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An open-source project brings Switch games like Zelda, Mario, and Metroid to Apple devices without an emulator, but getting everything running takes some work.

Petar / Unsplash

Imagine tapping a Zelda icon on your iPhone and jumping straight into Hyrule. A new open-source project called nxnative makes that possible by repackaging Switch games you’ve bought into apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no emulator in the middle.

Why does this run so well on Apple devices?

It comes down to the chips. Nintendo’s console and Apple’s newer devices share the same ARM architecture, so the game’s code doesn’t need translating to run. nxnative only replaces what’s unique to Nintendo.…