Player

How to Emulate & Play Nintendo Switch (With Online!)

Hiya! This guide is split into two parts:
1. Setting up basic emulation,
and
2. Setting up online functionality.


DISCLAIMER!: Emulating is legal, however, obtaining copies of files without owning said files is not! (usually)

But hey, I didn't give them to you... Riiiight~? (Don't fucking tattle, narc!)



Basic Emulation

Let's just start by setting up an emulator! We'll be using eden, which is a fork of the original (taken down) Yuzu emulator, since it provides Online Capabilities! (with some fenagling, of course.)

Obtaining Files

This is the scary part. While it may seem alarming to download files from the internet specifically designed for circumventing abhorrent pricetags and sleazy, class-action worthy companies, I've gone through the trouble (and viruses, probably) to find links to specific, trustworthy (i hope) Git and GitHub sources for the necessary files. Let's start.

  1. Obtain a copy of eden emulator (HERE) over Git.
  2. Extract and install eden. (You do not need to run it yet.)
  3. Download the 19.0.1 Switch Firmware. (Direct Download, don't freak out.)
  4. Extract the Firmware.19.0.1.zip file into someplace near the emulator. (Just for ease of access, since you'll need to hang on to it.)
  5. Obtain the prod.keys and title.keys files (HERE) over GitHub.

Putting 2 & 2 Together

Whew, that was a little nerve wracking. From here on out, it's all technical setup! Let's keep going.

  1. Locate the extracted eden emulator, and run eden.exe, NOT eden_cl.exe or eden_room.exe! (You should only ever run eden.exe, I'm not sure what the other ones do.)
  2. Once in eden, click File in the top left, then click Open eden Folder.
  3. Put this File Explorer window to the side, and locate your prod.keys and title.keys files in a NEW File Explorer window.
  4. Drag and drop both .keys files into the keys folder in the eden folder window.
  5. Exit back to the eden emulator, and click Tools in the top left, then click Install Firmware.
  6. Navigate to the folder containing your EXTRACTED Firmware.19.0.1 folder, and select that folder. (This will take a minute, don't worry.)
  7. Once it finishes, close and re-open eden.
  8. Click Tools, then click Verify Installed Contents.
  9. Everything should look good, and a message should pop up saying "The operation was completed successfully." (If not, recheck all the steps. If it still doesn't work, contact Spider.)

You're now ready to emulate games! (You'll have to find the .NSP game files yourself, I'm not giving them to you here.)




Online Functionality

Back for more? Alright, let's set up your Online Functionality. Obviously, emulated Switches can't connect to real Switches. However, eden supports a lobby-based online system in which you can host and join public/private rooms to connect your emulated Switches. To set up Online:

  1. Click Emulation, then Configure. (Ensure a game isn't running!)
  2. Go to the System tab, then select Network. Change Network Interface to Wi-Fi. (Unless you use Ethernet, in which case, change it to that.)
  3. Hit apply, then click File in the top left, and click Open eden Folder.
  4. CLOSE EDEN!
  5. Navigate to and open ../config/qt-config.ini.
  6. Find the section titled: [WebService]
  7. Put this aside. Create a Yuzu Web Configuration (HERE), inputting your desired Username into the box.
  8. Copy the Yuzu Configuration and paste it over the entire [WebService] section in the qt-config.ini file.
  9. Save the config, and relaunch eden.

You should now be able to use the online functionality in both Hosting Rooms, and Connecting to Rooms through the Multiplayer tab in eden. It should be pretty self explanatory, so get playing!