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Cemu Thread: Emulating Wii U Games

P

PGamer

fucking juniors
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Website | Forum | Discord | Changelog | FAQ | Compatibility List | Wiki | Patreon

Cemu is a Wii U emulator for PC. It is still relatively early in development but most games can now be run in a playable state and development has been progressing quickly. Cemu also now has additional functionality that the original Wii U hardware isn't capable of such as higher resolution rendering and support for a wider variety of controllers.

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1. A Wii U with homebrew to dump your games. Check out the Wii U Homebrew Discussion Thread to learn more about how to do that.

2. A Windows PC. Cemu requires 64-bit Windows 7 or higher, an AMD or Nvidia GPU that has OpenGL 4.5 or Vulkan 1.1 support, and 4 GB of RAM. An AMD or Nvidia GPU with OpenGL 4.6 support and 8 GB of RAM is recommended. A wider range of systems will hopefully be supported in the future.

3. Cemu. Public builds can be downloaded for free from the official Cemu website and early builds are made available to backers through their Patreon.

4. A controller is recommended.

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Click for full resolution.



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How well do games run?

Compatibility can be hit or miss as Cemu is still relatively early in development. A large number of games will not run well or even at all. Most games are playable at this stage however. Check out the Cemu compatibility list for more detailed results.

What is the deal with the Patreon builds?

New versions of Cemu are first made available to Patreon backers who pledge $5 or more per month. Builds are made available to the public one week after the Patreon release. If you want to get access to new versions of Cemu right away or just want to support the project you may want to consider backing their Patreon. Otherwise you can get the latest version of Cemu for free after waiting for a week.

How often do new versions of Cemu come out?

New versions of Cemu are released approximately every 2-4 weeks. There is no exact release schedule and new versions are released whenever they are ready.

Does Cemu have graphics enhancement functionality?

Yes! As of version 1.7.0 Cemu supports graphics enhancements and customization via "graphic packs". These graphic packs allow for functionality such as higher resolution rendering (example: Mario Kart 8 in 4K) and other tweaks (such as being able to modify the bloom lighting in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD). Unlike with emulators for many older systems these graphics enhancements are set per-game rather than across the whole library. Cemu also has bilinear and bicubic upscale filter options and it can be possible to force settings such as AA and AF through your GPU for a cleaner image (examples: Mario Kart 8 with FXAA, Mario Kart 8 with AF).

Is Cemu open source?

Unlike many recent third party console emulators Cemu is not open source. However, the developers have stated that Cemu may be open sourced at some point in the future. There is an alternative open source Wii U emulator available by the name of Decaf but it is generally not yet mature enough to run games in a playable state.

What format games can Cemu run?

Cemu can run games in WUD, WUX, ISO, WAD, and RPX formats. Encrypted formats will require that you provide decryption keys for the games to run. For legal reasons do not post decryption keys in this thread.

Can Cemu play games online?

Yes! Native online play support was added in version 1.11.0. It requires OTP, SEEPROM, account data, and certificate files dumped from a Wii U to work. Support for using the Wii U internet browser was added in version 1.8.1.
 
Last edited:
R

Raw64life

Member
How hard would it be to back up your saves from your Wii U onto your PC and then play games using those saves on Cemu?
 
D

Dineren

Banned
Wow, I checked youtube for Xenoblade Chronicles X and it seems to be running pretty well. It still has issues, but looks perfectly playable.

I may need to revisit this if I feel in the mood for another playthrough next year (unless a switch version comes out with improvements).
 
jediyoshi

jediyoshi

Member
Nice, I've been working on a usage guide I'll drop in here sometime

pje122 said:
Can you use a PS4 controller or do you need that tablet-pad?
Click to expand...

Yes, it supports the DS4 and standard USB controllers. If it shows up in your 'Devices and Printers' section it will probably work.

Raw64life said:
How hard would it be to back up your saves from your Wii U onto your PC and then play games using those saves on Cemu?
Click to expand...

You need a homebrew capable Wii U to dump them, otherwise managing the files around is very straight forward
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-saviine-wiiu-savedata-tool.399833/

When you run a game in Cemu it'll list the save folder name in the window title bar, Cemu save folders are located in <cemu>\mlc01\emulatorSave
 
P

Platy

Member
pje122 said:
Just evaluating my options, thanks.
Also, that is irrelevant to my question.
Click to expand...

Should be noted that there is an option for homebrew to use the PS4 controller with wiiu games. It substitute the gamepad input so it is not very good for multiplayer but for singleplayer it works perfectly
 
T

TheCongressman1

Member
Personally the only reason I'm glad Breath of the Wild is still coming to Wii U. One day hopefully I'll be able to pick up a copy and play in 4k.
 
petran79

petran79

Banned
Nintendo's design philosophy is so different that even when emulated, their games feel so out of place on Windows.

From color schemes to tutorials and gameplay, Nintendo looks like an alien world.

Wii had this too, but it reached a whole new level with Wii U.

While Wii U emulation is surely exciting, I feel more familiar with the more standardised Gamecube games. I'll skip this one.
 
D

Damaniel

Banned
Dineren said:
Wow, I checked youtube for Xenoblade Chronicles X and it seems to be running pretty well. It still has issues, but looks perfectly playable.

