Wii U emulators
The Wii U is an eighth-generation console released by Nintendo in 2012. It is the first console by Nintendo to output to high-definition (HD) resolutions, such as 720p and 1080p. It includes a tablet-like controller, known as the Wii U GamePad, to provide certain additional gameplay. Notably, it can play all Wii games, as well as supporting the Wii Remote controllers for native Wii U games.
Contents
Emulators
| Name | Operating System(s) | Latest Version | Compatibility | Active | Open-Source | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cemu | Windows | v1.5.5 | Medium | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Decaf | Windows | N/A | Low | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
Comparisons
- Cemu can launch and play commercial titles, but is at an early stage of development, having little performance optimization, very basic audio emulation, and numerous bugs. But, it can run some games full-speed.
- Decaf is a research project for Wii U emulation. It is able to boot some commercial games.
Dolphin
You might have read about an unofficial branch of Dolphin with Wii U support - don't get your hopes up. While the PowerPC architecture family in the WiiU is the same as the Wii and GC (this fact alone was the reason why Wii emulation was added to Dolphin, originally GC-only), this support is nothing more than the file viewer features (region, internal name, various info, list of files and folders inside ISO and a way to extract them) being expanded to Wii U disc images. Nothing has been done on the actual emulation front as far as Dolphin is concerned, and the Dolphin developers have said that they're not going to add Wii U support to Dolphin.
Running Games in CEMU
Before opening the ISO
You'll first need to fill in the "keys.txt" file in CEMU's directory. It has a sample line with a bogus key and a comment, which you may as well delete.
Your file must have many lines like this, one for the Wii U Common Key (D7B00402659BA2ABD2CB0DB27FA2B656), and one line for the Game Key of each game. Sharing these keys isn't exactly safe legally, but romsites at least share the Game ones. Note that for games using the Loadiine format, you won't need a Game Key at all, but those will need CEMU versions from 1.4.0 onwards. Loadiine format is just the ISO contents unpacked as directories of files, with an executable RPX file you'll need to open in CEMU.
Your iso must be either uncompressed, compressed using WUD format, or in Loadiine format (only possible for versions 1.4.0 onwards) to boot in CEMU. Here's a compatibility list.
Dumping Games and Getting Game Keys Yourself
You need the game in Loadiine format (directory of files with RPX executable), the Wii U Common Key, and Uwizard. First, you use the tool here to create a Loadiine dump from games on your Wii U.
Open the Loadiine folder generated, then "code", then "app.xml" in your favorite text program. Copy the 16-char ID before "<title_id>", that's your Title ID. Open Uwizard and go to the "Settings" tab. Fill in the blanks with the Wii U Common Key, and if possible the other ones. Now go to the "NUS Downloader U" tab and paste that Title ID from earlier. You'll need to add the game as well. Check "Decrypt", and press "Start Download". A long log will appear, scroll down for a while and you'll find your game key under "Decrypted Title KEY".
The other way, used before to dump Wii U games, isn't public and requires hardware modding to the Wii U optical drive.
This is the method used to get the Wii U console keys from your own Wii U, not that there's much reason to.
Installing Updates
To install updates under CEMU, you need to open the rpx file for that specific update in CEMU. Your save data will be apparently lost, that's because CEMU treats the game now that it's updated as a separate new game so you'll need to copy your games over.
In order to make that rpx file yourself, you'll need a proper version of NUSGrabber with a ckey.bin, as well a Wii U Console Key (that common key from earlier works) and a Game Key for your version of the game. Then you follow this guide.
Installing Downloadable Content
Installing DLC is not yet possible with CEMU because of further checks done besides the presence of the DLC data that are not emulated yet. Some videos online show DLC tracks in Mario Kart 8 being emulated on CEMU, but that was just modding the base game to replace some of the base tracks.
Controls
- Gamepad: Gamepad touch control emulation can be done by holding TAB then using the mouse. Microphone is mapped to a button for now, and tilting doesn't work yet.
- Classic Controller
- As of 1.5.5, the Wiimote isn't emulated yet.
