That’s why many fans are suddenly finding themselves asking “Is it legal to play Tears of the Kingdom through an emulator?” The answer is a very complicated “Yes, but…” As we’ve previously discussed, emulation has long existed in a legal grey area. I highly recommend you read as much as possible regarding the legality of specific emulation techniques, but the basics are pretty simple. Emulation technology itself is often legal. However, downloading, sharing, and playing certain ROM files can be illegal. Did you download a Tears of the Kingdom ROM file without buying and uploading the game yourself? That’s probably illegal. Did you buy the game, upload it, and then play it through an emulator? Theoretically, you should be fine.
However, that situation became more complicated recently when Nintendo started going after certain Switch emulators following Tears of the Kingdom‘s pre-release leaks. Now, some Switch emulator makers are halting or stopping the development of their technology due to new legal concerns. Those concerns have prompted new, similar concerns regarding how safe the entire process is from a user perspective. While the basics of emulation legality seem to remain the same, those looking to play Tears of the Kingdom through an emulator (especially if they’re looking to stream or uploaded that emulated footage) are now rightfully a bit more worried than they previously were.
Again, you should research this topic thoroughly before you decide to play Tears of the Kingdom via an emulator. Those following the right guidelines should be fine, but we’re again talking about a historically complicated subject. You want to feel comfortable before you ever walk down that path, and some will feel better if they simply stick to the most official means possible.
At the moment, though, more people are simply wondering if Tears of the Kingdom‘s graphics and performance are so bad that you basically need to play via an emulator. To that, I’d say “No.”
It’s incredibly disappointing that Nintendo hasn’t released an upgraded version of the base Switch hardware (aside from the Switch OLED, of course). It’s slightly disappointing that one of the biggest games of 2023 looks and performs strangely similar to a 2017 title. However, take the complaints you hear about the game’s graphics and performance wiht a grain of salt. A lot of them are coming from gamers who are coming to Tears of the Kingdom after playing high-end modern titles, and they’re judging the game on that basis.
Their criticism are valid, but it’s kind of like saying that the CGI in a 2023 movie looks better than the CGI in a 2003 movie. It’s probably a technically accurate observation, but it doesn’t tell you the full story of the quality of the individual movies. If that information does tell you all you need to know about the quality of those things…well, then you probably also already know whether an emulator is for you.