Emulators are a fun way to play old console games as well as recent games on PC. Gamers have been using emulators for the past three decades to play their favorite games. Read on to learn how to use the Nintendo Switch emulator to play games on your Windows PC.
What is an emulator?
An emulator is a computer application used to emulate a different operating system or OS. Along with games, emulators are also used to run legacy software that is incompatible with modern computer hardware.
However, video game emulators became really popular during the 90s so that people could play their old console games on PC and relive their memories.
Dump Your Nintendo Switch Games
To play Nintendo Switch games on your PC, you must already have a Nintendo Switch and the games you want to emulate. It is not advisable to download game files from torrent websites. Downloading anything from torrent website is dangerous and illegal.
Before you can dump games from the Nintendo Switch, you must first download custom firmware for your Nintendo Switch in order to basically modify your handheld console. Do this by following the steps below.
- Turn off your Nintendo Switch and remove the SD card.
- Connect the SD card to your computer by inserting it into the microSD card slot or using an SD card reader.
- Download atmosphere and fusee.bin.
- Also download the latest firmware from Darthsterny Firmware Archive using “MEGA” or “Archive.org”.
- Unzip the Firmware, Atmosphere and Fuzzy files from the .zip folder and copy them to your SD card.
To dump Nintendo Switch games from your Switch to your PC, follow the instructions below:
- Download NXDump Tool.
- Copy the NXDump Tool file to your microSD card.
- Remove your SD card and insert it back into your Nintendo Switch.
- Open “Gallery” and search for “NXDump Tool”.
- Launch it by pressing the “A” button on your joystick.
- When the NXDump Tool window opens, select “Dump Install SD Card / eMMC Contents”.
- On your Nintendo Switch select the game you want to dump, then access the game’s menu by selecting “ROMFS Options.”
- In the next window select “ROMFS Section Data Dump” and give some time to dump all your game files.
- Close the Gallery app and switch yours off.
- Remove the SD card from the Switch and connect it to your computer.
- Go to the “Switch” folder and open the “nxdumptool” folder.
- Inside the “nxdumptool” folder, open the “RomFS” folder.
- When you see all the games you dumped, copy them to your computer.
How to Use Nintendo Switch Emulator to Play Games on PC
In order to play your Nintendo Switch game on your Windows PC, you need to download an emulator. There are currently two free open-source emulators that can emulate Switch games: Ryujinx and Yuzu. Both have their pros and cons, and perform similarly.
You also need a powerful PC to emulate Nintendo Switch games. Without it, it is likely that both emulators will conflict, no matter how efficient they are. Follow the steps below as we use Ryujinx for get-and-go speed.
- Go to the official website of Ryujinx and click on the “Download” button.
- Click “Download” under “Windows” to download the setup file.
- Choose a location to save it and click the “OK” button.
- Go to the location where you saved the downloaded file and extract the folder.
- Double-click the “Ryujinx” application file to launch it.
- Minimize the Ryujinx console, then click “File” and select “Open Ryujinx Folder” in the Ryujinx Launcher.
- Open the system folder and check if you have “prod.keys”. In most cases, you should have it, but if you don’t, search for it in your file browser.
- Visit Darthsterny Firmware Archive and download the latest Ryujinx firmware.
- Update Ryujinx firmware to the latest version by clicking “Tools”, then selecting “Install firmware from XCI or ZIP”.
- Select the .zip firmware file you downloaded. Click “Open,” then click “Yes” on the confirmation screen.
- After updating the firmware, click “Options”, then “Settings”.
- Click on the “Input” tab.
- Select Player Controller Settings, then Configure your keyboard/controller. By default, the keyboard is selected and configured. If you want to use the Xbox or a third-party gaming controller, connect it to your computer and configure it, then click “Save.”
- You can change the resolution of the game by clicking “Graphics” then selecting the resolution under “Resolution scale.”
- Go back to “General” and click the “Add” button under “Game Directory.” Open the location where your games are saved and add them by selecting the “Add” button.
- Click “Apply -> Save”.
- Start playing your Nintendo Switch game on your PC.
How to Update Your Game or Add DLC
To update your game or add DLC, you must already have the DLC or game update saved on your computer before you can follow the steps below.
- Right-click on the game and choose “Manage Title Updates” to update your game or “Manage DLC” to add DLC.
- On the pop-up window, click “Add” and open the location where the update or DLC file is saved.
- Click Update to select it, then select the “Open” button.
- Click “Save” to update the game immediately.
most frequently asked questions
Is it legal to dump games and emulate them?
It is acceptable in the US to dump your proprietary Nintendo Switch game and use it with an emulator on Windows, as this is considered fair use. However, the rules for dumping your own game may be different in other countries. Emulating games is, of course, legal, but you shouldn’t be using a ROM that you don’t own.
What are the disadvantages of an emulator?
Emulators have many advantages but also disadvantages. They are slow, resource-intensive, and may lack some features or functions of the original program.
Will the emulator harm my computer?
depends on. If you download the emulator from an untrusted website, there are chances that the emulator may be infected with a virus. But generally, most emulators are safe and do not get infected with viruses.
Image credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Abdul Moiz.
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