HCA Converter
Convert HCA, ADX & AWB audio from Persona, Yakuza & CRI Middleware games online free. Extract CRI containers, decode HCA to WAV/MP3.
What is an HCA Converter?
An HCA converter is a tool that decodes CRI Middleware's High Compression Audio (.hca) files into standard audio formats. HCA is the proprietary codec powering the soundtracks of hundreds of Japanese games — from Persona 5 and Yakuza to Genshin Impact and Hatsune Miku Project DIVA. BGM Box uses vgmstream to decode HCA files directly in your browser — no CRI SDK, no command line, no install. Output is lossless WAV by default, with MP3 available on the dedicated HCA to MP3 page.
CRI Audio Formats We Support
- HCA — High Compression Audio, CRI's main codec used in thousands of games → Convert HCA to MP3
- ADX — CRI's older ADPCM-based format, common in SEGA and early PS2-era games
- AWB — Atom Wave Bank, CRI's container format that bundles multiple HCA tracks together
Games That Use CRI Middleware Audio
- Persona 5 / Persona 5 Royal — PS3/PS4/Switch, extensive HCA usage
- Yakuza (Like a Dragon) series — HCA containers for BGM and voice
- Genshin Impact — CRIWARE audio pipeline with HCA
- Hatsune Miku Project DIVA — Music tracks stored as HCA
- NieR:Automata — CRI ADX2 pipeline with HCA encoding
- Monster Hunter World / Rise — Dynamic music layers in HCA
- Sonic Frontiers — CRIWARE audio with HCA
- Resident Evil 2/3 Remake — HCA via CRI ADX2
Frequently Asked Questions
HCA (High Compression Audio) is a proprietary audio codec developed by CRI Middleware, widely used in Japanese games. It provides 4:1 to 16:1 compression with high audio quality, similar to MP3 but optimized for real-time decoding on console hardware. HCA files are commonly found in games using the CRI ADX2 audio pipeline.
Simply drag your .hca file onto the HCA to MP3 converter page. The vgmstream engine decodes the HCA audio to PCM, then our browser-based MP3 encoder converts it to a standard MP3 file at 192 kbps. The entire process runs locally in your browser — no CRI SDK required.
For lossless HCA to WAV conversion, use the HCA Converter page (/converter/hca-converter/). It decodes HCA audio and outputs uncompressed WAV for maximum quality. Alternatively, this MP3 converter page also supports WAV output via the "Download as WAV" option.
AWB (Atom Wave Bank) is the CRI ADX2 container format that holds the actual HCA audio data. BGM Box can decode HCA tracks directly from .awb files. Note: ACB (Atom Craft Bank) is a metadata/index file that references AWB audio — you need the paired .awb file, not just .acb, to extract the audio.
You can play HCA files using BGM Box's online player (/player/), which uses vgmstream for decoding. Or use desktop tools like foobar2000 with the vgmstream plugin, or vgmstream-cli. Most standard media players (VLC, Windows Media Player, iTunes) cannot play HCA files directly.