Top 3 Best Nintendo Switch Emulators You Can Find

Ollie Mattison

May 28, 2025• Proven solutions

There’s no slowing down when it comes to improving Nintendo Switch emulators. Fans of all ages love the Switch for its fun games and hybrid design—but not everyone can afford the console.

So what if you want to play Nintendo games on your PC or phone? The good news is, you can. Today, several emulators let you enjoy popular titles like Let’s Go Pikachu, Link’s Awakening, and Mario Kart on other devices.

Of course, emulators have a reputation for bugs, crashes, and performance issues. And with so many options online, it’s hard—especially for beginners—to know which one to choose. Some run well on low-end PCs, while others need high specs to perform smoothly.

To help you out, we’ve rounded up the top 3 Nintendo Switch emulators that are reliable, easy to use, and perfect for playing your favorite games without the actual console.

Top 3 Nintendo Switch Emulators Free to Download

1. Yuzu

After starting out with homebrew games, Yuzu has since expanded by remaking Switch titles currently available for purchase. There's a whole new branch of subtopics that needs to be addressed regarding the morality and legality of purchasing games, but that's not our focus in this article.

Yuzu was the first Switch emulator to be released. From the makers of Citra, one of the most popular 3DS emulators comes this free and open-source emulator. The emulator runs on C++ and is designed to emulate the Nintendo Switch's essential hardware components. function. Some games have problems with this, which is one of the reasons the performance in certain titles is less than ideal.

Despite the lack of power, Yuzu managed to run Super Mario Odyssey at a frame rate comparable to the Switchback in 2019. There was no sign of lag or missing parts of the background scenery, which is impressive for an emulator. Right from the start, users feel confident about Yuzu. It's clearly designed and provides users with everything they need to know. A list of fully functional games can be found on the site, there are regular updates to let users know what the team is working on, and a handy FAQs section gives users a wealth of troubleshooting advice when any error codes pop up.

Features:

• A huge list of compatible games.
• It is developed in C++ which makes it highly portable.
• Can Run Most popular and latest titles without any lag.
• It is a resource-friendly emulator.
• YUZU replaces Nintendo's BCAT network service with Boxcat.
• Furthermore, Yuzu has a feature to rescale the rendering resolution that simulates docked, undocked and beyond-native resolutions.
• The graphics modes supported are OpenGL and Vulkan (experimental).
• Windows and Linux versions are available.
• Online multiplayer functionality has been disabled for now. Local multiplayer is available.
• Multiple profiles can be set up and used
• Users can choose between dark, light, midnight blue, etc., themes for the user interface.

2. Ryujinx

Ryujinx is the first multi-platform emulator for the Nintendo Switch with local wireless support. Some games run better on Yuzu and others that work better on Ryujinx. Ryujinx is probably one of the best Nintendo Switch emulators. There is a full range of robust features available in this software. Additionally, it provides an intuitive interface that anyone can operate. It is unique because it has been developed in C#, unlike other programs and is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.

It contains 1000 games, of which half are considered playable. Ryujinx highlights this information to potential users from the start. They may still have some way to go until it's perfect, but they're at least honest and aware of the obstacles. To deliver a better-than-expected experience, Gdkchan, the team behind the software, is continuously improving the accuracy and performance as well as the user interface and build consistency.

This speedy emulator has very little room for failure, which makes it one of the safest options. Aside from these advantages, the Ryujinx emulator is easy to use and can run games at 60fps. However, even though this emulator is amazing, it is still unable to run commercial Nintendo Switch games which is the only downfall of this emulator. The developers are continuously working on it to make it better. The experience is quite close to console-like, even right on your desktop.

Features:

• Display resolutions can be customized, as well as the scaling.
• Various aspect ratios are also available.
• Auto mode automatically enables anisotropic filtering.
• With Discord Rich, you can showcase your Nintendo game on Discord.
• You can also play multiplayer online with your friends. LAN mode or local wireless are both options for local play.
• NVDEC emulation is used to support in-game videos and cut scenes.
• Similar to emulators, you can determine the compatibility of games by viewing their compatibility page.
• Works on both Windows and Linux.

