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Emulator Experimental

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digdat0 edited this page Jul 23, 2026 · 2 revisions

Systems: GameCube (gc), Wii (wii), PlayStation 2 (ps2) · Runs as: homebrew NRO · Status: experimental — read this before you get your hopes up

Best effort: these are moving targets built by small teams and hobbyists. Everything here can change or break between releases. Treat this page as "what's possible," not "what's supported."

HaulNX creates gc, wii, and ps2 folders so your library is organized if you collect for those systems — but the honest position is that the Switch cannot properly emulate them. These are 128-bit-era consoles a generation or two beyond what the Switch's hardware handles. What follows exists, and is fun to poke at, but is not a way to actually play these libraries.

If you want games you'll actually finish, stick to the systems on the wiki home — through PS1, Dreamcast, PSP, and the handhelds, the Switch does great.

GameCube / Wii — DolphiiN

DolphiiN is a Switch port of Dolphin. On an overclocked Switch a handful of lighter GameCube games are playable-ish; most GameCube games are slow, and Wii is largely out of reach (and its motion/pointer controls are a separate problem).

  • Get it: search the Homebrew App Store or the GBAtemp homebrew forums for the current DolphiiN build — there's no single stable home for it.
  • Needs: an aggressive overclock, docked, and patience. No BIOS is required for GameCube; some setups want a Wii NAND for Wii.
  • ROMs: sd:/roms/gc and sd:/roms/wii — GameCube as .iso/.rvz, Wii as .wbfs/.iso/.rvz. .rvz is the compact modern format.

PlayStation 2 — Play!

Play! is a PS2 emulator with a Switch build. Compatibility is low and speed is very low; consider it a tech demo on this hardware rather than a way to play.

  • Get it: the Play! project and purei.org; look for a Switch release.
  • ROMs: sd:/roms/ps2 — PS2 discs as .iso (or .chd). Multi-layer DVDs are large; a fast SD card helps a little.

The realistic alternative

If you own these games and want to actually play them, they run beautifully on a PC (Dolphin for GC/Wii, PCSX2 for PS2). The Switch build of this app is for the systems it can do well — let gc/wii/ps2 be library folders you sync elsewhere.

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