How to Play The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD on Steam Deck

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD has finally arrived on the Steam Deck, and many fans of the series are eager to dive back into this beloved game. However, as with any emulator, there may be some settings and tweaks needed to get the best experience out of it. In this article, we will guide you through the process of setting up The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD on your Steam Deck.

Controller Settings

To start, click the Steam button and navigate to Controller Settings. If you're using a Steam Deck, you can make it a toggle button. To move the camera, you'll need to hold down the L1 button at all times. The camera control in Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD is quite unusual, so this may take some getting used to.

Gameplay and Performance

With my settings, gameplay slowdowns are almost completely eliminated, making the game very enjoyable to play. The game looks great on the Steam Deck's small screen even at 540p. Enabling simple Anti-Aliasing FXAA is recommended, as it works well in conjunction with AMD FidelityFX.

Resolution and Frame Rate

The most important setting is to set the resolution to 0.5 (360p/540p). If you have enabled the 30FPS mod, be sure to uncheck it in the Add-Ons menu, as these mods can cause occasional slowdowns. Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD can still be played at a stable 60 FPS, but some slight slowdowns may occur.

Shader Cache Building

The only slight slowdowns that may occur are caused by shader cache building. On my settings, the game runs at a stable 30FPS.

Window Adapting Filter and NVDEC Emulation

As for the Window Adapting Filter, it's a personal choice, but I recommend using AMD FIDELITY FX. For NVDEC emulation, I recommend using GPU Video Decoding (Default).

Add-Ons and Mod Installation

To install mods, make sure to check the 30fps mod in the Add-Ons menu. Move the entire '30fps' folder from your desktop to the Yuzu emulator's folder.

Yuzu Emulator Settings

In the Yuzu emulator settings, I recommend playing on Vulkan mode, as it runs much better than OpenGL. However, if you encounter graphical errors, switching to OpenGL may help resolve the issue. On OpenGL, character shadows are completely broken.

Game Patch and Installation

Before starting, be sure to download the 1.0.1 game patch from Yuzu>File>Install Files to NAND. You can also install Steam Rom Manager to create a shortcut to the game and Yuzu Emulator in your Steam Library.

In conclusion, with these settings and tweaks, you should be able to enjoy The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD on your Steam Deck without any issues. Happy gaming!

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