I may need to revisit this if I feel in the mood for another playthrough next year (unless a switch version comes out with improvements).
Click to expand...

He's got it running on an older PC too (Core i5-750, though overclocked). Any recent enthusiast processor should be able to do quite a bit better. It's certainly running a lot better than it did even a couple months ago, the last time I checked.
 
jediyoshi

jediyoshi

Member
jabberwocker said:
There is an ot just starting now? I'm so confused has this not been out for a while now?
Click to expand...

It has, discussion has been lurking in the community forum
http://neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1123572&page=19

Reminder that 1.6.4 was released to the public today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pDODas_bq8
jediyoshi said:
Mario Kart 8
Super Mario 3D World
Super Smash Bros.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Yoshi's Woolly World
Bayonetta 2
Pikmin 3
Wind Waker HD
Click to expand...
 
C

Conkerkid11

Member
Wow, pretty much every exclusive I own is in a playable state. Did this emulator go through a ton of improvements since I last saw it, or does their definition of playable require an incredibly high spec computer?
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
As someone who has a Wii U and isn't super interested in emulating stuff just yet, I am curious as to what they do about the gamepad. So what do they do?
 
jediyoshi

jediyoshi

Member
Stumpokapow said:
As someone who has a Wii U and isn't super interested in emulating stuff just yet, I am curious as to what they do about the gamepad. So what do they do?
Click to expand...

A ton of games end up mirroring the TV to the gamepad, so it's not a big issue. Otherwise it's tab to view the gamepad, ctrl+tab to toggle. Mouse click to touch. You're always able to click on the screen so you won't even need to swap views (in mirrored games) to interact with the touch parts. No ability to separate the screens at the moment.

Conkerkid11 said:
Wow, pretty much every exclusive I own is in a playable state. Did this emulator go through a ton of improvements since I last saw it, or does their definition of playable require an incredibly high spec computer?
Click to expand...

Tons of improvement once they got their recompiler in. My computer has a 7 year old CPU (4ghz OC) and it's running all playable games fine.
 
M

Mohasus

Member
jediyoshi said:
A ton of games end up mirroring the TV to the gamepad, so it's not a big issue. Otherwise it's tab to view the gamepad, ctrl+tab to toggle. Mouse click to touch. You're always able to click on the screen so you won't even need to swap views (in mirrored games) to interact with the touch parts. No ability to separate the screens at the moment.
Click to expand...
BUT HOW DO YOU BLOW YOUR MONITOR?? (they probably just added a button for that, right?)
 
M

MarionCB

Member
Oh, I'm surprised you can rip the games on your Wii U that you bought digitally. Awesome.

I was regretting getting Wonderful 101 that way.
 
jediyoshi

jediyoshi

Member
Mohasus said:
BUT HOW DO YOU BLOW YOUR MONITOR?? (they probably just added a button for that, right?)
Click to expand...

They did! Though if you have an xbox controller you'll have to give up something like one of the stick click buttons to bind to it. Can't use multiple devices for a single emulated controller.
 
H

heringer

Member
Considering you can't change the internal resolution yet, it's a bit pointless for general use. However, the progress is mighty impressive still. I tried New Super Mario Bros U and its completely playable.
 
P

PetriP-TNT

Member
Stumpokapow said:
As someone who has a Wii U and isn't super interested in emulating stuff just yet, I am curious as to what they do about the gamepad. So what do they do?
Click to expand...

jediyoshi answered the question already, but I have been playing Wii games with Steam Controller as of late and it's pretty much amazing. I never really loved pointer controls and always have hated waggle, but with Steam Controllers amazing customisation things I have even learned to love some of the gimmicks. For example I mapped the left hand pad as a toggle for waggle controls and it's now super confortable to move Mario with the bird or the ball in Super Mario Galaxy 2. If one wants the waggle, I think you can do that too. The touch pad is a perfect companion for the pointer and I never have to lift my fingers into weird positions. Haven't tried Cemu yet but I think it would be super easy to map the controller to the "screen on screen" scenario too.
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
The emulator is not matured but some "target" games are pretty much perfect. After 1.6.3 games like Mario Kart and Toad Treasure Tracker look just like the real thing.
 
Blam

Blam

Member
I love how fast this emulator has progressed it's really great.

I'm probably gonna have to try 1.6.4 to see if my CPU stops hitching on it.
 
S

Seik

Banned
Oh, good idea OP!

I don't know why it didn't even cross my mind to make an OT.

Proud patreon of their project, they make progress tremendously fast!

heringer said:
Considering you can't change the internal resolution yet, it's a bit pointless for general use. However, the progress is mighty impressive still. I tried New Super Mario Bros U and its completely playable.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they mentioned it was a hard task because, contrary to the Wii/Dolphin who has to deal with all-480p games, the Wii U deals with resolution on a per-software basis. So changing intenal res. imply dealing with each game's codes individually.
 
B

BadWolf

Member
Bayo 2, Xenoblade and W101 are the only games that interest me from WiiU's library, looking forward to when they will work well enough to play from start to finish.
 
M

manakel

Member
I just downloaded this yesterday, so I'm glad to see an OT today! I wasn't expecting this to run well at all, so my mind was absolutely blown playing New Super Mario Bros. U in full 60fps. It runs perfectly aside from the occasional stutter here and there.
 
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