![[Nintendo Wii U.png]] # Overview The Nintendo Wii U was a commercial failure of a console. It was left for dead nearly as soon as it arrived, with little attention being given to it by first or third party developers alike. Most of the console's killer apps have been ported to the Nintendo Switch by now. However, owning this console allows you to play nearly the entire Nintendo back catalog in a single device, thanks to mods. The Nintendo Wii U can run games from the following consoles natively, thanks to the backwards compatibility features of the hardware, **Nintendont** and **USB Loader GX** (more on those later): - Wii U - Wii - GameCube It can also emulate games from the following consoles near-flawlessly, thanks to the Virtual Console software features and, more specifically, **Virtual Console injects** (more on that later, too): - Nintendo Entertainment System - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Game Boy - Nintendo Game Boy Color - Nintendo Game Boy Advance - Nintendo DS - TurboGrafx-16 In terms of bang for your buck, the Wii U really cannot be beaten. You can find people giving these things away online for nothing. If you're willing to put in the leg work, you can have access to *6 generations of Nintendo video games* on one device with *native HDMI output*. # Modding The guides written over on [wiiu.hacks.guide](https://wiiu.hacks.guide/) have been the gold standard for onboarding to the modded Wii U scene for years. As such, I will not repeat the contents of those guides. However, the results of my further research can be found below. ## Installing EmuNAND with [ModMii](https://modmii.github.io/) An EmuNAND is not typically required by most users. However, if you'd like to install a multitude of channels to your Wii, beyond the maximum capacity of 48 channels to the Wii Menu, an EmuNAND is the best way around that limitation. - Use ModMii to install SNEEK (Not UNEEK, UNEEK+DI, or SNEEK+DI) and EmuNAND - Copy the `nands` and `SNEEK` folder to the SD card root - Add USB Loader GX and Nintendont to the SD card as well - USB Loader GX Settings - Custom Paths - EmuNAND Save Path: `sd:/nands/pl_us/` - EmuNAND Channel Path: `sd:/nands/pl_us/` - Features - Export SYSCONF to EmuNAND - Boot NEEK System Menu - It'll take a bit longer than you'd think to boot - Dismiss the message about corrupted message board data if it appears - Open the Modmii app to return to SysNAND - USB Loader GX Settings - Loader Settings - Return to: USB Loader GX - EmuNAND Save Mode: Off - EmuNAND Channel Mode: Partial > [!WARNING] Problematic Channels in EmuNAND > > The following channels only work when the option "EmuNAND Channel Mode" is set to "NEEK". > > - Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth > - Zelda: Majora's Mask > > When pressing the "Home" button in EmuNAND (and thus when playing these games), the Wii will crash, so you'll have to reboot the console, instead. Consider installing directly to SysNAND to avoid this issue in the first place. ## Custom Virtual Console Injects If you want to make custom Virtual Console injects, you can use FriishProduce. Be sure to "Enable extended RAM" and "Allocate ROM size" in the "Injection method options" menu. > [!TIP] Custom Virtual Console Inject (Banner Only) > > If you want to make only a custom banner for use in USB Loader GX (in the case some mod you download patches to a WAD instead of a ROM), do the following: > > - Use FriishProduce to make a custom VC inject. Doesn't matter what ROM or WAD you use, we only want the banner out of it, anyway. > - Export the WAD. > - Use ShowMiiWADs to Extract the WAD to a folder. > - Rename the `00000000.app` file to `<ID>.bnr`, where `<ID>` is the Game ID of the WAD you are trying to replace the banner of with this one. > - You can get the ID with Dolphin, if you don't know it already. > - Put the banner file into `SD:/apps/usbloadergx/cache_bnr`. ## Controller Support ### Wii U Gamepad > [!SUCCESS] Wii & GameCube Games in vWii Mode > Wii & GameCube games do not support controller input from the Wii U Gamepad out of the box. However, you can create **custom vWii Virtual Console Injects** using [TeconmoonWiiVCInjector](https://github.com/piratesephiroth/TeconmoonWiiVCInjector) on your PC, and transfer them to your Wii U. ### Mayflash GameCube Controller Adapter > [!SUCCESS] GameCube Games in vWii Mode via Nintendont > **Nintendont** supports the Mayflash USB GameCube Controller Adapter, meaning GameCube games launched via **USB Loader GX** will work with it out of the box. > [!WARNING] Wii Games in vWii Mode > [Wii games that supported the GameCube Controller](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wii_games_with_traditional_control_schemes) such as **Super Smash Bros. Brawl** do not support the [Mayflash USB GameCube Controller Adapter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RSXRLUE). You can work around this by using the [Mayflash Classic GameCube Controller Adapter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YH3NWTW), which allows for the adapter to be recognized as a Wii Classic Controller. This will only work for games that support the Wii Classic Controller. Notably, **Sonic Riders Zero Gravity**, will not work with this method. > [!SUCCESS] Wii U Games & Software in Wii U Mode > **Super Smash Bros. for Wii U** is