Progress Continues We've already had 14259 updates since Dolphin 5.0. Keep up with Dolphin's continuing progress through the Dolphin Blog: February and March 2021 Progress Report. |
I know a lot of Wii-U owners have always wanted to be able to use a USB port for a hard drive to backup and load their favorite games or homebrew. For quite a while we have only been able to use the SD card to load homebrew and backups on the Wii-U, which is fine since you can a get big SD cards pretty cheap these days, but now USB loading is. Once installed, users can access the channel from the Wii System Menu just like any other Wii channel. It can launch or install homebrew applications from an SD or SDHC card or via TCP/USB Gecko using Wiiload.
Prerequisite Steps. Download and install WAD Manager. Create a “/wad” folder on your SD.
The Dolphin Emulator Wiki needs your help! Dolphin can play thousands of games, and changes are happening all the time. Help us keep up! Join in and help us make this the best resource for Dolphin. |
This page explains how to rip GameCube and Wii games and/or saves to be used on Dolphin. Ripping games and saves using a Wii or Wii U console will require you to have homebrew software installed. See Homebrew Channel for instructions on how to use it, and see Homebrew setup for installation instructions. The term 'vWii' means a Wii U console running in Wii mode.
- 2Ripping Discs Using CleanRip
- 5Retrieving Game Saves
Ripping Discs Using a Computer
Certain old models of PC DVD drives are able to rip game discs with Rawdump or Friidump.
It's generally easier and faster to rip game discs via a Wii console, if you have one:
Ripping Discs Using CleanRip
CleanRip can rip a game disc to an SD card or an external USB storage device. It requires your Wii or vWii system to have the Homebrew Channel.
GameCube Discs
No GameCube titles take up more than 1.36 GiB (Gibibyte, or 10243 bytes). It's generally a good idea to set Chunk Size to max, so that your ISO isn't split into parts. GameCube discs can store a maximum of 1.36 GiB, so the entire ISO can fit on a FAT32 drive. Simply follow the instructions on-screen and you'll be able to put the game straight from the SD card or USB drive into Dolphin.
Wii Discs
In order to rip a Wii disc, a storage device with more than 4.7 GiB of free space is recommended for single layer, 8.54 GiB for dual layer. However, by dividing the disc into chunks, an SD card with even a single gibibyte of free space is sufficient.
At the CleanRip Setup screen, set Chunk Size to 'Max', and New device per chunk to 'No' is recommended with SD cards or external USB storage devices large enough to hold the entirety of the ripped disc file at once. Otherwise, set Chunk Size to max possible ('1GB', '2GB', '3GB', or 'Max') and set New device per chunk to 'Yes' and when CleanRip is asking for the next device, remove it from the Wii and move the first or so ISO file to free up space and use it again. When all pieces have been received, check in the next subsection.
- CleanRip will split the ripped disc file with more than 4 GiB in file size regardless to fit the FAT, FAT16, or FAT32 file systems. These file systems have a max file size of 4 GiB. To remedy this, it is recommended to rip discs to a USB external NTFS formatted storage device (as Wii cannot read NTFS formatted SD cards). The NTFS file system has a theoretical max file size of 16 EiB (Exabyte), or 16,777,216GiB.
- Certain Wii discs are dual layer (or DVD9) instead of single layer (or DVD5). CleanRip will need to be configured in order to rip those kinds of discs. At the Wii Disc Ripper Setup screen, set Dual Layer to Yes. The rip will take roughly double the time than usual Wii discs of 4.38 GiB as the dual layer ISOs are 7.93 GiB in size.
Joining Split Files
A disc image in split parts will need to be joined before dolphin can read it. A simple command from command prompt and terminal can do it! Use the example command for your system. Use the 'cd' command to change directory to the file's location. The example command assumes CleanRip's 'GAMEID.part#.iso' filename nomenclature, and creates 'GAMEID.iso'. The part files can be deleted after the joined file is created.
