Emulation General Wiki - User contributions [en]

MacOS emulators

2026-06-05T21:10:39Z

2026-02-17T19:40:51Z

Ivan951236: /* Game-specific features */

{{Infobox computing device/Nintendo GameCube}}

{{for|emulators that run on the Nintendo GameCube|Emulators on Nintendo GameCube}}

The '''[[gametech:Nintendo GameCube|GameCube]]''' ('''GCN'''/'''NGC''') is a 32-bit, sixth-generation console released by [[wikipedia:Nintendo|Nintendo]] on November 18, 2001, for {{inflation|USD|199|2001}}. It has an IBM PowerPC Gekko CPU at 486 MHz with 24 MB of RAM and an ATI Flipper GPU at 162 MHz. Nintendo, Namco, and Sega later designed the '''[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Triforce Triforce]''' arcade board based on the GameCube, releasing titles for it the following year. Unlike [[PlayStation_2_emulators#Hardware_Features_and_Accessories|PlayStation 2]] or [[Xbox_emulators#Hardware_features_and_peripherals|Xbox]] DVD playback support, the GameCube didn't have playback support for [https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=249677 mini-DVD movies]. However, a special version of the GameCube that could play DVD-Video, audio CDs and VCDs was released by Nintendo and Panasonic, called the [[#Hardware_variants|Panasonic Q]].

Nintendo released the successor, the [[Wii emulators|Wii]], in 2006, which was revealed to have very similar (albeit more powerful) hardware and compatible interfaces. This meant the Wii could run GameCube games natively rather than via emulation. While this was removed in later revisions, as well as the vWii mode in the Wii U, the hardware is still similar enough that GameCube games can be run via certain homebrew programs, with [[Nintendont]] being the most popular and easy to use.

==Emulators==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%;"
|+Before editing, review the [[Getting involved]] and [[Recommended emulators|Recommended]] pages. See [[Computer_specifications#Recommended_Specifications|system requirements]] page for performance demand of the emulators. See tables for [[#Hardware variants|hardware variants]], [[#Enhancements|enhancements]], [[#Hardware_features_and_peripherals|hardware features and peripherals]]. For more details such as [[licensing]], [[Source_code#Language_levels|programming language]], [[High_and_low-level_emulation|emulation method]], visit each emulator’s dedicated page.
!Name
!Platform(s)
!Latest version
!Compatibility
![[Licensing|License]]
!Active
![[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="11"|x86
|-
| [[Dolphin]]
| align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
| [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/#download-dev Dev] [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/ {{DolphinVer}}]<ref group=N>The last Dolphin release to support Windows 10 versions 1703 to 1809 is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/release/2503a/ 2503a], and the last development build is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/eb84b0fb9b3cd21400987a1c10c4a38d4861b9a9/ 2503-148].[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#windows-10-minimum-version-bumped-to-1903], The last Dolphin release to support macOS 10.15 Catalina is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/release/2503a/ 2503a], and the last development build is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/afee9a56e96766d4622b1694398704e4c8d57b25/ 2503-270].[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#macos-minimum-version-bumped-to-macos-11-big-sur]</ref> [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ ''libretro core'']<ref group=N name=DolphinRA>Dolphin libretro core has been [https://github.com/libretro/dolphin/pull/352 updated and refactored to align with upstream Dolphin], but it may still contain some bugs not present in the standalone Dolphin version. As with the PPSSPP, Citra, and melonDS libretro cores, the standalone version of Dolphin is recommended over the libretro core.</ref>
|[https://dolphin-emu.org/compat/ 97%] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|[[Ishiiruka-Dolphin]] (いし海豚)
| align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
| [https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-unofficial-ishiiruka-dolphin-custom-version Dev]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}
|-
| [https://github.com/emu-russia/pureikyubu Pureikyubu] (PlayCube)
| align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
| [https://github.com/emu-russia/pureikyubu/releases {{PureikyubuVer}}]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|CC0}} 1.0 ({{License|PDEQ}}) ||{{~}} ||{{✗}} (WIP)
|-
| [[Dolphin (Nintendo)|Dolphin (Nintendo)]]
| align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
| [http://www.emuparadise.me/sdk/Installers/Nintendo/GameCube/NINTENDO%20GameCube%20PC%20Dolphin%20Emulator%20e2.8%20(Installer).7z e2.8]
|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[[lazuli]]
| align=left|{{Icon|Win|Linux}}
| [https://github.com/vxpm/lazuli/releases/ git]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}})||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|Gekko GameCube Emulator
| align=left|{{Icon|Win}}
| [https://github.com/shonumi/gekko-gc-emu git]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}})||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
!colspan="11"|ARM
|-
| [[Dolphin]]
| align=left|{{Icon|Android|LiA|macOS|WoA}}
| [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/#download-dev Dev] [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/ {{DolphinVer}}]<ref group=N>The last Dolphin release to support macOS 10.15 Catalina is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/release/2503a/ 2503a], and the last development build is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/afee9a56e96766d4622b1694398704e4c8d57b25/ 2503-270].[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#macos-minimum-version-bumped-to-macos-11-big-sur]</ref> [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]<ref group=N name=DolphinRA></ref>
|[https://dolphin-emu.org/compat/ 97%] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
| DolphiniOS
| align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS}}
| [https://dolphinios.oatmealdome.me Release] [https://dolphinios.oatmealdome.me/beta Beta]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
| [[Dolphin MMJR|Dolphin MMJR]]&Dagger;
| align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
| <strike>[https://github.com/Bankaimaster999/Dolphin-MMJR git]</strike>&Dagger;
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[[Provenance]]
|align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS}}
|[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/provenance-app/id1596862805 {{ProvenanceVer}}][https://github.com/Provenance-Emu/Provenance/releases git]
|{{?}} ||{{?}} ||{{✓}} ||{{?}}
|-
|[[iCube]]
|align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS|tvOS}}
|[https://provenance.itch.io/icube {{iCubeVer}}][https://github.com/Provenance-Emu/iCube/releases git]
|{{?}} ||{{?}} ||{{✓}} ||{{?}}
|-
!colspan="11"|Consoles
|-
| [[Nintendo Switch Online|Nintendo Classics]] (unknown codename)
|align=left|{{Icon|Switch2}}
| N/A
|[[Official_emulators#GameCube_.2F_Wii|Only for selected titles]] ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
| Hagi
| align=left|{{Icon|NX}}
| Patch-based
|[[Official_emulators#GameCube_.2F_Wii|Only for selected titles]] ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
| Dolphin
| align=left|{{Icon|XB1|XboxSXS}}
| [https://github.com/SirMangler/dolphin/releases 1.1.6]<ref group=N>Use these builds until [https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/11339 this PR merge].</ref> [https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.14.0/windows-msvc2019-uwp/x64/ libretro core]<ref group=N name=DolphinRA></ref>
|[https://dolphin-emu.org/compat/ 97%] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|}

==Compatibility layers [[Compatibility layers|(...)]]==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%;"
!Name
!Platform(s)
!Latest Version
!Compatibility
![[Licensing|License]]
!Active
![[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="11"|Consoles
|-
|[[Nintendont]] (任天堂NT)
| align=left|{{Icon|WiiU|Wii}}<ref group=N>Works on Wii U via its [[Wii_emulators#Native|Wii Mode]].</ref>
| [https://github.com/FIX94/Nintendont git]
|{{Emulator compatibility|link=https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Nintendont_Compatibility_List|1020|1024}} ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|Devolution
| align=left|{{Icon|WiiU|Wii}}
| [https://gbatemp.net/threads/devolution-public-release.330554/ r206]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{X}} ||{{X}}
|-
| DIOS MIOS (Lite)
| align=left|{{Icon|Wii}}
| [https://code.google.com/archive/p/diosmios/ 2.11]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|}

==Native==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%;"
!Name
!Platform(s)
!Latest version
!Compatibility
![[Licensing|License]]
!Active
![[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="11"|Consoles
|-
| [[Wii_emulators#Hardware_features_and_peripherals|Wii Backwards Compatibility]]<ref group=N>Some games have patches applied to make them work on the Wii: (source: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/rly3ln/games_that_developed_bugs_and_glitches_or_became/hpjkwio/ 1], [https://wiibrew.org/wiki/MIOS 2]). The disc drive has a 1 MiB read ahead cache, that's not impacted by streaming audio being enabled. So e.g. Metroid Prime 1 loads faster. Previously it was 512 KiB and streaming audio subtracted from it. (source: Extrems)</ref>
| align=left|{{Icon|Wii}}
| v6
| No documented issues
| {{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}}
| {{✗}}
| {{✓}}
|}
<references group=N />

===Comparisons===
;Emulators
:;[[Dolphin]]: The emulator of choice for the GameCube and the first Wii emulator. It is updated on a near-daily basis and has great emulation of almost every game, though some games have known bugs on their issue trackers. It is the first emulator to [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2016/09/06/booting-the-final-gc-game/ boot the full game catalog of a sixth-generation home console] (Before any emulator for the same generation rivals like the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and Xbox) and did so in September 2016. The developers maintain a wiki containing known bugs, tips, user-provided tests, and much more for every game.

:;[[Ishiiruka-Dolphin]]: A fork of Dolphin optimized towards performance at the cost of accuracy and stability in the process.

:;Pureikyubu: An open-source Nintendo GameCube emulator which initially started development under the name Dolwin in 2004; it could boot and run some commercial games and demos. Nowadays, Pureikyubu is designed to be a research emulator for developers, with accuracy being a priority.

:;[[Dolphin (Nintendo)]]: Nintendo made an emulator for Windows that was also called Dolphin. This official program doesn't run commercial games and has no connection to the open-source project.

:;Hagi: An [[Official emulators|official]] GameCube/Wii emulator developed by Nintendo European Research & Development (NERD). Hagi has been used primarily for re-releases [[Emulators on Nintendo Switch|on the Switch]], such as ''Super Mario Sunshine'', ''Super Mario Galaxy'', ''Pikmin'', and ''Pikmin 2''. It uses automatic button remapping based on memory.

:;[[Nintendo Switch Online|Nintendo Classics]]: Another official emulator. Released exclusively for the [[Nintendo Switch 2 emulators|Nintendo Switch 2]] and available for the members of Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Supports local and online play (up to four players), and includes a CRT filter and in-app button remapping. Users are limited to the selection of games Nintendo chooses to make available on the service. Accuracy is high, though input lag, analog stick emulation, and single frame drops every 16-17 seconds remain issues.

;Compatibility layers
:;[[Nintendont]]: While not technically an emulator, Nintendont is a [[compatibility layers|compatibility layer]] that allows you to play GameCube games on the Wii and even the Wii U. It's compatible with nearly all GameCube titles (and Triforce games, too) and supports extra features such as memory card emulation along with support for additional controller input options such as the USB GameCube controller adapter, Classic Controller Pro, Wii U Pro Controller, and even the Wii U GamePad.

:;DIOS MIOS (Lite): Another [[compatibility layers|compatibility layer]] for the Wii (but NOT Wii U) that allows you to play GameCube games. The main version allows users to load games off of a USB device, while the "Lite" version loads games from an SD card. Nintendont serves as a direct successor to this project, making DIOS MIOS entirely obsolete.

