DS emulator actually means Nintendo. Nintendo is basically a gaming console, originated in a country known as Japan. The actual Japanese video game console is headquartered in Kyoto. Nintendo was discovered on 23rd September in the year 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi. Nintendo or DS Emulator is one of the awesome and most iconic handle gaming consoles. The top selling video game branches like Mario, The Legend of Zeida, Modern Warfare 3, Ben 10, Star Wars, The Force Unleashed and Pokemon, etc are also made by this world’s largest video game company. Everyone loves Nintendo gaming console very much, so the users wish to play it also on Android phone and PC. It is not an easy task to play the video game in PC and Android. But emulators were able to make it easy.
DS Emulator requirements
As we are reading about DS Emulators, we must know what are the basic requirements for running the emulator in PC and Android respectively.
First, we will see the requirements for PC:
- CPU – The basic CPU needed is at least Intel Pentium processor, preferably capable of speeds in excess of 1 GHz.
- Memory – DS emulation requires at least 256 MB of memory, with at least 1 gigabyte of memory suggested by us.
- Video Card – It is somewhat strange but yes it is required. The video card does have to support the updated version i.e. Direct X runtime files
Now coming to the requirements for running the emulator on android:
- Nintendo DS game emulators – Firstly, we require the application Game Emulator to run everything smoothly.
- NDS which stands for Nintendo DS Games ROM – The ROM is necessary to maintain proper memory storage of games.
- WinRAR (If required as per the device)
Now let us have a look at some of the famous emulators available:
1. Citra
The first emulator in the list is Citra. Citra is not the simple one but yes it is one of the best emulator in the list of Nintendo 3Ds emulator because of its popularity and user-friendly features. It permits you to access Nintendo 3Ds games at any place starting from Windows, Mac OS X or Linux. You also require to have a 64-bit processor and a graphics card that supports OpenGL 3.3 or higher version downloaded on your operating system. You can easily configure the games from the controller directly through the GUI. Depending on the hardware configuration, Citra can conveniently run most games at a different speed. You cannot download the commercial games with the help of emulator as it is illegal. Citra is actually an active team of open-source developers which makes it more interesting and interactive.
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux.
2. NO$GBA
NO$GBA is one of the best ds emulator for PC. If we try to speak about the amazing Nintendo 3DS emulator for PC, NO$GBA ranks first in every list. It is totally freeware for the version that is not latest as you will have to sadly give $2.5 to get the updated version. Every time there is an upgradation, the previous version becomes totally free. The application runs flawlessly i.e without any mistake in the operating system like Window XP and Vista but its performance degrades when used in the operating system such as Windows 8.1 or 10. The NO$GBA was initially a GBA emulator, therefore, DS’s 3D options are still very poorly controlled. The best thing about this emulator is that it provides speed enhancement.
Platforms: Windows.
3. DraStic DS Emulator
DraStic DS Emulator is included in the list as it is Best DS Emulator for Android. The application comes with very good features and also gives complete control to run the game efficiently. DraStic is not free software but it is available at the Google Play Store for $5, so it is valuable and totally worthy of the features. You will not be sad because of the exclusive feature for any kind. You can easily change the placement and size of the DS screens, for portrait and landscape options. Add-on controllers, and physical controls in devices like a Shield and Xperia Play is completely supported by the Emulator. You can also sync your saved games with the online google drive options. So one can opt for this application without any worries in their heart.
Platforms: Android
4. NDS Emulator
NDS Emulator will help you to enjoy while playing your Nintendo DS game on your basic Android device at the highest speed. The speed is the foremost thing anyone searches in any application which is well provided by NDS Emulator. The application supports NDS files like .nds, .zip etc. Some of the exclusive features include that you can easily save and load the game states. There are various control buttons you can see while playing the game and the screen is easily editable. It is compatible with Android 6.0+ and an external controller. If you want to play other games with this emulator, you can also download and discover the games by yourself. And lastly, it won’t even cause you a single penny. It is totally free and in working condition. Thus, it is considered one of the best Nintendo DS emulator.
