Model2 NX 1.0 brings Sega Model 2 arcade games to Nintendo Switch
Model2 NX 1.0, an experimental Sega Model 2 emulator for Nintendo Switch, is out. Daytona USA boots and plays, but not at full speed yet.
Model2 NX 1.0 is a new homebrew emulator for the Nintendo Switch that runs Sega Model 2 arcade games. It’s marked experimental. The author says it boots and plays, but it’s not full speed yet. If you have a Switch running Atmosphère and your own arcade ROM sets, you can try it today.
It’s built from MAME 0.289, using only the Model 2 driver, with MAME’s SDL front end and a Switch platform layer for controls, file paths, threads, audio and a safe exit. toniisound calls it the little brother of SuperModel NX, which does the same job for Sega Model 3. The Switch layer comes from that project.
The author has tested Daytona USA in full, with sound and NVRAM working. Joy-Cons and the Pro Controller both work. Model 2B and 2C games are untested, and there’s no network link play.
Speed is the catch. On stock clocks, Daytona USA runs at about 20 fps, roughly 35% speed. The main CPU and the geometry processor still run in MAME’s interpreters. Overclocking helps: with sys-clk at 1785 MHz CPU, the game runs noticeably faster. Recompilers are the next big step on the roadmap.
How to try it:
- Copy model2nx.nro to sdmc:/switch/model2nx/.
- Put your MAME 0.289 ROM sets in sdmc:/switch/model2nx/roms/. Keep them as zips.
- Launch with title override: hold R while opening a game. Don’t use the album applet, or it won’t get all the memory.
- On first launch it creates its folders and mame.ini, ui.ini and ini/source/model2.ini. Edit them there. Delete one to get the defaults back.
A few things to know. R3 opens the Test menu, and L + R opens the MAME menu. If Daytona USA gets stuck on “LINK ID MASTER”, press R3, set the link to SINGLE with +, and exit. It saves to NVRAM, so you only do it once. Ryujinx isn’t supported because it doesn’t implement an instruction used by GCC 16’s exception handling, so you need real hardware. Logs go to sdmc:/switch/model2nx/model2nx.log, so attach one to any bug report. No ROMs are included, and the author asks people not to request them.
Model2 NX sits next to SuperModel NX, and that’s a good sign for arcade fans on Switch. The recompilers are the thing to watch. Once they land, Daytona USA stops being a slideshow, and the rest of the Model 2 library gets a real chance.