==Enhancements==
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
|+Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.
! colspan=2 style="width:50%" | Name
! Dolphin
!Ishiiruka-Dolphin
|-
| rowspan="5" |Controls
|Disguise peripheral support through passthrough Tricking the software into think that the original controller was connected even those identify themselves with different device IDs. When a game tries to identify a connected 'nearly the same internally' controller, emulator will tell it that the equivalent original controller is connected instead, allowing it to work.
|{{Ya}}[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#2503-270-disguise-rock-band-playstation-usb-devices-as-wii-equivalents-by-josjuice]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|[[Input_lag|Input lag-mitigating technique]]
|{{Na}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|[[Controllers#Mouse_Injectors_for_Emulators|Mouse injector compatible]]
|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/garungorp/MouseInjectorDolphinDuck *]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|Real peripheral support (passthrough) Ability to passthrough USB HID devices or Bluetooth adapter for emulated system.
|{{Ya}}[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=USB_Passthrough][https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Bluetooth_Passthrough]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|[https://docs.retroachievements.org/general/tutorials/turbo-button.html Turbo button]
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="9" |Graphics
| Better [[texture filtering]] Enhancement option for providing better texture filtering methods comparing the original hardware had.
| colspan="2" | Dolphin's anisotropic filtering '''enhancement''' is not emulation of the consoles' anisotropic filtering. In fact, Dolphin completely ignored all anisotropic filtering requests from the game entirely! Dolphin's enhancement was everything or nothing, and there was no way to only enable anisotropic filtering just for the textures that would have used it on console. As such, it was impossible to get console-matching texture output - without the enhancement some textures would be too soft, and with the enhancement some textures would be too sharp. It was never quite right. '''This has been changed recently though!'''[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#2503-122-use-game-requested-anisotropic-filtering-by-pokechu22-and-billiard] If Dolphin's texture filtering is set to 'Default' and a game requests anisotropic filtering, Dolphin will now listen to the game's request and apply the specific anisotropic filtering it asked for (this way it will be emulation of the hardware feature, not enhancement).
|-
| Pre-rendering anti-aliasing (MSAA, SSAA)
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Ray tracing ([https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/announcing-microsoft-directx-raytracing/ DXR], [https://www.khronos.org/blog/ray-tracing-in-vulkan VRT] and [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/metal/metal_sample_code_library/accelerating_ray_tracing_using_metal MRT])
| colspan="2" | Implementing ray tracing in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. However you can try "[[Shaders_and_filters#Notable_ReShade_shaders|Screen-Space Ray Traced Global Illumination]]" shader using ReShade. See {{YouTubeVideo|9IlqfrJwKr4|here}} and [https://reshade.me/forum/general-discussion/5442-release-misc-emulators-with-depth-buffer-access#35113 here]
|-
| [[Resolution|Resizable internal resolution]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/rtx-remix/wiki RTX Remix]
| colspan="2" | Implementing RTX Remix technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. Besides, Dolphin already supports most of RTX Remix features such as access to assets, texture replacement and post-processing effects etc.[https://www.reddit.com/r/DolphinEmulator/comments/xn6p21/is_it_possible_to_use_rtx_remix_on_emulated/] On top of that you can use ReShade.
|-
| Super-resolution techniques ([https://github.com/NVIDIA/DLSS/blob/main/doc/DLSS_Programming_Guide_Release.pdf DLSS], [https://github.com/intel/xess/?tab=readme-ov-file XeSS] and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 2+]])
| colspan="2" | Requires access to the depth buffer and temporal data like motion-vectors so it's quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. Besides, any GPU that can use DLSS can run Dolphin at 8k native with ease anyway.
|-
| [[Texture packs]]
| {{✓}}<ref group="N2">Dolphin lets you dump game textures and also replace game textures with new custom ones.{{Main|Texture packs#GameCube/Wii}}</ref>
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:24-bit_color#True_color_(24-bit)|True color]] rendering This is an enhancement that reduces banding by forcing the emulated hardware to the highest bitdepth possible. [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/02/10/dolphin-progress-report-november-and-december-2023-january-2024/#50-20849-videocommon-apply-force-24-bit-color-to-efb-copies-by-flacs Read this] for more information. It is useful especially on non-CRT [[displays]], producing nicer looking gradients.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Widescreen_hacks#GameCube.2FWii|Widescreen and ultra-widescreen hack]] To get full native widescreen, try [[Homebrew and ROM hacks|Swiss]]. This can even run on a real GameCube/Wii if you wish.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="5" |Performance
|[https://blurbusters.com/frame-generation-essentials-interpolation-extrapolation-and-reprojection/ Frame generation technologies] ([https://store.steampowered.com/app/993090/Lossless_Scaling/ LSFG], [https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/Streamline/blob/main/docs/ProgrammingGuideDLSS_G.md DLSS-FG] and [https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5621/~/enabling-smooth-motion-in-nvidia-app SM], [https://www.techpowerup.com/316835/extrass-framework-paper-details-intels-take-on-frame-generation XeSS-FG], [https://community.amd.com/t5/gaming/amd-fluid-motion-frames-is-out-now-on-amd-radeon-rx-7000-series/ba-p/634372 AFMF] and [https://gpuopen.com/fidelityfx-super-resolution-3/#:~:text=Features-,Frame%20Generation,-Insert%20interpolated%20frames FSR FG])
| colspan="2" | Implementing frame generation technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future, however post-processing techniques such as [[Wikipedia:Motion_interpolation|motion interpolation]] is quite possible. [[Input_lag|Input latency]] will be a crucial factor, but its impact likely varies depending on the specific technique employed, it's recommended to use '''after applying the "Internal Framerate Hack" and "skip presenting duplicate frames option"'''. While '''{{YouTubeVideo|5mbUTfCRIF0|AFMF}}''' or '''LSFG''' can be used with Dolphin, please be aware that some visual glitches and artifacts may occur at this time.
|-
| [[30/60_FPS_cheat_codes#GameCube.2FWii|Internal frame rate hack]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Overclocking|Overclock]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Preload [[Wikipedia:Template:Disk_images|optical disc image]] to RAM For users with sluggish multi-platter HDDs or plagued by horrible seek times, this enhancement '''might''' offer smoother experience, potentially reduced power consumption; it also shines when disc images reside on a network drive. Although keep in mind that preloading image would take some time, and it will require additional amount of RAM capacity.
| {{✗}}[https://bugs.dolphin-emu.org/issues/11876 *]
|{{?}}
|-
| Rendering latency reduction technologies ([https://github.com/ishitatsuyuki/LatencyFleX LatencyFleX], [https://developer.nvidia.com/performance-rendering-tools/reflex Reflex], {{YouTubeVideo|B4rBI5G1nNY|Xe-LL}} and [https://www.amd.com/en/products/software/adrenalin/radeon-software-anti-lag.html Anti-Lag'''+'''])
| colspan="2" | While most emulators offer frame pacing or framebuffer latency control options, implementing rendering latency reduction technologies isn't currently feasible. This is '''likely''' doesn't offer enough benefit to justify the development effort.
|-
| rowspan="6" |Post-processing
|[[Shaders_and_filters#AI-powered filters|AI-powered filter compatible]] ([https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/gfecnt/nvidia-freestyle-ansel-enhancements-geforce-experience-article/ Freestyle])
| {{?}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[[High_dynamic_range#Inverse_tone_mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]
| {{✓}}[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/04/30/dolphin-progress-report-february-march-and-april-2024/#hdr-enhancements-50-19931-add-autohdr-post-process-shader-by-filoppi-and-50-21232-add-hdr-to-metal-perceptual-hdr-by-samb *]
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering anti-aliasing]] (FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]] (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 1]])
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Shader_Presets|Shader chain]]
| [https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/10362 WIP]<ref group="N2">Dolphin had a [https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-dolphinfx-post-processing-suite-for-the-opengl-backend?pid=497374#pid497374 DolphinFX] project for OpenGL backend, but it's now obsolete.</ref>
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="17" |Quality of life
|Automatic emulated controller connect/disconnect Automatically connects or disconnects emulated controllers when a new or current controller is connected or disconnected.
|{{n}}
|{{n}}
|-
|Automatic updater
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Automatic region switching
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Frontends#Graphical_User_Interfaces_.28GUIs.29|Big Picture Mode]]
| [https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-possible-to-add-a-big-picture-menu-screen-like-pcsx2-has WIP]
|{{?}}
|-
| Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|cheat manager]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Built-in [http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,106405 custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes] For using this on Windows OS you need [http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1009#p1009 CRT Emudriver]. Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility".
| Exclusive to [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/crtswitchres/ libretro core] at the moment. Also there is a [https://github.com/psakhis/Groovy_MiSTer project] for achieving software emulators like libretro cores and GroovyMAME send the raw RGB data over a network to a core running on MiSTer, it basically turns the MiSTer into a GPU for the emulator allowing for easy setup and use with CRT TVs/Arcade monitors.
|{{?}}
|-
| Built-in [[Mods,_hacks_and_fan-translations#Built-in mod editor and manager for emulators|mod editor and manager]]
| {{~}}<ref group="N2">There is a pull request for adding [https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/12280 graphics mod editor/manager] to Dolphin. In the meantime, you can use [https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Graphics_Mods Graphics Mods]; an exciting new feature introduced in 5.0-16763 that allows users to modify games through a method of defining targets and then applying actions to those targets. Currently, Dolphin supports three actions: Skip, Move, and Scale. These are modifications to the target groups. In addition to this, Dolphin has some built-in Graphics Mods that apply to certain target groups. These include "Native Bloom" - scaling the "Bloom" target group down to the correct resolution, "No Bloom" - skipping any texture labeled in the "Bloom" target group, and "No HUD" - skipping any textures under the target group of "HUD". You can define these or your own Target Groups in any game through using Dolphin's Texture Dumping tool or EFB dumping tools.</ref>
|{{?}}
|-
| Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|patch manager]]
| {{?}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[[Save_converters|Built-in save manager]]
| {{?}}<ref group="N2">You can always use [[#Main_Menu|Main Menu emulation]] capability of the emulator to manage your game saves.</ref>
|{{?}}
|-
| Command-line options
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/High_and_low-level_emulation#Modern_Dependencies.2C_Advancements_and_Optimization_Strategies:~:text=Index%20databases%20or%20compatibility%20databases Index/Compatibility databases] Many modern emulators incorporate database-driven per-game overrides to apply targeted fixes or tweaks for quality-of-life (QoL) improvement without requiring users to manually edit global config files for each title. This approach allows quick, centralized application of workarounds for specific games, such as graphics fixes, timing adjustments, or compatibility flags, while keeping the emulator's default settings intact. This auto fix feature shouldn't be confused with "Per-game profiles" enhancement feature.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| On-screen display Showcases messages, controller input state which is useful for speedrunners, performance data, active settings, and various notifications.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Pause/Resume emulation
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Per-game profiles
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[https://www.portablefreeware.com/faq.php#portable Portable] and [https://www.portablefreeware.com/faq.php#stealth stealth] Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary [[Computer_specifications#Operating_System|prerequisites and dependencies]] for your operating system if it is not statically linked.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs#GameCube_.2F_Wii|Streamable compression format]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Variable_refresh_rate|Variable refresh rate compatible]]
| {{✗}}[https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-question-about-gsync-vrr *]
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="6" |[https://tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]
|Fast forward/Turbo speed
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[[Wikipedia:Macro_(computer_science)|Macros/Scripts]]/[https://tasvideos.org/LuaScripting Lua]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[https://tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Frame step (forwards and backwards)
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Rewind
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Save states
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="10" | Misc.
|[[Sound and audio#Ambient_sounds_simulation|Ambient sounds simulation]] Simulation of audio from original hardware and environments, such as mechanical hard drive, floppy diskette, and optical drive noises (e.g., head seeks, spin-up/down, tray loading, disc spinning, and clicking), variable CRT flyback transformer whine (the classic high-pitched "coil whine" that dynamically changes pitch based on screen brightness and content), arcade cabinet effects (e.g., fan hum or button rattles), and other background ambient noises.
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|[[Sound and audio#Audio filters and presets|Audio filters and presets]] Simulation of characteristic playback limitations and coloration of vintage consumer audio hardware, such as CRT television speakers, arcade cabinets, handheld consoles, early PC sound outputs, and low-fidelity integrated speakers. These filters are not intended to be perfectly accurate recreations, but rather to evoke the tonal qualities, distortion, bandwidth limits, resonance, and compression associated with 8-bit and 16-bit era devices. Examples include mono or narrow stereo output, reduced frequency response, speaker cone distortion, mild saturation, aliasing, and preset lo-fi profiles inspired by classic TVs, portable game systems, radios, and retro multimedia hardware.
|colspan="2" |Exclusive to [https://github.com/RetroCrisis/Retro-Crisis-Audio-Filters libretro cores] at the moment.
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Debugging|Debug features]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Virtual_reality#VR_game_room_simulations|EmuVR support]]
| colspan="2" | Exclusive to [https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] at the moment.
|-
| File viewer Lets the user look at the ROM's files.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Free Look Free Look is an enhancement feature that allows manipulation of the in-game camera.
| {{✓}}[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Free_Look *]
|{{n}}
|-
| [[Netplay#GameCube_.2F_Wii|Netplay]] This shouldn't be confused with Broadband Adapter emulation, see [[#Hardware features and peripherals|hardware features and peripherals]].
| {{✓}}[https://dolphin-emu.org/docs/guides/netplay-guide/ *]
|{{n}}
|-
| [[RetroAchievements]]
| {{✓}}<ref group="N2">GameCube support for RetroAchievements became available on [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/07/15/unlocked-retroachievements-come-dolphin/ July 15, 2024] for Dolphin on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and on [https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/33323 November 22, 2025] for Dolphin on Android. The libretro core version of Dolphin does not support achievements.</ref>
|{{Na}}
|-
|Rich Presence (RPC) Allows the emulator to share real-time game session details (e.g., current game title, level, boss, playtime, or custom status) with external applications. This enables features such as displaying what you're playing on your profile, inviting friends to spectate, or triggering join-in-progress functionality where supported.
|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/6983]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|Screen translator Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically.
|colspan="6" |You can use [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/ai-service/ RetroArch's AI Service] or the standalone offline [https://github.com/bquenin/interpreter bquenin's Interpreter].
|}
<references group=N2/>

==Hardware features and peripherals==
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
|+Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.
! colspan="3" style="width:50%" |Name
! Dolphin
!Ishiiruka-Dolphin
|-
|rowspan="5" |Hardware features
|colspan="2" |Controller rumble
|{{Ya}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[https://www.mobygames.com/attributes/attribute/206/ Dolby Surround as Dolby Pro Logic II]
|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/5235 *]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[[#GameCube Game Disc|Game Disc]]
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|colspan="2" |Progressive scan
|{{Ya}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[[#Main_Menu|System BIOS]]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|rowspan="12" |Peripherals
|colspan="2" |[https://www.lucklessheaven.com/nintendo-gamecube-hardware Calendar Card]
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |Connectivity
|[[Early_online_services#Broadband_Adapter_.28Gamecube.29|Broadband adapter]]||{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|[[Early_online_services#The_GameCube_Modem_Adapter_.28Gamecube.29|Modem adapter]]||{{Ya}}[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/04/30/dolphin-progress-report-february-march-and-april-2024/#50-21253-implement-modem-adapter-by-fuzziqersoftware *]
|{{Na}}
|-
|rowspan="5" |Controllers
|[[List_of_games_with_keyboard_and_mouse_support#Nintendo_GameCube|ASCII Keyboard]]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|[https://www.lucklessheaven.com/nintendo-gamecube-hardware ''Dance Dance Revolution'' Dance Mat]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|[[#Bongos|DK Bongos]]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|[[#GC/GBA Cable|Game Boy Advance cable]]||{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|Racing wheel
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[[#Game Boy Player|Game Boy Player]]
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|colspan="2" |Inrou-Kun pedometer & Botan-San walking pad
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[[List_of_games_that_support_microphone|Microphone]]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[https://www.lucklessheaven.com/nintendo-gamecube-hardware SD Card Adapter]
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|rowspan="2" |Misc.
|colspan= "2"|[https://shonumi.github.io/dandocs.html#jcc_gcn Joy Carry Cartridge Game Boy Advance connectivity]
|{{Dunno}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[https://newqualitipedia.telepedia.net/wiki/Disc_scratch Disc scratch] Similarly to cartridge tilting on cartridge-based systems, people intentionally scratch their discs to make a particular glitch work more reliably.[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/y1jdda/possibility_of_disc_scratch_emulation/]
|colspan="2" | No emulator currently includes built-in disc scratch simulation, as it would require [[High_and_low-level_emulation|low-level emulation]] of optical drive error correction, which is not implemented. As a workaround, you can try the external [https://github.com/redscientistlabs/RTCV Real-Time Corruptor (RTCV)] tool. It is a real-time memory/data corruption tool for inducing glitches during emulation, which might mimic some effects of a scratched disc (e.g., visual/audio artifacts or crashes). However, it is not a true "disc scratch" simulator, as it works on live memory rather than simulating physical disc read errors.
|}
<references group=N3/>
===Main Menu===
:[https://tcrf.net/GameCube#Revisional_Differences tcrf: GameCube Revisional Differences]
[[File:Gamecube IPL.gif|thumb|298px|Gamecube Main Menu emulation using Dolphin emulator]]
Initial Program Loader (IPL) of the GameCube and its top level interface, allowing the player to load discs, change settings, and manage up to two memory cards at once.

:To boot the GameCube's BIOS and IPL, you need a dump from real hardware. Dolphin doesn't require it to load games but can be set to use it if desired. Current development builds have introduced a feature allowing users to load the BIOS directly from the interface in the Tools list without needing to load a game. If you're on the current stable release, use XFB Virtual and disable "Skip BIOS" in the GameCube options. You don't have to load a GameCube title for the startup animation begins, boot directly to the menu by using Load GameCube Main Menu under Tools.[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=GameCube_Main_Menu] If you insert the disc/disc image before booting the main menu, like on the original console, you hold the first controller's A-button down and the system will send you to the main menu instead of booting the game. You can then switch to another game with Change Disc, or you can explore the BIOS.

===GameCube Game Disc===
The GameCube Game Disc (DOL-006) is the game medium for the GameCube, created by Matsushita/Panasonic, one of the ten founders of the DVD Forum, and later extended for use in the first Wii model backward compatibility mode. The GameCube is Nintendo's first optical disc console, after mainly ROM cartridge-based platforms. The GameCube Game Disc is a 1.46 GB, 8 cm miniDVD-based technology that reads at a constant angular velocity (CAV). It was chosen by Nintendo to prevent copyright infringement of its games, to reduce manufacturing costs compared to Nintendo 64 Game Paks, and to avoid licensing fees to the DVD Forum. GameCube Game Discs don't use the Content Scramble System found on normal DVD-Video discs, as Nintendo wasn't satisfied with its level of security.

The GameCube is unable to be used as a general DVD player, except for the [[#Panasonic_Q|Panasonic Q]] which is a uniquely customized GameCube with DVD capability that was released only in Japan.[[Wikipedia:Nintendo_optical_discs#GameCube_Game_Disc GameCube Game Disc]]

*Dolphin has support for GameCube Game Disc dumps/[[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs#GameCube_.2F_Wii|images]]. Most regular optical drives for PCs are unable to read GameCube & Wii discs. However, you can use some out-of-print models of DVD drives that may read GC and Wii discs but they are rare and primarily used for dumping the game data into an disc image file, and you need a compatible software tool to dump it. There is no passthrough support. See [[Ripping_games]] page for more information.
*See [[Home_media_players#Emulators|this dedicated page]] for more information about home media playback support for emulation software.
*See [https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Copy_protection#:~:text=Emulation%20of%20the%20Disc%20Drive "Emulation of the Disc Drive" section] in [[Copy protection]] page.

