Dolphin

Dolphin emulates the GameCube and the Wii, and it's one of the most polished emulators out there. Good news: no BIOS is required.

1. Installation

1. Download the stable version or a beta from the project's official website.
2. On first launch, add your games folder via Settings → Paths.

2. Game formats

• RVZ — Dolphin's own format, losslessly compressed. It's the best choice: a 4.7 GB Wii game often drops below 1.5 GB.
• .iso, .gcm, .wbfs, .ciso and .gcz also work. NKit images must be reconverted before use.
• You can convert any ISO to RVZ from within Dolphin: right-click the game → Convert File.

3. Recommended settings

• Graphics backend: Vulkan (or Direct3D 12 on Windows).
• Internal resolution: 1080p or 1440p. GameCube games handle the resolution boost very well.
• Asynchronous shader compilation: enabled — removes stutter during the first minutes of gameplay.
• For the Wii, set up your controller under Controllers → Emulated Wiimote.

4. Not working?

• Stuttering at first, then it settles down → normal, that's shader compilation. Enable asynchronous mode.
• Wii game refuses to start → some titles require the Wii Menu installed via NAND. Check the game's compatibility page.