Convert Nintendo Switch BWAV sound effects and voice clips to WAV that plays anywhere. Upload files up to 20GB and download the converted result in a few clicks.
Drag & Drop your BWAV file here
BWAV files, up to 20GB
Files stay private.
Automatically deleted after 24 hours.
Link
20GB upload limit.
4.8/5
Trusted for 1,827,796+ conversions
HOW IT WORKS
Three steps, no account, nothing to install.
01
Upload your BWAV file
Drag and drop a stand-alone .bwav sound, for example one you extracted from a .bars archive, or select it from your device.
02
Convert to WAV
Keep WAV as the output format and start. PCM16, DSP-ADPCM and Opus audio is decoded to 16-bit PCM.
03
Download the WAV
Download one WAV per BWAV file. It opens in Audacity, any DAW and common media players.
BWAV
BWAV is the NintendoWare wave format of Nintendo Switch games, used for sound effects, voices and other sounds in titles such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Mario Maker 2, Ring Fit Adventure and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It holds PCM16, DSP-ADPCM or Opus audio and is usually packed inside .bars sound archives.
WAV
WAV is a widely supported audio container often used for uncompressed PCM audio. It is common in recording, editing, production, broadcast, and applications that prefer straightforward, high-fidelity audio.
FILE FORMATS
SOURCE
BWAV is the Nintendo Switch format for sound effects and voice clips, often packed inside BARS archives in games such as Splatoon and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It stores DSP-ADPCM or PCM audio with loop information and is meant for the console's sound engine, not media players.
TARGET
Microsoft and IBM defined WAV in 1991. It normally stores plain PCM audio with no compression, which is why editors, DAWs, broadcast systems and speech tools accept it without question. The price is size: CD-quality stereo takes about 10 MB per minute, and tagging support is limited.
| Feature | BWAV | WAV |
|---|---|---|
| Developed by | Nintendo | Microsoft and IBM |
| File extension | .bwav | .wav |
| Compression | DSP-ADPCM or PCM | None (PCM) |
| Size vs uncompressed WAV | About 1/4 (ADPCM) | Same size (1:1) |
| Tags and cover art | Loop points, no tags | Basic text tags, no cover art |
| Best for | Switch effects and voice | Editing, mastering, speech tools |
| Plays on phones and browsers | No, needs vgmstream | Yes |
USE CASES
Practical workflows where BWAV to WAV conversion is useful.
Play Animal Crossing sounds anywhere
Listen to Animal Crossing: New Horizons sound effects in any media player once you have extracted them from the game's sound archives.
Edit sounds for a Switch mod
Modders who replace sounds in Super Mario Maker 2 or Tears of the Kingdom can open the originals in Audacity to match length and volume.
Decode Opus sounds from Tears of the Kingdom
BWAVs with Opus audio, as used in Tears of the Kingdom, can't be opened by ordinary players. They come out as a 48 kHz WAV.
Add game sounds to a video
Drop the WAV into Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or CapCut for a let's play, review or meme edit.
Make stream alerts and soundboard clips
Use a short Switch game sound as an OBS stream alert or as a Discord soundboard clip.
Check how a looped sound joins
Looped BWAVs play the intro, the loop twice and a 10 second fade, so you can hear where the loop restarts.
Audition a folder of extracted sounds
Convert many numbered BWAVs in one job, then preview the WAVs in a file browser or DAW to find the sound you need.
Document game audio on a wiki
Wiki editors and fan sites can turn extracted BWAVs into WAV files for listening and then encode them for the web.
Study game sound design
Sound design students can open Nintendo sound effects in a spectrogram view to study their envelopes, lengths and frequencies.
Sample Switch sounds for music
Producers can sample Switch sound effects in WAV, which every sampler and DAW accepts.
SUPPORTED FILES
BWAV sounds from Nintendo Switch games are supported.
Short BWAV effects from Switch games.
Character voices and dialogue sounds.
Both encodings decode.
Extract BWAV files from BARS first, then upload them.
Upload many BWAV files and download the WAVs as a ZIP.
Only convert audio from games you own or have permission to use.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Game audio works differently from normal music files, which explains most surprises.
01
Looping game music is rendered the way the game plays it: the looped section plays once more, then fades out over 10 seconds. A loop covering the whole track plays once.
02
A file holding less than 97% of the audio its header describes was cut off while extracting or downloading. Upload the complete file.
03
The file is damaged, isn't really BWAV audio, or was extracted with the wrong tool. Extract it again from the game files and retry.
04
WAV is uncompressed, about 10 MB per minute for 44.1 kHz stereo and more for higher rates or extra channels.
05
Upload the BWAV files inside it. Extract them with a Switch modding tool first.
06
Most BWAV files are short effects or voice clips.
vgmstream is the reference decoder for game audio, used through foobar2000 or the command line. dragdropdo runs the same decoder in the browser, so you can turn BWAV into WAV on any device.
| What matters | dragdropdo | vgmstream and Desktop Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing to install | ✓Yes. Runs in any modern browser. | ~foobar2000 plus the vgmstream plugin, or vgmstream-cli. |
| Works on phones and tablets | ✓Yes. Desktop, Android, iPhone and iPad. | ~No. Windows and command-line tools. |
| Batch conversion | ✓Yes. Add many files and download one ZIP. | ~Yes, with scripts or foobar2000's converter. |
| Share finished files | ✓Yes. Send a unique link from the result page. | ~You upload and share the files yourself. |
| Pricing | ✓Free with daily limits. $2.99 or $6.99 passes for unlimited use, no monthly plan. | ~Free. |
| Choosing loop count and fade | ✓Fixed: an inner loop plays twice, then fades over 10 seconds. | ~Yes. vgmstream-cli sets the loop count and fade length. |
Other tools use different pricing, limits and workflows. This comparison describes dragdropdo's own features without assuming every other tool works the same way.
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WHY DRAGDROPDO
Convert BWAV to WAV in your browser, with nothing to install and nothing kept after 24 hours.
Private by default
Files are encrypted in transit and deleted from our servers automatically after 24 hours.
No install required
Convert in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone or iPad. No app and no sign-up wall.
Big files and batches
Upload files up to 20GB each, add several at once, and download the results one by one or as a ZIP.
Share & download
Save finished files to your device or pass them on with a share link from the result page.
FAQ
Answers to common questions about dragdropdo's BWAV to WAV converter.