===GC/GBA Cable===
Nintendo produced a [[Wikipedia:Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable|special cable]] (<code>DOL-011</code>) that allowed connectivity with the [[Game Boy Advance emulators|Game Boy Advance]] in [https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Game_Boy_Advance_to_Nintendo_GameCube_Link_Cable#List_of_Supported_Games '''specific games''']. Up to four ports could be taken up for the game. While the third-generation Pokémon games are the prime example of it being used in conjunction with Colosseum, XD, or Pokémon Box, they aren't the only games to do so.<ref>[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/16ethk2/i_think_ive_reached_the_limits_of_what_dolphin/k00l1d8/ GBE+ Dev Shonumi's comment about GCN<->GBA connection].</ref> Some GameCube games lets the player(s) use the Game Boy Advance as a controller.

Dolphin includes a GBA core based on [[mGBA]] that is tied to GameCube emulation, allowing for a very stable connection that works with features such as save states and netplay. Dolphin can also connect to standalone versions of mGBA or [[VisualBoyAdvance-M]]; this is necessary for some less commonly used features or cases where the GBA has to be disconnected from the GameCube. Both can be enabled by going into the controller settings and assigning the GBA to one or more ports. The general config menu also allows you to specify a GBA ROM to be used if using the built-in GBA core.

Nintendont includes support for the GBA link cable hardware, but only through the GC controller ports on the original Wii (model RVL-001). It is currently '''not''' supported through any USB adapters.

===Bongos===
This special controller is used with ''Donkey Konga'' and other ''Donkey Kong'' games released for the GameCube.

Dolphin supports this controller via the GameCube controller adapter.

Nintendont is known to support this controller through the GC controller ports on the original Wii (model RVL-001). It is '''currently unclear''' whether the controller is supported through any USB adapters.

===Game Boy Player===
This add-on plugged into the bottom of the GameCube and allowed it to play Game Boy / Game Boy Advance games on a standard television; it had provisions against [[Wikipedia:Game Boy Advance Video|Game Boy Advance Video]] cartridges by returning an error after booting them. The launcher even supported the GBA-GCN link cable, where the Game Boy Advance would serve as the controller. Some GBA games like ''Super Mario Advance 4'' and ''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga'' took advantage of the add-on by adding rumble support. The hardware is essentially a peripheral containing Game Boy Advance hardware, which means that recreating it would require simultaneous emulation of a GameCube and a GBA, including BIOS files for both.

No emulator currently supports the Game Boy Player hardware and its features. The Dolphin developers have hinted at adding support for it in the future, made possible by the aforementioned mGBA integration (see the previous section of this page).<ref>https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2021/07/21/integrated-gba/#conclusion</ref>

==Hardware variants==
===Triforce===
The [[wikipedia:List_of_Sega_arcade_system_boards#Triforce|Triforce]] is an [[:Category:Arcade|arcade system board]] developed jointly by [[wikipedia:Namco|Namco]], [[wikipedia:Sega|Sega]], and Nintendo, with the first games appearing in 2002. The system hardware consists of a retail GameCube motherboard, with custom devices interfacing with the EXI, SI and DI, and a custom IPL. Dolphin used to have Triforce support. However, it was removed several years ago. There are two pull requests by Zopolis4 to add preliminary support for Triforce back into upstream Dolphin, but the work is ancient and unsupported.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/10084 |title = Implement preliminary Triforce support}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/10207 |title = Implement preliminary Triforce support Pt.2}}</ref> Nevertheless, [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/list/Triforce/ a branch] remains and can still be used, albeit with some difficulty and not recommended. Recently, Triforce support added to main branch again.[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2026/02/16/rise-of-the-triforce/#setting-up-dolphin-for-triforce-emulation]

;You have three options for Triforce emulation
'''1. Main Dolphin builds (recommended):'''
Use latest version. placeholder text

'''2. Custom Triforce builds (optional):'''
Compatibility is patchy, and while all games boot, many require memory patches via gecko codes to progress beyond error screens. This is further compounded by the abundance of patched or modified dumps floating around. Many of which have patched headers for use with Nintendont, or being renamed versions of their GameCube counterparts. This is most prevalent with Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 & 2, with there being no good (public) dumps at all. The site that previously hosted the gecko codes for Triforce games has since shut, and the replacement site doesn't have codes for Triforce games, requiring codes to be manually downloaded from the Wayback Machine. Furthermore, games have multiple revisions, and codes only work on specific revisions.
To use these custom Triforce builds, certain settings must be modified:
* Under Config/GameCube, SP1 and Port 1 need to be assigned to AM-Baseboard.
* To actually play games, cheats need to be enabled. While the Mario Kart games have patches on their Dolphin Wiki pages, codes for other games should be downloaded from [https://web.archive.org/web/20181024045747/http://www.geckocodes.org/ here].

Thanks to these builds, most games work correctly with a minimal number of patches needed, so these builds are the second most recommended right now for Triforce emulation;

*Modified build of the Dolphin Triforce branch known as [http://www.emuline.org/topic/2728-emu-virtua-striker-4-arcade-triforce-windows-pc-dolphin-emulator/ DolphinTriforce-Brodostar], which can run Virtua Striker 4, Virtua Striker Ver 2006 and F-Zero AX (both games crash or run extremely slow normally). It also has all the Gecko codes/controls preconfigured. You can download it [https://mega.nz/folder/U0tQXYTa#qcVLwmVz3KL9VR_XKMdXCg here].
*Another suggestion is to use the latest builds by Crediar, found [https://mega.nz/file/kg1REZzC#tRfsBXw5kZv1zLo05MgBJIdWbwCnIT21_k9IyhsjDAE here]. Additional Gecko codes that provide further fixes (performance fix etc.) for this build can be found [https://ia601606.us.archive.org/7/items/dolphin_tri_x64/Gecko%20Codes.txt here].

'''3. Wii:'''
Triforce games can also be run on a Wii using [https://github.com/FIX94/Nintendont Nintendont]. Patches and gecko codes aren't required. Triforce support is essentially unmaintained and lacks features such as LAN connectivity, internal saving (for things such as high scores or F-Zero AX time attack ghosts), and GameCube memory card reading. Mario Cards and F-Zero License Cards can be emulated for the Mario Kart Arcade GP games and F-Zero AX respectively, but linking F-Zero AX to an F-Zero GX save is impossible. Note that this method can't be used within Dolphin, as Nintendont uses the Wii's ARM "Starlet" processor, which Dolphin doesn't emulate (Starlet only exists to run IOS, which Dolphin reimplements anyway).

====Game-specific features====
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
! colspan="3" style="width:50%" |Name
! Dolphin (Triforce fork)
! Dolphin (Official)
|-
| rowspan="2" |Card reader types
| colspan="2" |IC card reader Used in ''[https://archive.org/download/i-img1200x900-1626435528akfibj23/i-img1200x900-1626435528akfibj23.jpg Gekitō Pro Yakyū']'' and ''Virtua Striker 4''.||{{Na}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
| colspan="2" |Magnetic card reader/writer Used in ''F-Zero AX'' and ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 & 2''.
|{{Na}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|Input
| colspan="2" |Touchscreen||{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="3" |Force feedback||{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="3" |Memory card slot ''F-Zero AX'' lets players play as their custom machines from ''F-Zero GX'' to the arcade version, and unlocks bonus content in ''F-Zero GX''. They can also be unlocked through story mode.
|{{Na}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
| colspan="3" |NamCam A camera manufactured by Namco. Used in ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 & 2''.||{{Na}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
| rowspan="4" |Networking
| rowspan="3" |Ethernet
|Link Can be used to connect up to 4 ''F-Zero AX'' or 2 ''Virtua Striker 2002'' cabinets. ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 1'' supports 2 and ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 2'' supports at least 2 cabinets.||{{Na}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|Online ''Virtua Striker 4'' used [[Early online services#ALL.Net|ALL.Net]]. ''Virtua Striker 4 Ver. 2006'' lets you send your player data to VS.Net, other players will play against your "ghost".||{{Na}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|Satellite terminal||{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="2" |RC-232C||{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|Output
| colspan="2" |Lamps and LED lights||{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[bulba:Pokémon_Battrio|Pokémon Battrio]]
| colspan="2" |[[bulba:Pokémon_Battrio#Memory_Keys|Memory keys]]||{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="2" |[[bulba:Pokémon_Battrio#Pucks|Pucks]]||{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="3" |Upgradable RAM
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|}

===Panasonic Q===
[[File:Panasonic Q.png|210px|thumb|left|The Panasonic Q GameCube console.]]
The Panasonic Q (sometimes referred to as GameQ by GameCube fans) is a hybrid version of the GameCube with a DVD player manufactured by Panasonic in cooperation with Nintendo. The system was officially released only in Japan. A feature of its main competitors, the Xbox and the PlayStation 2, the GameCube lacked commercial DVD movie playback functionality due to the use of the Nintendo optical discs format for games and the correspondingly small disc tray.
Initially, the Panasonic Q could only play games and DVDs from Japan; however, a modified version, which could play American games and DVDs, began to be sold from Import shops, making it a popular console to import from Japan. The unit was priced at around ¥41,000 JPY, and the modified version was priced at ¥46,000 JPY.
The Panasonic Q is capable of using almost all the GameCube hardware upgrades. A special version of the Game Boy Player was designed for the Q because the Player was designed to fit onto the bottom of the GameCube, and the Q's different bottom form factor kept the Player from being installed. Other features of the Panasonic Q include a backlit information LCD, a front-loading slot disc tray, an optical sound output supporting Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, a separate subwoofer jack, DVD remote control, and a stainless steel chassis. These high-end features, as well as the aforementioned multimedia playback capabilities, have made the Panasonic Q a popular console to collect.

The Q system was licensed by Nintendo, released on December 13, 2001, and was discontinued on December 18, 2003, due to low sales.

*Dolphin has no support for this variation.
*See [[Home_media_players#Emulators|this dedicated page]] for more information about home media playback support for emulation software.

==Emulation issues==
For more information about Nintendo GameCube hardware and its reverse engineering;
* MVG: {{YouTubeVideo|Uxjl_kD3imQ|How the Nintendo GameCube Security was defeated}}, {{YouTubeVideo|up6Rm1Sw1ps|The Nintendo GameCube is still awesome - Games, Homebrew, Modding and More}}, {{YouTubeVideo|HJHb3ZJXJfw|Dolphin has been ported to the Xbox}}
* Dolphin: [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/ Blog], [https://discord.gg/ZGbGN2mC Discord]
* [https://gamecube.dev/ Awesome GameCube Development]
* [https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/gamecube/ Rodrigo Colpetti's GameCube practical analysis]
* [https://www.gc-forever.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page GC-Forever]
* [https://consolemods.org/wiki/GameCube:GameCube_Mods_Wiki ConsoleMods - GameCube]

==Resources==
*[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Dolphin Wiki] - The most comprehensive wiki for the Dolphin emulator and games. Good for any fixes/tweaks/settings you should know beforehand.

==References==
<references/>

{{Nintendo}}

[[Category:Nintendo GameCube| ]]

{{#seo:
|keywords=video games,emulation,emulator,emu,wiki,download,recommended,guide,list,nintendo,ngc,gcn,game,cube,gamecube,dolphin
|description=Information and recommendations for the best {{PAGENAME}} and where to download them.
|published_time={{#time:c|{{REVISIONTIMESTAMP}}}}
}}

Nintendo GameCube emulators

2026-02-17T19:39:04Z

Ivan951236: /* Game-specific features */

{{Infobox computing device/Nintendo GameCube}}

{{for|emulators that run on the Nintendo GameCube|Emulators on Nintendo GameCube}}

The '''[[gametech:Nintendo GameCube|GameCube]]''' ('''GCN'''/'''NGC''') is a 32-bit, sixth-generation console released by [[wikipedia:Nintendo|Nintendo]] on November 18, 2001, for {{inflation|USD|199|2001}}. It has an IBM PowerPC Gekko CPU at 486 MHz with 24 MB of RAM and an ATI Flipper GPU at 162 MHz. Nintendo, Namco, and Sega later designed the '''[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Triforce Triforce]''' arcade board based on the GameCube, releasing titles for it the following year. Unlike [[PlayStation_2_emulators#Hardware_Features_and_Accessories|PlayStation 2]] or [[Xbox_emulators#Hardware_features_and_peripherals|Xbox]] DVD playback support, the GameCube didn't have playback support for [https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=249677 mini-DVD movies]. However, a special version of the GameCube that could play DVD-Video, audio CDs and VCDs was released by Nintendo and Panasonic, called the [[#Hardware_variants|Panasonic Q]].

Nintendo released the successor, the [[Wii emulators|Wii]], in 2006, which was revealed to have very similar (albeit more powerful) hardware and compatible interfaces. This meant the Wii could run GameCube games natively rather than via emulation. While this was removed in later revisions, as well as the vWii mode in the Wii U, the hardware is still similar enough that GameCube games can be run via certain homebrew programs, with [[Nintendont]] being the most popular and easy to use.

