MeloNX vs Ruzu
MeloNX
melonx.orgRuzu
github.comSide by side
| Figure | MeloNX | Ruzu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Nintendo Switch Emulators | 8.3 (#6) | 8.3 (#7) |
| Controls | The emulator supports keyboard, touch, JoyCon, and nearly all MFI controllers; JoyCon motion support is unavailable due to an iOS limitation. | The interface supports controller navigation as well as keyboard and mouse input. |
| CPU emulation | Its ARMv8 CPU emulator translates guest instructions through an intermediate representation and supports several memory-manager modes plus persistent translation caching. | The emulator runs ARM32 and ARM64 guest code through the rdynarmic dynamic recompiler on x86-64 and ARM64 hosts. |
| Graphics | The GPU emulator uses Metal through MoltenVK to emulate the Switch Maxwell GPU. | It supports Vulkan and OpenGL, plus an experimental native Metal backend on macOS. |
| Purpose | MeloNX is an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator for iPhone and iPad, based on Ryujinx. | Ruzu is an experimental, open-source Nintendo Switch emulator written in Rust for desktop computers. |
| Support | The maker links to a Discord server for the project. | The project directs users to its Discord community for discussion and feedback and GitHub Issues for reproducible bug reports. |
| What it does | MeloNX emulates Nintendo Switch games on iPhone and iPad without requiring a jailbreak. | Ruzu is an experimental Nintendo Switch emulator written in Rust for desktop computers. |
Plans
In their own words
MeloNX
MeloNX is a free, open-source Nintendo Switch emulator for iPhone and iPad, based on Ryujinx and licensed under GPLv3. It needs JIT to run but does not require a jailbreak. The recommended installation uses PlumeImpactor to sideload its IPA, with SideStore as an optional on-device method. The maker recommends iPhone 15 Pro or newer and certain iPad Pro and iPad Air models; listed minimum-compatible devices are iPhone 6s with a paid developer account and iPhone 12 with a free developer account. Users add encryption keys and firmware through the in-app picker, while commercial games require legally dumped firmware, keys and purchased games. Audio output works, but microphone input does not. Controls include keyboard, touch, JoyCon and nearly all MFI controllers; JoyCon motion is unavailable due to an iOS limitation. DLC and updates are supported, mods are unsupported, and graphics use Metal through MoltenVK.
Ruzu
Ruzu is an experimental, open-source Nintendo Switch emulator written in Rust for desktop computers. Its graphical library can browse game directories, manage settings for individual games, and show detected updates and add-ons. The interface supports controller navigation as well as keyboard and mouse input, and offers themes, translations, configurable hotkeys, and game-list display options. Graphics APIs include Vulkan and OpenGL, with an experimental native Metal backend on macOS. Ruzu can run homebrew applications through graphical and command-line frontends. Its CPU emulation supports ARM32 and ARM64 guest execution through the rdynarmic dynamic recompiler, with x86-64 and ARM64 host backends. Packages are listed for Windows, macOS, Linux, Ubuntu, and Steam Deck. The latest listed release is v0.1.1-rc4, a pre-release for testing before v0.1.1. The project says compatibility and performance vary with the game, hardware, and graphics backend, and that bugs, crashes, and incomplete features are expected. Ruzu is free under GPL-3.0-or-later and is intended for legally obtained games; it does not include games, keys, or system files.