it the same name as the target file.

Example:

beginner_course.szs
n_Circuit32_n.brstm
n_Circuit32_f.brstm

When the game loads a matching file, the file from Patches is used instead.

This method is best for replacing complete .szs, .brstm, or similar files.

WARNING

Full-file overrides are matched by file name. If multiple game files share the same base name, one loose file may affect more than one target.

Replace Files Inside an .szs Archive

To replace files such as .brlyt or .brlan inside an .szs archive, use this naming format:

[Folder1][Folder2]filename.originalFormat.ArchiveTag

Segment	Description
Folder1	A top-level folder inside the .szs, such as bg, button, or control.
Folder2	A child folder inside Folder1, such as anim, blyt, ctrl, or timg.
filename	The target file name, such as common_w004_menu.
originalFormat	The original extension, such as .brlan, .brlyt, or .tpl.
ArchiveTag	The target .szs file name without .szs, such as menusingle.

ArchiveTag is case-insensitive. For example, MenuSingle.szs can be targeted with menusingle.

Without Folder Tags

common_w004_menu.brlyt.menusingle

This targets every common_w004_menu.brlyt inside MenuSingle.szs.

Examples:

• MenuSingle.szs/button/blyt/common_w004_menu.brlyt
• MenuSingle.szs/message_window/blyt/common_w004_menu.brlyt

This is useful when you intentionally want to replace every matching file, but it can also cause unintended changes.

With Folder Tags

[button][blyt]common_w004_menu.brlyt.menusingle

This targets only MenuSingle.szs/button/blyt/common_w004_menu.brlyt.

The same pattern can be used for any .szs archive as long as you know the internal path and the archive tag.

Add Files to an .szs Archive

Use the same naming format to add a file:

[Folder1][Folder2]filename.originalFormat.ArchiveTag

For example, to add hogehoge.brlyt under button/blyt in MenuSingle.szs:

[button][blyt]hogehoge.brlyt.menusingle

The parent directory must already exist in the target archive.

Delete Files from an .szs Archive

To delete a file, add .delete after the original extension.

[Folder1][Folder2]filename.originalFormat.delete.ArchiveTag

Example:

[button][blyt]common_w004_menu.brlyt.delete.menusingle

If you omit the folder tags, every matching file in the archive is deleted.

common_w004_menu.brlyt.delete.menusingle

WARNING

Adding or deleting archive members requires the archive to be rebuilt in memory. This is more expensive than a simple replacement.

Use Packed Patch Archives

When you need to replace many subfiles, a packed patch archive is easier to manage than many loose files.

Naming format:

ModName.ArchiveTag.szs

Segment	Description
ModName	Any name you choose.
ArchiveTag	The target .szs file name without .szs.

Example:

MyMenuPack.menusingle.szs

Suppose the archive contains this tree:

MyMenuPack.menusingle.szs
└── bg
    └── timg
        └── tt_obi_check_000.tpl

The system treats it like this loose patch:

[bg][timg]tt_obi_check_000.tpl.menusingle

Packed patch archives must be regular U8 archives or Yaz0-compressed .szs files.

Priority

If multiple packed archives target the same internal file, add numeric prefixes to control priority. Lower numbers take priority.

001.MyMenuPack.menusingle.szs
010.MyMenuPack2.menusingle.szs

Replace Files Inside BRSAR

Files inside revo_kart.brsar are replaced by BRSAR File ID.

Basic format:

FileId.extension

Format with a label:

FileId.label.extension

Supported extensions:

• .brwsd or .rwsd
• .brbnk or .rbnk
• .brseq or .rseq

Examples:

123.brwsd
123.menu_click.brwsd
456.brbnk
789.brseq

The File ID must be in the range 0 to 1023.

Choosing an Override Type

Type	Use when
Full-file override	You want to replace a complete .szs, .brstm, or similar file.
.szs archive member override	You only need to change part of a larger archive.
Packed patch archive	You want to manage multiple archive member overrides as one file.
BRSAR override	You want to replace effects, sequences, or banks inside revo_kart.brsar.

Limitations and Notes

• Full-file overrides may be matched by file name only.
• Tagged archive member overrides and full-file overrides each have index limits.
• BRSAR overrides use File IDs from 0 to 1023.
• Internal archive patches are applied when compressed .szs files are loaded.
• If the file name or internal path is wrong, the patch will not match.

If an internal archive patch is too large, Dolphin may log a message like this:

[Pulsar] Loose override repack allocation failed for 'SZSName': old=0x0 new=0x0 growth=0xSize source-heap growth capped.

In that case, use a full-file override instead of an internal archive patch.