==Emulators==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%;"
|+Before editing, review the [[Getting involved]] and [[Recommended emulators|Recommended]] pages. See [[Computer_specifications#Recommended_Specifications|system requirements]] page for performance demand of the emulators. See tables for [[#Hardware variants|hardware variants]], [[#Enhancements|enhancements]], [[#Hardware_features_and_peripherals|hardware features and peripherals]]. For more details such as [[licensing]], [[Source_code#Language_levels|programming language]], [[High_and_low-level_emulation|emulation method]], visit each emulator’s dedicated page.
!Name
!Platform(s)
!Latest version
!Compatibility
![[Licensing|License]]
!Active
![[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="11"|x86
|-
| [[Dolphin]]
| align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
| [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/#download-dev Dev] [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/ {{DolphinVer}}]<ref group=N>The last Dolphin release to support Windows 10 versions 1703 to 1809 is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/release/2503a/ 2503a], and the last development build is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/eb84b0fb9b3cd21400987a1c10c4a38d4861b9a9/ 2503-148].[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#windows-10-minimum-version-bumped-to-1903], The last Dolphin release to support macOS 10.15 Catalina is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/release/2503a/ 2503a], and the last development build is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/afee9a56e96766d4622b1694398704e4c8d57b25/ 2503-270].[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#macos-minimum-version-bumped-to-macos-11-big-sur]</ref> [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ ''libretro core'']<ref group=N name=DolphinRA>Dolphin libretro core has been [https://github.com/libretro/dolphin/pull/352 updated and refactored to align with upstream Dolphin], but it may still contain some bugs not present in the standalone Dolphin version. As with the PPSSPP, Citra, and melonDS libretro cores, the standalone version of Dolphin is recommended over the libretro core.</ref>
|[https://dolphin-emu.org/compat/ 97%] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|[[Ishiiruka-Dolphin]] (いし海豚)
| align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
| [https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-unofficial-ishiiruka-dolphin-custom-version Dev]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}
|-
| [https://github.com/emu-russia/pureikyubu Pureikyubu] (PlayCube)
| align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
| [https://github.com/emu-russia/pureikyubu/releases {{PureikyubuVer}}]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|CC0}} 1.0 ({{License|PDEQ}}) ||{{~}} ||{{✗}} (WIP)
|-
| [[Dolphin (Nintendo)|Dolphin (Nintendo)]]
| align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
| [http://www.emuparadise.me/sdk/Installers/Nintendo/GameCube/NINTENDO%20GameCube%20PC%20Dolphin%20Emulator%20e2.8%20(Installer).7z e2.8]
|? ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[[lazuli]]
| align=left|{{Icon|Win|Linux}}
| [https://github.com/vxpm/lazuli/releases/ git]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}})||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|Gekko GameCube Emulator
| align=left|{{Icon|Win}}
| [https://github.com/shonumi/gekko-gc-emu git]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}})||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
!colspan="11"|ARM
|-
| [[Dolphin]]
| align=left|{{Icon|Android|LiA|macOS|WoA}}
| [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/#download-dev Dev] [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/ {{DolphinVer}}]<ref group=N>The last Dolphin release to support macOS 10.15 Catalina is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/release/2503a/ 2503a], and the last development build is [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/dev/afee9a56e96766d4622b1694398704e4c8d57b25/ 2503-270].[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#macos-minimum-version-bumped-to-macos-11-big-sur]</ref> [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]<ref group=N name=DolphinRA></ref>
|[https://dolphin-emu.org/compat/ 97%] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
| DolphiniOS
| align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS}}
| [https://dolphinios.oatmealdome.me Release] [https://dolphinios.oatmealdome.me/beta Beta]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
| [[Dolphin MMJR|Dolphin MMJR]]&Dagger;
| align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
| <strike>[https://github.com/Bankaimaster999/Dolphin-MMJR git]</strike>&Dagger;
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[[Provenance]]
|align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS}}
|[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/provenance-app/id1596862805 {{ProvenanceVer}}][https://github.com/Provenance-Emu/Provenance/releases git]
|{{?}} ||{{?}} ||{{✓}} ||{{?}}
|-
|[[iCube]]
|align=left|{{Icon|iOS|iPadOS|tvOS}}
|[https://provenance.itch.io/icube {{iCubeVer}}][https://github.com/Provenance-Emu/iCube/releases git]
|{{?}} ||{{?}} ||{{✓}} ||{{?}}
|-
!colspan="11"|Consoles
|-
| [[Nintendo Switch Online|Nintendo Classics]] (unknown codename)
|align=left|{{Icon|Switch2}}
| N/A
|[[Official_emulators#GameCube_.2F_Wii|Only for selected titles]] ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
| Hagi
| align=left|{{Icon|NX}}
| Patch-based
|[[Official_emulators#GameCube_.2F_Wii|Only for selected titles]] ||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
| Dolphin
| align=left|{{Icon|XB1|XboxSXS}}
| [https://github.com/SirMangler/dolphin/releases 1.1.6]<ref group=N>Use these builds until [https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/11339 this PR merge].</ref> [https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.14.0/windows-msvc2019-uwp/x64/ libretro core]<ref group=N name=DolphinRA></ref>
|[https://dolphin-emu.org/compat/ 97%] ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|}

==Compatibility layers [[Compatibility layers|(...)]]==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%;"
!Name
!Platform(s)
!Latest Version
!Compatibility
![[Licensing|License]]
!Active
![[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="11"|Consoles
|-
|[[Nintendont]] (任天堂NT)
| align=left|{{Icon|WiiU|Wii}}<ref group=N>Works on Wii U via its [[Wii_emulators#Native|Wii Mode]].</ref>
| [https://github.com/FIX94/Nintendont git]
|{{Emulator compatibility|link=https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Nintendont_Compatibility_List|1020|1024}} ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|-
|Devolution
| align=left|{{Icon|WiiU|Wii}}
| [https://gbatemp.net/threads/devolution-public-release.330554/ r206]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv2}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{X}} ||{{X}}
|-
| DIOS MIOS (Lite)
| align=left|{{Icon|Wii}}
| [https://code.google.com/archive/p/diosmios/ 2.11]
|? ||{{Green}} {{License|GPLv3}} ({{License|Copyleft}}) ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|}

==Native==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%;"
!Name
!Platform(s)
!Latest version
!Compatibility
![[Licensing|License]]
!Active
![[Recommended emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="11"|Consoles
|-
| [[Wii_emulators#Hardware_features_and_peripherals|Wii Backwards Compatibility]]<ref group=N>Some games have patches applied to make them work on the Wii: (source: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/rly3ln/games_that_developed_bugs_and_glitches_or_became/hpjkwio/ 1], [https://wiibrew.org/wiki/MIOS 2]). The disc drive has a 1 MiB read ahead cache, that's not impacted by streaming audio being enabled. So e.g. Metroid Prime 1 loads faster. Previously it was 512 KiB and streaming audio subtracted from it. (source: Extrems)</ref>
| align=left|{{Icon|Wii}}
| v6
| No documented issues
| {{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}}
| {{✗}}
| {{✓}}
|}
<references group=N />

===Comparisons===
;Emulators
:;[[Dolphin]]: The emulator of choice for the GameCube and the first Wii emulator. It is updated on a near-daily basis and has great emulation of almost every game, though some games have known bugs on their issue trackers. It is the first emulator to [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2016/09/06/booting-the-final-gc-game/ boot the full game catalog of a sixth-generation home console] (Before any emulator for the same generation rivals like the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and Xbox) and did so in September 2016. The developers maintain a wiki containing known bugs, tips, user-provided tests, and much more for every game.

:;[[Ishiiruka-Dolphin]]: A fork of Dolphin optimized towards performance at the cost of accuracy and stability in the process.

:;Pureikyubu: An open-source Nintendo GameCube emulator which initially started development under the name Dolwin in 2004; it could boot and run some commercial games and demos. Nowadays, Pureikyubu is designed to be a research emulator for developers, with accuracy being a priority.

:;[[Dolphin (Nintendo)]]: Nintendo made an emulator for Windows that was also called Dolphin. This official program doesn't run commercial games and has no connection to the open-source project.

:;Hagi: An [[Official emulators|official]] GameCube/Wii emulator developed by Nintendo European Research & Development (NERD). Hagi has been used primarily for re-releases [[Emulators on Nintendo Switch|on the Switch]], such as ''Super Mario Sunshine'', ''Super Mario Galaxy'', ''Pikmin'', and ''Pikmin 2''. It uses automatic button remapping based on memory.

:;[[Nintendo Switch Online|Nintendo Classics]]: Another official emulator. Released exclusively for the [[Nintendo Switch 2 emulators|Nintendo Switch 2]] and available for the members of Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. Supports local and online play (up to four players), and includes a CRT filter and in-app button remapping. Users are limited to the selection of games Nintendo chooses to make available on the service. Accuracy is high, though input lag, analog stick emulation, and single frame drops every 16-17 seconds remain issues.

;Compatibility layers
:;[[Nintendont]]: While not technically an emulator, Nintendont is a [[compatibility layers|compatibility layer]] that allows you to play GameCube games on the Wii and even the Wii U. It's compatible with nearly all GameCube titles (and Triforce games, too) and supports extra features such as memory card emulation along with support for additional controller input options such as the USB GameCube controller adapter, Classic Controller Pro, Wii U Pro Controller, and even the Wii U GamePad.

:;DIOS MIOS (Lite): Another [[compatibility layers|compatibility layer]] for the Wii (but NOT Wii U) that allows you to play GameCube games. The main version allows users to load games off of a USB device, while the "Lite" version loads games from an SD card. Nintendont serves as a direct successor to this project, making DIOS MIOS entirely obsolete.

==Enhancements==
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
|+Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.
! colspan=2 style="width:50%" | Name
! Dolphin
!Ishiiruka-Dolphin
|-
| rowspan="5" |Controls
|Disguise peripheral support through passthrough Tricking the software into think that the original controller was connected even those identify themselves with different device IDs. When a game tries to identify a connected 'nearly the same internally' controller, emulator will tell it that the equivalent original controller is connected instead, allowing it to work.
|{{Ya}}[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#2503-270-disguise-rock-band-playstation-usb-devices-as-wii-equivalents-by-josjuice]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|[[Input_lag|Input lag-mitigating technique]]
|{{Na}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|[[Controllers#Mouse_Injectors_for_Emulators|Mouse injector compatible]]
|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/garungorp/MouseInjectorDolphinDuck *]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|Real peripheral support (passthrough) Ability to passthrough USB HID devices or Bluetooth adapter for emulated system.
|{{Ya}}[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=USB_Passthrough][https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Bluetooth_Passthrough]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|[https://docs.retroachievements.org/general/tutorials/turbo-button.html Turbo button]
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="9" |Graphics
| Better [[texture filtering]] Enhancement option for providing better texture filtering methods comparing the original hardware had.
| colspan="2" | Dolphin's anisotropic filtering '''enhancement''' is not emulation of the consoles' anisotropic filtering. In fact, Dolphin completely ignored all anisotropic filtering requests from the game entirely! Dolphin's enhancement was everything or nothing, and there was no way to only enable anisotropic filtering just for the textures that would have used it on console. As such, it was impossible to get console-matching texture output - without the enhancement some textures would be too soft, and with the enhancement some textures would be too sharp. It was never quite right. '''This has been changed recently though!'''[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2025/06/04/dolphin-progress-report-release-2506/#2503-122-use-game-requested-anisotropic-filtering-by-pokechu22-and-billiard] If Dolphin's texture filtering is set to 'Default' and a game requests anisotropic filtering, Dolphin will now listen to the game's request and apply the specific anisotropic filtering it asked for (this way it will be emulation of the hardware feature, not enhancement).
|-
| Pre-rendering anti-aliasing (MSAA, SSAA)
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Ray tracing ([https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/announcing-microsoft-directx-raytracing/ DXR], [https://www.khronos.org/blog/ray-tracing-in-vulkan VRT] and [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/metal/metal_sample_code_library/accelerating_ray_tracing_using_metal MRT])
| colspan="2" | Implementing ray tracing in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. However you can try "[[Shaders_and_filters#Notable_ReShade_shaders|Screen-Space Ray Traced Global Illumination]]" shader using ReShade. See {{YouTubeVideo|9IlqfrJwKr4|here}} and [https://reshade.me/forum/general-discussion/5442-release-misc-emulators-with-depth-buffer-access#35113 here]
|-
| [[Resolution|Resizable internal resolution]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/rtx-remix/wiki RTX Remix]
| colspan="2" | Implementing RTX Remix technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. Besides, Dolphin already supports most of RTX Remix features such as access to assets, texture replacement and post-processing effects etc.[https://www.reddit.com/r/DolphinEmulator/comments/xn6p21/is_it_possible_to_use_rtx_remix_on_emulated/] On top of that you can use ReShade.
|-
| Super-resolution techniques ([https://github.com/NVIDIA/DLSS/blob/main/doc/DLSS_Programming_Guide_Release.pdf DLSS], [https://github.com/intel/xess/?tab=readme-ov-file XeSS] and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 2+]])
| colspan="2" | Requires access to the depth buffer and temporal data like motion-vectors so it's quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. Besides, any GPU that can use DLSS can run Dolphin at 8k native with ease anyway.
|-
| [[Texture packs]]
| {{✓}}<ref group="N2">Dolphin lets you dump game textures and also replace game textures with new custom ones.{{Main|Texture packs#GameCube/Wii}}</ref>
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:24-bit_color#True_color_(24-bit)|True color]] rendering This is an enhancement that reduces banding by forcing the emulated hardware to the highest bitdepth possible. [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/02/10/dolphin-progress-report-november-and-december-2023-january-2024/#50-20849-videocommon-apply-force-24-bit-color-to-efb-copies-by-flacs Read this] for more information. It is useful especially on non-CRT [[displays]], producing nicer looking gradients.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Widescreen_hacks#GameCube.2FWii|Widescreen and ultra-widescreen hack]] To get full native widescreen, try [[Homebrew and ROM hacks|Swiss]]. This can even run on a real GameCube/Wii if you wish.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="5" |Performance
|[https://blurbusters.com/frame-generation-essentials-interpolation-extrapolation-and-reprojection/ Frame generation technologies] ([https://store.steampowered.com/app/993090/Lossless_Scaling/ LSFG], [https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/Streamline/blob/main/docs/ProgrammingGuideDLSS_G.md DLSS-FG] and [https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5621/~/enabling-smooth-motion-in-nvidia-app SM], [https://www.techpowerup.com/316835/extrass-framework-paper-details-intels-take-on-frame-generation XeSS-FG], [https://community.amd.com/t5/gaming/amd-fluid-motion-frames-is-out-now-on-amd-radeon-rx-7000-series/ba-p/634372 AFMF] and [https://gpuopen.com/fidelityfx-super-resolution-3/#:~:text=Features-,Frame%20Generation,-Insert%20interpolated%20frames FSR FG])
| colspan="2" | Implementing frame generation technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future, however post-processing techniques such as [[Wikipedia:Motion_interpolation|motion interpolation]] is quite possible. [[Input_lag|Input latency]] will be a crucial factor, but its impact likely varies depending on the specific technique employed, it's recommended to use '''after applying the "Internal Framerate Hack" and "skip presenting duplicate frames option"'''. While '''{{YouTubeVideo|5mbUTfCRIF0|AFMF}}''' or '''LSFG''' can be used with Dolphin, please be aware that some visual glitches and artifacts may occur at this time.
|-
| [[30/60_FPS_cheat_codes#GameCube.2FWii|Internal frame rate hack]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Overclocking|Overclock]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Preload [[Wikipedia:Template:Disk_images|optical disc image]] to RAM For users with sluggish multi-platter HDDs or plagued by horrible seek times, this enhancement '''might''' offer smoother experience, potentially reduced power consumption; it also shines when disc images reside on a network drive. Although keep in mind that preloading image would take some time, and it will require additional amount of RAM capacity.
| {{✗}}[https://bugs.dolphin-emu.org/issues/11876 *]
|{{?}}
|-
| Rendering latency reduction technologies ([https://github.com/ishitatsuyuki/LatencyFleX LatencyFleX], [https://developer.nvidia.com/performance-rendering-tools/reflex Reflex], {{YouTubeVideo|B4rBI5G1nNY|Xe-LL}} and [https://www.amd.com/en/products/software/adrenalin/radeon-software-anti-lag.html Anti-Lag'''+'''])
| colspan="2" | While most emulators offer frame pacing or framebuffer latency control options, implementing rendering latency reduction technologies isn't currently feasible. This is '''likely''' doesn't offer enough benefit to justify the development effort.
|-
| rowspan="6" |Post-processing
|[[Shaders_and_filters#AI-powered filters|AI-powered filter compatible]] ([https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/gfecnt/nvidia-freestyle-ansel-enhancements-geforce-experience-article/ Freestyle])
| {{?}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[[High_dynamic_range#Inverse_tone_mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]
| {{✓}}[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/04/30/dolphin-progress-report-february-march-and-april-2024/#hdr-enhancements-50-19931-add-autohdr-post-process-shader-by-filoppi-and-50-21232-add-hdr-to-metal-perceptual-hdr-by-samb *]
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering anti-aliasing]] (FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]] (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 1]])
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Shader_Presets|Shader chain]]
| [https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/10362 WIP]<ref group="N2">Dolphin had a [https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-dolphinfx-post-processing-suite-for-the-opengl-backend?pid=497374#pid497374 DolphinFX] project for OpenGL backend, but it's now obsolete.</ref>
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="17" |Quality of life
|Automatic emulated controller connect/disconnect Automatically connects or disconnects emulated controllers when a new or current controller is connected or disconnected.
|{{n}}
|{{n}}
|-
|Automatic updater
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Automatic region switching
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Frontends#Graphical_User_Interfaces_.28GUIs.29|Big Picture Mode]]
| [https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-possible-to-add-a-big-picture-menu-screen-like-pcsx2-has WIP]
|{{?}}
|-
| Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|cheat manager]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Built-in [http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,106405 custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes] For using this on Windows OS you need [http://geedorah.com/eiusdemmodi/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1009#p1009 CRT Emudriver]. Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility".
| Exclusive to [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/crtswitchres/ libretro core] at the moment. Also there is a [https://github.com/psakhis/Groovy_MiSTer project] for achieving software emulators like libretro cores and GroovyMAME send the raw RGB data over a network to a core running on MiSTer, it basically turns the MiSTer into a GPU for the emulator allowing for easy setup and use with CRT TVs/Arcade monitors.
|{{?}}
|-
| Built-in [[Mods,_hacks_and_fan-translations#Built-in mod editor and manager for emulators|mod editor and manager]]
| {{~}}<ref group="N2">There is a pull request for adding [https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/12280 graphics mod editor/manager] to Dolphin. In the meantime, you can use [https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Graphics_Mods Graphics Mods]; an exciting new feature introduced in 5.0-16763 that allows users to modify games through a method of defining targets and then applying actions to those targets. Currently, Dolphin supports three actions: Skip, Move, and Scale. These are modifications to the target groups. In addition to this, Dolphin has some built-in Graphics Mods that apply to certain target groups. These include "Native Bloom" - scaling the "Bloom" target group down to the correct resolution, "No Bloom" - skipping any texture labeled in the "Bloom" target group, and "No HUD" - skipping any textures under the target group of "HUD". You can define these or your own Target Groups in any game through using Dolphin's Texture Dumping tool or EFB dumping tools.</ref>
|{{?}}
|-
| Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|patch manager]]
| {{?}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[[Save_converters|Built-in save manager]]
| {{?}}<ref group="N2">You can always use [[#Main_Menu|Main Menu emulation]] capability of the emulator to manage your game saves.</ref>
|{{?}}
|-
| Command-line options
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/High_and_low-level_emulation#Modern_Dependencies.2C_Advancements_and_Optimization_Strategies:~:text=Index%20databases%20or%20compatibility%20databases Index/Compatibility databases] Many modern emulators incorporate database-driven per-game overrides to apply targeted fixes or tweaks for quality-of-life (QoL) improvement without requiring users to manually edit global config files for each title. This approach allows quick, centralized application of workarounds for specific games, such as graphics fixes, timing adjustments, or compatibility flags, while keeping the emulator's default settings intact. This auto fix feature shouldn't be confused with "Per-game profiles" enhancement feature.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| On-screen display Showcases messages, controller input state which is useful for speedrunners, performance data, active settings, and various notifications.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Pause/Resume emulation
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Per-game profiles
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[https://www.portablefreeware.com/faq.php#portable Portable] and [https://www.portablefreeware.com/faq.php#stealth stealth] Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary [[Computer_specifications#Operating_System|prerequisites and dependencies]] for your operating system if it is not statically linked.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs#GameCube_.2F_Wii|Streamable compression format]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Variable_refresh_rate|Variable refresh rate compatible]]
| {{✗}}[https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-question-about-gsync-vrr *]
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="6" |[https://tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]
|Fast forward/Turbo speed
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[[Wikipedia:Macro_(computer_science)|Macros/Scripts]]/[https://tasvideos.org/LuaScripting Lua]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|[https://tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Frame step (forwards and backwards)
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Rewind
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|-
|Save states
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| rowspan="10" | Misc.
|[[Sound and audio#Ambient_sounds_simulation|Ambient sounds simulation]] Simulation of audio from original hardware and environments, such as mechanical hard drive, floppy diskette, and optical drive noises (e.g., head seeks, spin-up/down, tray loading, disc spinning, and clicking), variable CRT flyback transformer whine (the classic high-pitched "coil whine" that dynamically changes pitch based on screen brightness and content), arcade cabinet effects (e.g., fan hum or button rattles), and other background ambient noises.
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|[[Sound and audio#Audio filters and presets|Audio filters and presets]] Simulation of characteristic playback limitations and coloration of vintage consumer audio hardware, such as CRT television speakers, arcade cabinets, handheld consoles, early PC sound outputs, and low-fidelity integrated speakers. These filters are not intended to be perfectly accurate recreations, but rather to evoke the tonal qualities, distortion, bandwidth limits, resonance, and compression associated with 8-bit and 16-bit era devices. Examples include mono or narrow stereo output, reduced frequency response, speaker cone distortion, mild saturation, aliasing, and preset lo-fi profiles inspired by classic TVs, portable game systems, radios, and retro multimedia hardware.
|colspan="2" |Exclusive to [https://github.com/RetroCrisis/Retro-Crisis-Audio-Filters libretro cores] at the moment.
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Debugging|Debug features]]
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| [[Virtual_reality#VR_game_room_simulations|EmuVR support]]
| colspan="2" | Exclusive to [https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] at the moment.
|-
| File viewer Lets the user look at the ROM's files.
| {{✓}}
|{{?}}
|-
| Free Look Free Look is an enhancement feature that allows manipulation of the in-game camera.
| {{✓}}[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Free_Look *]
|{{n}}
|-
| [[Netplay#GameCube_.2F_Wii|Netplay]] This shouldn't be confused with Broadband Adapter emulation, see [[#Hardware features and peripherals|hardware features and peripherals]].
| {{✓}}[https://dolphin-emu.org/docs/guides/netplay-guide/ *]
|{{n}}
|-
| [[RetroAchievements]]
| {{✓}}<ref group="N2">GameCube support for RetroAchievements became available on [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/07/15/unlocked-retroachievements-come-dolphin/ July 15, 2024] for Dolphin on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and on [https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/33323 November 22, 2025] for Dolphin on Android. The libretro core version of Dolphin does not support achievements.</ref>
|{{Na}}
|-
|Rich Presence (RPC) Allows the emulator to share real-time game session details (e.g., current game title, level, boss, playtime, or custom status) with external applications. This enables features such as displaying what you're playing on your profile, inviting friends to spectate, or triggering join-in-progress functionality where supported.
|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/6983]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|Screen translator Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically.
|colspan="6" |You can use [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/ai-service/ RetroArch's AI Service] or the standalone offline [https://github.com/bquenin/interpreter bquenin's Interpreter].
|}
<references group=N2/>

