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[IbizaPocholo]

One of the exclusive features of the Nintendo Switch 2 is the addition of GameCube Emulation to the NSO service. Initial impressions are positive, and will satisfy most fans of the GameCube, however after several hours of playtime it becomes obvious that problems exist, and improvements are needed. The emulation is solid but the experience as it stands isn't great. From input lag, incorrect analog sensitivity, performance and average online networking, in this episode we breakdown all the good, and bad with the GameCube NSO service. Hopefully Nintendo can address one of more of these in upcoming revisions. Please Enjoy!

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction
02:11 - Input Lag Issues
05:24 - Analog Sensitivity
08:17 - Performance Issues
09:29 - Online Performance
12:12 - Conclusion

 

[bender]

He should collab with Mark from The Electric Underground to measure input lag as he does have the tools to measure that and that's the type of stuff he loves talking about. Switch 2 having greater input lag isn't surprising as the Switch 1 typically had a frame or two more input lag than other consoles/PC for like titles. Hopefully the dead zone stuff gets sorted out.

I've been pretty happy with the emulation performance. It's a big reason I bought a Steam Deck when it launched and was disappointed in how games like F-Zero and Eternal Darkness performed (ED's performance is so bad that it's basically unplayable).

I've only tried out online once with Soul Calibur and only with one other player. The performance was terrible for 30 seconds and then it ran fine for bout 25 matches. I must be an outlier as I know Maximillian complained about this too.

 

[adamsapple]

Which is a shame, as alternates like Dolphin are arguably one of the best emulators ever, incredibly well optimized and can run even on phones.

 

[KenaiPhoenix]

I think the only good thing about the Game Cube on the Switch 2, is the controller. Now we can plug it on emulators that works better and doesnt require a subscription or just gaming in general. I dont think this is a hot take, but I personally like the layout of the GC controller.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Reports of added input latency while using Switch 2's GameCube emulator have spurred us on to do some testing. Next to original GameCube hardware we can confirm that Switch 2 adds latency while emulating the same games - notably in the likes of F-Zero GX. Tom takes point in nailing the exact latency measurements, while also offering a fresh look at frame-rate performance across all four GameCube classics released so far.

00:00 Introduction
01:11 Latency Tests
05:26 Analogue Stick Issues
06:26 Frame Drop Issue on Switch 2
07:43 Switch 2 vs GameCube Comparison
09:27 Performance Improvements
12:17 Conclusion

 

[tr1p1ex]

Works great. No complaints except early on Wind Waker on the tv gave me a headache.

Better now but maybe I developed
some sea legs.

Played a few games of Strikers and seemed
nice and crisp and fluid and responsive.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

Better on OG hardware or PC, but please, pay Nintendo a subscription to play their classic games they won't let you own and they play worse!

 

[Robb]

I've been having a lot of fun with this. GC is definitely my favorite addition to NSO thus far. I don't think most people will notice the issues brought up, I haven't at least. That said, any improvements are welcome.

Personally, my biggest issue with it are the black boarders. I really wish they'd adapt the games for full screen on a modern TV's.

 

[spons]

What's the technical reason for additional input lag on an emulator like this? I've never heard about anything like that on PC.

 

[KloetenQuetsche]

MiSTer!

 

[Physiognomonics]

in summary, it's awful. 50ms added latency, stick badly calibrated, and a frame drop every 15 seconds or so.

 

[KuraiShidosha]

What's the technical reason for additional input lag on an emulator like this? I've never heard about anything like that on PC.

Every emulator, to my knowledge, has worse input lag than native hardware. Even the best ones don't match the actual consoles. There are some that get close by doing stupidly overkill methods called runahead where the emulator is constantly internally processing multiple frames into the future assuming you make various button presses at any given moment, then when you actually do press a certain button the emulator dynamically switches in those specific frames. It's a brute force method of rendering the future ahead of time and is only possible with very old 2D systems. Dolphin put in a lot of work to get close to native input latency but I believe even they're behind by some milliseconds. It's the nature of the beast when you're dealing with an operating system, drivers, gaming APIs, and programming languages just to generate something that looks and plays like a console game. It's a lot of overhead to overcome.

