For a while now it's been possible to play Gamecube games directly with the Wii U gamepad as a controller. Not only this, you can also play PS1 and N64 games from the gamepad as well! This essentially makes it into a portable experience, well if you're close enough to the console that is. For those who love playing things off-TV, this is a really amazing feature to utilize. You could also play from a TV with the gamepad as a controller if you prefer.
It's now possible to force vWii to use Wii U CPU speeds to get a performance boost on PS1 and N64 emulators! PS1 games are now playable at fullspeed, well at least mainstream games are but not everything works.
Use Section I for Gamecube games, if that doesn't work then you'll need to use Section III instead. This tutorial doesn't require you to hack vWii at all, unless you're going to use section III.

This guide assumes that you have a basic understanding of Wii U hacks. Such as booting into Homebrew Launcher, running CFW, installing with Wup Installer GX2, how to use Nintendont, etc.

EDIT: Tutorial under construction, removed the premade homebrew injects as they used official Wii VC and are considered copyright infringement to share with others. Will add a tutorial on making your own whenever I feel like it sometime.





I. How to play Gamecube games on the gamepad

Spoiler

There are two methods for playing gamecube games on the gamepad. The first method is by making your very own indivisual Gamecube injection using Wii Virtual Console as a base, with the injector script.
The second method is to use a forwarder to Nintendont which then you can select a game from a list. Users mostly prefer method 1 because they like having indivisual gamecube titles on their Wii U home menu. It's all up to you which method you prefer. Both methods have gamepad support and save to the same location either way. You don't need to hack vWii at all to follow this section.



Method 1 - Indivisual Gamecube injects (Injecting Gamecube games into Wii VC which you can install)

Spoiler

1) Use this script to build your own Wii VC injects with gamecube games using your own .iso:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-wiivc-injector-script-gc-wii-homebrew-support.483577/

2) Once you've created your inject you should have install files, basically a bunch of .app and .h3 files in a folder. Place these on your SD card in the install folder (Same as installing Wii U games) SD:/install/NameofGame/ ~.app & .m3 files~

3) Download these Nintendont files HERE
(Courtesy of Flump for the upload)

4) Extract all the files to your SD card, Except the install folder (It's only needed for method 2)

5) On your Wii U, run CFW such as HaxchiFW or Mocha. Then launch WUP Installer GX2 to install your gamecube inject (To USB Storage or System Memory)

6) Now launch your gamecube inject from the Wii U home menu. It will ask if you want to use the gamepad as a controller, choose yes.
If your TV is turned off or the HDMI isn't connected, it will also ask if you only want to display on the gamepad. It will reboot into vWii mode and start the gamecube game.

Note: You always need to enable CFW before launching a Gamecube inject, else you'll get Error Code 99-9999 and be forced to shutdown. Even if you exit a game, you still have to enable CFW again before launching another

Note: For some users, the game may result in a black screen. As of right now, there is no explanation to this phenomenon or how to fix it. If this is the case, you won't be able to use method 1 or 2 in this section. Use the "All in One" method instead in Section III below as a workaround.

Method 2 - Nintendont forwarder (Boot directly into Nintendont where you can choose a game from a list)

Spoiler

1) Download these Nintendont files (REMOVED, make your own Nintendont inject with the Wii VC inject script. I can't help since its considered copyright)


2) Extract all files to your SD card, including the install folder (Which contains the Nintendont forwarder)

3) On your Wii U, run CFW such as HaxchiFW or Mocha. Then run WUP Installer GX2 to install Nintendont Forwarder (To USB Storage or System Memory)

4) Launch Nintendont from your Wii U home menu. It will ask if you want to use the gamepad as a controller, choose yes.
If your TV is turned off or the HDMI isn't connected, it will also ask if you only want to display on the gamepad. It will reboot into vWii mode and launches Nintendont.

Note: You always need to enable CFW before launching Nintendont, else you'll get Error Code 99-9999 and be forced to shutdown. Even if you exit a game, you still have to enable CFW again before launching Nintendont

Note: For some users, launching Nintendont may result in a black screen. As of right now, there is no explanation to this phenomenon or how to fix it. If this is the case, you won't be able to use method 1 or 2 in this section. Use the "All in One" method instead in Section III below as a workaround.