==Hardware features and peripherals==
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
|+Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.
! colspan="3" style="width:50%" |Name
! Dolphin
!Ishiiruka-Dolphin
|-
|rowspan="5" |Hardware features
|colspan="2" |Controller rumble
|{{Ya}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[https://www.mobygames.com/attributes/attribute/206/ Dolby Surround as Dolby Pro Logic II]
|{{Ya}}[https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/5235 *]
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[[#GameCube Game Disc|Game Disc]]
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|colspan="2" |Progressive scan
|{{Ya}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[[#Main_Menu|System BIOS]]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|rowspan="12" |Peripherals
|colspan="2" |[https://www.lucklessheaven.com/nintendo-gamecube-hardware Calendar Card]
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |Connectivity
|[[Early_online_services#Broadband_Adapter_.28Gamecube.29|Broadband adapter]]||{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|[[Early_online_services#The_GameCube_Modem_Adapter_.28Gamecube.29|Modem adapter]]||{{Ya}}[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/04/30/dolphin-progress-report-february-march-and-april-2024/#50-21253-implement-modem-adapter-by-fuzziqersoftware *]
|{{Na}}
|-
|rowspan="5" |Controllers
|[[List_of_games_with_keyboard_and_mouse_support#Nintendo_GameCube|ASCII Keyboard]]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|[https://www.lucklessheaven.com/nintendo-gamecube-hardware ''Dance Dance Revolution'' Dance Mat]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|[[#Bongos|DK Bongos]]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|[[#GC/GBA Cable|Game Boy Advance cable]]||{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|Racing wheel
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[[#Game Boy Player|Game Boy Player]]
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|colspan="2" |Inrou-Kun pedometer & Botan-San walking pad
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[[List_of_games_that_support_microphone|Microphone]]
|{{Ya}}
|{{Ya}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[https://www.lucklessheaven.com/nintendo-gamecube-hardware SD Card Adapter]
|{{Na}}
|{{Na}}
|-
|rowspan="2" |Misc.
|colspan= "2"|[https://shonumi.github.io/dandocs.html#jcc_gcn Joy Carry Cartridge Game Boy Advance connectivity]
|{{Dunno}}
|{{Dunno}}
|-
|colspan="2" |[https://newqualitipedia.telepedia.net/wiki/Disc_scratch Disc scratch] Similarly to cartridge tilting on cartridge-based systems, people intentionally scratch their discs to make a particular glitch work more reliably.[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/y1jdda/possibility_of_disc_scratch_emulation/]
|colspan="2" | No emulator currently includes built-in disc scratch simulation, as it would require [[High_and_low-level_emulation|low-level emulation]] of optical drive error correction, which is not implemented. As a workaround, you can try the external [https://github.com/redscientistlabs/RTCV Real-Time Corruptor (RTCV)] tool. It is a real-time memory/data corruption tool for inducing glitches during emulation, which might mimic some effects of a scratched disc (e.g., visual/audio artifacts or crashes). However, it is not a true "disc scratch" simulator, as it works on live memory rather than simulating physical disc read errors.
|}
<references group=N3/>
===Main Menu===
:[https://tcrf.net/GameCube#Revisional_Differences tcrf: GameCube Revisional Differences]
[[File:Gamecube IPL.gif|thumb|298px|Gamecube Main Menu emulation using Dolphin emulator]]
Initial Program Loader (IPL) of the GameCube and its top level interface, allowing the player to load discs, change settings, and manage up to two memory cards at once.

:To boot the GameCube's BIOS and IPL, you need a dump from real hardware. Dolphin doesn't require it to load games but can be set to use it if desired. Current development builds have introduced a feature allowing users to load the BIOS directly from the interface in the Tools list without needing to load a game. If you're on the current stable release, use XFB Virtual and disable "Skip BIOS" in the GameCube options. You don't have to load a GameCube title for the startup animation begins, boot directly to the menu by using Load GameCube Main Menu under Tools.[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=GameCube_Main_Menu] If you insert the disc/disc image before booting the main menu, like on the original console, you hold the first controller's A-button down and the system will send you to the main menu instead of booting the game. You can then switch to another game with Change Disc, or you can explore the BIOS.

===GameCube Game Disc===
The GameCube Game Disc (DOL-006) is the game medium for the GameCube, created by Matsushita/Panasonic, one of the ten founders of the DVD Forum, and later extended for use in the first Wii model backward compatibility mode. The GameCube is Nintendo's first optical disc console, after mainly ROM cartridge-based platforms. The GameCube Game Disc is a 1.46 GB, 8 cm miniDVD-based technology that reads at a constant angular velocity (CAV). It was chosen by Nintendo to prevent copyright infringement of its games, to reduce manufacturing costs compared to Nintendo 64 Game Paks, and to avoid licensing fees to the DVD Forum. GameCube Game Discs don't use the Content Scramble System found on normal DVD-Video discs, as Nintendo wasn't satisfied with its level of security.

The GameCube is unable to be used as a general DVD player, except for the [[#Panasonic_Q|Panasonic Q]] which is a uniquely customized GameCube with DVD capability that was released only in Japan.[[Wikipedia:Nintendo_optical_discs#GameCube_Game_Disc GameCube Game Disc]]

*Dolphin has support for GameCube Game Disc dumps/[[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs#GameCube_.2F_Wii|images]]. Most regular optical drives for PCs are unable to read GameCube & Wii discs. However, you can use some out-of-print models of DVD drives that may read GC and Wii discs but they are rare and primarily used for dumping the game data into an disc image file, and you need a compatible software tool to dump it. There is no passthrough support. See [[Ripping_games]] page for more information.
*See [[Home_media_players#Emulators|this dedicated page]] for more information about home media playback support for emulation software.
*See [https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Copy_protection#:~:text=Emulation%20of%20the%20Disc%20Drive "Emulation of the Disc Drive" section] in [[Copy protection]] page.

===GC/GBA Cable===
Nintendo produced a [[Wikipedia:Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable|special cable]] (<code>DOL-011</code>) that allowed connectivity with the [[Game Boy Advance emulators|Game Boy Advance]] in [https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Game_Boy_Advance_to_Nintendo_GameCube_Link_Cable#List_of_Supported_Games '''specific games''']. Up to four ports could be taken up for the game. While the third-generation Pokémon games are the prime example of it being used in conjunction with Colosseum, XD, or Pokémon Box, they aren't the only games to do so.<ref>[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/16ethk2/i_think_ive_reached_the_limits_of_what_dolphin/k00l1d8/ GBE+ Dev Shonumi's comment about GCN<->GBA connection].</ref> Some GameCube games lets the player(s) use the Game Boy Advance as a controller.

Dolphin includes a GBA core based on [[mGBA]] that is tied to GameCube emulation, allowing for a very stable connection that works with features such as save states and netplay. Dolphin can also connect to standalone versions of mGBA or [[VisualBoyAdvance-M]]; this is necessary for some less commonly used features or cases where the GBA has to be disconnected from the GameCube. Both can be enabled by going into the controller settings and assigning the GBA to one or more ports. The general config menu also allows you to specify a GBA ROM to be used if using the built-in GBA core.

Nintendont includes support for the GBA link cable hardware, but only through the GC controller ports on the original Wii (model RVL-001). It is currently '''not''' supported through any USB adapters.

===Bongos===
This special controller is used with ''Donkey Konga'' and other ''Donkey Kong'' games released for the GameCube.

Dolphin supports this controller via the GameCube controller adapter.

Nintendont is known to support this controller through the GC controller ports on the original Wii (model RVL-001). It is '''currently unclear''' whether the controller is supported through any USB adapters.

===Game Boy Player===
This add-on plugged into the bottom of the GameCube and allowed it to play Game Boy / Game Boy Advance games on a standard television; it had provisions against [[Wikipedia:Game Boy Advance Video|Game Boy Advance Video]] cartridges by returning an error after booting them. The launcher even supported the GBA-GCN link cable, where the Game Boy Advance would serve as the controller. Some GBA games like ''Super Mario Advance 4'' and ''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga'' took advantage of the add-on by adding rumble support. The hardware is essentially a peripheral containing Game Boy Advance hardware, which means that recreating it would require simultaneous emulation of a GameCube and a GBA, including BIOS files for both.

