diff --git a/Core/ConfigValues.h b/Core/ConfigValues.h
index 3f76185ec8..e1caa22745 100644
--- a/Core/ConfigValues.h
+++ b/Core/ConfigValues.h
@@ -166,7 +166,18 @@ enum class DisableHLEFlags : int {
 	sceCcc = (1 << 7),  // character conversion library.
 	// Swaps in flash0:/kd/libmp4.prx and mp4msv.prx, which then decode through our sceAudiocodec.
 	sceMp4 = (1 << 8),
-	Count = 9,
+	// Small leaf libraries games carry on the disc themselves - see AlwaysDisableHLEFlags. None of
+	// them is in any firmware dump, so the game's own copy is the only one there is, and none
+	// imports anything we don't already have.
+	sceDeflt = (1 << 9),
+	sceAdler = (1 << 10),
+	sceMd5 = (1 << 11),
+	sceSha256 = (1 << 12),
+	sceMt19937 = (1 << 13),
+	sceSfmt19937 = (1 << 14),
+	sceHeap = (1 << 15),
+	sceParseUri = (1 << 16),
+	Count = 17,
 	// TODO: Some of the networking libraries may be interesting candidates, like HTTP.
 };
 ENUM_CLASS_BITOPS(DisableHLEFlags);
diff --git a/Core/HLE/HLE.cpp b/Core/HLE/HLE.cpp
index 206b9054f7..ec60ecf29a 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/HLE.cpp
+++ b/Core/HLE/HLE.cpp
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@
 #include "Core/HLE/sceKernelThread.h"
 #include "Core/HLE/sceKernelInterrupt.h"
 #include "Core/HLE/sceKernelModule.h"
+#include "Core/HLE/sceFont.h"
+#include "Core/FileSystems/MetaFileSystem.h"
 #include "Core/HLE/HLE.h"
 
 enum {
@@ -141,8 +143,6 @@ static const HLEModuleMeta g_moduleMeta[] = {
 	{"sceNetAdhocctl_Library"},
 	{"sceNetIfhandle_Service"},
 	{"sceSsl_Module"},
-	{"sceDEFLATE_Library"},
-	{"sceMD5_Library"},
 	{"sceMemab"},  // Underlying AdHoc crypto library
 	{"sceAvcodec_driver"},
 	{"sceAudiocodec_Driver"},
@@ -160,7 +160,17 @@ static const HLEModuleMeta g_moduleMeta[] = {
 	{"sceMp4_library", "sceMp4", DisableHLEFlags::sceMp4},
 	{"mp4msv_module", "mp4msv", DisableHLEFlags::sceMp4},
 	{"SceParseHTTPheader_Library", "sceParseHttp", DisableHLEFlags::sceParseHttp},
-	{"SceParseURI_Library"},
+	{"SceParseURI_Library", "sceParseUri", DisableHLEFlags::sceParseUri},
+	// Leaf libraries games carry on the disc. Module names and export library names read off the
+	// copies on real discs with --re-module disc0:/...; all but sceHeap import nothing at all, and
+	// sceHeap only Kernel_Library and ThreadManForUser.
+	{"sceDEFLATE_Library", "sceDeflt", DisableHLEFlags::sceDeflt},
+	{"sceADLER32_Library", "sceAdler", DisableHLEFlags::sceAdler},
+	{"sceMD5_Library", "sceMd5", DisableHLEFlags::sceMd5},
+	{"sceSHA256_Library", "sceSha256", DisableHLEFlags::sceSha256},
+	{"sceMT19937_Library", "sceMt19937", DisableHLEFlags::sceMt19937},
+	{"sceSfmt19937_Library", "sceSfmt19937", DisableHLEFlags::sceSfmt19937},
+	{"sceHeap_Library", "sceHeap", DisableHLEFlags::sceHeap},
 	// Guessing these names
 	{"sceJpeg", "sceJpeg"},
 	{"sceJpeg_library", "sceJpeg"},
@@ -200,7 +210,25 @@ DisableHLEFlags AlwaysDisableHLEFlags() {
 	//
 	// PSMF testing issue: #20200
 	// sceCcc is simply a character conversion library, zero deps. If available we just load it.
-	return DisableHLEFlags::scePsmf | DisableHLEFlags::scePsmfPlayer | DisableHLEFlags::sceCcc;
+	// sceDeflt is zip format decompression.
+	// sceSmft19937 and sceMt19937 are random number generation.
+	// sceAdler, sceSha256, sceMd5 are hashes.
+	// sceHeap is a memory allocator wrapper.
+	//
+	// All these are found in game discs, and are basically dependency-less libraries that we
+	// can just run as-is, no need for HLE. Games always ship these if they use them.
+	//
+	// sceFont is the odd one out: the module is on the disc like the others, but it reads its fonts
+	// from flash0:/font, so it is only usable with a firmware dump installed - see
+	// CheckDisableHLEAvailability, which puts the HLE back when those fonts aren't there.
+	//
+	// sceParseUri and sceParseHttp are not here - those two are also in the firmware, and
+	// sceUtility can load them (modules 0x103 and 0x104), so unlike the rest a game may import them
+	// without carrying a copy.
+	return DisableHLEFlags::scePsmf | DisableHLEFlags::scePsmfPlayer | DisableHLEFlags::sceCcc |
+		DisableHLEFlags::sceDeflt | DisableHLEFlags::sceAdler | DisableHLEFlags::sceMd5 |
+		DisableHLEFlags::sceSha256 | DisableHLEFlags::sceMt19937 | DisableHLEFlags::sceSfmt19937 |
+		DisableHLEFlags::sceHeap | DisableHLEFlags::sceFont;
 }
 
