Contenuti
Intro
All of Nintendo’s home consoles and video games always have an incredible appeal to gamers around the world, a mix of nostalgia and fun that can engage gamers of all ages. In recent years we have witnessed theenormous success of the latest console produced by Nintendo, namely the Nintendo Switch. A console released on March 3, 2017, which has impressed many gamers from all over the world with its features.
The Japanese company has sold so many consoles worldwide, and among them the Switch is currently in 3rd place, with more than 100 million units sold. If in 3rd place we find the latest console released, in second place we find a console that is very important to video game history and culture, namely the legendary Game Boy, one of the first handheld consoles, which sold more than 118 million copies worldwide.
But now we come to the console that has shaped Nintendo’s history and the childhood of so many gamers, we are talking of course about the Nintendo DS. The different versions of this dual-screen handheld console have sold a total of more than 154 million units, incredible numbers, making it the Japanese giant’s best-selling hardware production to date and the second best-selling console in history after the PlayStation 2 (Sony’s console sold “only” one million more copies).
The Nintendo DS is undoubtedly one of the best consoles in history
and its format profoundly revolutionized the world of video games. This seventh-generation console, released at the end of 2004, has a lot of really interesting titles, such as games from the Pokemon series , Kirby, Super Mario, Final Fantasy, Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, and so many others. Since we love these DS games, we certainly will not let go of the opportunity that allows us to play them on our operating system.
There are plenty of players who want to reacquaint themselves with the legendary games of this fantastic generation, but there are also many who want to play DS titles for the first time that they failed to purchase in years past.
So let’s cut to the chase, because in this article we will go over how Nintendo DS emulators work, what they are, and how to use them. If, on the other hand, you were looking for a Nintendo Switch emulator, you can find it here. These programs simulate the use of the console with very good performance, as well as the ability to play virtually any title released for free.
What is a Nintendo DS emulator
An emulator, in computing and in the most general sense of the term, is a component or software that replicates the functions of a given system on a system different from the original one. The use of these applications basically allows us to use programs that should not run on the operating systems found on personal computers or smartphones.
Clearly, it is important to know which operating system the emulator program is written for, since each operating system is different from the other. A program written for a PC with a Windows operating system, for example, cannot run on a PC with a different operating system such as a Linux distribution. Usually, a common practice in such cases is to create a virtual machine on the host machine, which simulates the environment understood to be the operating system that was intended to run that program.
In any case, once we install the Nintendo DS emulator inside our PC or Smartphone we will be able to use it to play virtually all the titles available for the Japanese company’s console. Clearly, however, before installing an emulator, we need to make sure that our device can support its minimum requirements. In the case of this console, however, there are no problems, since the minimum requirements of DS emulators are very low, allow us to have optimal enjoyment, and can be installed on any machine.
How to use an emulator
Emulating an eighth-generation console requires fairly important minimum requirements, but since we will be emulating a seventh-generation handheld console in this case, it will not be necessary to check these parameters.
Using a Nintendo DS emulator is very simple, to do this we will need to do two things: download the emulator and download the games we want to play using the emulator.
Downloading an emulator is very easy, as sites that provide this service allow free downloads. These sites often have an emulator guide and installation guide, while the games clearly will be downloaded digitally. If we want to avoid the risk of running into piracy problems, it is advisable to buy the titles we want to play, although at present it is quite difficult to find them since Nintendo has stopped producing them.
After downloading and installing the program that emulates the DS, we only need to download the files containing the titles to be played and then open them from the emulator program.
The 5 best emulators on the web
There are so many emulators that you can find on the web, in this article we will focus on the most reliable ones with the most useful features. In most cases, we will have to download game ROMs from outside emulator sites.
Some programs to be used require additional firmware to function properly, but in this guide we will provide all the necessary information.
Let us now move on to see which are the 5 most reliable emulators available on the network, we will examine their main features, as well as see what are the special features of each of them.
MelonDS Emulator
This program is one of the most interesting of those on the web because the software is completely free, open-source, supports Wi-Fi, and has no advertisements while in use.
MelonDS is as simple as it is functional, does not need much preparation to run and has many configuration options.
Considered one of the best emulators for PCs, it supports almost all titles in the Nintendo DS catalog.
Very interesting features:
- It can be used on the three most widely used operating systems, namely Windows, macOS and Linux.
- It allows you to connect to Wi-Fi and the DS communication protocol, then enjoy online and local multiplayer modes with friends. This makes it particularly suitable for party games and all games that make heavy use of online modes.
- It allows 2D and 3D games to be rendered, offering high performance at excellent resolutions.
- Allows you to save game progress at any time.
- Show live game fps while in use.
