Do you need Wii Motion Plus for Dolphin emulator?

To answer the question directly, Wii Motion Plus is not necessarily required to use the Dolphin emulator itself, but it is required to play certain Wii games that support Motion Plus functionality, such as Wii Sports Resort and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The Dolphin emulator can be used with either a standard Wii Remote or a Wii Remote Plus, but Motion Plus games will only work with a Wii Remote that has the Motion Plus accessory attached or with a Wii Remote Plus that has Motion Plus built-in.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

1. What is Wii Motion Plus? Wii Motion Plus is an expansion device for the Wii Remote that allows for more complex motion to be interpreted than the Wii Remote can do alone.
2. What is the difference between Wii Motion Plus and regular? The Wii Remote Plus devices contain extra accelerometers that are not in the base Wii Remotes but were in the Wii Motion Plus accessory, effectively making the Wii Remote Plus a combination of the original Wii Remote and the Wii Motion Plus accessory.
3. Does Wii Motion Plus improve all games? No, only games that feature the Wii MotionPlus accessory icon on their packaging will take advantage of Wii MotionPlus.

Dolphin Emulator Questions

4. Can you play Wii games on Dolphin without the sensor bar? Yes, you can play Wii games on Dolphin without the sensor bar by using alternative methods such as placing two lit candles under your screen.
5. Do you need a sensor for Dolphin Emulator? A sensor bar is required to connect Wii Remotes to the Dolphin Emulator.
6. What is the best system to run Dolphin emulator? The developers recommend a CPU greater or equal to an Intel Core i5-6500 and a graphics card such as an Intel HD 4000 or an AMD Radeon R9 280.

Wii Games Questions

7. Can you play Wii Sports Resort without Motion Plus on dolphin? No, Wii Sports Resort requires Wii Motion Plus to play.
8. Do I need the Wii Motion Plus? Yes, Wii Motion Plus is required to play certain Wii games such as Wii Sports Resort, Wii Play: Motion, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
9. Which Wii games don’t require Motion Plus? Games such as Wii Academy of Champions, All Star Karate, and Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers do not require Motion Plus.

Technical Questions

10. What are the requirements for Dolphin emulator? The Dolphin Emulator requires a 64-bit edition of Android (5 or higher) or a 64-bit version of Windows, a CPU with a high clock speed, and OpenGL ES 3.0 or higher.
11. Is it legal to download Dolphin emulator? Yes, downloading Dolphin Emulator is legal, but uploading and downloading ROMs without proper authorization is against the law.
12. Do you need C++ for Dolphin emulator? The Windows development versions of Dolphin Emulator require the 64-bit Visual C++ redistributable for Visual Studio 2022 to be installed.

Wii Remote Questions

13. How many Wii Motion Plus do I need? Wii Motion Plus is required for each Wii-mote being used, except in games where each player takes separate turns.
14. Does Wii Motion Plus affect all games? No, only games designed for Wii Motion Plus can use it, but you can play non-Motion Plus games with the Motion Plus attached to your Wiimote or with the WiimotePlus with no adverse effect.
15. Is Wii MotionPlus required for Skyward Sword? Yes, Motion Plus is necessary to play The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.