Legends of Zelda: Wind Waker for the PC

Thanks to emulators it is possible to play classics like the game "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" on the PC. In this practical tip, we explain what you need and how to use the software you need.

Legend of Zelda for PC - you need it

In order to play "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" on a PC, you need the Dolphin emulator and the game as an .ISO file or original GameCube disk.

• Emulators are not illegal, but copies of the games that are needed are. So if you want to play "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" on PC, you need the original GameCube game. However, you must be aware that not every drive recognizes the special GameCube discs.
• If this is the case, you can alternatively try whether a friend's drive recognizes the game and create an .ISO file of the game.

Download and install the Dolphin emulator

The Dolphin emulator is an open source project that is constantly updated and allows GameCube and Wii games to be played on a PC. The special thing about the Dolphin emulator is that - depending on the performance of your PC - games can be displayed with higher resolution and additional effects. In this way, the games on the PC usually look better than would be possible on the console.

• First download the current version of the Dolphin emulator.
• Unzip the downloaded .zip file in a directory of your choice.
• In the directory you will find an executable .exe file with which you can install the Dolphin emulator.
• Select German as the language and follow the further instructions until the emulator has been installed.

Adjust the settings of the emulator

As soon as the Dolphin emulator is installed, it is basically ready for use. Before you start your game, however, there are a few settings to choose from.

• If you are using an .ISO file, you can use the "File" tab under the "Search for ISOs ..." menu item to specify a directory in which you can store your games collectively.
• In addition, you should adapt the control to your wishes. You can do this using the "GCPad" screen. Here you can assign mouse and keyboard keys to the buttons on the GameCube controller. The best way to play is a GamePad for your PC, which you can also configure in the Dolphin emulator.

Legend of Zelda - Start the game

If you are using an .ISO file and have set a directory as in the previous paragraph, the game should already appear in the emulator's list.

• Select the .ISO and then the Start button. Be patient: the game may take a few seconds to start up.
• If you want to play the game from the original disc, you can do so via the "File" tab and then "Start from DVD drive ...". Simply select the drive in which the game is located and then click on Start.
• If the game is only playing back and forth, you should experiment with the settings under the "Graphics" button and set them as low as possible. The emulation is very expensive and does not work equally well on every PC.

Basically, you can do the same with any other GameCube or Wii game as described here. However, please note that the Dolphin emulator cannot play every game correctly or that better hardware capacities are required. If you want to play old Gameboy Advance games on your PC, you can also use an emulator.