Windows | Linux / macOS |
Ripping Discs Using USB Loader GX
A Wii or vWii with the latest version of USB Loader GX and certain cIOS (such as d2x-cios) installed can rip Wii game discs. The Wii system may also be able to rip GameCube game discs as long as DIOS MIOS is installed. Wiis sold after late 2011 and Wii Us lack the GameCube controller and memory card ports, and can make no use of DIOS MIOS. CleanRip is recommended over USB Loader GX for not requiring any cIOS and it does not leave out any data when ripping (USB Loader GX leaves out unused data).
The USB Loader GX will ask the user two options when inserting a game disc: Install or Mount DVD drive; choose 'Install'. It will begin the ripping process to the storage device:
- For Wii: X:wbfsGAMEID_*GAMEID.wbfs (and GAMEID.wbf1 as continuation file, if source is over 4,194,272 KiB)
- Dolphin build version 3.5 and later can accept Wii games in WBFS format.
- For GameCube: X:games* [GAMEID]game.iso (NOTE: file system must be FAT32)
Exporting Wii Channels
In order to turn a channel installed on a Wii or vWii into a WAD file that can be played in Dolphin, follow this guide. When asked if you want to fakesign the ticket or TMD, you should press B. (Most fakesigned WAD files do work in Dolphin, but they don't work better than correctly signed WAD files, and Dolphin may show warnings about them.)
Alternatively, if you do not want to use WAD files, you can copy the whole NAND memory of a console into Dolphin by following the NAND Usage Guide. This not only copies all channels that are installed on the console, but afterwards, you can also transfer channels between the console and Dolphin by using an SD card and the Wii Menu's data management screen.
Retrieving Game Saves
GameCube Memory Card
A homebrewed Wii with GameCube memory card ports or GameCube with SD Gecko is required.
Download GameCube/Wii Memory Manager (GCMM for short) and launch it through Homebrew Channel on the Wii. It's a homebrew app that can transfer save files between a real GameCube Memory Card and an SD card. It can extract an individual save as .GCI file or dump the entire contents (RAW or batch dump .GCI files) from a real memory card to the root of SD card. For the purpose of this guide you should extract what you need for Dolphin onto the SD card. Then they should be placed into GC for Dolphin to use while emulating a game. It is also possible for the data that was created with Dolphin to be added back into the real GameCube Memory Card using GCMM and an SD card.
Wii/vWii Internal Storage
This section is for ripping individual saves to be used on Dolphin. To dump an entire Wii's internal storage for use with Dolphin, skip this section and move ahead to NAND Usage Guide.
Download SaveGame Manager GX and launch it through Homebrew Channel on the Wii or vWii. It's a homebrew app that can transfer save files between the console's internal storage and an SD card. It can extract an individual save from the Wii's internal storage for Dolphin to use. Like GCMM, it is possible for save files that were created in Dolphin to be added back to the Wii by selecting the game in Dolphin to export the Wii save into a X:privatewii[GAMEID] format, then adding it back into the real console's NAND using SaveGame Manager GX and an SD card.
Download Wii Isos to Play Nintendo Games
The first version of the Nintendo International System hit the market in 1988. It’s a high-quality 8-bit third-generation home video game console that immediately grabbed the attention of gamers from all over the world. Moreover, it commanded at the market for more than 10 years, until Playstation was released in 1996.
Play Wii Games From Usb Machine
The Nintendo Wii is a popular home video game console developed by the company. It hit the market on November 2006. It’s the seventh-generation of Nintendo consoles that had similar features as Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 had. The greatest benefit of this version is a variety of innovative features. It had convenient and responsive controllers, a hardcore processing unit and a super graphic display. Thanks to all these options, the gaming experience was more immersive. The Wii included the Remote controller, which could perform two actions simultaneously: it was used as a handheld pointing device in games and the tool that could detect movements in three dimensions. This achievement also provided players with an opportunity to use absolutely different Nintendo accessories. All in all, the Nintendo Wii was much more than the most popular game console; it saturated the whole market and had more users than Xbox and PS2.
