Forget having to Switch, here's what Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks like in 4K on PC

By Rich Edmonds
published

Developers of the CEMU Wii U emulator on PC have updated their solution to support Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the latest title in the series is now playable thanks to many of the bugs and issues have been ironed out. The best part is it's possible to enjoy Zelda at resolutions of up to 4K. YouTube channel YamGaming made some changes to the emulator's configuration to achieve the stunning result.

As noted by VentureBeat, the number of frames per second (FPS) are reported to be low for the most part, though the experience is one that is stable enough to enjoy. And to enjoy Zelda at 4K, you'll need to be packing some serious heat inside the case. Intel Core i7 and a GTX 1070 at the very least.

Of course, Windows Central doesn't condone the use of emulation software, nor do we recommend you download CEMU and Zelda: BotW. That said, should you already own the game and decide to extract said files onto your PC, you would not be harming the financial sales of Nintendo. At any rate, YamGaming supplied all the information you need in the video description to get started.

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

23 Comments
  • Nintendo's IP way more valuable than its hardware or ecosystem.
  • I agree with that--their IP catalog is, by far, the most valuable in the industry. That said, I do appreciate Nintendo as being pretty much the only hardware maker left doing anything innovative: the Wii, the DS, the 3DS, and the Switch all push the bar in unique ways in an otherwise stale industry of isomorphism (i.e. Playstation and Xbox aping each other). I laud that.
  • Add Oculus and possibly the hololens for innovation in gaming.
  • Not everyone can even use the oculus, and some that can have a seriously small time limit imposed on that (biology). The holo lens could be pretty cool, but augmented reality has it's place, and I'm not 100% sure yet it's in some of the more hardcore games. I don't have one, and sadly have not had the chance to use it, so I'm guessing based on what I've seen, but I'll reserve judgement until I can get my hands on it.
  • CEMU is great. Buying the WiiU games and then play the ROMs in 4k with a stable 60fps is awesome. Especially games like Mario Kart 8.
  • Buying? Ha ha ha. I got from torrent and loaded it in CEMU. Works fine. I got bored of the game less than an hour. Deleting it.
  • You're so hardcore. /s
  • Loved your last paragraph! xD
  • Two years ago my Wii was ready to die. I was able to transfer my games onto a card and I purchased a Wii U to replace my Wii. Now that BotW is available on the Wii U and Switch, I decieded to get it for the Wii U and wait for a bundle for the Switch and get at least 1 game with it. Now I need to find a GameCube or older Wii (non-slim) to play my GC games. As a gamer of all types (PC, Console, Phone), I'm glad Nintendo went in the direction that they did. The Switch is what the Wii U should have been.
  • One of the Beam moderators threatened to ban me during Saturday's stream just for mentioning emulating Breath of the Wild, even after I explained that I already owned the game. Now here's an article about it...
  • Technically it's in every game terms that copying of the content in any way is not on. You don't own the game you purchase you merely own a license to play it. Not that anyone will ever actually charge some random dude emulating his own games because it would be a waste of time and resources.
  • What was their wording?
  • Nintendo finacial is tide to selling console and games. All their stakeholders depend on this very function including Beam which Nintendo could be one of their sponsors. For me, i really despise people that pirate console and game like Kadcidxa Kadcidxa, no body care why you like a game or not but I think Nintendo would very much like to reward you with a free orange suit for doing them such disservice.
  • This game already has an incredible art style, so a bump in res wouldn't hurt.
  • Has everyone forgotten Sony Computer Entertainment America v. Bleem way back in 2000? I was very into the emulation scene at the time so I remember it clearly. According to Wikipedia (so we don't have to rely on my memory), "According to all legal precedents, emulation is legal within the United States. However, unauthorized distribution of copyrighted code remains illegal, according to both country-specific copyright and international copyright law under the Berne Convention." Buying the game should cover you legally to emulate it (for the record, I'm not giving legal advice, but personal opionon as a complete layman) Source
  • I still have a copy of Bleem!
  • "Windows Central doesn't condone the use of emulation software, nor do we recommend you download CEMU and Zelda: BotW." Yet you wrote the story.
  • It's kind of like when the news reports on someone getting killed?  Guess they condone that too?
  • Didya even read the title of this article?? Let me paraphrase it for you: "Don't even bother going out and legitimately purchasing Nintendo Hardware. Consider running BOTW on your PC because look at how wonderful it is in 4k!".
    Gikari's point is valid.
    Even despite the desperate and downright silly 'gotta add this in to protect ourselves legally' last paragraph of the article, the wording throughout the entire article clearly infers that this practice is condoned. "That said, should you already own the game and decide to extract said files onto your PC, you would not be harming the financial sales of Nintendo." Right.... So Joe Shmoe can just go out and buy BOTW, then use the emulator to 'enjoy' (as is stated multiple times in the article) playing the game on PC. and doing so does not harm Nintendo's financial sales.. at.. all. There's some logic.. I love Windows Central, but some of the articles lately are ludicrous.
  • Yeah, makes sense. Wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.
  • Looks the same on my 1024x768 monitor at 16 colors.. :D
  • I played through the Wii U version and enjoyed myself. Definitely one of the best RPG games I've ever played. I'm finally ready to say that I like BotW more than ALTTP too. All this Cemu progress makes me want to play through the game again using the power of my PC. I wish Nintendo would exit the hardware business and focus on software. I'd much rather play their software on my PC than Nintendo's next console gimmick.
  • How come there is a Wii u emulator, but not an Xbox one or ps4 emulator, when it's sooo much harder to emulate the Wii u