 // Which modules we're HLE-ing is part of the machine's state, not a live setting: it's decided
@@ -314,9 +342,22 @@ static void hleDelayResultFinish(u64 userdata, int cycleslate) {
 static void CheckDisableHLEAvailability() {
 	g_unavailableDisableFlags = (DisableHLEFlags)0;
 
+	// The real libfont.prx a disc ships reads its fonts from flash0:/font and has nothing to fall
+	// back on, so without them it would render nothing at all. Our HLE does have a fallback - the
+	// fonts in assets - so keep it when the NAND set isn't there. Same question the HLE font loader
+	// asks itself, so the same answer: "the fonts this game's firmware would have had", not every
+	// font we know of, since an older game's firmware never had the later ones.
+	if (AlwaysDisableHLEFlags() & DisableHLEFlags::sceFont) {
+		if (!NandFontsComplete()) {
+			g_unavailableDisableFlags |= DisableHLEFlags::sceFont;
+			INFO_LOG(Log::HLE, "flash0:/font doesn't have this firmware's fonts - using the HLE sceFont rather than the disc's.");
+		}
+	}
+
 	if ((DisableHLEFlags)g_Config.iDisableHLE & DisableHLEFlags::sceMp4) {
 		const Path kd = g_Config.nandRootDirectory / "flash0" / "kd";
-		if (!File::Exists(kd / "libmp4.prx") || !File::Exists(kd / "mp4msv.prx")) {
+		if (!pspFileSystem.GetFileInfo("flash0:/kd/libmp4.prx").exists ||
+			!pspFileSystem.GetFileInfo("flash0:/kd/mp4msv.prx").exists) {
 			g_unavailableDisableFlags |= DisableHLEFlags::sceMp4;
 			ERROR_LOG(Log::HLE, "Asked to run the real sceMp4, but %s doesn't have libmp4.prx and "
 				"mp4msv.prx - keeping the HLE.", kd.c_str());
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceAdler.h b/Core/HLE/sceAdler.h
index 9acd6a2042..7bdc8b8c7e 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceAdler.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceAdler.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: This is now unmaintained legacy code. sceAdler is a small leaf library that games ship
+// on the disc themselves and that appears in no firmware dump, so we let the game's own module run
+// and this HLE is only a fallback for the rare game that imports it without shipping it, and for
+// old savestates - whose syscall opcodes index these tables, which is why nothing here is removed.
+// See AlwaysDisableHLEFlags in Core/HLE/HLE.cpp.
+
 #pragma once
 