No emulator currently supports the Game Boy Player hardware and its features. The Dolphin developers have hinted at adding support for it in the future, made possible by the aforementioned mGBA integration (see the previous section of this page).<ref>https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2021/07/21/integrated-gba/#conclusion</ref>

==Hardware variants==
===Triforce===
The [[wikipedia:List_of_Sega_arcade_system_boards#Triforce|Triforce]] is an [[:Category:Arcade|arcade system board]] developed jointly by [[wikipedia:Namco|Namco]], [[wikipedia:Sega|Sega]], and Nintendo, with the first games appearing in 2002. The system hardware consists of a retail GameCube motherboard, with custom devices interfacing with the EXI, SI and DI, and a custom IPL. Dolphin used to have Triforce support. However, it was removed several years ago. There are two pull requests by Zopolis4 to add preliminary support for Triforce back into upstream Dolphin, but the work is ancient and unsupported.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/10084 |title = Implement preliminary Triforce support}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/10207 |title = Implement preliminary Triforce support Pt.2}}</ref> Nevertheless, [https://dolphin-emu.org/download/list/Triforce/ a branch] remains and can still be used, albeit with some difficulty and not recommended. Recently, Triforce support added to main branch again.[https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2026/02/16/rise-of-the-triforce/#setting-up-dolphin-for-triforce-emulation]

;You have three options for Triforce emulation
'''1. Main Dolphin builds (recommended):'''
Use latest version. placeholder text

'''2. Custom Triforce builds (optional):'''
Compatibility is patchy, and while all games boot, many require memory patches via gecko codes to progress beyond error screens. This is further compounded by the abundance of patched or modified dumps floating around. Many of which have patched headers for use with Nintendont, or being renamed versions of their GameCube counterparts. This is most prevalent with Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 & 2, with there being no good (public) dumps at all. The site that previously hosted the gecko codes for Triforce games has since shut, and the replacement site doesn't have codes for Triforce games, requiring codes to be manually downloaded from the Wayback Machine. Furthermore, games have multiple revisions, and codes only work on specific revisions.
To use these custom Triforce builds, certain settings must be modified:
* Under Config/GameCube, SP1 and Port 1 need to be assigned to AM-Baseboard.
* To actually play games, cheats need to be enabled. While the Mario Kart games have patches on their Dolphin Wiki pages, codes for other games should be downloaded from [https://web.archive.org/web/20181024045747/http://www.geckocodes.org/ here].

Thanks to these builds, most games work correctly with a minimal number of patches needed, so these builds are the second most recommended right now for Triforce emulation;

*Modified build of the Dolphin Triforce branch known as [http://www.emuline.org/topic/2728-emu-virtua-striker-4-arcade-triforce-windows-pc-dolphin-emulator/ DolphinTriforce-Brodostar], which can run Virtua Striker 4, Virtua Striker Ver 2006 and F-Zero AX (both games crash or run extremely slow normally). It also has all the Gecko codes/controls preconfigured. You can download it [https://mega.nz/folder/U0tQXYTa#qcVLwmVz3KL9VR_XKMdXCg here].
*Another suggestion is to use the latest builds by Crediar, found [https://mega.nz/file/kg1REZzC#tRfsBXw5kZv1zLo05MgBJIdWbwCnIT21_k9IyhsjDAE here]. Additional Gecko codes that provide further fixes (performance fix etc.) for this build can be found [https://ia601606.us.archive.org/7/items/dolphin_tri_x64/Gecko%20Codes.txt here].

'''3. Wii:'''
Triforce games can also be run on a Wii using [https://github.com/FIX94/Nintendont Nintendont]. Patches and gecko codes aren't required. Triforce support is essentially unmaintained and lacks features such as LAN connectivity, internal saving (for things such as high scores or F-Zero AX time attack ghosts), and GameCube memory card reading. Mario Cards and F-Zero License Cards can be emulated for the Mario Kart Arcade GP games and F-Zero AX respectively, but linking F-Zero AX to an F-Zero GX save is impossible. Note that this method can't be used within Dolphin, as Nintendont uses the Wii's ARM "Starlet" processor, which Dolphin doesn't emulate (Starlet only exists to run IOS, which Dolphin reimplements anyway).

====Game-specific features====
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
! colspan="3" style="width:50%" |Name
! Dolphin (Triforce fork)
|-
| rowspan="2" |Card reader types
| colspan="2" |IC card reader Used in ''[https://archive.org/download/i-img1200x900-1626435528akfibj23/i-img1200x900-1626435528akfibj23.jpg Gekitō Pro Yakyū']'' and ''Virtua Striker 4''.||{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="2" |Magnetic card reader/writer Used in ''F-Zero AX'' and ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 & 2''.
|{{Na}}
|-
|Input
| colspan="2" |Touchscreen||{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="3" |Force feedback||{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="3" |Memory card slot ''F-Zero AX'' lets players play as their custom machines from ''F-Zero GX'' to the arcade version, and unlocks bonus content in ''F-Zero GX''. They can also be unlocked through story mode.
|{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="3" |NamCam A camera manufactured by Namco. Used in ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 1 & 2''.||{{Na}}
|-
| rowspan="4" |Networking
| rowspan="3" |Ethernet
|Link Can be used to connect up to 4 ''F-Zero AX'' or 2 ''Virtua Striker 2002'' cabinets. ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 1'' supports 2 and ''Mario Kart Arcade GP 2'' supports at least 2 cabinets.||{{Na}}
|-
|Online ''Virtua Striker 4'' used [[Early online services#ALL.Net|ALL.Net]]. ''Virtua Striker 4 Ver. 2006'' lets you send your player data to VS.Net, other players will play against your "ghost".||{{Na}}
|-
|Satellite terminal||{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="2" |RC-232C||{{Na}}
|-
|Output
| colspan="2" |Lamps and LED lights||{{Na}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[bulba:Pokémon_Battrio|Pokémon Battrio]]
| colspan="2" |[[bulba:Pokémon_Battrio#Memory_Keys|Memory keys]]||{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="2" |[[bulba:Pokémon_Battrio#Pucks|Pucks]]||{{Na}}
|-
| colspan="3" |Upgradable RAM
|{{Na}}
|}

===Panasonic Q===
[[File:Panasonic Q.png|210px|thumb|left|The Panasonic Q GameCube console.]]
The Panasonic Q (sometimes referred to as GameQ by GameCube fans) is a hybrid version of the GameCube with a DVD player manufactured by Panasonic in cooperation with Nintendo. The system was officially released only in Japan. A feature of its main competitors, the Xbox and the PlayStation 2, the GameCube lacked commercial DVD movie playback functionality due to the use of the Nintendo optical discs format for games and the correspondingly small disc tray.
Initially, the Panasonic Q could only play games and DVDs from Japan; however, a modified version, which could play American games and DVDs, began to be sold from Import shops, making it a popular console to import from Japan. The unit was priced at around ¥41,000 JPY, and the modified version was priced at ¥46,000 JPY.
The Panasonic Q is capable of using almost all the GameCube hardware upgrades. A special version of the Game Boy Player was designed for the Q because the Player was designed to fit onto the bottom of the GameCube, and the Q's different bottom form factor kept the Player from being installed. Other features of the Panasonic Q include a backlit information LCD, a front-loading slot disc tray, an optical sound output supporting Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, a separate subwoofer jack, DVD remote control, and a stainless steel chassis. These high-end features, as well as the aforementioned multimedia playback capabilities, have made the Panasonic Q a popular console to collect.

The Q system was licensed by Nintendo, released on December 13, 2001, and was discontinued on December 18, 2003, due to low sales.

*Dolphin has no support for this variation.
*See [[Home_media_players#Emulators|this dedicated page]] for more information about home media playback support for emulation software.

==Emulation issues==
For more information about Nintendo GameCube hardware and its reverse engineering;
* MVG: {{YouTubeVideo|Uxjl_kD3imQ|How the Nintendo GameCube Security was defeated}}, {{YouTubeVideo|up6Rm1Sw1ps|The Nintendo GameCube is still awesome - Games, Homebrew, Modding and More}}, {{YouTubeVideo|HJHb3ZJXJfw|Dolphin has been ported to the Xbox}}
* Dolphin: [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/ Blog], [https://discord.gg/ZGbGN2mC Discord]
* [https://gamecube.dev/ Awesome GameCube Development]
* [https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles/gamecube/ Rodrigo Colpetti's GameCube practical analysis]
* [https://www.gc-forever.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page GC-Forever]
* [https://consolemods.org/wiki/GameCube:GameCube_Mods_Wiki ConsoleMods - GameCube]

==Resources==
*[https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Dolphin Wiki] - The most comprehensive wiki for the Dolphin emulator and games. Good for any fixes/tweaks/settings you should know beforehand.

==References==
<references/>

{{Nintendo}}

[[Category:Nintendo GameCube| ]]

{{#seo:
|keywords=video games,emulation,emulator,emu,wiki,download,recommended,guide,list,nintendo,ngc,gcn,game,cube,gamecube,dolphin
|description=Information and recommendations for the best {{PAGENAME}} and where to download them.
|published_time={{#time:c|{{REVISIONTIMESTAMP}}}}
}}

2024-04-11T07:43:49Z

Ivan951236: /* Hardware features */

{{Infobox console
|title = Nintendo 3DS
|logo = 3ds.png
|imagecaption=Nintendo 3DS XL
|developer = [[:Nintendo]]
|type = [[:Category:Handheld consoles|Handheld game console]]
|generation = [[:Category:Eighth-generation video game consoles|Eighth generation]]
|release=2011 (3DS) 2014 (new 3DS)
|discontinued =2017 (new 3DS) 2020 (3DS)
|predecessor=[[Nintendo DS emulators|DS(i)]]
|successor=[[Nintendo Switch emulators|Switch]]
|emulated = {{✓}}
}}

{{for|other emulators that run on 3DS hardware|Emulators on 3DS}}

The '''[[wikipedia:Nintendo 3DS|Nintendo 3DS]]''' is an eighth-generation handheld game console by Nintendo, released on March 27, 2011, for {{inflation|USD|249|2011}}. The original model and the 2DS had a dual-core ARM11 MPCore at 268 MHz and a single-core ARM9, 128 MBs of RAM and 6 MBs of VRAM, and a DMP PICA200 GPU. The New 3DS and New 2DS XL models upgrade this to an 804 MHz quad-core ARM11 and 256 MBs of RAM, along with an extra pair of shoulder buttons and a right analog stick.

The most notable feature of this console is the use of [[wikipedia:Autostereoscopy|autostereoscopic]] (glasses-free) 3D, which can be configured using a slider. This was omitted on the cost-reduced 2DS and New 2DS XL models, which were released due to eye health concerns with children ages 6 and under whom Nintendo advised not to use the 3DS' stereoscopic mode (though it is speculated that said advisories were more for liability reasons in case of a health-related lawsuit).

;Remember, [[Wikipedia:Category:New_Nintendo_3DS_games|certain titles are exclusive to the New 3DS, New 3DS XL and New 2DS XL]]. Make sure your chosen emulator supports these variations if you want to play them.

__TOC__

==Emulators==
<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
! scope="col"|New 3DS
! scope="col"|[[#Hardware_features|Hardware features]]
! scope="col"|[[#Enhancements|Enhancements]]
! scope="col"|Compatibility
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="10"|PC / x86
|-
|Citra (PabloMK7 fork)
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/PabloMK7/citra git]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[https://github.com/Gamer64ytb/Lemonade Lemonade]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/Lemonade-emu/Lemonade/releases {{LemonadeVer}}]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[https://github.com/Lime3DS Lime3DS]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/Lime3DS/Lime3DS/releases {{Lime3DSVer}}]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[[Citra]] [https://docs.libretro.com/library/citra/ citra_libretro]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://git.libretro.com/libretro/citra ''libretro cores'']<ref group=N name=Citralibretro>Similar to Dolphin, PPSSPP and melonDS libretro cores, the standalone version of Citra is highly recommended over the libretro core as the libretro core version is outdated and can be slow and unstable.</ref> [https://citra-emu.org/ Former website] (Offline)
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|[http://web.archive.org/web/20240301112349/https://citra-emu.org/game/ 63% 327 out of 519 reported titles]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}<ref group=N name=CitraActive>Official distribution of yuzu and Citra have been discontinued. See [[Yuzu#Lawsuit]] and [[#Comparisons]] sections.</ref>
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Panda3DS]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS {{Panda3DSVer}}]
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|[https://github.com/Panda3DS-emu/Panda3DS-Games-List/issues 34% 46 out of 135 reported titles]
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Mikage]] (御影)
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|{{na}} (WIP)
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|N/A
|{{~}} <ref name=mikageopen>[https://mikage.app/faq/#willmikagebeopensource FAQ: Will Mikage be open-source?]</ref>
|{{✓}}
|{{TBD}} (WIP)
|-
|Corgi3DS
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/PSI-Rockin/Corgi3DS git]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|[[TronDS]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[http://trondsemu.byethost15.com/downloads.html 1.0.0.5]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|[[3dmoo]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[https://github.com/plutooo/3dmoo git]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|LemonLime
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/ItsKaitlyn03/LemonLime/ git]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|VVCTRE
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://archive.org/details/vvctre-bestbuild archive]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
!colspan="10"|Mobile / ARM
|-
|[[Citra]] (PabloMK7 fork)
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/PabloMK7/citra/releases git]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[https://github.com/Gamer64ytb/Lemonade Lemonade]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/Lemonade-emu/Lemonade/releases Alpha 2]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[https://github.com/Lime3DS Lime3DS]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/Lime3DS/Lime3DS/releases {{Lime3DSVer}}]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[[Citra MMJ]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/weihuoya/citra/releases git]
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|{{?}}
|{{~}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Citra]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}{{Icon|iOS}}<ref group=N>iOS support only available with rinsuki builds.</ref>
|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/android/latest/arm64-v8a/ ''libretro core'']<ref group=N name=Citralibretro></ref> [https://citra-emu.org/ Former website] (Offline) [https://github.com/rinsuki/citra rinsuki builds for iOS] (Offline)
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|[http://web.archive.org/web/20240301112349/https://citra-emu.org/game/ 63% 327 out of 519 reported titles]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}<ref group=N name=CitraActive></ref>
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Panda3DS]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS 1.0]
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|?
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[https://emuplace.app/emulators/limon/ Limón]
|align=left|{{Icon|iOS}}
|[https://emuplace.app/emulators/limon/ipas Public Betas]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Mikage]] (御影)
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|{{na}} (WIP)
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|N/A
|{{~}} <ref name=mikageopen></ref>
|{{✓}}
|{{TBD}} (WIP)
|-
|}
</div>
<references group=N />
===Comparisons===
;[[Citra]]
:An open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator made by experienced emulator developers. The devs insist that it's still experimental, but as of mid-2019, around half of all games are fully playable with minor or no issues, on top of that its supports lots of [[#Hardware_features|hardware features]] and [[#Enhancements|enhancements]]. An official Android version was [https://web.archive.org/web/20240229131511/https://citra-emu.org/entry/announcing-citra-android/ released in May 2020], also there is a VR project for this emulator called "[[Virtual_reality#Emulators_with_VR_support|CitraVR]]". '''As of March 4th 2024, the [[History_of_emulation#Lawsuits|lawsuit filed by Nintendo]] against the management of the yuzu emulator has led to the unfortunate decision to cease official distribution of yuzu and Citra'''.

:;Citra (PabloMK7 fork):A fork of Citra that was initially created to add online play, but continues to receive new updates and other new features following the end of support for upstream Citra. PabloMK7 was a contributor of Citra. The repository has also seen work from GPUCode, who was one of the most active contributors for Citra before the repository was deleted.

:;[[Citra MMJ]]:A unofficial Nintendo 3DS emulator for Android written by weihuoya and forked from Citra. Offers less stuttering and greater performance than mainline Citra on Android, along with additional features.

:;Limón:Port of Citra to iOS/iPadOS devices, developed by Jarrod Norwell. Previously known as emuThreeDS.

