The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Updated
Every fact on this page applies to update 1.9.0, the one version tested. Other versions may behave differently.
No emulator needed: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild runs natively on the Apple chip. How nxnative compares with emulators
Running through nxnative
How The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild runs
Breath of the Wild plays on the iPhone and, with update 1.9.0, runs at 60 fps instead of the 30 fps it has on the Switch. It is a large Game: when the project developers last published sizes, its iPhone app came to about 16 GB.
How it runs
nxnative paces the game itself rather than leaving it to the game's own frame-rate controller. It holds 60 fps while frames arrive on time and steps down to 30 fps after a few late frames in a row, then tries 60 again once frames fit. Game time keeps up with real time either way, so the world never runs in slow motion. While a movie plays, nxnative holds 30 fps, so movies no longer run at twice their speed.
If you would rather save battery, a frame-rate setting of 30 keeps the game at 30 fps. You can set it from the app's settings screen or with DM_FPS_TARGET=30 in the app's env.txt file.
Bring update 1.9.0
The 60 fps result and every other fact on this page apply to update 1.9.0. Put the 1.9.0 update in the same folder as the base game before you Pack.
Controls
The Packed app starts in the 3D touch layout: a left stick, a D-pad and the face buttons, with the camera on a right stick that is not drawn. Touch anywhere in the right third of the screen that has no control on it, and that touch works as the right stick, centred where your finger lands.
Good to know
- At about 16 GB, the Packed app may be too big for some sideloading setups. nxnative's packing script can keep the game files out of the app with
--romfs separate; see the install guide. - Motion controls on iPhone have not yet been checked in play, so shrines that rely on motion may not work.
- Players reported shrines running at 20 to 27 fps on a MacBook Air M2 and an M3 Mac, while the open world held 60. The project developers found and fixed one cause, but have not yet run the fix in a shrine that slowed down.
Known issues
- Motion controls on iPhone (a controller's gyro, or the phone's own) have not yet been checked in play, so shrines that rely on motion may not work.
- Some shrines were reported to run at 20 to 27 fps on M2 and M3 Macs, where the open world holds 60. A fix is in, but it has not yet been checked in a shrine.
Packing command
Run this in your nxnative folder on the Build Mac. Replace the game folder and the keys path with your own. Add --platform mac-app to get a Mac app instead of an iPhone and iPad app.
python3 scripts/build_ipa_from_nsp.py ~/Games/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild -k ~/keys/prod.keysPut update 1.9.0 in the game folder to get 60 fps.
FAQ
Does The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild work with nxnative?
Yes. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is tested with nxnative on update 1.9.0. With update 1.9.0 it runs at 60 fps.
Which iPhone, iPad or Mac do I need to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild?
An iPhone 15 Pro or newer (A17 Pro chip or later) or an iPad with an M1 chip or later, on iOS or iPadOS 26 or later, or a Mac with Apple silicon. iPads with the A17 Pro chip (iPad mini) have the iPhone 15 Pro's chip but are untested by nxnative. Packing needs a Mac with macOS 26.6 or later and Xcode 27.1.
Is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild included?
No. Neither this site nor nxnative includes any game. You Pack The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild from your own copy of the game, with keys dumped from your own Switch.
Does online play work in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild?
Online play in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is not confirmed to work, so do not count on it.
