So, the new Legend of Zelda game is out to the delight of fans and Nintendo Switch users. The previous title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was crowned Game of the Year in 2017. The latest entry in the franchise takes everything from the old game and amps it up a little! Whether it be the overall scale of the overworld, the combat system, or the building mechanics, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has fans and players across various gaming platforms wanting to get their hands on the game and get lost while exploring its fascinating universe. But the catch is, the game is a Nintendo Switch exclusive, much like the previous title. So, you cannot buy the game for your console or PC. However, all hope is not lost, and players can still play on the game their PCs using the Ryujinx emulator. This is precisely what we will be discussing in this article, so keep reading!
Perhaps the best thing about PC gaming is that a PC gives you a lot more freedom to work your way around different problems that may crop up while gaming. Players have been making use of emulators for years now, to play all sorts of games across different platforms. Games from the PS3, Gameboy, Switch, and many other gaming platforms have always found a way to be played on a PC using emulators. It has barely been 24 hours since the global release of Tears of the Kingdom, and there are already methods to play the Nintendo Switch-exclusive title on PC.
How to play TLoZ Tears of the Kingdom (ToTK) on PC via Ryujinx Emulator?
First and foremost, there are not many emulators for playing Nintendo Switch games on PC. There are a couple of options that are more popular than the rest, with the Ryujinx Emulator being one of those options. Now, let us make it clear that Nintendo is very strict when it comes to pirating games or using any illegal methods whatsoever to play their games. So make sure you have a copy of the game, before trying to emulate it on your PC. We want to share the fact that, in no way, shape, or form, do we promote piracy of any kind.
Anyway, before we move forward, let us give you a brief overview of the whole process. First, you will have to install the Ryujinx emulator on your PC, after which you will have to run the game through the emulator with the help of the game files in the .xci/.nsp format. Assuming that you own the game and already have access to these files, the rest of the process should not be that difficult. To begin with, start by heading to this link and downloading the Ryujinx emulator on your PC. Make sure to select the right platform while downloading the emulator. After downloading, launch the downloaded file and follow the on-screen prompts to install the emulator on your PC. Now, here is a list of all the necessary files you will need to add/run the game-
- Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom game files
- Latest Firmware (Version 16.0.2)
- Switch Keys.zip (Version 16.0.2)
With these files in hand, open the emulator and press the “File” option, followed by the “Open Ryujinx Folder” option. From the list of folders that are visible, choose and open the “System Folder”. Now, in this System folder, copy the contents of the Switch Keys.zip file after extracting them. Now, close the tab and go to “Tools” which is located adjacent to the File option from earlier. From the Tools tab, choose and select the “install firmware from .xci or .zip” option. Now, head to the directory where the latest Firmware folder is located and select it to install it on the emulator. Next, and the final step is to move the .xci/.nsp file of the game to the “XCI ROMS” folder, which can be found inside the “ROM” folder in the path where you have installed the Ryujinx emulator. After all of the hassle, you should be able to see The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the Applications list of the Ryujinx emulator. All that is left to do is optimize the emulator to be able to run the game smoothly.
How to optimize?
While it is true that the overall performance of the game will be highly dependent on the type of PC you own, there are still some settings to optimize the emulator which will make sure that you will have a pleasant experience. To do the same, go to the Options menu of the emulator, and head over to Settings. Now, follow the given steps:
In the General tab, make sure that the following options are selected:
- Enable discord-rich presence
- Check for updates on the launch
- Show “confirm exit” dialogue
- Hide Cursor: Never
The next tab is the Inputs tab. Here, you will be able to map and configure your controller, if that is what you will be using to play the game. We recommend using a controller to play as well.
Now, head over to the Systems tab. You would want to use the default settings for the system region, language, and time zone options. The preferred settings for other options are listed below,
- Enable VSync option should be checked.
- Enable PPTC option should be checked as well
- The Audio Backend option should be set to OpenAL.
The next and perhaps the most important tab is the Graphics tab. There are quite a number of options in this tab, and they all play a major role in the overall optimization process. So, in the Graphics tab, make the following changes:
- Graphics Backend Multithreading: On
- Graphics Backend: Vulkan
- Preferred GPU: Select the dedicated GPU you own
- Enable Shader Cache: On
- Enable Texture Recompression: Off
- Enable Macro HLE: On
- Resolution Scale: According to the resolution of the monitor that you are using.
- Post-Processing Effect: None
- Upscale: Bilinear
- Anisotropic Filtering: Auto
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
To finish the process, select “Apply” which is located in the bottom right corner, and after that, hit “Save”. With these settings, you should be able to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on your PC via the Ryujinx emulator. We hope that this tutorial was helpful, and for guides and tutorials like this, make sure to visit Digistatement regularly. Also, before you leave, click here to learn how to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on your PC via the Yuzu emulator.