:;Lemonade:Fork of Citra. Previously known as Citra-Enhanced which development stopped for a while but then it's back[https://old.reddit.com/r/EmulationOnAndroid/comments/1bbos29/citraenhanced_is_going_to_be_continued_and/] due to the [[Yuzu#Lawsuit|stoppage of Citra development]]. Project now focusing Android platform and plan to add new [[#Hardware_features|features]] and [[#Enhancements|enhancements]].

:;Lime3DS: placeholder text

;[[Mikage]]:An emulator developed by Tony Wasserka, a.k.a. ''neobrain'', focused on optimization and stability in Android and PC, willing to fill the gap left by Citra. It is closed-source, but developers will release the source code bit-by-bit after the official app release.<ref name=mikageopen></ref> [https://mikage.app/faq/ Mikage is an early stage of development], but according to developer it supports some of the [[#Hardware_features|hardware features]] and many commercial games already.

;[[Panda3DS]]
:A [[High/Low_level_emulation|HLE approach]] 3DS emulator founded by Alber and wheremyfoodat (Peach), and currently developed by an array of developers. It can run many games, even including some Nintendo 3DS applets.

;Corgi3DS:A unique 3DS emulator designed for macOS systems. Its GitHub activity started on [https://github.com/PSI-Rockin/Corgi3DS/commit/1b81c7e00c9a7a73f2da12d07ec3a9e4bc69c6ac May 5, 2019]. The main programmer is a self-proclaimed dog-lover and has previously created CorgiDS and DobieStation, though the former seemed to be abandoned. Corgi3DS is mainly indigenous, but the preliminary [https://github.com/PSI-Rockin/Corgi3DS/commit/a60b06683495e4e8fd0c170ec4ca8c453ce31609 Wi-Fi code] was ported from [[melonDS]]' code. The project is on an indefinite hiatus. PSI said this about the matter: "''Haven't worked on it in several months, it's basically a hobby project of mine that I touch when I feel the urge''".

;[[TronDS]]:A closed-source Nintendo 3DS emulator, presumably made by the iDeaS author. Little is known about it other than that it can run simple homebrew. It cannot be used for playing games.

;[[3dmoo]]:Another open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator, made by experienced developers in the DS hacking scene. It was released shortly after Citra and received similar progress for a few months, but was eventually aborted by its authors after a while.

==Hardware features==
<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;width:100%"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! colspan=2 | Name
! Citra
! Citra MMJ
! Lemonade
! Mikage
! Panda3DS
|-
| rowspan=1 | [[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS_system_software|3DS system software]]
| [[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS_system_software#Home_menu|HOME Menu]]
| {{✓}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20240229150223/https://citra-emu.org/entry/citra-progress-report-2023-q2/#home-menu *]
| {{✗}}
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Lemonade supports HOME Menu as long as you have it installed in set NAND location using Citra.</ref>
| {{✓}}[https://www.youtube.com/@MikageEmu/videos *]
| {{✓}}[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS#compatibility *]
|-
| colspan=2 | [[#DS Mode|DS Mode]]
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{✗}}
|-
| colspan=2 | [[Virtual_Console|Virtual Console]]
| {{✓}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:3D_Classics#List_of_games|3D Classics]]
| {{✓}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| colspan=2 | [[Virtual_reality#Emulators_with_VR_support|3D Screen]]
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports Stereoscopic 3D mode (Side by Side, Anaglyph, Interlaced, Reverse Interlaced).</ref>
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| colspan=2 | [[Amiibo]]
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{~}}[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS#compatibility *]
|-
| rowspan=6 |Inputs
| Circle Pad Pro/C-Stick
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Motion Control (Gyroscope/Accelerometer)
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports motion control in Mouse (Right click), CemuhookUDP and SDL modes.</ref>
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS_system_software#Nintendo_3DS_Camera|Camera]]
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports Front and Rear cameras in single (2D) and double (3D) modes. The camera can be a still image or system camera.</ref>
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Microphone
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports microphone as Static noise and Real device.</ref>
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/pull/13743 Head-tracking]
| {{?}}
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Touch-screen
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports touch-screen in Emulator Window and CemuhookUDP modes. It's possible to use button mapping.</ref>
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}
| {{?}}

|-
| rowspan=6 | Connectivity
| [[Wikipedia:SpotPass_and_StreetPass#Nintendo_3DS|SpotPass/StreetPass]]
| {{✗}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20240118041239/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/4928 *]
| {{✓}}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvSlRyWH32c *]
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| NFC Reader/Writer
| {{✗}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20201217073356/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/4797 *]
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Nintendo_Network|Nintendo Network]]
|{{✗}}[https://pretendo.network/progress#juxtaposition-(miiverse) *]
|{{✗}}
| {{?}}
|{{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS#Download_Play|Download Play]]
| {{✓}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| DS(i) Connectivity
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Wii U Connectivity
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|}
</div>
<references group=N />
===DS Mode===
:[[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS#Backward_compatibility|Wikipedia - Nintendo 3DS backwards compatibility]]
In addition to its own software, the Nintendo 3DS is backward compatible with all Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi software. Like the DSi and DSi XL, the Nintendo 3DS is incompatible with DS software that requires use of the Game Boy Advance port. Nintendo DS and DSi software cannot be played with 3D visuals on the 3DS.
*None of the 3DS emulators support this feature. There was a [https://web.archive.org/web/20240301010422/https://community.citra-emu.org/t/ds-game-support/33133 feature request] for implementing this feature to Citra emulator.

==Enhancements==
<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;width:100%"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! colspan=2 | Name
! Citra
! Panda3DS
! Mikage
|-
| rowspan=6 | Graphics
| [[Resolution|Resizable Internal Resolution]]
| {{Y}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Widescreen_hacks#Nintendo_3DS|Ultrawide hack]] Widescreen already supported on 3DS system. However for DS backwards compatibility titles you need to use patches to play in widescreen mode. There is no support by system for render games in other ratios such as ultrawide 21:9 and 32:9.
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Texture_packs#Nintendo_3DS_.28Citra.29|Texture Replacement]]
| {{~}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20240304211606/https://citra-emu.org/help/feature/custom-textures/ *]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Ray-tracing ([https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/announcing-microsoft-directx-raytracing/ DXR], [https://www.khronos.org/blog/ray-tracing-in-vulkan VRT] and [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/metal/metal_sample_code_library/accelerating_ray_tracing_using_metal MRT])
| colspan=3 | Implementing ray-tracing in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. However you can try "[[Shaders_and_filters#Notable_ReShade_shaders|Screen-Space Ray Traced Global Illumination]]" shader using ReShade.[https://reshade.me/forum/general-discussion/5442-release-misc-emulators-with-depth-buffer-access#34388][https://reshade.me/forum/general-discussion/5442-release-misc-emulators-with-depth-buffer-access?start=60#46417]
|-
| Pre-rendering AA (MSAA, SSAA)
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Super-resolution techniques ([https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/Streamline/blob/main/docs/ProgrammingGuideDLSS.md DLSS], [https://github.com/intel/xess/?tab=readme-ov-file XeSS] and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 2+]])
| colspan=3 | Requires access to the depth buffer and temporal data like motion-vectors so it's quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. Besides any GPU that can use DLSS can run these emulators at 4k native with ease anyway.
|-
| rowspan=4 | Performance
| [[Overclocking|Overclock]]
| {{Y}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20220428210656/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/5975 *]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[30/60_FPS_cheat_codes|Internal Framerate Hack]]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [https://blurbusters.com/frame-generation-essentials-interpolation-extrapolation-and-reprojection/ Frame generation technologies] ([https://store.steampowered.com/app/993090/Lossless_Scaling/ LSFG], [https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/Streamline/blob/main/docs/ProgrammingGuideDLSS_G.md DLSS-G], [https://www.techpowerup.com/316835/extrass-framework-paper-details-intels-take-on-frame-generation ExtraSS] and [https://community.amd.com/t5/gaming/amd-fluid-motion-frames-is-out-now-on-amd-radeon-rx-7000-series/ba-p/634372 AFMF])
| colspan=3 | Implementing frame generation technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future, however post-processing techniques such as [[Wikipedia:Motion_interpolation|motion interpolation]] is quite possible. [[Input_lag|Input latency]] will be a crucial factor, but its impact likely varies depending on the specific technique employed, it's recommended to use '''after applying the "Internal Framerate Hack"'''. While '''AFMF''' or '''LSFG''' could be used with Citra?, please be aware that some visual glitches and artifacts may occur at this time.
|-
| Preload [[Wikipedia:ROM_image|ROM image]] to RAM For users with sluggish multi-platter HDDs or plagued by horrible seek times, this enhancement '''might''' offer smoother experience, potentially reduced power consumption; it also shines when images reside on a network drive. Although keep in mind that preloading image would take some time, and it will require additional amount of RAM capacity.
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=6 | Post-Processing
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering AA]] (FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)
| {{N}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20201217074552/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/3623 *]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]] (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 1]])
| {{Y}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
|[[Shaders_and_filters#AI-powered filters|AI-powered filter compatible]] ([https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/gfecnt/nvidia-freestyle-ansel-enhancements-geforce-experience-article/ Freestyle])
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Shader_Presets|Shader Chain]]
| {{~}}<ref group=N2 name=lrExclusive>Exclusive to libretro core.</ref>
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
|[[High_dynamic_range#Inverse_tone_mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=5 | [https://tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]
| [[Wikipedia:Macro_(computer_science)|Macros/Scripts]]/[https://tasvideos.org/LuaScripting Lua]
| {{?}}
| {{Y}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Rewind
| {{N}}[https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/5859 *]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed
| {{Y}}[https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/3353 *]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Savestates
| {{Y}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [https://tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]
| {{Y}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20201217052538/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/3500 *]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=2 | Controls
| [[Controllers#Mouse_Injectors_for_Emulators|Mouse Injector Compatible]]
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Input_lag|Input lag-mitigating technique]]
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=6 | Quality of life
| Built-in [[Mods,_hacks_and_fan-translations#Built-in_graphics_mod_editor.2Fmanager_for_emulators|Graphics mod editor/manager]]
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|Cheat Manager]]
| {{Y}}
| {{Y}}[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS#compatibility *]
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs|Streamable compression format]]
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Per-Game Profiles
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Command Line Options
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Frontends#Graphical_User_Interfaces_.28GUIs.29|Big Picture Mode]]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=3 | Misc
| [https://retroachievements.org/gameList.php?c=62 RetroAchievements]
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Virtual_reality#VR_game_room_simulations|EmuVR support]]
| colspan=3 | Exclusive to [https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] at the moment.
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Debugging|Debug Features]]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|}
</div>
<references group=N2/>

==Game images==
===3DS vs. CIA===

There are two types of 3DS game images currently:
;NCSD-type: Includes '''.cci''' (CTR Cart Image), aka '''.3ds''' - data on physical carts, can be executed right off the bat, not used much since no one bothered to develop a CFW solution to load them yet (besides converting them to CIA) and only overpriced flashcarts (Gateway/Sky3DS) can load them.
;NCCH-type: Includes '''.cia''' (CTR Importable Archive) and '''.cxi''' - installers that unpack game data to the SD card or the 3DS NAND memory. Some homebrew apps (FBI, DevMenu) can install CIA files on 3DS systems with CFW installed. Digital games are often distributed as CIAs.

*Note that CTR (Citrus) is the internal code name for the 3DS.

Due to one format being so far restricted to overpriced flashcarts and the very slow Citra development (meaning playing on an actual 3DS is still the preferred way to go), the CIA format is preferred in many sharing websites, downloader tools and even tools to dump your own games.

However, converting a CIA image to 3DS format (and vice versa) is still possible with no loss of content. Read the Encryption section below for a guide.

Some outdated dumping utilities intended for use with Citra (like braindump) produce damaged decrypted 3DS images that can't be easily converted back. No known solution exists so far to fix those dumps.

===Encryption===
Most dumps online are also encrypted. This encryption poses no problem for playing game images on an actual 3DS since it can deal with that encryption with internal keys included in the bootrom, but becomes a problem when trying to emulate them on PC. '''Citra requires additional encryption keys to play encrypted games.''' If you want to play encrypted games on Citra without these keys, you'll have to convert your game images to the decrypted format.

Formerly, decrypting those ROMs used to require real 3DS hardware (bafflingly enough, Citra devs still ask users to do this even nowadays). It required files generated by a real 3DS called '''xorpads''' unique to that game version, using the encryption engine within the 3DS. After this part, these xorpads (which are big) can be used with PC tools (or other 3DS-based homebrew) to produce the decrypted game image. After that, some 3DS homebrew (Decrypt9, GodMode9) included tools to directly convert encrypted images to decrypted images with a single button press, but those still require a real 3DS.

The game changer was the sighax exploit, which allowed for the dumping of the 3DS bootrom, which includes these encryption keys. This file can be downloaded from the [[Emulator Files#Nintendo 3DS|Emulator Files]] page. You can then use a program like '''[https://gbatemp.net/threads/tutorial-extract-decrypt-games-nand-backups-and-sd-contents-with-fuse-3ds.499994/ fuse-3ds]''' to decrypt games using this file. Simply place boot9.bin in the same folder, run the program, mount the encrypted CIA or 3DS, and find the '''decrypted.cxi''' file inside (usually in the first folder). Citra should be able to load this file without issues.

Due to these keys being available, Citra can now play encrypted games (3DS or CIA) without decrypting them. Read [https://web.archive.org/web/20240229064914/https://citra-emu.org/wiki/aes-keys this page]. Then, go to this Reddit page and copy the code from the [https://www.reddit.com/r/CemuPiracy/comments/gpo2ey/aes_key_nintendo_3ds_title_keys_for_citra second comment] (credit floppydoppy2). Copy it and make a new TXT file named '''aes_keys.txt'''. Place this TXT file in the sysdata folder of Citra's user directory. This key file is already included in the 3DS Shared Data download in the [[Emulator files#Nintendo_3DS|Emulator Files]] page.

==Emulation issues==
For more information about Nintendo 3DS hardware and reverse engineering;
* MVG: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAKujG8SXKY The most important Nintendo 3DS Game Ever Made], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjFGxIfDX70 Homebrew on a $100 New Nintendo 3DS LL], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-guh8hXo1bc The Nintendo 3DS eShop Is Going Offline Forever. How to Play All Games After 2023],
* Citra: [https://web.archive.org/web/20240304201632/https://citra-emu.org/tags/progress-report/ Blog], [https://discord.gg/FAXfZV9 Discord]
* Panda3DS: [https://discord.gg/UyepRMm Discord]
* [https://www.3dbrew.org/wiki/Main_Page 3dbrew]
* [https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3DS_Homebrew_Development GBATemp - 3DS Homebrew Development]
* [https://3ds.hacks.guide/ 3DS Hacks Guide]
* [https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-1726-panda3ds-climbing-the-tree-of-3ds-emulation/ FOSDEM '24: Panda3DS - Climbing the tree of 3DS emulation]

{{Nintendo}}

[[Category:Consoles|!3DS]]
[[Category:Handheld consoles|!3DS]]
[[Category:Nintendo consoles|!3DS]]
[[Category:Eighth-generation video game consoles|!3DS]]
[[Category:Nintendo 3DS emulators|*]]
[[Category:ARM-based|!3DS]]

Nintendo 3DS emulators

2024-04-10T17:49:11Z

Ivan951236: /* Hardware features */

{{Infobox console
|title = Nintendo 3DS
|logo = 3ds.png
|imagecaption=Nintendo 3DS XL
|developer = [[:Nintendo]]
|type = [[:Category:Handheld consoles|Handheld game console]]
|generation = [[:Category:Eighth-generation video game consoles|Eighth generation]]
|release=2011 (3DS) 2014 (new 3DS)
|discontinued =2017 (new 3DS) 2020 (3DS)
|predecessor=[[Nintendo DS emulators|DS(i)]]
|successor=[[Nintendo Switch emulators|Switch]]
|emulated = {{✓}}
}}

{{for|other emulators that run on 3DS hardware|Emulators on 3DS}}

The '''[[wikipedia:Nintendo 3DS|Nintendo 3DS]]''' is an eighth-generation handheld game console by Nintendo, released on March 27, 2011, for {{inflation|USD|249|2011}}. The original model and the 2DS had a dual-core ARM11 MPCore at 268 MHz and a single-core ARM9, 128 MBs of RAM and 6 MBs of VRAM, and a DMP PICA200 GPU. The New 3DS and New 2DS XL models upgrade this to an 804 MHz quad-core ARM11 and 256 MBs of RAM, along with an extra pair of shoulder buttons and a right analog stick.