 void Register_sceAdler();
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceDeflt.h b/Core/HLE/sceDeflt.h
index 8196ab8869..8c56066f21 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceDeflt.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceDeflt.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: This is now unmaintained legacy code. sceDeflt is a small leaf library that games ship
+// on the disc themselves and that appears in no firmware dump, so we let the game's own module run
+// and this HLE is only a fallback for the rare game that imports it without shipping it, and for
+// old savestates - whose syscall opcodes index these tables, which is why nothing here is removed.
+// See AlwaysDisableHLEFlags in Core/HLE/HLE.cpp.
+
 #pragma once
 
 void Register_sceDeflt();
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceFont.cpp b/Core/HLE/sceFont.cpp
index c6c89fdc0c..0c83bb0d45 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceFont.cpp
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceFont.cpp
@@ -907,7 +907,7 @@ static int GameFirmwareVersion() {
 //
 // One directory listing rather than a stat per font, since on Android's scoped storage the
 // individual checks are slow.
-static bool NandFontsComplete() {
+bool NandFontsComplete() {
 	const int firmware = GameFirmwareVersion();
 
 	std::string_view fontDir(g_nandFontPath);
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceFont.h b/Core/HLE/sceFont.h
index 9291029807..7a7a0a433a 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceFont.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceFont.h
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ class PointerWrap;
 void Register_sceFont();
 void Register_sceLibFttt();
 
+// Whether flash0:/font holds the fonts this game's firmware would have had. Used two ways: the
+// HLE font loader asks so it knows whether to unpack them off the disc's updater first, and
+// CheckDisableHLEAvailability asks because the real libfont.prx a disc ships reads its fonts from
+// there and has nothing to fall back on - so it can only replace our HLE when they're present.
+bool NandFontsComplete();
+
 void __FontInit();
 void __FontShutdown();
 void __FontDoState(PointerWrap &p);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceHeap.h b/Core/HLE/sceHeap.h
index 68e1c808d8..06d02929c2 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceHeap.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceHeap.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: This is now unmaintained legacy code. sceHeap is a small leaf library that games ship
+// on the disc themselves and that appears in no firmware dump, so we let the game's own module run
+// and this HLE is only a fallback for the rare game that imports it without shipping it, and for
+// old savestates - whose syscall opcodes index these tables, which is why nothing here is removed.
+// See AlwaysDisableHLEFlags in Core/HLE/HLE.cpp.
+
 #pragma once
 
 void Register_sceHeap();
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceMd5.h b/Core/HLE/sceMd5.h
index 311103d28c..23837626de 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceMd5.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceMd5.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: This is now unmaintained legacy code. sceMd5 is a small leaf library that games ship
+// on the disc themselves and that appears in no firmware dump, so we let the game's own module run
+// and this HLE is only a fallback for the rare game that imports it without shipping it, and for
+// old savestates - whose syscall opcodes index these tables, which is why nothing here is removed.
+// See AlwaysDisableHLEFlags in Core/HLE/HLE.cpp.
+
 #pragma once
 
 #include "Common/CommonTypes.h"
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceMt19937.h b/Core/HLE/sceMt19937.h
index 71ed7afc5a..981eb6216f 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceMt19937.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceMt19937.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: This is now unmaintained legacy code. sceMt19937 is a small leaf library that games ship
+// on the disc themselves and that appears in no firmware dump, so we let the game's own module run
+// and this HLE is only a fallback for the rare game that imports it without shipping it, and for
+// old savestates - whose syscall opcodes index these tables, which is why nothing here is removed.
+// See AlwaysDisableHLEFlags in Core/HLE/HLE.cpp.
+
 #pragma once
 
