Switch 2 delivers GameCube emulation

Announced during the unveiling of the Nintendo Switch 2‘s impressive lineup, GameCube titles are expected to be officially included in the catalog of classic games available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. After 24 years and four console generations, Nintendo is finally prepared to tap into a truly rich and beloved library on its new platform. The lengthy delay for GameCube titles to appear is indeed surprising. This could indicate that it’s a unique feature of the Switch 2, especially considering Nintendo has been operating official Wii emulation – effectively an overclocked GameCube in terms of GPU and CPU – for the past eight years.

We previously reported on this development in 2018 (a year after its release), with Nintendo’s Wii emulator functioning on the Nvidia Shield TV – which utilizes the exact same Tegra X1 chipset as the original Switch. Nintendo’s emulated games were initially offered solely for the Chinese market via the Nvidia store, yet included titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros Wii, and Punchout. In summary, this demonstrated how the aging Switch processor could indeed run an emulator capable of not only Wii games but almost certainly GameCube titles too, given their architectural similarities.

Before diving into what could have been, it’s worth acknowledging what we are actually receiving on Switch 2. Initially, more than ten GameCube titles will be available (three at launch), each promising enhanced resolutions, quicker loading times, and even online gameplay if a multiplayer mode is present. The games confirmed in the presentation all arrived in the West in 2003 and include some true classics: the futuristic racing game F-Zero GX, the timeless The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, and third-party fighter Soul Calibur 2. Alongside the full list, it expands an already impressive library of emulated titles on Nintendo’s online service, but the catch is that the GameCube compatibility is exclusive to Switch 2. So, why are GameCube games appearing now, and why only on the new hardware?

It’s a complex question to answer given that the Wii is more powerful than the GameCube, while the Tegra X1 processor found in both the Shield and original Switch is significantly less powerful than the T239 in Switch 2. Looking back at those older emulated titles, they stemmed from the Nvidia/Nintendo collaboration that led to the Switch utilizing the mobile Tegra X1 chipset – seen as a major achievement for Nintendo at the time due to the availability of the component. As part of that partnership, core versions of four Wii titles were managed by Nvidia Lightspeed Studios for the Chinese market. The path to getting these working isn’t simple if you want to give them a try: you’d need a Chinese Shield TV unit – or modify your Shield TV, change your console, and then use a VPN to access the store.

After completing these steps, however, the games performed well on actual Switch hardware, validating that GameCube and even more demanding Wii emulation has been feasible on Tegra X1 all along. The games weren’t mere ISO dumps either. Instead, they involved numerous custom adaptations to suit the Shield hardware, including a 3x resolution boost to 1920×1404 for Twilight Princess and Mario Galaxy, enhanced texture filtering, and elongated vector-based text elements.

Most intriguingly, the Shield version of Twilight Princess serves as a hybrid between the GameCube and Wii editions. It features the GameCube variant’s left-handed Link – rather than the mirrored Link (and overall world!) of the Wii version – along with traditional gamepad controls, while adopting the more contemporary 16:9 aspect ratio of the Wii release.

There are a few limitations to these Nvidia Shield releases as well. Twilight Princess is capped at 30fps, just like the originals, although it maintains a stable 30. Mario Galaxy also adheres to its source material at 60fps, but with some frame drops along the way. The primary distinction to note here is that this emulation is designed for an Android-based OS in Nvidia Shield, while Switch benefits from significantly lower-level GPU access to the Tegra X1 through Nvidia’s NVN graphics API. In practice, an authentic Switch release could handle this with fewer dips due to an API that is closer to the hardware.

Interestingly, upon reviewing the official release of Mario Galaxy on Switch later in 2021, through the Mario 3D All-Stars Collection, we received just that. The 3D All-Stars version enhanced to 1080p in a similar manner, improving the texture filtering, fonts, and even progressing further with a complete asset overhaul for Galaxy’s pre-rendered cutscenes. Between this, and the Lightspeed efforts on Shield, it is proof of concept that Tegra X1 is not only within the right hardware range, but also that a functioning emulation layer has been available for quite some time.

With all of this in mind, let’s revisit what Nintendo is offering on Switch 2. The GameCube games are running in emulation with their unique enhancements, starting with a resolution upgrade to 900p. In Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and Soul Calibur 2, this translates to a native 1280×900 image with a light form of anti-aliasing, scaled to the maximum 4K output of the Switch 2. It is indeed a significant improvement in image quality over the 480p output of a GameCube, although whether resolution targets will vary across the other supported GameCube titles remains to be seen.

Additionally, good news is that widescreen support is now confirmed to be available here as well, if it was initially supported in-game. This means that, by adjusting the settings in F-Zero GX or Soul Calibur 2, we can eliminate the black pillars on either side to maximize a 16:9 display. However, the downside is that doing so will stretch the 1280×900 pixel structure horizontally instead of adding more pixel data to the edges of the frame. Impressively, we will also be able to experience games like F-Zero GX online, something that was previously unavailable.