Nintendont usage tips

- Use the Official Nintendont Page for info on how to use Nintendont. It has everything you need to know!

- If you press "-" on your gamepad, it will change the control scheme to be rotated a quarter clockwise or back to the original control scheme. If you find the controls to be suddenly awkward, you must've hit the minus button by accident. Hit minus to change it back to regular controls and always remember this for future reference.
- If you hold "L" on your gamepad, your inputs on ZL/ZR will be used as half pressed L and R buttons in-game. Useful for games like Super Mario Sunshine.

- Saves are stored in SD:/saves/ as indivisual memory card .raw files. These are compatible with the Dolphin emulator and you can even use Dolphin's memory card manager to transfer saves from memory card to memory card

- You can trim your Gamecube .iso's to save space altogether by converting them to .ciso format. Use Wit (Wimm's ISO Tool)

- Check the compatibility list HERE . Note that shrunk is not the same as .ciso. All .ciso converted games will work, unlike shrunken games with DMToolbox.

II. How to play PS1 and N64 games on the gamepad

Spoiler

1) Open this google drive link:
(REMOVED, make your own WiiSXR and Wii64 injects with the Wii VC inject script. I can't help since its considered copyright)

2) Download "(WiiU Gamepad) Wii64.rar", and "(WIIU Gamepad) Wiisxr.rar"

3) On your SD card, make a folder called install. Extract the folders within the Wii64 and Wiisxr rar files into the install folder

4) Download Sign_c2w_patcher

5) Open the zip file and drag the wiiu folder to your SD card (merge it with your own if you already have one)

6) Download the latest release of Wii64 (Fix94's port of mupen64): https://github.com/FIX94/mupen64gc-fix94/releases

7) Download the latest release of Wiisxr: https://github.com/Mystro256/wiisxr/releases

8) Extract the folders from the Wii64 and Wiisxr zips to the root of your SD card, except the Readme file (There are two folders within each zip file that you need)

9) On your Wii U, run CFW such as HaxchiFW or Mocha. Then run WUP Installer GX2 and install Wii64 and Wiisxr (Install to System Storage ONLY! Don't install to USB)

10) Run Sign_c2w_patcher from Homebrew Launcher. It will reboot to the home menu with CFW enabled (This is needed to overclock vWii to get a performance boost for the emulators)

11) Run Wii64 or Wiisxr, it will ask if you want to use the gamepad as a controller, choose yes.
If your TV is turned off or the HDMI isn't connected, it will also ask if you only want to display on the gamepad. It will reboot into vWii mode then launch Wii64/wiisxr.

Note: You always need to run Sign_c2w_patcher before launching Wii64 or Wiisxr, else you'll get Error Code 99-9999 and forced to shutdown. You also won't get the overclocked CPU speeds needed for the performance boost.




Using Wiisxr

- You'll need a PS1 BIOS, place it in SD:/wiisx/bios/
- Place your PS1 games in SD:/wiisx/isos/ , they can be in either .bin or .img format (Also include the .cue/.ccd/.sub file if it exists)
- In Wiisxr, you'll need to go to settings to change some things
- Under General where it says Select BIOS, set it to SD (If you don't do this, you'll have no controls in-game)
- Be sure the option to "Boot with Bios" is set to yes
- Under Video, set the Screen Mode to 16:9
- Go back to General and choose "Save settings to SD", this saves the changes you made, permanently
- As you play different games, you'll need to change the controller type from time to time, either Standard or Analog
- For Crash Bandicoot or games without analog support, you can change the input of the DPAD to "LS-up, LS-Down, etc" to get analog controls with the gamepad. Be sure to save your button mapping to slot 1 so you can load it later. Then go back and choose Save Button Config to SD. (Thanks GameInCanada for that tip!)
- After saving in-game and you return to the Wiisxr menu, you may see a message that says "failed to save". Ignore this message, it did save successfully to your SD card in the wiisxr folder
- You'll also have to switch between Interpreter and Dynarec under Video. Check the Wiisxr compatibility list:

Wiisxr compatibilty list



Using Wii64

- Place your N64 roms in SD:/wii64/roms/
- Don't really have to change settings, everything is set properly by default. Including a memory pak
- Check the compatibilty list to see specific settings

Wii64 Compatibiltiy list

III. All in one solution for Gamecube, PS1, and N64 games on the gamepad (vWii Homebrew Channel with gamepad support. Use this if section I. didn't work on your system)

Spoiler

If you're interested in having Nintendont, Wiisxr, and Wii64 accessible all in one app, you can install Homebrew Channel forwarder on Wii U. This will boot up vWii Homebrew Channel but with gamepad support and you can launch Nintendont, Wiisxr, or Wii64 from there. You NEED to use this method if your Gamecube injects or Nintendont forwarder result in a black screen, this is a workaround to that issue. This section requires that you've hacked vWii already and can install .wad files. Use the Official vWii Hacking Guide if you haven't already, then come back to this guide and continue below.

1) Open this Google Drive link:

Spoiler

(REMOVED, make your own Homebrew Channel inject with the Wii VC inject script. I can't help since its considered copyright)

2) Download "(WIIU Gamepad) HBC.rar"

3) Extract the .rar file to the install folder on the root of your SD card

4) Download the latest release of FIX94's fork of Homebrew Channel (Called Homebrew.Channel.-.OHBC.wad): https://github.com/FIX94/hbc/releases/

5) Place the Homebrew Channel .wad file on the root of your SD card

6) Boot into vWii and install the Homebrew Channel .wad file using YAWMM (Yet Another Wad Manager) or any other wad manager. Ignore all the messages if using YAWMM, keep pressing A to skip the first messages you see. Then browse for the wad file and install it.

7) Exit vWii and run CFW such as HaxchiFW or Mocha. Run WUP Installer GX2 and install HBC (To System Storage ONLY! Don't install to USB)

8) Run "Homebrew Channel" from the Wii U home menu that you just installed. It will ask if you want to use the gamepad as a controller, choose yes.
If your TV is turned off or the HDMI isn't connected, it will also ask if you only want to display on the gamepad. It will reboot into vWii mode and launch Homebrew Channel, but with Gamepad support. Which means you can navigate with the gamepad buttons.

9) From Homebrew Channel you can launch Nintendont, Wii64, or Wiisxr. Don't launch anything else as they don't have gamepad support.

Note: You always need to run Sign_c2w_patcher before launching Homebrew Channel Forwarder else you won't get the overclocked CPU speeds needed for a performance boost with Wiisxr or Wii64. If you're just launching Homebrew Channel for use with Nintendont, you can use regular CFW such as HaxchiFW or Mocha.

 

[Deleted User]

That's already exactly what the guide is telling you to do, It's simply more detailed because there is more that you can to with techonmoon's then just simply inject and blindly hope the output is as desired. There are quite a few games (Resident Evil, Hitman, Starfox, Pokemon Colosseum) that require a bit more then just simply injecting them to get the best results.

 

[cugel]

The fact that there are files that can't be linked to here directly for copyright reasons does not preclude one from providing clear explanation of what these files are, or at least hints as to how to go about finding them.

In addition there is no explanation for how to "make your own Nintendont inject with the Wii VC inject script."

As it stands this guide is counterproductive and actively confounding.

edit: I just realized that Method 1 would work fine if the Nintendont files link just went to the Nintendont github page instead of a dead site. It makes you think that those are special files crucial to getting Nintendont working on the gamepad that have been taken down, when you just need to get the regular Nintendont release.

 

[iori82]

hi I have some problems with some gamecube games with padwiiu, like metroid prime, everything works well except to run the analog to rotate the other camera..how do I set it?

 

[Russellgro]

So I use Wiiflow on the Wii U gamepad mode, and I have a problem. I converted my HDD usb drive to Fat32 and it only lets me use the SD card. Is there a fix to it?

 

[cugel]

So I use Wiiflow on the Wii U gamepad mode, and I have a problem. I converted my HDD usb drive to Fat32 and it only lets me use the SD card. Is there a fix to it?