the only Wii U game to support the [Mayflash USB GameCube Controller Adapter](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RSXRLUE) out of the box. You can work around this by using [hid_to_vpad](https://github.com/Maschell/hid_to_vpad), which allows for the adapter to be recognized as a Wii U Pro Controller. ### Other Controllers > [!SUCCESS] Wii & GameCube Games in vWii Mode > [fakemote](https://github.com/xerpi/fakemote) adds support for various USB controllers on the vWii. It emulates Wiimote input using various features of the DualShock line of controllers. This application only works in vWii Mode, so it cannot support the Wii U Mode for Wii U Games or Software. > [!SUCCESS] Wii U Games & Software in Wii U Mode > [Bloopair](https://github.com/GaryOderNichts/Bloopair) adds support for various Bluetooth controllers on the Wii U. This application only works in Wii U mode, so it cannot support the vWii for Wii or GameCube games. ## Optimizing HD Display Output The image quality that you can get out of a stock GameCube, Wii, or vWii is severely lacking compared to what is available with mods. This section intends to highlight all the optimizations that can be made to your games to make them look as crisp as possible. Most of this section can be credited to [Wobbling Pixels](https://www.youtube.com/@wobblingpixels3921) on YouTube for their amazing video [How to Remaster the Nintendo Wii Image (2023) - NO PC Emulation!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjECzM61atg). > [!INFO] vWii Forced Resolution Sync with Wii U > By default, the Wii U, when booting into vWii mode, will force the vWii to output at the same resolution that is configured in the **Wii U Settings Menu**. This will cause the Wii U to upscale the image to that resolution. However, the algorithm used to upscale the image causes a strong **blur effect** on the image. > > The **Wii Settings Menu** found on all Wii consoles has been removed from the vWii, meaning that there is no way to specify a different resolution for both the vWii and the Wii U. > > To prevent the need to switch resolutions in the **Wii U Settings Menu** every time you want to switch between Wii U and Wii gaming, you can make use of [Boot2vWii](https://github.com/WiiDatabase/Boot2vWii). This tool will allow you to **generate forwarders with specific settings** to apply to the **vWii Home Menu** or **vWii Channels** for use on the **Wii U Home Menu** in conjunction with **Aroma**. > [!INFO] vWii Forced Cropping of Overscan > Overscan is a behavior in certain television sets, in which part of the input picture is cut off by the visible bounds of the screen. It is a behavior from CRTs that is not present in modern displays. > > [evWii](https://github.com/GaryOderNichts/evwii) is a plugin for **Aroma** which allows setting custom viewport values in the console's firmware. This can undo the forced cropping of overscan in vWii mode, allowing you to see the full video image in all of your games on modern displays. > [!INFO] Flicker Filter > The GameCube, Wii, and vWii make use of what's known as a **flicker filter**. The purpose of this filter was to prevent fine details from 'flickering' up and down by one line when displaying in interlaced mode (480i) on a CRT TV. > > A flicker filter is completely unnecessary on CRT TVs that support progressive scan video modes (480p), as well as modern displays, which use completely different techniques to render images than the CRTs of the past. Unfortunately, these consoles apply the flicker filter to all video signal modes, regardless if its interlaced or progressive scan. > > What this means is that using these consoles **on modern displays** will cause a **blurring effect** across the entire image. There is no universal setting for any of these consoles to disable this filter out of the box. > > Fortunately, the Wii Homebrew application [USB Loader GX](https://github.com/wiidev/usbloadergx) has a setting under **Loader Settings** called **Deflicker Filter**, which can be set to **Off (Extended)** to address this for any game launched from this application. > [!INFO] 480p Bug > A **bug** was discovered in 2019 by [Extrems](https://twitter.com/Extrems) in the **original Nintendo Wii SDK** that causes **blurry outline rendering** to all images rendered **at 480p**. This means that **all Wii games** on the console **are affected** by the bug. > > Fortunately again, **USB Loader GX** has a setting under **Loader Settings** called **480p Pixel Fix Patch** which can be set to **On** to address this issue for any game launched from this application. > [!INFO] Video Width Issue > The Wii renders widescreen Wii games at a resolution of 640x480, then **stretches the image** to a resolution of 720x480. This is another cause of **blur** across the image. Fortunately again, **USB Loader GX** has a setting under **Loader Settings** called **Video Width** which can be set to **Framebuffer** to address this issue for any game launched from this application by disabling the image stretching behavior. > [!INFO] Aspect Ratio > Some Wii games achieve their 16:9 aspect ratio by **stretching UI elements** to fit the display. **USB Loader GX** has a setting under **Loader Settings** called **Aspect Ratio** which can be set to **Force 4:3** to address this issue for any game launched