Despite Nintendo doing its best to scrub the internet of Nintendo Switch emulators, there are still people fighting the good fight to preserve games beyond Nintendo hardware. One such is YouTuber tabeneru, who had uploaded a video of gameplay from Pokémon Legends: Z-A running on the EDEN emulator at 4K60 fps on PC. Even though the game won’t be officially available until tomorrow, early copies have found their way to players, resulting in ROM dumps that can be used on various emulators (if you happen to still have them).
While the corresponding video showing the game has already been DMCAed by Nintendo, WCCFTech reported on it before that happened. According to the outlet, PC users don’t even need super high-end hardware to push Legends: Z-A to the max. Tabeneru was using a system equipped with an Intel Core i5-13500 and an RTX 3060 Ti and was able to push the game to 4K30 fps with no problem. The Switch 1 version has a frame rate cap of 30 fps, but a mod already exists to circumvent that limitation.
The only reason we’re seeing this is that Legends: Z-A is a dual generation release for Nintendo. Since the original Switch hardware contained an exploit that allowed emulation to crop up early into its lifecycle, Nintendo was never able to completely stamp out emulators from being developed. The Switch 2, on the other hand, has not been hacked and it seems progress will be much slower on that front. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is the only other game releasing for Switch 1 in the immediate future, so Samus’ return will probably also be running on PC in no time. Following that, though, it could be years before PC players see Nintendo games running again.
That might not matter too much. The Switch 2 is a surprisingly powerful bit of hardware for its price, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A runs at a fixed 60 fps on it. While $70 is a bit much to swallow, I feel that most players won’t have any problem with paying that for how convenient the experience is.
Check out more news about Pokémon Legends
Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s timeline placement has been confirmed
Pokémon Legends: Z-A has forced autosaves, so Shiny hunters beware
Four new Mega Evolutions confirmed for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, along with Mega Dimension DLC
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