 

[Xbox 360 slim]

Lmfao, it's sk funny seeing Sony and Nintendo fuck around with dogshit emulators. When some fans on PC can get PS2 games running on android phones. Say what you want about Xbox. But they got 360 games to run on a 2012 laptop CPU.

 

[The_Mike]

Nintendo releasing some half assed feature.

More news at eleven

 

[Xion_Stellar]

in summary, it's awful. 50ms added latency, stick badly calibrated, and a frame drop every 15 seconds or so.

Don't forget get that there's no GBA connectivity either.

Plugging a GBA with a GameCube to GBA cable while using a GameCube controller adapter doesn't let you use the Tingle Tuner in the Legend of Zelda Wind Waker the game doesn't recognize a GBA being plugged in.

 

[Fake]

What's the technical reason for additional input lag on an emulator like this? I've never heard about anything like that on PC.

Maybe v-sync.

 

[ReBurn]

I'm glad I can blame the emulation for me constantly hitting the walls in F-Zero.

 

[Killer8]

Fans will always do it better than Nintendo (and Sony).

 

[Raven77]

The much bigger issue is that certain games like wind waker have visual effects that are just completely removed in the emulation.

The bloom effect in particular, which I normally don't like, gave the game a distinct sunny look. Considering you're on an island the entire game it really fit well.

Now it's gone and the game just looks like crap.

 

[Variahunter]

The much bigger issue is that certain games like wind waker have visual effects that are just completely removed in the emulation.

The bloom effect in particular, which I normally don't like, gave the game a distinct sunny look. Considering you're on an island the entire game it really fit well.

Now it's gone and the game just looks like crap.

lol bloom effect wasn't in the original on GameCube… it was on the remaster on Wii U.

 

[TintoConCasera]

The much bigger issue is that certain games like wind waker have visual effects that are just completely removed in the emulation.

The bloom effect in particular, which I normally don't like, gave the game a distinct sunny look. Considering you're on an island the entire game it really fit well.

Now it's gone and the game just looks like crap.

You sure that bloom effect was in the original game? Because I believe it was introduced in the Wii U remaster.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

No excuse for any gamecube games to have the black borders. Wind Waker is the only one at the moment i believe and it would benefit the most from not having them

 

[bender]

You sure that bloom effect was in the original game? Because I believe it was introduced in the Wii U remaster.

People did complain a lot about the bloom effect in the remaster being overused.

 

[SamuraiEdge]

The much bigger issue is that certain games like wind waker have visual effects that are just completely removed in the emulation.

The bloom effect in particular, which I normally don't like, gave the game a distinct sunny look. Considering you're on an island the entire game it really fit well.

Now it's gone and the game just looks like crap.

You baiting? lol

Was only in the HD version of the Wii U. Can easily play this on Cemu via PC.

GameCube emulation thus far doesn't sound too good, and I'm not getting confident that Metroid Prime 2 will be done justice.

 

[Raven77]

You guys are right, the bloom was added in the remaster. My bad.

 

[lifa-cobex]

Nintendo consumers....

 

[poppabk]

Every emulator, to my knowledge, has worse input lag than native hardware. Even the best ones don't match the actual consoles. There are some that get close by doing stupidly overkill methods called runahead where the emulator is constantly internally processing multiple frames into the future assuming you make various button presses at any given moment, then when you actually do press a certain button the emulator dynamically switches in those specific frames. It's a brute force method of rendering the future ahead of time and is only possible with very old 2D systems. Dolphin put in a lot of work to get close to native input latency but I believe even they're behind by some milliseconds. It's the nature of the beast when you're dealing with an operating system, drivers, gaming APIs, and programming languages just to generate something that looks and plays like a console game. It's a lot of overhead to overcome.

Im not sure this is true at all. The further you go back in console generations the more likely it is to be true though.

 

[bender]

Played a bunch of Mario Strikers online with buddy the past few weekends. Unlike the previous titles on NSO, I'd never played it before. Similarly to SC2, the first 20-30 seconds you can feel noticeable lag, but then it runs fine afterwards.

 

[Drew1440]

Which is a shame, as alternates like Dolphin are arguably one of the best emulators ever, incredibly well optimized and can run even on phones.

Generally they work fine for Nintendo games, but many third party titles still run into compatibility or performance issues. Quite often it's preferred to emulate the PS2 port of the game if that exists.