from this application. > [!INFO] Post Processing Effects > Post processing effects such as bloom, motion blur, and depth of field are used to hide pixelation in various GameCube and Wii games. If you want to **disable some of these effects**, you can enable **Gecko cheat codes** via **USB Loader GX** on a **per-game basis**. > > To enable the use of Gecko cheat codes, there is a setting under **Loader Settings** called **Ocarina** which can be set to **On**. > > Navigate to the **Settings** menu of the particular game you wish to configure, then into the **Ocarina** menu. If you see a **No cheatfile found** error, click **Download Now** to get a copy of the latest cheat codes. You can now toggle any cheats you wish, and click **Create** to enable those cheats when you launch the game. > [!TIP] Using an External Upscaler > Devices such as the [RetroTINK-4K](https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/retrotink-4k) can be used to upscale the now-optimized image of these games to a 4K resolution. Given that this is a rather pricey option, you could also consider the [RetroTINK-5X Pro](https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/5x-pro). ## Creating Game Backups > [!ERROR] GameCube Games in vWii Mode > [Cleanrip](https://github.com/emukidid/cleanrip) allows you to create dumps of your GameCube games, but does not work on a Wii U console, since the Wii U disc drive does not support GameCube game discs natively. > [!SUCCESS] Wii Games in vWii Mode > [Cleanrip](https://github.com/emukidid/cleanrip) allows you to create dumps of your Wii games directly from the Wii U console, since the Wii U disc drive supports Wii game discs natively. > [!SUCCESS] Wii U Games > [Dumpling](https://github.com/emiyl/dumpling) allows you to create dumps of your Wii U games directly from the Wii U console. # Notes ## Why a Wii U over a Wii or GameCube? Some will attest to the fact that the Wii U provides an enhanced Wii & GameCube game experience: > [!QUOTE] Comment by [@PFBM86](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdRikGoLPH1EIcxHFb-P9vA) on [The Best Console to Play GameCube Games - GCN vs. Wii vs. Wii U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wP524MF3P0) YouTube Video by [Good Vibes Gaming](https://www.youtube.com/@GVG) > John you neglected to mention that loading Gamecube games through Nintendont on Wii or Wii U causes them to run at the native clock rate of the Wii. (I've also heard some people claim that the Wii U can run Wii homebrew at the U's own native clock speed but as far as I can tell that's not correct.) So playing Gamecube games on Wii or Wii U through Nintendont results in a 50% performance increase, thereby reducing or completely eliminating framerate drops in a number of games that suffer from them. It even allows you to run a few games such as Mario Sunshine at 60 fps that were limited to only 30 fps on the Cube! (You can still apply the Gecko hack to unlock the framerate on the Cube as well but the game won't achieve 60 fps most of the time without the 50% CPU and GPU clock boost.) This makes the Wii and Wii U FAR better options for playing Gamecube games compared to the extremely minute differences in image quality that you had to zoom in like 64x for us to even notice. > [!QUOTE] Comment by [@larsjorgenlorenzen656](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn5HbVR_rVqsa1soVtRDnUA) on [Wii Games on Wii U (Backward Compatibility) vs Wii - Do Wii Games really look worse on Wii U?!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSrMqLPKkTI&t=166s) YouTube Video by [Wobbling Pixels](https://www.youtube.com/@wobblingpixels3921) > What I noticed when I made a direct comparison at home: Wii games sound much more powerful than on the original analog Wii thanks to the digital sound transmission through the Wii U. In particular, Metroid Prime and Mario Galaxy sound phenomenal on the Wii U. > [!QUOTE] Comment by [@jonnyallison489](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCktpMvle2T67Y63BdLP20bQ) on [Wii Games on Wii U (Backward Compatibility) vs Wii - Do Wii Games really look worse on Wii U?!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSrMqLPKkTI&t=166s) YouTube Video by [Wobbling Pixels](https://www.youtube.com/@wobblingpixels3921) > I've run a number of tests on this over the years myself. In all cases I have found the Wii U does a better job of displaying Wii games on modern sets than the Wii itself can, regardless of being in 480/720 or 1080p modes. # Tips > [!TIP] Wiimote Pairing > Tap the Wii console sync button, then tap the Wiimote sync button. > [!TIP] Invest in a Smart Plug > > Consider using a smart power plug to power cycle the Wii during a VC crash, EmuNAND crash, or other types of crash, if your console is far away from you and you don't want to get up to reboot it. > [!TIP] Invest in Multiple 32GB SDHC Cards for Mods > > Invest in multiple 32 GB SDHC Cards (not SDXC, those are incompatible with most mods) for various types of incompatible homebrew, such as multiple mod installations for the same game. I have the following SD Cards for mods: > > - Smash 64/Melee 1.03/Project+ > - Smash Remix/Akaneia Build/Smash REX > - CTGP-R > - Sonic Riders DX/Sonic Riders Zero Gravity Regravitified > - Super Mario Sunshine/Sunburn/Eclipse > - Pikmin 251/1 Squared > - Zelda64 Hacks