Yuzu, one of the most popular Nintendo Switch emulators, is now officially available on some Android devices. This is good news for those who have no money to buy a console but want to enjoy their free time playing Nintendo-exclusive games on their smartphones.
Yuzu Switch Emulator Has Launched on Android
With the recent death of the Skyline Switch Emulator on Android following Nintendo's issuance of DMCA takedown, many software companies have the opportunity to release their emulator on the same platform this time.
Nintendo is well-known for being strict in taking down illegal sources of games and emulators that might further promote piracy of IP.
It's been more than three years since Yuzu was launched on PC, and yet, it's only this time we got it on Android, according to Gizchina.
For those who haven't yet heard about Yuzu, it's software-based in C++ and it borrows some elements that we see on a Nintendo Switch. This open-source GPLv2 licensed emulator boasts a wide range of compatibility with many Switch games.
Throughout the years, the team behind Yuzu has been persistent in releasing updates for its performance improvement and stability.
Now that it's finally on the Android platform, you can now download it on Google PlayStore. Although it's still better to buy a Nintendo Switch, whether it's V1, Lite, V2, or OLED, some have no choice but to stick with their budget.
Of course, it's better to be practical sometimes than to spend all of your money on purchasing a console you can't afford in the first place.
While Yuzu is now one click away on Android, be mindful that it's not stable since it's still in its early stages. Expect that it won't work on all devices.
Yuzu Android Performance Breakdown
Team Yuzu shared via XDA Developers the performance data of some games running on the Android Switch emulator. According to the report, the shared data was split into two: games played on Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G.
Based on the graph, the majority of the Switch games, including "Super Mario 3DS World + Bowser's Fury," "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD," "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening," "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," and "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze are smoothly running at 60FPS in Galaxy S23.
Meanwhile, only "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD" and "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze" can operate at the same FPS, but this time on Galaxy S20 FE 5G.
Related Article : Best Nintendo Switch Emulators for Android [2023]
Yuzu Spec Requirements
Just like any other game or app, Yuzu requires minimum specs requirements so it can run on your device. According to Yuzu devs, you need at least a Snapdragon 865 to run it with no problem. You also need at least 8GB of RAM.
Aside from that, you need to have Android 11 at a minimum and your mobile GPU driver should have Vulkan extension support.
In the meantime, you can download Yuzu on the Play Store in two versions. You can choose between Yuzu Early Access and regular Yuzu. The first one is a paid version that will give you an upper hand to test the new features ahead of the public launch.
In other news, Kotaku reported that Nintendo deleted the listing for Dolphin on Steam. Dolphin, just like Yuzu, is another console emulator. The only difference is that it lets you play games on Wii and GameCube.