 void Register_sceMt19937();
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceParseHttp.h b/Core/HLE/sceParseHttp.h
index 6c67a246b2..154a6328e0 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceParseHttp.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceParseHttp.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: a graduation candidate, but not graduated. sceParseHttp is a small library with no
+// dependencies beyond the kernel, and most games that use it ship their own copy - but it is also
+// in the firmware, and sceUtility can load it (module 0x104), so a game may import it without
+// carrying one. Letting the game's module win would hand that game unresolved imports. It can
+// follow once sceUtility loads the firmware copy the way it does for sceMp3 and sceMp4.
+
 #pragma once
 
 void Register_sceParseHttp();
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceParseUri.h b/Core/HLE/sceParseUri.h
index 9b3bb7d06b..5d7b677b2c 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceParseUri.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceParseUri.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: a graduation candidate, but not graduated. sceParseUri is a small library with no
+// dependencies beyond the kernel, and most games that use it ship their own copy - but it is also
+// in the firmware, and sceUtility can load it (module 0x103), so a game may import it without
+// carrying one. Letting the game's module win would hand that game unresolved imports. It can
+// follow once sceUtility loads the firmware copy the way it does for sceMp3 and sceMp4.
+
 #pragma once
 
 #ifdef _MSC_VER
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceSfmt19937.h b/Core/HLE/sceSfmt19937.h
index 31b62663f1..0cd16f0cf1 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceSfmt19937.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceSfmt19937.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: This is now unmaintained legacy code. sceSfmt19937 is a small leaf library that games ship
+// on the disc themselves and that appears in no firmware dump, so we let the game's own module run
+// and this HLE is only a fallback for the rare game that imports it without shipping it, and for
+// old savestates - whose syscall opcodes index these tables, which is why nothing here is removed.
+// See AlwaysDisableHLEFlags in Core/HLE/HLE.cpp.
+
 #pragma once
 
 void Register_sceSfmt19937();
diff --git a/Core/HLE/sceSha256.h b/Core/HLE/sceSha256.h
index eefb687f48..05d34c284d 100644
--- a/Core/HLE/sceSha256.h
+++ b/Core/HLE/sceSha256.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 // Official git repository and contact information can be found at
 // https://github.com/hrydgard/ppsspp and http://www.ppsspp.org/.
 
+// NOTE: This is now unmaintained legacy code. sceSha256 is a small leaf library that games ship
+// on the disc themselves and that appears in no firmware dump, so we let the game's own module run
+// and this HLE is only a fallback for the rare game that imports it without shipping it, and for
+// old savestates - whose syscall opcodes index these tables, which is why nothing here is removed.
+// See AlwaysDisableHLEFlags in Core/HLE/HLE.cpp.
+
 #pragma once
 
 void Register_sceSha256();
diff --git a/Core/System.cpp b/Core/System.cpp
index 740d6ddbee..62f75b570c 100644
--- a/Core/System.cpp
+++ b/Core/System.cpp
@@ -506,9 +506,6 @@ static bool CPU_Init(FileLoader *fileLoader, IdentifiedFileType type, std::strin
 
 	DisplayHWInit();
 
-	// Init all the HLE modules
-	HLEInit();
-
 	// TODO: Put this somewhere better?
 	if (!g_CoreParameter.mountIso.empty()) {
 		g_CoreParameter.mountIsoLoader = ConstructFileLoader(g_CoreParameter.mountIso);
@@ -521,6 +518,13 @@ static bool CPU_Init(FileLoader *fileLoader, IdentifiedFileType type, std::strin
 
 	MountFileSystems();
 
+	// Init all the HLE modules. After the mount, and after the firmware install above, so that the
+	// checks in HLEInit deciding whether a library can run its real module instead of our HLE can
+	// ask the PSP filesystem the way everything else does - and see a firmware this very boot just
+	// installed off the disc. Nothing between CoreTiming::Init above and here touches HLE, and the
+	// kernel and the game's modules both come later, in the switch below.
+	HLEInit();
+
 	// Game-specific settings are load from for example Load_PSP_ISO (which calls g_Config.LoadGameConfig).
 	// We can't do things that depend on these before the below switch. So for example, the adjustment of the GPU core
 	// to software has now been moved below it.