Modern emulation of Nintendo consoles has reached such heights and user-centricity that the company's products can be played even on average PC builds without the need for sophisticated settings. It is no exception and Zelda TotK, which is really playable on PC, bypassing the hardware limitations of the outdated Nintendo Switch hardware.
In this guide, we will tell you personally tested and working methods for emulating The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom on PC.
Where to download The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Ways to get the game files required to run on a PC:
- Buy an official copy of Tears of the Kingdom and Nintendo Switch, dump the Zelda sequel on the console using homebrew applications, and then transfer the data to your computer. In addition to the game and the console, you will also need a microSD card to which files will be downloaded. This path is long and thorny. On the Yuzu website, you can appreciate the extent of the detailed guide for dumping applications and DLC from official copies.
- Gather your will into a fist and borrow on trackers.
Which emulator to choose: Ryujinx and Yuzu
Kingdom Tears run on 2 emulators, Yuzu и Ryūjinx. We advise you to choose Yuzu, and here's why:
- On Yuzu, more stable work of personnel is observed. This applies to almost all configurations.
- Ryujinx ties FPS to game speed (VSync feature), which will cause the Zelda sequel to run at 20 FPS or non-playable boost mode without an FPS mod. To be fair, FPS mods improve performance on any emulator.
- Installing Ryujinx, in addition to the keys, also requires firmware, which is not the case with Yuzu. More hassle with the first launch.
It is possible that Ryujinx will work more efficiently on a certain configuration, which is especially true for extremely productive PCs. By default, we advise you to prefer Yuzu.
How to play The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom on PC
Below will be considered all the steps for setting up emulators Yuzu и Ryūjinx.
PC system requirements
To run Zelda TotK at 720p/1080p, from 30 FPS with small drawdowns in settlements and battles, i.e. to get even better quality of work than on the Nintendo Switch, you do not need to have the most powerful hardware.
Processor requirements:
- Recommended: Intel Core i5-10400 or higher / AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
- Optimal performance and quality: Intel Core i9-13900K / AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
Video card requirements:
- Recommended Models: from NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 / AMD Radeon RX 6500 4GB.
- Optimum Performance: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 3060 12GB or higher / AMD Radeon RX 6700 10GB or higher.
RAM requirements:
- Minimum: 8 Gb.
- Recommended by: from 16 Gb.
For stable operation in most locations, it is better to have recommended accessories or more.
Many mods for FPS optimization and graphics have been released for the game. Most of them will be needed only by owners of powerful PCs. The most important of them:
- Mod for 30 FPS: in theory stabilizes FPS. Required for the game to work on Ryujinx. If the hardware configuration of the PC does not pull the load in settlements and battles, then this fix will not help. The legend of zelda on pc runs at 30fps without mod, but not so stable.
- Mod for 60 FPS: Increases the FPS of the game to 60 (default for Switch is 30). Works only on top PCs. If, after enabling the mod, Link and the entire environment slow down, then this is not a bug, and the PC simply does not pull the work to 60 FPS. Also, this mod speeds up cutscenes by 2 times, which requires a separate fix or slowing down the speed of the emulator (on Yuzu in "Emulation", "Set up the current game", "General", "Percentage speed limit - 50%").
In the list of mods here to register: you will find cheats, graphical improvements, mods for dynamic FPS and resolution in the 1st bundle.
How to set up the Ryujinx emulator
From the official website of the developers download Ryujinx.
Unzip the archive to a folder on your computer. The absence of Cyrillic along the way is desirable. Open the emulator through the EXE file in the unpacked folder.
Install the keys so that the NSP files of the games will run at all. Download them here. Copy the keys to the AppData\Roaming\Ryujinx\System folder. The root directory can be opened from the emulator itself by selecting "File", "Open Ryujinx Folder".
The Ryujinx emulator requires firmware to work. Download the firmware. Install it by opening the emulator, selecting "Tools", "Install firmware", "Install a firmware from XCI or ZIP". In the explorer that opens, select the downloaded archive to install.
Now show the emulator the folder with the Tears of the Kingdom NSP file:
- Open "Options", then "Settings" and "Add" to add a folder.
- Select the Zelda TotK folder in File Explorer.
Use the following basic graphics settings as shown in the screenshot. Be sure to choose Vulkan as your API. In the "Logging" tab, you can disable the saving of emulator operation logs if you do not plan to send them to the creators. Be sure to save the settings by clicking the "Apply" button. Game ok does not work without mods at 30/60 FPS. About their installation in the future.
Control settings are made along the path "Options", "Settings", "Input". Ryujinx does not automatically assign analogs to the buttons of a connected gamepad. DualShock 4 and Xbox Controller emulator supports.
In any case, select as "Controller Type" Pro controller from Nintendo, and in the "Input Device" list, select the input device. Click LMB on the button icons, bind the desired controller / keyboard key by clicking on it. Save your changes by clicking "Apply" before exiting.
- RMB on the game icon.
- Select "Open Atmosphere mods directory".
- In an open directory, store folders with mods (not files, but folders).
It's important: make sure that the mod version is equal to the game version, otherwise it will not work. The version update can be done as follows:
- RMB on the game icon, "Manage file updates".
- Click on the "Add" button and swipe to the patch. The version should be updated, which will be visible on the main page.
To start the game, double-click on the icon in the main menu. In the process, you can change the aspect ratio and switch between portable and stationary modes of the console, without affecting performance. It is also possible to turn off vertical sync (VSync), which will speed up the game, making it non-working. To exit to full screen, press "Options", "Enter Full Screen".
