Dolphin

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Dolphin
Newdolphin.png
Developer(s) Dolphin Emulator Project
Latest version 2412 [+]
Active Yes
Platform(s) Windows
Linux
macOS
Android
Architecture(s) x86_64, ARM
Emulates GameCube
Wii
Game Boy Advance (for connectivity features)
Compatibility Compatibility list
Website Dolphin-emu.org
License GPLv2
Source code GitHub
BIOS/Keys Optional

Dolphin is an open-source GameCube and Wii emulator that is also available as a libretro core for RetroArch.

Download[edit]

Windows Linux macOS Android Development versions
Windows Linux macOS Android Official Release*
Rolling releases
Android Unofficial MMJR
Android Unofficial MMJ
iOS Unofficial iOS port

Windows macOS Android Triforce Branch
for Triforce support
Linux FreeBSD dolphin-emu Package Listing
at pkgs.org

* Linux support comes in the form of an official Ubuntu PPA. See pkgs.org for other distributions.

Recommended setup[edit]

System requirements[edit]

Main article: Computer_specifications#Dolphin

Controllers[edit]

Overview[edit]

Dolphin is a GameCube / Wii emulator that supports many extra features not present on the original consoles, such as upscaling and texture replacements. Early development was supported by a very active homebrew scene led by fail0verflow (previously known as Team Twiizers). Dolphin's development is still very active as of 2024, with many contributors to its GitHub repository updating the emulator multiple times a week.[1]

Dolphin's official website, dolphin-emu.org, also runs a blog, with multiple progress reports throughout the year detailing pull requests from contributors, and providing comprehensive and in-depth feature articles. Dolphin's website also features a wiki with guides on setup for multiple parts of the emulator and detailed game articles featuring useful information regarding compatibility, performance, and associated peripherals.

Features[edit]

Some of Dolphin's settings and game screenshots. View picture to enlarge.
  • Widescreen
Instructional animation on how to use Swiss with Dolphin. Click to view.

Dolphin has support for widescreen output and can override the aspect ratio of the original game. However, this is a hack that rarely works without issues. Many games feature Action Replay and/or Gecko codes that do a better job at adding widescreen support, and said codes can be found on Dolphin's own wiki.

  • Netplay
Main article: Dolphin Online

Dolphin has the ability to connect to WFC servers thanks to servers such as Wiimmfi, alongside having its own capabilities of netplay to support local play.

  • GBA Connection Support

Using Dolphin's own version of mGBA, the GameCube GameBoy Advance cable is fully emulated with netplay support.[2]

  • Texture Packs
Main article: Texture packs#GameCube/Wii

Dolphin lets you dump game textures and also replace game textures with new custom ones. Dolphin's wiki and forums include many links to community-made texture packs. The main article includes the most notable ones, though many more are available.

  • VR support

There exists an old fork with VR support called Dolphin VR.

The Dolphin Team has had multiple pull requests related to VR implementation using OpenXR, though all pull requests related have been closed as of March 2024.[3][4][5]

Guides and info[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Dolphin issue list (closed issues)
  2. Integrated GBA - Dolphin Wiki
  3. jordan-woyak. WIP - OpenXR. GitHub.
  4. Ivonasek. OpenXR - Basic integration for Meta Quest
  5. Maylmilae, JMC47. Dolphin Progress Report: August and September 2019. "In general, despite the loss of NVIDIA 3D Vision, Dolphin's 3D support has been modernized to work with the new VideoCommon and should be working better than ever between all of our backends. And these updates help lay the foundation for what's to come."