Release
Banana Native brings Switch 2 games to Android natively: Donkey Kong Bananza runs at 52-58 fps
Key points
- Banana Native (v0.1.0 on Nov 3, v0.1.1 on Nov 4, UTC) is the first project to run Switch 2 games natively on Android. It is not an emulator.
- It's a community Android port of nxnative by moceure, unrelated to official nxnative, nx2android and Eden. The author says most of the code was written by an AI coding assistant.
- Developer's results on one Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phone (16 GB): Donkey Kong Bananza works at 52-58 fps in 1080p performance mode; Mario Kart World gets in-game with graphics bugs.
- Needs Android 13+, a Snapdragon (Adreno) chip and 12 GB of RAM or more. It uses your own game folder or .nup file with no keys or firmware; NSP and XCI don't work.
- Each game is prepared once: 10-15 minutes with a Mac, about an hour on the phone alone. AndroGaming covered it on Nov 4.
On this page
Yes, Switch 2 games now run natively on an Android phone. As of November 5, 2026 (afternoon, Beijing time), Banana Native, a community Android port of nxnative by the developer moceure, runs Donkey Kong Bananza at 52-58 fps in 1080p with the phone in performance mode, and gets Mario Kart World into races with graphics bugs. Both are the developer's own results from a single phone, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with 16 GB of RAM. v0.1.0 came out on November 3 and v0.1.1 on November 4 (UTC). Like nxnative, it is not an emulator: the game's code runs directly on the phone's CPU.
What Banana Native is
- How it works: the game's own ARM64 code runs directly on the phone's CPU, a small host program answers the game's system calls, and the NVN graphics, including Switch 2 task and mesh shaders, are rebuilt on Vulkan. Shaders are translated to SPIR-V ahead of time with Ryujinx's shader translator.
- The claim: the README says, "As far as I know, it is the first time Switch 2 games run natively on Android."
- Who's behind it: moceure, who earlier made Eden SX2A, an unofficial Android fork that emulated Switch 2 games and was marked unmaintained on November 2. On November 4 its notice was changed to point to Banana Native.
- What it isn't: the README says it is unrelated to Nintendo, nxnative and Eden, and that it is "its own codebase, ported from nxnative, and not a fork" of nx2android. The author also writes that most of the code was written by an AI coding assistant (Claude) and tested by hand.
- About 240 GitHub stars as of November 5.
Versions
| Version | Released (UTC) | What's in it |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1.0 | Nov 3, 23:10 | First release |
| 0.1.1 | Nov 4, 23:59 | .nup files; front ends such as ES-DE, Daijisho and Pegasus can launch games directly; Mario Kart World can be prepared on the phone; about 1 GB less memory; incremental shader updates |
Game results (developer's own, one phone)
| Game | Version | Status | Frame rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donkey Kong Bananza | update 458752 | Works; some cave battles have texture problems | 1080p: about 30 fps normally, 52-58 fps in the phone's performance mode. Native 2880x1620 in performance mode: about 30 fps. With the Turnip driver: 17-32 fps |
| Mario Kart World | 1.8.0 | Work in progress: in game and driving, with graphics problems. Trees flicker, ground textures are sometimes missing, and the 3D scene goes black when you return to character select after a race. The phone's own driver shows black flashing dots; Turnip doesn't | Not measured |
All numbers come from a single Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phone with 16 GB of RAM. There are no third-party tests yet.
What you need
- Phone: Android 13 or newer, a Snapdragon chip (Adreno GPU), 12 GB of RAM or more. The author recommends a phone cooler.
- Game files: your own Switch 2 game folder (base, updates, dlc) or, since v0.1.1, a .nup file. No keys and no firmware are used. NSP and XCI files don't work.
- One-time preparation per game: 10-15 minutes if you use a Mac, about an hour on the phone alone. Since v0.1.1, Mario Kart World can be prepared on the phone in about 16-30 minutes.
- Optional frame generation: reads the Lossless.dll file from your own copy of Lossless Scaling.
Coverage
AndroGaming covered it on November 4 under the headline "Banana Native gets Mario Kart World running on Android, just about," noting that "two specific Switch 2 builds reach gameplay on Android, but it is still early to call them 'ported'."
How it differs from nx2android and Eden
| Banana Native | nx2android | Eden SX2A | Eden (Android) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Native port of nxnative | Native port of nxnative | Emulation (unofficial Eden fork) | Emulation |
| Games | Switch 2: Bananza works, Mario Kart World in progress | Switch 1: 27 games in its README; Switch 2 only in an unmerged pull request for Bananza | Switch 2; v0.3.0 claimed about 10 fps in Bananza | Switch 1 |
| Status | v0.1.1 (Nov 4) | v0.2.0 (Oct 31) | Final release Nov 2, unmaintained | Official releases |
nx2android and Banana Native both come from nxnative, but they are separate projects by different people. Neither is maintained by nxnative, whose official Switch 2 support is still tested only on Mac.
What this means for players
If you have a recent Snapdragon phone with 12 GB of RAM or more and your own copy of Donkey Kong Bananza, Banana Native is the first way to run it natively on Android. Keep in mind it is one developer's results on one phone, with two games, in a project that is only a few days old. On Mac, the official route is covered in nxnative's Switch 2 support; for Switch 1 games on Android, see the Android setup guide. The bigger picture is in Switch 2 emulation status and on the Android page.
FAQ
What is Banana Native?
A community Android port of nxnative made by the developer moceure. It runs Switch 2 games natively on Android phones: the game's own ARM64 code runs on the phone's CPU and its graphics are rebuilt on Vulkan. v0.1.0 came out on November 3, 2026 and v0.1.1 on November 4 (UTC).
Is Banana Native a Switch 2 emulator for Android?
No. Like nxnative on Mac, it turns the game into a native program instead of emulating the console. A small host program answers the game's system calls, and the shaders are translated to SPIR-V ahead of time. The Switch 2 emulators on Android so far, such as Eden SX2A, emulate the console instead.
Which Switch 2 games work in Banana Native?
As of November 5, 2026, two. The developer marks Donkey Kong Bananza (update 458752) as working, at 52-58 fps in 1080p with the phone in performance mode. Mario Kart World 1.8.0 is a work in progress: it gets into races, but trees flicker and some ground textures are missing. Both results come from a single test phone.
What phone do I need for Banana Native?
Android 13 or newer, a Snapdragon chip with an Adreno GPU, and at least 12 GB of RAM; the author recommends a phone cooler. All published results are from one Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 phone with 16 GB of RAM.
Does Banana Native need prod.keys or firmware?
No. It builds from your own Switch 2 game folder (base game, updates and DLC) or, since v0.1.1, a .nup file. NSP and XCI files don't work. Each game has to be prepared once: about 10-15 minutes with a Mac, or about an hour on the phone alone.
Is Banana Native made by the nxnative team or by nx2android?
Neither. The README says it is unrelated to Nintendo, nxnative and Eden, and that it is its own codebase ported from nxnative, not a fork of nx2android. The author also says most of the code was written by an AI coding assistant and tested by hand.