If Ryujinx is not updated automatically, then click "Help", "Check for Updates". Updates come out almost daily. In practice, rolling out a fresh version often solves bugs encountered by gamers. This is especially true for release projects.
How to run Zelda TotK on Yuzu
On the day of the release of Tears of the Kingdom, the creators of Yuzu rolled out an update that dramatically improves the quality of their emulators: up to + 87% performance on any hardware. Most users have the best performance on Yuzu.
To get started, download from the official website of the emulator setup file free version.
Run the installer on your PC following the instructions. It is better to install in the default folder. The program supports the Russian language. A shortcut to the program will be added to the Windows Start menu.
Install keys on your emulator before launching any application. This is necessary for the games to run:
- Download the latest version of the keys at Special website.
- Open the Yuzu emulator. Next, select "File", "Open Yuzu Folder". In the emulator directory, open the "Keys" folder.
- Copy the files prod.keys and title.keys from the archive with the keys to the "Keys" folder with file replacement.
Highlight the program folder with the game files:
- Click "Add New Game Folder" (big plus) on Yuzu's main screen.
- Choose the folder with The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom or the root folder where all Nintendo projects are stored.
- The program will run through the directory and icons will appear in the directory.
Alternatively, launch the games manually via "File", "Load File", and then open the main NSP of the application.
Before starting the game, check Yuzu's settings for Zelda TotK by opening "Emulation", "Options". Use the settings shown in the screenshots. Some general setup tips:
- Set the CPU menu to "Auto". Other settings work worse.
- In the "General" menu, enable "Multi-core CPU emulation".
- In the "Graphics" menu, select "Vulkan" as the API. Switch to OpenGL only if games won't launch/crash. Set advanced settings according to the screenshot.
- Save your changes before exiting.
Use your Nintendo, PS, Xbox controllers or keyboard to control. Select the Pro Controller in the control settings, which fits perfectly with the control scheme of any DualShock 4 or Xbox Controller. As a rule, the emulator will automatically configure the buttons on the DualShock 4 or other controllers to match the scheme of devices from Nintendo, but the buttons can also be configured manually. If you plan to play on the keyboard, you can reconfigure the keys yourself.
To add a mod to the game:
- On the main page, right-click on the game icon, select "Open mods folder».
- Copy the downloaded folder with the mod to the general folder of modifications for Zelda TotK. The version of the mod must be identical to the version of the game!
- Launch Legend of Zelda.
- Open File, Install NAND Files.
- Select a patch in the explorer and it will be installed.
By right-clicking on the icon with the game and selecting "Properties", you can turn on / off the modifications and patches installed in the folder (does not work during emulation).
Double-click on the Zelda TotK icon to launch the app. In the game itself, you can change the following settings to your liking on the go:
- GPU Performance: "Normal" or "High". Doesn't affect performance too much.
- Modes in "Docking Station" or "Portable", emulating the operating modes of the Nintendo Switch. The second one will greatly reduce the quality of the graphics, but perhaps add a little FPS.
- Selecting a window adaptation filter: FSR works best, the sharpness of which can be changed in the graphics settings.
- Smoothing: whatever you like.
In the "View" tab, enable full screen mode for maximum immersion.
In Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, all the main bugs found by users on the release are almost completely fixed. If you still find an annoying bug or glitch, then it makes sense to wait for the automatic update of the emulator version. Updates are searched for by the program when it is turned on. They come out almost every day, and in just a couple of days, a catastrophic bug that prevented you from playing on an existing PC build can be fixed.
How to enable the Russian version
On the Yuzu emulator, to change the text language:
- Go to "Emulation", "Options", "System".
- Put in the column "Language" Russian. The "Region" option can be left untouched.
- Open "Options", "Settings", "System".
- Select Russian as "System Language".
Change the voice language by going to the internal settings after launching Zelda TotK and selecting Russian. The project is fully translated and voiced into Russian.
Can Zelda Tears of the Kingdom be played through CEMU
CEMU is a Nintendo WiiU console emulator. It cannot run Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, as it was only released on the Nintendo Switch. But the CEMU emulator is the most productive solution for running the Zelda Breath of The Wild prequel: it was released on the WiiU console in 2017, and the quality of the WiiU game emulation is currently a cut above that for the Switch.
Read on:We hope that the guide helped to understand the parameters and run The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom on a PC with a stable frame rate. Any question about emulating the game, leave in comments to Article.
How to change the language to Russian?
I do as it is written, I press ok. I go back to the system and there it has already changed to English again. Stupidly returns English immediately after logging out.
So, the ruler will ask. How to save the Russian language?
I will say more, it’s not like Russian, in general, no one except English is preserved
Have you changed the language settings and, until you exit Yuzu, Zelda is in Russian, and after restarting the emulator in Zelda, English returns?
it turned out through yuzu, how to make normal mouse control? it is very inconvenient to hold the LMB with a very small sensor, and how to play at 60 fps?
You can play 60 FPS only with the mod. The guide left a link to the catalog. Please note: the version of the mod must match the version of the game.
I have not tried playing with a mouse.
where can i download the game file? no links, nichrome, just at some point in the guide "and now open the folder with the game." I have it pre-installed on Windows, what?
On any torrent of your choice, we do not advertise such sites. Nothing is written in the title of the article about “download”, this is an installation instruction. So that there is no misunderstanding tomorrow, we will clarify this point in the article.