3. Egg

Nintendo Switch games can be played on your mobile phone through Egg NS Emulator. With Egg NS, players can play Nintendo Switch games on their cellphones, and it offers a unique control experience.  In the United States, NXTeam Studios developed the Egg NS emulator over two years and is now available. NXTeam will optimize this emulator's performance, stability, and compatibility in the future.

Getting games on an egg is a bit complicated as compared to other emulators. There's a legal requirement to remove your games from your Nintendo Switch. In addition to getting the Switchdroid folder and game's ROM files, which require certain expertise and technology, you can also acquire them from other sources or from other players. Overall it is very complicated procedures and new users may find it extremely difficult to use it in the beginning.

Although getting games on this emulator is a bit difficult, there is still a huge list of games that you are compatible with, and you can play them on excellent graphics without any lag or distortion. Basically, it is a mobile emulator and you need to have a strong chipset in your phone if you want to run this emulator and get excellent results. As mentioned on the official website of egg, it works on Snapdragon 855, 855+ and 865 phones. The website has also issued a list of compatible phones which check on the website link mentioned above.

Although Egg Ns Emulator can not run many games compared to other emulators and gives comparatively less performance, it is expected that it will improve a lot and give a tough competition to other emulators. Currently, it is in active development and it is continuously improving with the updates.

Features:

• Huge list of compatible games.
• Works very well on mobile devices.
• Get the most out of your gaming experience
• Controls that are smooth and responsive
• Easily navigable interface
• Sections with clear defined
• Multiple languages supported
• No advertising available

Bonus for Content Creators: Bring Your Gameplay to Life with AI-Powered Video Creation

If you’re using these emulators not just for gaming but also for creating content—such as Let's Plays, tutorials, reviews, or even fan stories—there’s a new tool you should definitely check out: Filmora’s AI Idea to Video.

This revolutionary feature empowers gamers and creators to turn a simple idea or a text prompt into a fully-produced video with AI-generated visuals, storyboards, characters, and even voiceovers. Here's how it levels up your creative process:

• Script to Screen Automation: Input your idea (like “a warrior gets trapped inside a corrupted digital realm”) and the AI builds a full scene-by-scene storyboard with editable elements.
• Original Footage Creation: Unlike traditional video tools, this doesn’t rely on stock media. It generates unique, custom visuals that match your concept.
• AI Voiceover & Lip-Sync: Choose natural-sounding AI voices with precise lip-sync for in-character dialogue or narration.
• Custom Styles & Control: Choose from anime, realistic, cyberpunk, or fantasy aesthetics to match your game’s theme. You can also control video length, aspect ratio, and subtitle generation.

So if you’re already recording emulator gameplay, why not expand that into fully cinematic shorts, lore-based episodes, or creative edits—all driven by AI? Filmora’s AI Idea to Video is currently available for PC/Mac, making it a perfect companion for emulator-based content creators.

Conclusion

In this article, we introduced the three best Nintendo Switch emulators that let you enjoy your favorite Switch games on both mobile and PC. Whether you're a casual gamer or a content creator, these emulators offer a great way to explore Switch titles—without needing the actual console.

Recording switch gameplay is also easier than ever, and sharing your highlights across platforms can help you grow your audience. To make your videos more polished and engaging, consider using Filmora — a powerful yet easy-to-use video editor.

With Filmora, you can enhance your game clips using dynamic effects, stickers, transitions, and subtitles. But if you want to take your creativity to the next level, try the new AI Idea to Video feature. Just enter a text prompt and Filmora’s AI will turn it into a complete storyboard, generate visuals, dialogue, and even create original animated scenes.

Whether you're editing raw gameplay or building a full cinematic video inspired by your favorite titles, Filmora helps bring your gaming ideas to life—fast, fun, and AI-powered.

Is It Legal to Use Emulators?

You can download and use emulators legally, but sharing copyrighted ROMs is illegal. The use of ROMs you own does not have a precedent in law, although one could argue it is fair use. In short, if you are using an emulator then you won't have any legal issues and technically you aren't doing anything that is illegal. So, calm your mind and enjoy your favourite games using emulators.

Where to Download Games?

It is one of the most frequently asked questions about emulator games. You can download the emulator and install it but how will you get the games? The answer is simple. Each emulator has its own website where you can find the list of compatible games with that emulator and you can also download the games from their websites. Alternatively, you can use third-party websites, torrents, and GitHub to get the games for emulators.

Ollie Mattison

Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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