- It uses console hardware resources to ensure fast and accurate emulation.
- Very convenient support for external joypads.
- It allows you to speed up the game, use the microphone and use hacks.
To download
this emulator, we will have to go to the MelonDS site and download the version compatible to the operating system we use. Once we have downloaded the program, we will not need to install it, but we will need to download the firmware, NAND, and Bios files. If you have difficulty downloading these files, just do a very quick search on youtube, you will find many videos showing you how to accomplish these simple steps.
Once we have downloaded these files, we will need to open the emulator and open the “”Emu Settings”” window. In this window you will need to open the DS-mode window and enter the required Bios files. After doing so, our emulator will actually be ready to use, we can then download the games and open the downloaded files directly from the program and start playing them. To open games with MelonDS, simply click on “File” and then on “Open ROM,” at which point we will need to select the title downloaded from the Internet. Once that is done, the game will start running and we can start having fun.
If we want to change the keys used when playing titles, we will have to click on “Config” and then on “Input and Hotkeys,” at which point we will find a screen where we can set the controls to our liking.
DeSmuMe Emulator
The DeSmuMe is an emulator with very interesting features, it has a very similar interface to MelonDS and is completely free, but compared to its predecessor, it has many more graphic options to customize the experience, but it does not support Wi-Fi.
This emulator is perhaps the best known and most widely used on the web, improves frequently with new builds released periodically by developers, and is capable of handling virtually all games available for the Nintendo DS.
Let’s take a look at its distinctive features:
- It can be used on the three most widely used operating systems, namely Windows, macOS and Linux.
- It allows players to customize graphics with many options, has emulation settings for many types of system configurations.
- It has excellent rendering of games, offers high performance, and is one of the best emulators in terms of graphics rendering.
- Allows you to save game progress at any time.
- It shows live game fps during use, compared with other emulators has less “lag” problems. Frame rate dips might still occur, but they depend mostly on the PC configuration.
- It uses console hardware resources to ensure fast and accurate emulation.
- Very convenient external joypad support, supports USB.
- It allows you to speed up and scale the game, use the microphone and use hacks.
- Allows the use of import and export of memory backups.
- It allows you to capture game screenshots and record video and audio while playing the game.
DeSmuMe has a friendly interface that makes it easy to use and is the easiest of all emulators to install, since it does not require additional firmware files.
To download
This emulator, we will have to go to the DeSmuMe site and download the latest version compatible to the operating system we use. Once we have downloaded the program, there will be no need to install it and no need to download firmware files or Bios. After downloading the program, our emulator will actually be ready to use, we can then download the games and open the downloaded files directly from the program to start playing them. To open games with DeSmuMe, the process is very simple, just click on “File” and then on “Open ROM,” at which point we need to select the title downloaded from the Internet. Once that is done, the game will start running and we can start having fun.
If we want to change the keys used when playing titles, we will have to click on “Config” and then on “Hotkey Config,” at which point we will find a screen where we can set the controls to our liking.
No$GBA Emulator
No$GBA is an excellent and very convenient emulator that allows you to play all Nintendo DS and GameBoy games with high quality graphics. This emulator contains within it a database with all the ROMs of DS, DSi and GameBoy titles, so it is a kind of all-in-one emulator.
Let’s quickly see what its special features are:
- It supports only one operating system at present, Windows.
- It works very well even with older computers and those on the low end, allowing for the best possible graphics output on somewhat antiquated systems. This is because it uses few system resources and loads very fast.
- It allows players to customize graphics with many options, has emulation settings for many types of system configurations.
- Supports external joypads, different screen layouts, and real-time save slot option.
- Allows reading multiple cartridges (multiple media), also loads multiple NDS ROMs at a time.
Compared to other all-in-one emulators, No$Gba requires less memory and resources from the PC, but supports virtually all titles in the Nintendo DS, DSi, and GBA catalog. Let’s see in a simple way how to do to download it and be able to make the best use of it.
To download
This software, we will need to visit the official No$GBA website and download the latest version available. Once done, we will find that the downloaded file is a .zipper, so we will need a file decompressor program to open it (such as WinRAR or 7Zip). Once the file is unzipped, we move the obtained contents to a folder and open our emulator, also because we will not need to install it on the PC. It has a very simple interface very similar to those of DeSmuMe and MelonDS, so we can quickly arrange the options and commands to assign to the keyboard. Once this is done all we have to do is access the library of titles directly from the program and start playing right away.
RetroArch Emulator (All-in-one)
RetroArch is another of the best Nintendo DS game emulators. What makes it unique from DeSmuMe and MelonDS is that it is an all-in-one emulator. This means that this software has a predefined list of executable titles within it, but its main feature is the ability to emulate almost any Nintendo console, even the most retro ones. It can be used to run games from major Nintendo consoles such as NES, SNES, DS, DSi, 3DS, 64, Atari and many others.
