diff --git a/src/game.cc b/src/game.cc
index 01c87ec..5383fa4 100644
--- a/src/game.cc
+++ b/src/game.cc
@@ -3,12 +3,6 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
-#ifdef _WIN32
-#include <io.h>
-#else
-#include <unistd.h> // access
-#endif
-
 #include "actions.h"
 #include "animation.h"
 #include "art.h"
@@ -1336,12 +1330,12 @@ static int gameDbInit()
     for (patch_index = 0; patch_index < 1000; patch_index++) {
         snprintf(filename, sizeof(filename), "patch%03d.dat", patch_index);
 
-        if (access(filename, 0) == 0) {
+        if (compat_access(filename, 0) == 0) {
             dbOpen(filename, 0, NULL, 1);
         }
     }
 
-    if (access("f2_res.dat", 0) == 0) {
+    if (compat_access("f2_res.dat", 0) == 0) {
         dbOpen("f2_res.dat", 0, NULL, 1);
     }
 
diff --git a/src/platform_compat.cc b/src/platform_compat.cc
index e47e974..7a8f425 100644
--- a/src/platform_compat.cc
+++ b/src/platform_compat.cc
@@ -364,6 +364,15 @@ void compat_resolve_path(char* path)
 #endif
 }
 
+int compat_access(const char* path, int mode)
+{
+    char nativePath[COMPAT_MAX_PATH];
+    strcpy(nativePath, path);
+    compat_windows_path_to_native(nativePath);
+    compat_resolve_path(nativePath);
+    return access(nativePath, mode);
+}
+
 char* compat_strdup(const char* string)
 {
     return SDL_strdup(string);
diff --git a/src/platform_compat.h b/src/platform_compat.h
index 345a500..66db2bc 100644
--- a/src/platform_compat.h
+++ b/src/platform_compat.h
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ int compat_remove(const char* path);
 int compat_rename(const char* oldFileName, const char* newFileName);
 void compat_windows_path_to_native(char* path);
 void compat_resolve_path(char* path);
+int compat_access(const char* path, int mode);
 char* compat_strdup(const char* string);
 long getFileSize(FILE* stream);