If you’ve been diving into Nintendo Switch emulation in 2025, you’re likely overwhelmed by the number of forks and updates constantly floating around. With official support for projects like Yuzu and Ryujinx either halted or inconsistent, many community-driven forks have taken over. But with so many options—Kenji-NX, Ryubing, Eden, Citron, Torzu, Sudachi—how do you know which one to choose?
Today, we’re putting these emulators to the test. Not just in terms of game compatibility, but raw performance, stability, and overall experience under identical hardware. From the demanding Pokémon Scarlet and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to tricky Unreal Engine titles like Mortal Kombat and No Man’s Sky, this guide will help you decide the right emulator for your PC and your favorite games.
Let’s break everything down step by step and explore where each emulator shines—and where they fall short.
⚔️ Part 1: Ryujinx Forks – Kenji-NX vs. Ryubing
Let’s begin with the Ryujinx family. Ryujinx is known for its excellent compatibility and accuracy, but many of its forks aim to push the performance envelope even further.
Two major forks dominate the scene:
- Kenji-NX: Aimed at continuity and stability. The devs focus on community engagement and gradual improvements.
- Ryubing: A performance powerhouse, especially for high-end systems. However, it suffers from community issues like toxic support and restrictive help policies.
🔍 Testing Games on Ryujinx Forks
We ran 6 games to see how each fork handles real-world performance and compatibility:
- Bayonetta 3
- Kenji-NX: Failed to launch.
- Ryubing: 220 FPS on high-end hardware, but cutscenes suffer from major desynchronization, killing immersion.
- Pokémon Scarlet
- Both emulators ran it, but Ryubing had a slight edge (~10 FPS advantage).
- In real-world gaming, that difference is minor.
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Kenji-NX crashed every time.
- Ryubing worked fine. Likely configuration or mod issue with Kenji-NX.
- Mortal Kombat 1 (Unreal Engine)
- Both emulators ran it.
- Kenji-NX had gameplay freezes during X-Ray attacks.
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Both emulators handled it well with no significant issues.
- No Man’s Sky
- Ryubing showed much better stability and a 15 FPS average boost over Kenji-NX.
🏆 Ryujinx Fork Winner: Ryubing
Pros:
- Best FPS across titles
- More consistent performance
Cons:
- Toxic community support
- Canary version (latest) may cause compatibility issues — stick to stable
Recommendation: Use Ryubing’s stable build for best performance, especially if your PC is high-end. Looking for more ways to expand your emulation experience? Be sure to check out our comprehensive guide on setting up the final official Yuzu Emulator on Android for a powerful mobile alternative. It’s also crucial to stay safe from scams, so we highly recommend reading our expose on the truth about fake Nintendo Switch 2 emulators to avoid hype and potential malware. And once you’ve mastered Switch emulation, explore the wider world of retro gaming with our detailed tier list of the best 3D console emulators of 2025.
🎮 Part 2: Yuzu Forks – Eden, Citron, Torzu, and Sudachi
Now, let’s switch gears to Yuzu-based forks. These emulators tend to offer smoother shader compilation and often better cutscene syncing.
Key Yuzu Forks in 2025:
- Sudachi – High performance, best graphical fidelity, fewer lighting bugs.
- Eden – Pre-alpha state but promising.
- Citron – Decent performance but poor update frequency.
- Torzu – Surprisingly fast, but inconsistent rendering.
Let’s walk through how they perform in key game tests.
🔍 Testing Games on Yuzu Forks
- Bayonetta 3
- Sudachi came out on top in FPS (14 FPS more than Torzu).
- However, cutscene delays were prominent in Citron and Sudachi.
- Pokémon Scarlet
- Near tie among Sudachi, Eden, and Citron.
- Vertex explosions can be fixed with configuration tweaks.
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- All Yuzu forks ran it successfully.
- Surprisingly consistent results across all.
- Mortal Kombat 1
- All forks ran it except Citron, which failed to launch.
- Mortal Kombat 11
- All forks showed graphical issues (e.g., vertical lines), except Sudachi.
- Sudachi also rendered lighting and shadows correctly.
- No Man’s Sky
- Torzu had highest FPS, but suffered from missing object rendering.
- Sudachi and Eden tied for most balanced visual and frame rate quality.
