How to play Pokemon Legends Arceus on PC?

Pokemon Legends: Arceus will launch only on the Nintendo Switch. Most Pokemon games are not supported beyond Nintendo Switch. Some successful Pokemon games like Pokemon Go and Pokemon Unite were announced for both Nintendo Switch and the mobile platforms: Android and iOS. However, Arceus will not have the same fate. The upcoming Pokemon-based action RPG is anticipated to serve as a precursor to the popular Pokemon Sword and Shield.

With the backdrop featuring the Sinnoh region, players will have a lot to explore in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. However, only Nintendo Switch owners will have access to this video game. This isn’t fair as not everyone owns a Switch. To end this issue, we are here with an article of your help. It is impossible to play the game on consoles like PlayStation and Xbox unless Nintendo decides to release a dedicated version. But, this idea seems very far-fetched. However, if you own a PC, you can actually play Pokemon Legends: Arceus on it. Keep reading to know how to.

How to play Pokemon Legends Arceus on PC?

Pokemon Legends: Arceus will release on January 28, 2022, according to the latest updates. The video game will be available for all Nintendo Switch owners. However, if you want to play the game on PC, you can use emulators. But, peeps using emulators for Pokemon Games in the past have faced bans, according to reports. However, if Pokemon Legends: Arceus is not an online game entirely, the chances of a ban are less. Want to try out Pokemon Legends: Arceus on PC? Here’s what you need.

You will have to download a Nintendo Switch Emulator on your PC to play Pokemon Legends: Arceus. We are listing a few emulators you can try.

1. Yuzu Emulator. It is a free-to-download emulator for Nintendo Switch for Windows and Linux Platforms. Gamers can easily download the Pokemon Legends: Arceus Nintendo Switch version on PC using Yuzu and experience lag-free gaming.
2. Ryujinx Emulator: Ryujinx is a licensed open-source software under MIT and can provide a decent experience of Nintendo Switch gaming. Ryujinx is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.
3. Cemu Emulator: This is a great choice for an emulator but only supports a few Switch games. We will have to see whether it supports Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Note: We will have to wait until the release of Pokemon Legends: Arceus to check the game’s playability on PC using any of the above emulators. 

How to play Pokemon Legends: Arceus on PC using Yuzu Emulator?

The steps to download and set up the Yuzu emulator are listed down.

1. The Yuzu Emulator requires you to download a dependency: Microsoft Visual C++. Download the same from here
2. Download the Yuzu emulator software from here
3. Install Yuzu and open the program.
4. You will need to download some extra files after this from this link.
5. Open the zip file to unveil two folders: keys and Contents.
6. Go to Yuzu, and click on File. Click on “Open yuzu Folder.”
7. Drag the “keys” folder in the yuzu Folder.
8. Then open the “nand” folder. Go to “System.” And then, drag the “Contents” folder from the downloaded extra files to the System folder.
9. Close the folder windows.
10. You are now ready to download and play games on Yuzu.
11. Go to google and search for the game’s nsp or xci file. The file should be of nsp or xci type.
12. Once you download the game, drag it to the yuzu emulator window.
13. The game will start!

Follow the steps above if you decide to use Yuzu to play Pokemon Legends: Arceus on PC. However, using emulators can cause lags in the game and a bad experience overall. You will have to configure the Yuzu Emulator to ensure a proper and lag-free gaming experience. Here’s how to configure the Yuzu Emulator before playing Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

1. Click on the emulation menu in Yuzu and select the configure option.
2. Now, head to the general tab, and uncheck “Enable Multicore Emulation”.
3. Next, you will have to head to the Graphics sub-menu and uncheck “Use Asynchronous Emulation” under Graphics settings.
4. Under the same graphics submenu, update your API settings as mentioned below.
   API: Select OpenGL for Nvidia Cards & Vulkan for AMD cards.
5. Next, you need to configure your in-game controls by clicking on the Controls sub-menu. Select Dual Joycons as controllers and select Keyboard/mouse from the input device. After this, select keybinds as per your requirements.

That’s it. You will now be able to play Pokemon Legends: Arceus on PC lag-free with Yuzu Emulator.