Top 5 emulators for the Nintendo Switch

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One of the major appeals for Nintendo’s latest console, the Nintendo Switch, is its hybrid aspect. With the ability to seamlessly switch between docked mode for a home console experience and handheld mode for an on-the-go experience, this unique feature of the Switch sets it apart from other consoles.

While it boasts a healthy library of new, first- and third-party titles, nostalgia inevitably hits every gamer, pushing them to go down memory lane and play some cherished games from their childhood. But you might not want to dust off your console for only one playthrough or your retro console might not even be functional or accessible in the first place.

Thankfully, with emulators, you can play those retro games and the latest ones from a single console. With its hybrid feature, the Switch allows you to play games of yesteryear from the comfort of your home or wherever your feet take you! Of course, there are purists who’ll look for faithful audiovisual recreation when it comes to emulation but if you aren’t as nitpicky, there are some software out there that offer decent level of playabilty or are simply an impressive feat to experience on the Switch.

Here’s our favourite emulator picks for the Nintendo Switch that get you straight to playing your retro games. If you’re wondering whether your console is able to run those homebrew software and how to do so, check out our dedicated Switch forum for more information.

1. One emulator to play them all: RetroArch

retroarch.jpg

RetroArch is among the most famous software for emulators out there. This multi-system frontend serves as a one-stop-shop for retro games emulation on various platforms ranging from Android through the Raspberry Pi to the Nintendo Switch, of course. For the latter, RetroArch supports over 50 systems. Libretro, the creators of RetroArch, have a nice how-to video to help you get started:



We also have an official RetroArch Switch thread on GBAtemp if you’d like to join the discussion.

While RetroArch serves as an all-in-one option with downloadable cores for each system you wish to emulate, there are also standalone software should you prefer those. You can in fact look for the cores that RetroArch uses and find compatible Switch versions. The following options refer to such standalone homebrew apps that are worth looking into should these fit your needs.

2. Point-and-click fun: ScummVM

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Once upon a time when games came in something called floppy discs, a company by the name of LucasArts made point-and-click games with a distinct type of humour. ScummVM was developed to emulate these LucasArts games and grew to support those from other companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. My personal favourites to play on ScummVM are the Monkey Island games, which I highly recommend if you haven’t tried any yet!

As for the Switch version of ScummVM, GBAtemp member @cpasjuste ported it and it’s pretty much completed with good framerate and touchscreen support. He made a video of the emulator running on the console, as well as a GBAtemp discussion thread:



3. SEGA's last on Nintendo's latest: reicast

reicast.JPG

SEGA’s final console is playable on Nintendo’s latest console. Yes, thanks to @davidgf, reicast, the Dreamcast emulator, works on the Switch. It’s still in Alpha version, with davidgf mentioning that he rushed the release, so expect it to be rough around the edges with some bugs.

There’s also the Flycast emulator available as a RetroArch core if you’re looking for a more up-to-date Dreamcast emulator but reicast is the standalone emulator should you be looking for one.

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If you want to get started, we have a dedicated Switch thread complete with a how-to guide and a download link.

4. Sony's handheld lives on the Switch: PPSSPP

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Sony might have forgotten about its line of handhelds but the PSP lives through emulators! @m4xw developed a standalone PPSSPP based on his libretro port. It’s still in Beta version but is getting regular updates, with the changelog available via the GBAtemp thread. You can also access the download link and installation instructions via the same link.

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5. Sharing our namesake: mGBA

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Well this list couldn’t possibly be complete without a dedicated GBA emulator, we’re on GBAtemp afterall! One of the most accurate GBA emulators out there, mGBA, is available on the Switch. The official Switch port along with the changelog is available here and you can join the GBAtemp discussion thread here.




Bonus! - A 3DS emulator is coming to a Switch near you

citraswitch.JPG

While it’s technically not publicly available, a 3DS emulator for the Switch is indeed in the works! It is based of the popular 3DS emulator Citra and the developer, fellow GBAtemp member @m4xw shared his progress earlier this year on Twitter:


It’s probably only a matter of time before you can play games from all of Nintendo’s handheld consoles on a single handheld! We’ll be sure to keep you updated as soon as we learn more. In the meantime, you can join the ongoing discussion thread here.