I could be wrong but I think the only way to run Gamecube games from the usb on Wii U is to create individual Wii U homebrew injects you launch from the Wii U menu for each game. You might want to ask in the general Nintendont thread.

 

[Lula20]

Just a question, do I have to hack vWii to make it work?

 

[bahamut920]

Nope, I haven't.

 

[Morricorne]

Simple question. Can i play all gamecube games on this freak wii u gamepad /tablet without use my tv?
Im only interested with this. Play favorite gc games without tv use will be awesome. Or i Need tv to do something like this?
I think about buy Nintendo Switch, but wii u still is cheaper

 

[cugel]

Simple question. Can i play all gamecube games on this freak wii u gamepad /tablet without use my tv?
Im only interested with this. Play favorite gc games without tv use will be awesome. Or i Need tv to do something like this?
I think about buy Nintendo Switch, but wii u still is cheaper

Yes you can. Basically: install Nintendont in the usual way. Then use the Wii U USB helper to download the Wii U Nintendont forwarder, and install that. Whenever you launch the forwarder it will ask you if you want to play on the gamepad only.

Also, the Wii U has built in perfect Gamecube emulation because there's still Wii hardware inside. The Switch doesn't have that, so it looks like although you can technically run a Gamecube emulator on it the games run like crap because it's all software emulation and the Switch isn't particularly powerful. So don't buy a Switch for Gamecube games.

 

[Morricorne]

Yes you can. Basically: install Nintendont in the usual way. Then use the Wii U USB helper to download the Wii U Nintendont forwarder, and install that. Whenever you launch the forwarder it will ask you if you want to play on the gamepad only.

Also, the Wii U has built in perfect Gamecube emulation because there's still Wii hardware inside. The Switch doesn't have that, so it looks like although you can technically run a Gamecube emulator on it the games run like crap because it's all software emulation and the Switch isn't particularly powerful. So don't buy a Switch for Gamecube games.

After that all. I need everytime confirm in this forwarder i want play on Wii u gamepad?
I only need portable gamecube emulator. Like Nintendo switch, Sony PSP. Without tv use.
Can i do something like this?
I think about buying Nintendo switch lite to play resident evil games and other gamecube games. Switch its expensive than Wii u.
And now i have dilemma. Buy switch lite or Wii u.
I have fully working cfw Nintendo Wii black gc compatible. And its great. But i need something portable.

 

[cugel]

What do you mean by portable? The Wii U you can play in bed, but you can't take far away from the console. So you can't take it out of your house or in a car.

Hacking a Switch Lite isn't easy.



You can run Gamecube games on a hacked Switch but they aren't going to run as well as on a Wii U:



EDIT: if you want to play Gamecube games portable, and have them actually look good, you have to spend real money on a gaming laptop with actual power. I have a GPD Win Max coming this month, I got it for about 700 USD because I backed it early, I think it will be 800 - 900 once the early ones are delivered.

 

[Lava3063]

hello. I see the notes that you need the scripts. where can I get those

 

[Mhart88]

If you have a phone such as Samsung Galaxy S8 or above, anything with a processor better than Snapdragon 835 I believe,than from what I hear them smartphones run gamecube almost flawlessly using dolphin emulator. Just a thought. Only problem with phone emulation is the button are on the screen, unless you use some plug in controller adapter like how the joycons slide onto the switch tablet.

 

[Lava3063]

Doesn't retroarch have that core? If so, just use retroarch and play on the pad

retroarch does not have a gamecube core in the online updater.

 

[cugel]

Also there's no chance in hell the Wii U is powerful enough to emulate Gamecube games in a software emulator.

 

[thumbsupjo]

This is the worst tutorial I've ever read. Is there anything better?

 

[cugel]

This is the worst tutorial I've ever read. Is there anything better?

This guide is pretty much moot, I think pretty much any current method of injecting games will ask if you want to play on gamepad now.

 

[Egadzz]

Thank you for this

 

[baselayer]

When I run the HBC VC Inject for Method 3, it says "no title ID." Is there a way to fix this?

 

[PikachuPrincess23]

I need help, I have follow guide and when I shall start up Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness.
I get'' There is no memory Card in slot A'' how can I save?