Emulators are legal

With the caveat that an emulator cannot copy any copyrighted code to use in the emulation. They try to add as much proprietary code and encryption that it's nearly impossible to emulate without breaking the law.

It's scummy, but people have and will continue to find ways around it. But even the smallest of copyright infringements will result in Nintendo's wrath.

I'm not sure about good. It somehow runs games a little worse than Yuzu did.

tbf, the Steam Deck's hardware blows the Switch away so of course they play better

Right?! Why is there this "narrative" that if something is banned from GitHub it's like the end for that software...

Who the hell is GitHub? Fuck em.

Also Link for those interested

Ive used it on linux a bit

Runs just fine

so how to play games on it? does it come pre loaded in it?

Eden wasn't really on GitHub, except for binary distribution (presumably because of the cost of doing that was $0).

What are some alternatives?

Ok, but like honestly if GitHub kicks off my project then I can just move to another hosting platform. I would be mildly pissed that I lost the stars oh my repo. And then I would be minority inconvenienced that I have to find a new place to run my CI pipeline. I feel like there isn’t that much vendor locking with GitHub. Nothing they do is that unique.

Here's my whole library if you want to see everything I like. Some notable exclusives:

• Super Mario Odyssey - IMO, this is right up there with 64. The game is absolutely packed, biggest in the series, and I love everything they've done with new movement techniques.
• Splatoon 3 - And 2, but not like there's any reason to back to S2 now. I've never really been into shooters much, Splatoon, Kid Icarus Uprising, and TF2 are the only ones I've really liked. But I do love this game because it's so unlike ordinary shooters.
• Metroid Dread - Hits all the same highs as Super, but with significantly better combat and bosses. Yes, I'm saying that makes it better than Super.
• Puyo Puyo Champions - Not actually exclusive, but if you want to play this game online, JP players are all on Switch. So functionally, it might as well be exclusive.
• Kirby Air Riders - I waited 22 years for this sequel. I bought a Switch 2 just to play this. And it was worth it. I'm actually blown away by how much higher this game raised the bar from the original.

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have an atmosphere like a Studio Ghibli movie. If that doesn't appeal to you than I guess you won't like those games.

The Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy if you like JRPGs.

I really enjoyed Zelda BOTW. I beat it. Then I did this weird glitch that requires you to beat it twice more without dying once, but you get to keep this crazy Light Bow thing forever. I spend like a week accomplishing that glitch. Then I spent like 6 months hoping on it every once in a while, just to ride around the map and shoot things with that bow. Eventually I lost my game save, and now I don’t play it anymore… I would, if I didn’t have to spend another week on a glitch to get my bow back. Now I just look at it, remembering the good times.

Here's a suggestion you never see, but I loved it: Astral Chain.

Also, as others have said, Super Mario Odyssey is legit the best 3D platformer ever made.

Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is also pretty great.

The metroid prime 1 remake is fantastic, metroid dread is pretty good too. Nintendo has a unique style with their first party games and while that's a good thing for the market as a whole, you're right that if it's not your cup of tea there's really not much on the switch for you.

Visual novels are well represented and sometimes more complete than their PC counterparts as it has become pretty dominant in Japan. Other than that, I've never really gotten into Nintendo's first party games either. Somehow, they just don't hold my attention.

I feel the same but what it comes down to for me is I hate Nintendo IPs and for the most part it is the Nintendo games that bring people to their consoles.

Pretty much everything else is available elsewhere. Or at least that is the impression I get. Does the console have any noteworthy exclusives that aren't Nintendo characters.

Pokemon would be the main thing that appealed for me too but I liked red, blue, stadium and that was about it. I didnt play much after that and what I did didnt stick so I think I'd have similar feelings to you towards the new ones.

Pretty much all the games made by Nintendo themselves. Mario Odyssey is great and one of their all time best. It’s a psychedelic trip sometimes.

Eden is a more advanced fork of Yuzu with better compatibility. No reason to keep using Yuzu IMO.

My guy, there is nothing said here that Nintendo or the people that work there don't already know.

PMed

edit: hint - try 'firmware' instead of BIOS in a search

That was Yuzu, specifically their early access Patreon builds if I remember correctly.

Totally optional, but also heavily promoted for being able to run a leaked copy of TotK before it was out.