Because it is a complex emulator, its interface is much more complex than those of MelonDS and DeSmuMe. It has many options of all kinds to customize the experience, using it you can play thousands of titles.
This emulator is undoubtedly one of the best on the web, has patches that are always new and updated by the developers, and is able to emulate most DS titles perfectly.
Let’s take a look at its distinctive features:
- It works mainly by using “Core” and “Content,” parts of software that emulate consoles and titles.
- It can be used on all popular operating systems such as Windows, macOS, Linux, as well as tablets, smartphones, and many home consoles such as Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, PS Vita, Wii, Wii U, 2DS, 3DS, and Switch.
- Comprehensive at the configuration level, it includes netplay, shaders, next-frame, rewinding, response times, automatic translation, run ahead, accessibility features for users with visual and hearing impairments, and allows extensive graphic and systemic customization.
- It allows recording of game sessions and also streaming of gameplay in real time on Twitch and YouTube.
- It allows you to boost the resolution of games up to 4K and allows you to apply shaders. It will not always allow for perfect graphical rendering, but still significantly improves image quality.
- Supports external joypads, different screen layouts, and real-time save slot option.
Compared to other emulators, RetroArch requires more memory and resources from the PC, does not quite support all the titles in Nintendo’s catalog, but has all the most commercial and played ones. Given its great potential it is a bit more complex to download and install, let’s see how to do it.
To download
This fantastic software, we will have to visit the official RetroArch website and download one of the two available versions between Stable and Nightly. The former is the most widely used version, while the latter is the latest version of the application. We download the Stable, once done, we need to install it in the PC. We proceed to Setup, accept the licenses, and choose the folder where we will place RetroArch. Once the installation is complete, we will need to install DirectX, an additional program that allows us to use this emulator.
Once we have both programs installed, we can start the emulator, which in the PC will be the file called RetroArch with the logo. When we first start, we will need to fix the video, audio and configuration settings. Initially we can also just select “Settings,” then “Drivers” and click on “Menu,” at which point we choose “xmb” as the menu driver and then close and reopen the program. In this way, we will be faced with a much friendlier, console-like interface. All we have to do is download the Cores of the console we want to emulate and then access the database containing the games. That way we can start having fun and playing as many titles as we want.
Citra Emulator (3DS)
This emulator is one of the best and most widely used of those on the web, the software is completely free, open-source and supports Wi-Fi, but most importantly it is a Nintendo 3DS emulator that can be used on PCs and Smartphones.
Citra allows you to play many titles from the 3DS catalog in high resolution and with excellent graphics rendering, it also allows you to read ROMs from the Nintendo DS, since it emulates the three-dimensional console’s software.
There is a compatibility list for each game on the Citra site, so you can check how well each title works on the emulator.
Let’s take a look at the main features of this emulator:
- It supports all three most widely used operating systems, namely Windows, macOS and Linux. But it can also be used on smartphones and tablets.
- It emulates most 3DS games very well.
- It allows players to customize the graphics with many options, has emulation settings for many types of system configurations, allows the graphics resolution to be adjusted to 4K.
- Supports external joypads, different screen layouts, cheat codes, and real-time save slot option.
- It uses Wi-Fi, so we can use it to take advantage of the titles’ online multiplayer features as well.
- It allows you to record the screen and configure lots of graphic and technical aspects.
To download
This software, we will have to visit the official Citra website and download the latest version available. Once done, we will find that the downloaded file is compressed, so we will need a file decompressor program to open it (such as WinRAR or 7Zip). Once the file is unzipped, we move the obtained contents to a folder and open our emulator, also because we will not need to install it on the PC. It has a friendly and very simple interface, so we can quickly arrange the options and commands to be assigned to the keyboard. Once this is done all we have to do is download the video games we want to play and open them or drag them directly into the program to start playing right away.
How to download video games for the emulator
If you have chosen to use a simple emulator and not an all-in-one one, then you will surely come across the web looking for ROMs and video games to put in the downloaded emulator.
Fortunately, it is very easy to download emulator titles; in fact, all we need to do is find the sites that provide them and download them to our PC. It is usually a good practice to put the emulator and the folder with the games in the same folder, so they are easier to open.
Among the most widely used and comprehensive sites where to find ROMs for Nintendo DS, we recommend DownloadRoms, Rom Hustler, and Console games (Roms Mania).
If you use Citra to play 3DS titles, then you can try searching for games on Immortal Games Pro and 3DS Roms.