🏆 Yuzu Fork Winner: Sudachi
Pros:
- Best visuals overall
- Proper rendering in MK11
- Balanced performance in all tested titles
Cons:
- Less frequent updates (2+ months without one at the time of writing)
- Cutscene delays in some titles
The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up the Final Official Yuzu Emulator on Android (2025)
🔄 Ryubing vs. Sudachi: Final Showdown
Now let’s put Ryubing and Sudachi head-to-head for the same games under the same hardware specs:
PC Specs Used:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700x (5.5 GHz)
- GPU: Nvidia RTX 4070 OC 12GB
- RAM: 32GB DDR5 (6000MHz)
- Motherboard: Gigabyte B650M Aorus Elite AX
🧪 Game-by-Game Comparison
- Bayonetta 3
- Ryubing wins in FPS.
- Sudachi wins in immersion (cutscenes run smoother).
- Winner: Sudachi for full experience.
- Pokémon Scarlet
- Ryubing has 30+ FPS lead.
- But gameplay pace is already capped at 30–60 FPS, so difference is subtle.
- Winner: Ryubing
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Ryubing edges ahead in FPS.
- But Yuzu forks like Sudachi handle shader compilation better = fewer stutters.
- Winner: Tie, depends on whether you care about shaders or pure FPS.
- No Man’s Sky
- Sudachi outperforms Ryubing 3x in this specific game.
- Winner: Sudachi
✅ Final Verdict: Which Switch Emulator Is Best?
Let’s be real—there’s no single winner. It all depends on:
- 🔧 Your CPU
- 🎮 The game you’re playing
Ideal Strategy:
- Have both Ryubing and Sudachi installed.
- Test your games on both.
- Stick with the one that offers fewer bugs, smoother gameplay, and better visuals for that particular title.
For example:
- Monster Hunter Rise runs only on Ryujinx forks like Ryubing.
- No Man’s Sky runs way better on Yuzu forks like Sudachi.
💡 Tip:
If you have a newer CPU (e.g., AMD AM5 or Intel 13th/14th Gen), Ryubing will likely perform better.
If you’re on a mid-range or pre-2023 CPU, Sudachi will give you more reliable performance and visual fidelity.
📥 Where to Get the Emulators
Unfortunately, many emulator forks have removed their official websites or GitHub links due to legal pressure.
But here’s one community-maintained GitHub link still available for Yuzu Android:
🔗 Download Yuzu Android Final Build (Alpha V.24)
For Ryubing and Sudachi (PC), you’ll have to join their Discord or find verified mirrors in community forums such as:
- r/SwitchPirates (Reddit)
- EmulationOnAndroid
- GBAtemp
⚠️ Disclaimer:
This article discusses emulators, which are legal. However, downloading copyrighted ROMs or firmware without owning the original is illegal in most regions. Always ensure you dump games legally from your own hardware.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is Yuzu better than Ryujinx in 2025?
A: It depends on the game and your CPU. Yuzu-based forks generally have better shader handling, but Ryujinx-based forks like Ryubing often have higher raw performance.
Q: Are these forks safe to use?
A: Yes, as long as you download from trusted sources. Avoid random APKs or EXEs from unknown links.
Q: What if a game doesn’t work on one emulator?
A: Try it on the other. Some games are simply not compatible with one engine or require tweaks and mods.
Q: Which emulator is best for Android?
A: The final Yuzu Android build (linked above) still performs better than most newer forks in many cases.
🔚 Conclusion
In a landscape of dozens of emulator forks, your best weapon is flexibility. Don’t stick to just one. Sudachi and Ryubing are currently the top choices for most use cases, and together, they cover almost the entire Nintendo Switch library.
Test each game. Know your hardware. And enjoy smooth Nintendo Switch gaming in 2025 without the hardware.
Tags:
Nintendo Switch emulators, Yuzu forks, Ryujinx forks, Ryubing emulator, Sudachi emulator, Bayonetta 3, Pokémon Scarlet, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, emulator performance test, Yuzu Android, No Man’s Sky emulator, best emulator for Switch, Switch emulator benchmark, emulator guide
Hashtags:
#Yuzu #Ryujinx #Sudachi #Ryubing #SwitchEmulator #Emulation2025 #PCGaming #GamingBenchmarks #NoMansSky #Bayonetta3 #ZeldaTOTK #EmulatorComparison #NintendoSwitch #OpenSourceGaming #FPSGaming #TechTips #EmulatorWars #GameTesting2025
