Best Nintendo Switch Emulator
Are you looking for the best Nintendo Switch emulator ? Here are the best Nintendo Switch emulators for PC and Android, such as Yuzu , Ryujinx , Egg and many more.
In recent years, Sony and Microsoft have had to face a particularly challenging rival in the video game market: Nintendo . Thanks to the Nintendo Switch , both a portable and fixed game console, it has given millions of fans the opportunity to play titles such as Zelda Tears of the kindom , Super Mario Wonder and works that have also made fans of video game consoles fall in love , such as: PS5 and Xbox Series
However, not everyone wants to invest in a Nintendo Switch , especially with a second version due out in the next few months. But how to play Nintendo titles even without a console from the Japanese company? You can use a Nintendo Switch emulator that allows you to run video games on both Windows and Android, iOS, macOS and Linux devices. Today we will analyze which are the best, but we recommend that you also read our guide on the best emulators for PC if you are a retrogaming enthusiast.
Index
- Nintendo Switch emulator for PC, Mac, Android and iOS
- Yuzu (Windows, Linux, Android)
- Ryujinx (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS)
- Cemu (Windows)
- Egg NS (Android)
- SwitchDROID (Android)
- Skylines (Android)
- Conclusions
Nintendo Switch emulator for PC, Mac, Android and iOS
Before listing the best Nintendo Switch emulators available on the most important operating systems, it should be underlined that not all the software we will show you offers the same performance, image quality and compatibility with the operating system. In fact, some programs are specifically designed for Android , others work much better on Windows or macOS .
When installing an emulator, be it dedicated to playing Nintendo , Windows or other games, you must take into account the minimum system requirements. Installing a program that has the task of emulating Nintendo titles means loading your hardware system with a significant number of calculations. Usually, to avoid experiencing incompatibilities or slowdowns, you should have hardware equivalent to an Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 5 , with 8 GB of RAM and a fast SSD storage system . If you emulate the Nintendo Switch on your PC we recommend a dedicated video card , which is at least an Nvidia GTX 1060 or AMD RX 470 . If you prefer a smartphone, opt for a processor that has at least 4 cores and a mid-range graphics chip .
If compatibility is the basis from which to best emulate Nintendo Switch games , we must necessarily underline how important the issue of piracy is . The games you are going to emulate on the device must be in your possession, in the physical or digital version. Even if you use a ROM to start the video game, in order not to fall into illegality you must have actually purchased the title. If you already have several Nintendo games and want their digital format, here is a guide on how to download ROMs for emulators .
After this necessary premise, let’s see here is the best Nintendo Switch emulator that can help you entertain yourself with the world of Mario and his companions.
Yuzu (Windows, Linux, Android)
Among the best emulators to download and which guarantee excellent performance for playing Switch video games is Yuzu . Open source software that with its intuitive interface allows you to launch the desired titles easily and without too many settings to change. Download Yuzu from the official website and once the installation is complete you will have to load the files and the game ROM inside the folder to play the title. Not all Nintendo video games are compatible with this program, therefore, we recommend that you read the dedicated page created by the company.
Yuzu, a highly portable emulator developed in C++, offers broad compatibility with popular and latest games without lag . It replaces Nintendo’s BCAT service with Boxcat and offers rendering resolution options. Supports OpenGL and Vulkan graphics modes , available on Windows and Linux. While online multiplayer is disabled, local multiplayer is present, with the ability to set profiles and customize the user interface with various themes.
If you use Yuzu on your PC, the system requirements are those listed previously, while if you prefer the smartphone as a gaming device, then you will need to have a product with at least a Snapdragon 865 processor or even better a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and 8 GB of RAM memory . The emulator requires significant resources as it plays Nintendo titles with excellent quality, almost indistinguishable from that of the original console.
To set up the Yuzu web installer:
- Visit the Yuzu downloads page.
- Click on “ Download”.
- Once downloaded, run the installation as administrator.
- Click on “ Install”.
- You will need to copy the prod.keyand key files to the Yuzu AppData folder . You can find it here: C:\Users(UserName)\AppData\Roaming\yuzu\keys .
On this page you will find more details on this last step. To help you install the Yuzu emulator, you can check out this video.
Ryujinx (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS)
A highly reliable multiplatform Switch emulator is Ryujinx , capable of guaranteeing installation on most operating systems and access to local wireless support. Although some titles work better on Yuzu, Ryujinx has an edge with specific video games and could give you great satisfaction.