__________________​

As we come to a close to this article, we hope you liked it and are keeping an eye on developments regarding emulators on the Switch! Which ones are your favourites?
 

sj33

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Wii/WiiU emulators >>>>>>>>>>>>> Switch.

So sad Switch emulation scene is still on this state.
Slightly strange thing to say. We have all 8/16bit consoles running perfectly, full speed PS1, PSP, N64, Dreamcast as well as work-in-progress DS and 3DS. How does either the Wii or Wii U top that?

People obsess about whether or not emulators are 'standalone'. Retroarch gets a lot of stick for 'killing' standalone emulators, but this is based on the assumption that we might have more standalone emulators if Retroarch didn't exist but there isn't really evidence to support that. Remember how many emulators existed for the 3DS before Retroarch came along? blargSNES, GameYob and that's it. Retroarch kickstarted the scene.

Literally the only reason we have N64, PS1, PSP etc. emulation on the Switch at all is because Retroarch exists (standalone PPSSPP would not exist without the libretro core). People need to understand that not many devs are going to make bespoke standalone emulators for niche hacked platforms. Retroarch gives roughly 50 emulators in one fell swoop.
 
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playstays_shun

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I can see the convenience of emulation but ... I’ve always been a fan of accuracy and minimal fiddling

original hardware even if I end up collecting tons of it has always been my preference. And especially hardware that can native play stuff like 3ds having DS and even GBA CPU’s, Wii U having Wii and GC hardware, vita having ps1 and psp hardware, and GBA having GB/C hardware

I get it tho, portability and such. And cost savings.

as someone who has a stock switch it’s interesting to see how the home brew scene has unfolded over the years
 
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Prans

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I can see the convenience of emulation but ... I’ve always been a fan of accuracy and minimal fiddling

original hardware even if I end up collecting tons of it has always been my preference. And especially hardware that can native play stuff like 3ds having DS and even GBA CPU’s, Wii U having Wii and GC hardware, vita having ps1 and psp hardware, and GBA having GB/C hardware

I get it tho, portability and such. And cost savings.

as someone who has a stock switch it’s interesting to see how the home brew scene has unfolded over the years
To me as well nothing beats the real thing but emulators really help when you can't access your console or are traveling. For some people, certain consoles were never even released in their country back in the days, so it's a whole world of games for them to discover thanks to emulators
 

Silent_Gunner

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To be honest, I enjoy standalones emulators alot, such as Cpasjuste Snes Nes and FBA emulators.

I used to have the same mentality, but nowadays, given the "it just works" nature of RetroArch as opposed to using something like ePSXE+SNES9X+PCSX2 where their reactions to modern controllers, from what I've observed can be inconsistent at best. Sure, one could launch the game through Steam and just remap the controls for the emulator, but the only thing that's absolutely necessary for is if you want to use the SC Gyro with Wii games, something that I never managed to get working on the Dolphin core in RA.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

To me as well nothing beats the real thing but emulators really help when you can't access your console or are traveling. For some people, certain consoles were never even released in their country back in the days, so it's a whole world of games for them to discover thanks to emulators

Not to mention, it allows people to play games that are practically unobtainable nowadays unless you're Donald Trump. Snatcher? Mega Man 8 US Saturn? Guardian Heroes? I could go on.
 
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Goku1992A

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Wii/WiiU emulators >>>>>>>>>>>>> Switch.

So sad Switch emulation scene is still on this state.

I heard it wasn't possible to port Dolphin or Nintendont for the switch due to the lack of hardware and etc.. So the best we are close to getting is the 3DS/DS on the switch if that is perfected then we will have the ultimate handheld experience but IMO the DS is maybe 80% there while the 3DS is around 40% I think it boil down the preference because some people are comfortable gaming on the switch and I know alot of people are iphone users so they are not going to have access to emulators and they have to resort to the switch for the portable gaming experience so as of 2020 the switch is the best portable handheld device. For me personally my Galaxy S10 gives me a better performance than my switch for emulators so I mainly use that. My DS emulator has a built in cheat engine (drastic) and my 3DS Emulator is pretty much around 85% accuracy rate and then to top off the Game Cube and Wii support it is far superior to emulating versus using the switch. So I won't really completely say the emulating is bad on the switch because all the devs are doing the best that they can do. I also have a cable for my phone if I ever want to play it on the TV or monitor but then again my gaming laptop is the king of emulation so I would just use that. But I just don't like retro arch that is just me I appreciate that it does exist but it is too clunky and a hassle to play some games.
 

