Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Pick the Best Switch Emulator
If you search for the best Nintendo Switch emulators for PC, you’ll definitely see Yuzu and Ryujinx on the list. However, selecting the best one for your computer can be a little tough. But, you don’t have to worry. We have done the hard work for you to create this ultimate comparison between Yuzu and Ryujinx. From setting up the application to performance, you’ll know everything about these Nintendo Switch emulators in this guide.
Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular consoles in the market. Because of its portability, it’s a great choice for gaming on-the-go. There are plenty of games that are exclusive to Switch consoles. If you’re an avid PC gamer, you’d definitely want them to test out on your PC. Thanks to Nintendo Switch emulators like Yuzu and Ryujinx, playing any Switch console games on a PC is easy.
Keep reading this Yuzu vs Ryujinx article to select the right one for your PC.
We have a separate post on Yuzu vs Ryujinx comparison for Tears of the Kingdom. So, if you want this comparison just for this game, make sure to check out this post.
Is It Legal to Use Nintendo Switch Emulators?
The answer is Yes. Downloading and using Nintendo Switch Emulators is completely legal. You must not be using illegally downloaded games. In other words, if you purchase the game from the official website and then use it in a Nintendo Switch Emulator, you’re following the law.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: The Ultimate Comparison of Best Switch Emulators for PC
We have split the comparison into different sections. If you are short on time, navigate to the required section or go to the bottom of this article for the conclusion. However, we would recommend reading out all sections for thorough knowledge.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Introduction
There are a lot of Nintendo Switch games, such as Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and The Legends of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which PC users are craving. This is where the emulators come into play. Using them, you can play Switch console games on your PC.
Starting off with Yuzu, it’s an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator released in the year 2018, 10 months after the release of Nintendo Switch. It’s, in fact, the first Nintendo Switch emulator for PC. It is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. The application was built using C++.
Yuzu is completely FREE and supports a wide range of games.
Ryujinx, on the other hand, was released in 2018. It’s also a free and open-source Switch Emulator, but it is built using a different programming language, C#. It is also available for major OS – Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Installation and Setup
You can download Yuzu and Ryujinx for free from their official websites.
You’ll get a Yuzu executable (.exe) file, which is easy to install. Just double-tap on the file and follow the on-screen instructions. However, Ryujunx installations require a little more work. You’ll get a Ryujinx zip file, which you’ll need to extract.
Note:
Ryujinx is not currently available as an app. So, every time you launch it, you’ll need to navigate to the extracted folder and double-tap on the exe file. A better approach here is to create a shortcut icon on the desktop for quick access.
When you try to launch Ryujinx for the first time, Windows won’t launch it because Windows Defender SmartScreen doesn’t have enough information about Ryujinx’s publisher. You can ignore this warning by tapping on Run anyway.
Winner: Yuzu is a clear winner here, as it’s a standalone app and easy to install for most people. While Ryujinx requires some extra steps to unzip the files.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: User Interface
Yuzu has a more streamlined and easy-to-use user interface than Ryujinx. The interface of Ryujinx is more traditional, but that doesn’t make it hard to navigate through the options.
On the basis of user interface, it’s hard to pick one as both the emulators do a good job.
Yuzu vs Ryujix: Games Compatibility
According to the official website, Yuzu is compatible with over 2,500 games. However, only 644 of them have been tagged “Perfect”. It means they can run without any bugs and glitches. And, 813 are tagged “Great”, which can run but may have minor graphic or audio glitches.
Ruijinx, on the other hand, has over 3,510 games with a status code “status-playable”. However, many of them have bugs.
So, before installing a game on Yuzu or Ryujinx, check the status code.
You shouldn’t select an emulator based on the number of games it supports. A good approach is to check the status of your favorite games on both emulators.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Performance and Optimizations
Yuzu has a better performance than Ryujinx, especially for high-resource demanding games. But Ryujix has made significant improvements in recent months and can handle games at a good frame rate.
As per my experience, Ryujinx maintains a stable frame rate, however, Yuzu can run games more efficiently with less overhead.
If you’d ask me to pick one here, I’d pick Yuzu for better performance and optimizations than Ryujinx.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Graphics and Visuals
Both the emulators use Vulkan, which is a more efficient graphics API than OpenGL. However, its implementation on Yuzu is more stable and offers better graphical performance.
In some games, though, Ryujinx seems to have better visuals, but overall, Yuzu is a better choice.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Audio and Sound
Yuzu and Ryujinx both can accurately reproduce the sound of switch games. There’s nothing to talk much about, as both have excellent audio emulation.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Updates and Development
Both Yuzu and Ryujinx are regularly updated to improve their emulation, add new features, and fix issues. However, because of a large team of developers and a larger community, Yuzu is more frequently updated than Ryujinx.
The bottom line is, Yuzu and Ryujinx developers regularly update their emulators to make it more better. So, it’s a tie here.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Community and Support
Yuzu has a larger community than Ryujinx. But Ryujinx also has an active community and support team. As compared to Yuzu, Ryujinx developers are more active on social and are very responsive to user feedback and problems reported by them.
While Yuzu has a larger community, Ryujinx’s quick responses to users on social media and community lead to a tie here.
Yuzu vs Ryujinx: Conclusion
Yuzu ticks more boxes than Ryujinx, and therefore, it’s our first preference. However, for many games, Ryujinx performs way better than Yuzu.
To start out, go with Yuzu. But if you face frame rate issues, I’d recommend switching to Ryujinx, as it offers a stable frame rate.