Ryujinx offers extensive customization of display resolutions and scaling, with several aspect ratio options. Auto mode enables anisotropic filtering , while Discord Rich lets you share Nintendo games on Discord . Online multiplayer can be played and supports NVDEC emulation for gameplay videos and cut scenes. It has many features, a truly intuitive and comfortable interface to use, it is no coincidence that it is the most used program by those approaching the world of console emulation for the first time. Currently the catalog has more than a thousand games that you can launch and view even at 60 fps.
We recommend installing it on a device equivalent to an iPhone 8 running iOS 9 or later, with 32 MB of storage space. You may need AltStore to download the iPhone version, we refer you to our guide . For Android, we recommend an Android 9 or later operating system , a quad core processor and 6 GB of RAM . Download it for iOS, Android, Windows, Linux and macOS from the Download section of the official website .
Cemu (Windows)
An interesting solution that allows you to emulate Nintendo Switch titles is Cemu , a program designed especially for the Nintendo Wii U , but which also extends its compatibility to the latest creation from the Japanese company. Compared to previous emulators, Cemu is much more complex to use, this is due to a less extensive list of supported games and a particularly rich settings section. You’ll have to fiddle around with the settings a bit to get the best results and hit 60fps in-game . It’s still a very good Nintendo emulator, especially if you also own Nintendo Wii U games .
Egg NS (Android)
When you need a portable console emulator, among the software you should definitely try for your Android operating system is Egg NS . It has good support for Nintendo Switch video games, but you can also play Game Boy , Nintendo DS , 3DS and PlayStation Portable titles .
The Egg NS Emulator offers a vast catalog of compatible games for a great mobile experience. The controls are responsive, the interface is user-friendly and multilingual, without annoying ads. An ideal way to maximize your gaming fun.
Its versatility, however, clashes with greater difficulty in finding games, in fact, it does not have a dedicated section where the titles are already present and you just have to download them. In this case you will have to download the ROMs on other platforms , so be careful to rely on a secure website.
The minimum requirements to emulate with Egg NS are: Android 11 or later , Snapdragon 855 , 6 GB of RAM and approximately 50 MB of storage memory ( Here you can find more info ). There are no annoying advertisements and the Italian language is also available. Download Egg NS for Android from the Play Store .
On this page you will find all the steps to quickly install the Egg NS emulator on your Android mobile device.
SwitchDROID (Android)
If Egg NS hasn’t convinced you and you can’t emulate your favorite Switch video game, then you can opt for SwitchDROID , a program developed for Android operating systems only . Completely open source software that allows you to emulate productions dedicated to this gaming console, so forget about Nintendo Wii , Wii U and all its big sisters.
Although SwitchDROID is a Nintendo Switch emulator particularly used by enthusiasts, it is not present on the Play Store , therefore, you will necessarily have to download the APK file from alternative Android stores . We recommend using the program with modern hardware and at least 8 GB of RAM , in order not to encounter any artifacts or screen stuttering. With a little patience in changing the settings you will be able to play even heavy titles like Zelda Breath of the Wild .
Skylines (Android)
The Nintendo Switch emulator that has allowed us to view video games on this platform fluidly and without any problems is Skyline . Thanks to a simplified interface and a comprehensive settings menu, with this Nintendo Switch emulator you can change the on-screen controls or add an external controller. One of its strong points is the ability to update itself periodically, further improving performance. If you have an Android smartphone or tablet, you might be surprised by its image quality.
Unfortunately, due to legal issues, development on Skyline was interrupted, but everything that has been done can still be downloaded. You can find it on the official website Skyline-emu.one .
Conclusions
Using emulators is legal, but sharing copyrighted ROMs is illegal . Using ROMs that you are the rightful owner of might be defensible as fair use, but there is a lack of legal precedent. In short, using emulators to play your favorite games is legal, while sharing protected ROMs is prohibited. So, enjoy your games without any legal worries.
When it comes to downloading games for emulators, there are several options. Each emulator has its own website that lists compatible games and often offers the option to download them from there. Alternatively, you can use third-party websites, Torrent or GitHub to get emulator games. It is important to make sure that the games you download are legal and do not infringe copyright. Remember that downloading copyrighted games without permission is illegal.
Don’t like emulators? You can always download the official Nintendo Switch Online app compatible with both Android and iOS. You can find the direct link on the lounge.nintendo.com website . Once the download is complete, simply open the app and log in using your Nintendo Account.