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I used to have the same mentality, but nowadays, given the "it just works" nature of RetroArch as opposed to using something like ePSXE+SNES9X+PCSX2 where their reactions to modern controllers, from what I've observed can be inconsistent at best.
I keep hearing people say this, but I have never used RetroArch and it actually just work. I still can't get certain games to play, despite hours of figgling, though I can get them to run on standalones, though not perfectly. Most games take a lot of twiddling and fiddling before they run, in my experience. And that's after hours of adjusting settings for each emulator and figuring out the bizarre logic the UI uses. Course I only have experience with the PC and Android version, and it may be more difficult. I guess I just run the most temperamental games and everyone else is just happy with everything else? Always confuses me. I try every few years to tackle the RetroArch problem, but it just never works as good as everyone promises. But yeah, I completely understand not wanting to deal with the massive headache that is RetroArch and just deal with the "it just works" of standalone.

all emulators should have config files that are community edited especially retroarch
community agreed upon optimal settings for each core and for each rom
a universal config that sets up everything or almost everything to agreed upon standards

That'd be great, i'm all for that. make things a lot easier.
 
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Billy Acuña

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I keep hearing people say this, but I have never used RetroArch and it actually just work. I still can't get certain games to play, despite hours of figgling, though I can get them to run on standalones, though not perfectly. Most games take a lot of twiddling and fiddling before they run, in my experience. And that's after hours of adjusting settings for each emulator and figuring out the bizarre logic the UI uses. Course I only have experience with the PC and Android version, and it may be more difficult. I guess I just run the most temperamental games and everyone else is just happy with everything else? Always confuses me. I try every few years to tackle the RetroArch problem, but it just never works as good as everyone promises. But yeah, I completely understand not wanting to deal with the massive headache that is RetroArch and just deal with the "it just works" of standalone.



That'd be great, i'm all for that. make things a lot easier.
Guys, this is literally what m4xw does for mupen, flycast, ppsspp, melonds and citra cores, he defaults whatever settings works better for most of the games on Switch hardware, but that doesn't mean that you may still need special configs for certain games.
 

osaka35

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Guys, this is literally what m4xw does for mupen, flycast, ppsspp, melonds and citra cores, he defaults whatever settings works better for most of the games on Switch hardware, but that doesn't mean that you may still need special configs for certain games.
Which is great, but it'd be nice to have those special configs for certain games as well. I apparently am in the habit of always wanting to play those certain games lol.
 

Billy Acuña

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Are you saying the DS emulator overheats but the 3DS one doesn't?
No, they perform different, Zelda 3DS games perform better that Zelda DS games while Mario Kart DS runs better than Mario Kart 7 (which is unplayable), melonDS overheats on the CPU while the GPU is barely used, in Citra we are fullspeed ahead with the CPU while it overheats the GPU.
 

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One often-overlooked advantage of Retroarch on Switch is updates. As soon as the Switch port of a core goes upstream, the Switch port will forever receive updates from upstream even if there's no Switch-specific development being done. The Switch port will forever keep being updated as long as upstream receives updates.

With standalone cores, we're basically reliant on the developer continuing to update the Switch version of the software, and this won't keep happening forever.
 
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eriol33

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ppspp will probably runs at full speed on switch, but I am pessimistic it's the case with Citra. I bet most switch owners still keep their 3DS.
 

evertonstz

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I heard it wasn't possible to port Dolphin or Nintendont for the switch due to the lack of hardware and etc..

Dolphin and Nintendont aren't even the same thing, Nintendont is not an emulator, it's a hypervisor, it uses the Game Cube hardware to run. Dolphin in the other hand is an emulator and as any type of code that's not dependent on certain types of hardware, it's portable, doesn't mean it's easy or even feasible tho, you just need to find someone that will put all the hours to do it for free.
 

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