Today, you can’t buy it, but you still can enjoy the gameplay because all the Wii games can be transformed into Nintendo Wii ISOs (or ROM files). The key mission of the Wii ROMs is to open the door to retro gaming. If you want to enjoy all these games, you can access them on your personal computer or laptop with the help of ROMs. They work as the latest versions of old cartridges that were used for playing on popular consoles. Today, Wii ISO downloads are available on a variety of websites. You can install them and play your favorite Wii console game on any device.
Best Wii Roms Games
It goes without saying that Nintendo Wii games remained in the hearts of millions of gamers. But thanks to emulators and ROMs, you can still enjoy playing them. Today, the choice is broad; a lot depends on your preferences. Here’s the list of the most widely used Wii ROMS:
Super Smash Bros Brawl;
New Super Mario Bros;
Mario Kart Wii;
Super Mario Galaxy;
Super Mario Galaxy 2;
Xenoblade Chronicles;
The Legend of Zelda.
Newbies and hardcore gamers will always find something special while playing them.
Nintendo Emulator Games
ROM files and emulators can’t work without each other. After you download the appropriate ROM file, you have to choose the emulator. Otherwise, you won’t be able to enjoy the downloaded game. The main goal of an emulator is to mimic the play on your device. However, not all emulators can open all the games. When browsing the web, you’ll find a variety of great options but the most popular of them support Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 64, or GameCube. Let’s review the best Nintendo emulators that allow you to play retro games with ease.
Dolphin emulator for playing Wii ISO
When analyzing all the similar tools, we can say that this one has a high rating among users. It has a high performance and can run well without any glitches. It runs the 6 and 7th generation consoles. Dolphin emulator is a superb tool that enables you to enjoy games on your device.
Moreover, the games look even better than they look on a console. Dolphin runs best on a 3 GHz or better dual-core processor. The graphics card should support the latest versions of OpenGL and DirectX. Integrated graphics cards aren’t recommended to use. Even if you have a powerful CPU and an integrated graphics card, you can play and achieve the same speeds by changing the settings. With Dolphin emulator, you can play tons of Nintendo games. Users also have access to the Shop Channel - a worthy tool where you can download games and earn more points.
Nostalgia.NES for Wii Iso Downloads
The main distinctive feature of this emulator is its compatibility with a variety of games. To enjoy the gameplay you only need to connect your computer and other WiFi supported devices and start playing together with others on the network. First, you need to download ISOs on your device and the emulator will find the game and let you play it. The greatest benefit of the emulator is that it provides players with high-definition experience and a bright modern interface. In addition, players can save the process at any stage, and rewind the game if you make a mistake.
Snes9x EX+from Wii Iso download site
This is another emulator that supports Nintendo games. It includes a number of free games and allows you to download the required games in ROM or ZIP format. The main reason why players choose it is the support for multiplayer gaming. Moreover, you can also play in landscape and portrait modes. It has high-quality graphics, clear interface, and high performance. Simply put, the tool provides you with fascinating gaming experience on a variety of devices.
Platforms That Support Nintendo Wii ROMs
Before you finally choose and install the emulator, you need to make sure it is compatible with your operating system. Let’s move on to discussing this issue in greater detail:
Windows
The majority of emulators that you can find online are compatible with Windows. So you can play your favorite Nintendo ROMs on any Windows operating system. The most widely used items for Windows are:
How To Play Wii Games From Usb Mac
SNES9x Emulator
Emu Paradise Emulator
Dolphin
RetroArch
Android
The majority of emulators that allow you to play your favorite Nintendo ROMs are available on Google Play Store. Before you download them, make sure it supports your Android version. Items that have the highest rating among users are as follows:
Dolphin
Snes9x EX+
Emu Paradise Emulator
RetroArch
Citra 3Ds
Mac OS
The below-listed emulators are compatible with Mac OS:
Dolphin
Open Emu Emulator
Citra 3CD
3DS
Snes9x EX+
RetroArch
Linux
With the below-listed emulators, you can jump into a fascinating world of your favorite Nintendo games:
Play Wii Games From Usb Mac
Emu Paradise emulator
Dolphin
SNEX9x
RetroArch
Citra 3Ds
Play Wii Games From Usb Macro
Download the emulator, your favorite ROMs and immerse yourself in the gameplay!
Comments are closed.