Platforms: Android.
5. MelonDS
The MelonDS application is widely used by computer users. It is probably the single and only emulator that has given many signs of hope and well-being for a large competition in the PC space. It is developed by StapleButter and the developers tried well to make it the best application. The first thing developers tried to do was maintaining Wi-Fi capabilities, melonDS is the first and only emulator that has gotten as far as it has and it has been found to run reasonably good with a couple of games. The application also has the wish to implement DSi emulation in the future. So yes, one can surely go for this application to play Nintendo games as it is one of the Best DS emulator.
Platforms: Windows. Linux
6. NDS4Droid
The fifth application in the list is NDS4Droid. The application is not fully developed yet and is still not popular but it supports many features you would expect in any emulator like save states and sound. It is also compatible with the OUYA game console. If the speed was your first priority, then NDS4Droid fails in reaching your expectation. An important thing amongst all other things about NDS4Droid is that the emulator application is totally open source, so anyone who wishes can download it without paying anything and even divert its code. Stacking ROMs is the equivalent as it would be with some other emulators. Some games like Last Fantasy IV runs very efficiently while some games stuck in between and doesn’t run properly. Still, it is one of the Best DS Emulator.
Platforms: Android.
7. RetroArch
RetroArch is really one of the amazing application available throughout the e-world. The amazing emulator is totally free, open source application, cross-platform software which is licensed under the GNU GPLv3. It can just work on the standard stages like Windows, Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux. RetroArch likewise keeps running on Apple and Android for tablets and phones, just as on game consoles like Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, PS Vita, Wii, Wii U and implanted frameworks like Raspberry Pi, ODROID and the sky is the limit from there! The menu of the emulator has various thumbnails and features with various animated backgrounds. The features make it a user-friendly interface. You also get a place where you can see your recent played games just like chrome has the presence of history.
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, Android, iOS.
8. 3DMOO
Coming to the next application presence in the technology world is 3DMOO. It is also an open source emulator which means anyone can edit and change the edit codes. it was manufactured by the great DS developer team after the application Citra was launched, but unfortunately, the development was aborted after some time. Recently, the official website is not available on the websites to download this application. Still, with the help of given site, you can easily download this application and run various games. It does not run on Mac OS X but it runs very properly in other operating systems like Windows and Linux. Thus, the exclusive features like open source, free of cost make it one of the Best DS Emulator.
Platforms: PC, Linux.
9. EmuBox
The ninth application in the list but first in many hearts is the application called as EmuBox. The emulator will help you in running various kinds of games and files like NDS, PSX, SNES, GBA, NES, GBC. The best thing about this application is that it has material design and you can simply save and load your game states. The emulator will help you to play games at a faster pace and usually supports up to 20 save slots for each room. What else can you wish for? You can easily play the game with external controller like you can Plug your gamepad in, or play with the Bluetooth gamepad. The application allows taking screenshots while playing. And lastly, it is intended to play your private ROM backup only.
Platforms: Android.
10. TronDS
The last application and the least popular emulator available in the list is TronDS. It functions properly but the features included in the application is less. Simple 3DS programs like Homebrews can be ran properly on this app. Unfortunately, the development has been stopped since many days and is also considered as very unstable application. It have support for ARM Media instructions and also for Soc:U and Cfg:U services. It also includes circle pad emulation. Being less famous and limited features application, the information regarding the same thing is less. Still, because of the Homebrews thing, it is included in the Best DS Emulators list.
Final Words!
Wrapping the amazing discussion! We have seen various types of amazing emulator available for Nintendo Video consoles. Though they may not function exactly like the game console. Still, they will make you happy at a reasonable cost. Citra is one of the unstable and most active emulator available for users. Now it is your choice to download the game as per your requirement and have a try. Hope you will enjoy playing them. So ending with it, Keep playing!