The most notable feature of this console is the use of [[wikipedia:Autostereoscopy|autostereoscopic]] (glasses-free) 3D, which can be configured using a slider. This was omitted on the cost-reduced 2DS and New 2DS XL models, which were released due to eye health concerns with children ages 6 and under whom Nintendo advised not to use the 3DS' stereoscopic mode (though it is speculated that said advisories were more for liability reasons in case of a health-related lawsuit).

;Remember, [[Wikipedia:Category:New_Nintendo_3DS_games|certain titles are exclusive to the New 3DS, New 3DS XL and New 2DS XL]]. Make sure your chosen emulator supports these variations if you want to play them.

__TOC__

==Emulators==
<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;width:100%"
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
! scope="col"|New 3DS
! scope="col"|[[#Hardware_features|Hardware features]]
! scope="col"|[[#Enhancements|Enhancements]]
! scope="col"|Compatibility
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="10"|PC / x86
|-
|Citra (PabloMK7 fork)
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/PabloMK7/citra git]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[https://github.com/Gamer64ytb/Lemonade Lemonade]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/Lemonade-emu/Lemonade/releases {{LemonadeVer}}]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[https://github.com/Lime3DS Lime3DS]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/Lime3DS/Lime3DS/releases {{Lime3DSVer}}]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[[Citra]] [https://docs.libretro.com/library/citra/ citra_libretro]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://git.libretro.com/libretro/citra ''libretro cores'']<ref group=N name=Citralibretro>Similar to Dolphin, PPSSPP and melonDS libretro cores, the standalone version of Citra is highly recommended over the libretro core as the libretro core version is outdated and can be slow and unstable.</ref> [https://citra-emu.org/ Former website] (Offline)
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|[http://web.archive.org/web/20240301112349/https://citra-emu.org/game/ 63% 327 out of 519 reported titles]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}<ref group=N name=CitraActive>Official distribution of yuzu and Citra have been discontinued. See [[Yuzu#Lawsuit]] and [[#Comparisons]] sections.</ref>
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Panda3DS]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS {{Panda3DSVer}}]
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|[https://github.com/Panda3DS-emu/Panda3DS-Games-List/issues 34% 46 out of 135 reported titles]
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Mikage]] (御影)
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|{{na}} (WIP)
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|N/A
|{{~}} <ref name=mikageopen>[https://mikage.app/faq/#willmikagebeopensource FAQ: Will Mikage be open-source?]</ref>
|{{✓}}
|{{TBD}} (WIP)
|-
|Corgi3DS
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/PSI-Rockin/Corgi3DS git]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|[[TronDS]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[http://trondsemu.byethost15.com/downloads.html 1.0.0.5]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|[[3dmoo]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[https://github.com/plutooo/3dmoo git]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|LemonLime
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/ItsKaitlyn03/LemonLime/ git]
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
|VVCTRE
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[https://archive.org/details/vvctre-bestbuild archive]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|-
!colspan="10"|Mobile / ARM
|-
|[[Citra]] (PabloMK7 fork)
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/PabloMK7/citra/releases git]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[https://github.com/Gamer64ytb/Lemonade Lemonade]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/Lemonade-emu/Lemonade/releases Alpha 2]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[https://github.com/Lime3DS Lime3DS]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/Lime3DS/Lime3DS/releases {{Lime3DSVer}}]
|{{✓}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
|[[Citra MMJ]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/weihuoya/citra/releases git]
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|{{?}}
|{{~}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Citra]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}{{Icon|iOS}}<ref group=N>iOS support only available with rinsuki builds.</ref>
|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/android/latest/arm64-v8a/ ''libretro core'']<ref group=N name=Citralibretro></ref> [https://citra-emu.org/ Former website] (Offline) [https://github.com/rinsuki/citra rinsuki builds for iOS] (Offline)
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|[http://web.archive.org/web/20240301112349/https://citra-emu.org/game/ 63% 327 out of 519 reported titles]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}<ref group=N name=CitraActive></ref>
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Panda3DS]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS 1.0]
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|?
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[https://emuplace.app/emulators/limon/ Limón]
|align=left|{{Icon|iOS}}
|[https://emuplace.app/emulators/limon/ipas Public Betas]
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|{{✗}}
|{{?}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|-
|[[Mikage]] (御影)
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|{{na}} (WIP)
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|{{~}}
|N/A
|{{~}} <ref name=mikageopen></ref>
|{{✓}}
|{{TBD}} (WIP)
|-
|}
</div>
<references group=N />
===Comparisons===
;[[Citra]]
:An open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator made by experienced emulator developers. The devs insist that it's still experimental, but as of mid-2019, around half of all games are fully playable with minor or no issues, on top of that its supports lots of [[#Hardware_features|hardware features]] and [[#Enhancements|enhancements]]. An official Android version was [https://web.archive.org/web/20240229131511/https://citra-emu.org/entry/announcing-citra-android/ released in May 2020], also there is a VR project for this emulator called "[[Virtual_reality#Emulators_with_VR_support|CitraVR]]". '''As of March 4th 2024, the [[History_of_emulation#Lawsuits|lawsuit filed by Nintendo]] against the management of the yuzu emulator has led to the unfortunate decision to cease official distribution of yuzu and Citra'''.

:;Citra (PabloMK7 fork):A fork of Citra that was initially created to add online play, but continues to receive new updates and other new features following the end of support for upstream Citra. PabloMK7 was a contributor of Citra. The repository has also seen work from GPUCode, who was one of the most active contributors for Citra before the repository was deleted.

:;[[Citra MMJ]]:A unofficial Nintendo 3DS emulator for Android written by weihuoya and forked from Citra. Offers less stuttering and greater performance than mainline Citra on Android, along with additional features.

:;Limón:Port of Citra to iOS/iPadOS devices, developed by Jarrod Norwell. Previously known as emuThreeDS.

:;Lemonade:Fork of Citra. Previously known as Citra-Enhanced which development stopped for a while but then it's back[https://old.reddit.com/r/EmulationOnAndroid/comments/1bbos29/citraenhanced_is_going_to_be_continued_and/] due to the [[Yuzu#Lawsuit|stoppage of Citra development]]. Project now focusing Android platform and plan to add new [[#Hardware_features|features]] and [[#Enhancements|enhancements]].

:;Lime3DS: placeholder text

;[[Mikage]]:An emulator developed by Tony Wasserka, a.k.a. ''neobrain'', focused on optimization and stability in Android and PC, willing to fill the gap left by Citra. It is closed-source, but developers will release the source code bit-by-bit after the official app release.<ref name=mikageopen></ref> [https://mikage.app/faq/ Mikage is an early stage of development], but according to developer it supports some of the [[#Hardware_features|hardware features]] and many commercial games already.

;[[Panda3DS]]
:A [[High/Low_level_emulation|HLE approach]] 3DS emulator founded by Alber and wheremyfoodat (Peach), and currently developed by an array of developers. It can run many games, even including some Nintendo 3DS applets.

;Corgi3DS:A unique 3DS emulator designed for macOS systems. Its GitHub activity started on [https://github.com/PSI-Rockin/Corgi3DS/commit/1b81c7e00c9a7a73f2da12d07ec3a9e4bc69c6ac May 5, 2019]. The main programmer is a self-proclaimed dog-lover and has previously created CorgiDS and DobieStation, though the former seemed to be abandoned. Corgi3DS is mainly indigenous, but the preliminary [https://github.com/PSI-Rockin/Corgi3DS/commit/a60b06683495e4e8fd0c170ec4ca8c453ce31609 Wi-Fi code] was ported from [[melonDS]]' code. The project is on an indefinite hiatus. PSI said this about the matter: "''Haven't worked on it in several months, it's basically a hobby project of mine that I touch when I feel the urge''".

;[[TronDS]]:A closed-source Nintendo 3DS emulator, presumably made by the iDeaS author. Little is known about it other than that it can run simple homebrew. It cannot be used for playing games.

;[[3dmoo]]:Another open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator, made by experienced developers in the DS hacking scene. It was released shortly after Citra and received similar progress for a few months, but was eventually aborted by its authors after a while.

==Hardware features==
<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;width:100%"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! colspan=2 | Name
! Citra
! Citra MMJ
! Lemonade
! Mikage
! Panda3DS
|-
| rowspan=1 | [[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS_system_software|3DS system software]]
| [[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS_system_software#Home_menu|HOME Menu]]
| {{✓}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20240229150223/https://citra-emu.org/entry/citra-progress-report-2023-q2/#home-menu *]
| {{✗}}
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Lemonade supports HOME Menu as long as you have it installed in set NAND location using Citra.</ref>
| {{✓}}[https://www.youtube.com/@MikageEmu/videos *]
| {{✓}}[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS#compatibility *]
|-
| colspan=2 | [[#DS Mode|DS Mode]]
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{✗}}
|-
| colspan=2 | [[Virtual_Console|Virtual Console]]
| {{✓}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| colspan=2 | [[Wikipedia:3D_Classics#List_of_games|3D Classics]]
| {{✓}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| colspan=2 | [[Virtual_reality#Emulators_with_VR_support|3D Screen]]
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports Stereoscopic 3D mode (Side by Side, Anaglyph, Interlaced, Reverse Interlaced).</ref>
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| colspan=2 | [[Amiibo]]
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Lemonade supports Amiibos just like in citra.</ref>
| {{TBD}}
| {{~}}[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS#compatibility *]
|-
| rowspan=6 |Inputs
| Circle Pad Pro/C-Stick
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Motion Control (Gyroscope/Accelerometer)
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports motion control in Mouse (Right click), CemuhookUDP and SDL modes.</ref>
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS_system_software#Nintendo_3DS_Camera|Camera]]
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports Front and Rear cameras in single (2D) and double (3D) modes. The camera can be a still image or system camera.</ref>
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Microphone
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports microphone as Static noise and Real device.</ref>
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [https://github.com/libretro/RetroArch/pull/13743 Head-tracking]
| {{?}}
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Touch-screen
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Citra supports touch-screen in Emulator Window and CemuhookUDP modes. It's possible to use button mapping.</ref>
| {{✓}}
| {{✓}}<ref group=N>Lemonade supports Touch-screen just like in citra.</ref>
| {{✓}}
| {{?}}

|-
| rowspan=6 | Connectivity
| [[Wikipedia:SpotPass_and_StreetPass#Nintendo_3DS|SpotPass/StreetPass]]
| {{✗}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20240118041239/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/4928 *]
| {{✓}}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvSlRyWH32c *]
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| NFC Reader/Writer
| {{✗}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20201217073356/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/4797 *]
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Nintendo_Network|Nintendo Network]]
|{{✗}}[https://pretendo.network/progress#juxtaposition-(miiverse) *]
|{{✗}}
| {{?}}
|{{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS#Download_Play|Download Play]]
| {{✓}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| DS(i) Connectivity
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Wii U Connectivity
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
| {{TBD}}
| {{?}}
|}
</div>
<references group=N />
===DS Mode===
:[[Wikipedia:Nintendo_3DS#Backward_compatibility|Wikipedia - Nintendo 3DS backwards compatibility]]
In addition to its own software, the Nintendo 3DS is backward compatible with all Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi software. Like the DSi and DSi XL, the Nintendo 3DS is incompatible with DS software that requires use of the Game Boy Advance port. Nintendo DS and DSi software cannot be played with 3D visuals on the 3DS.
*None of the 3DS emulators support this feature. There was a [https://web.archive.org/web/20240301010422/https://community.citra-emu.org/t/ds-game-support/33133 feature request] for implementing this feature to Citra emulator.

==Enhancements==
<div style="overflow-x:auto;width:100%">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;width:100%"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! colspan=2 | Name
! Citra
! Panda3DS
! Mikage
|-
| rowspan=6 | Graphics
| [[Resolution|Resizable Internal Resolution]]
| {{Y}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Widescreen_hacks#Nintendo_3DS|Ultrawide hack]] Widescreen already supported on 3DS system. However for DS backwards compatibility titles you need to use patches to play in widescreen mode. There is no support by system for render games in other ratios such as ultrawide 21:9 and 32:9.
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Texture_packs#Nintendo_3DS_.28Citra.29|Texture Replacement]]
| {{~}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20240304211606/https://citra-emu.org/help/feature/custom-textures/ *]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Ray-tracing ([https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/announcing-microsoft-directx-raytracing/ DXR], [https://www.khronos.org/blog/ray-tracing-in-vulkan VRT] and [https://developer.apple.com/documentation/metal/metal_sample_code_library/accelerating_ray_tracing_using_metal MRT])
| colspan=3 | Implementing ray-tracing in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. However you can try "[[Shaders_and_filters#Notable_ReShade_shaders|Screen-Space Ray Traced Global Illumination]]" shader using ReShade.[https://reshade.me/forum/general-discussion/5442-release-misc-emulators-with-depth-buffer-access#34388][https://reshade.me/forum/general-discussion/5442-release-misc-emulators-with-depth-buffer-access?start=60#46417]
|-
| Pre-rendering AA (MSAA, SSAA)
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Super-resolution techniques ([https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/Streamline/blob/main/docs/ProgrammingGuideDLSS.md DLSS], [https://github.com/intel/xess/?tab=readme-ov-file XeSS] and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 2+]])
| colspan=3 | Requires access to the depth buffer and temporal data like motion-vectors so it's quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. Besides any GPU that can use DLSS can run these emulators at 4k native with ease anyway.
|-
| rowspan=4 | Performance
| [[Overclocking|Overclock]]
| {{Y}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20220428210656/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/5975 *]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[30/60_FPS_cheat_codes|Internal Framerate Hack]]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [https://blurbusters.com/frame-generation-essentials-interpolation-extrapolation-and-reprojection/ Frame generation technologies] ([https://store.steampowered.com/app/993090/Lossless_Scaling/ LSFG], [https://github.com/NVIDIAGameWorks/Streamline/blob/main/docs/ProgrammingGuideDLSS_G.md DLSS-G], [https://www.techpowerup.com/316835/extrass-framework-paper-details-intels-take-on-frame-generation ExtraSS] and [https://community.amd.com/t5/gaming/amd-fluid-motion-frames-is-out-now-on-amd-radeon-rx-7000-series/ba-p/634372 AFMF])
| colspan=3 | Implementing frame generation technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future, however post-processing techniques such as [[Wikipedia:Motion_interpolation|motion interpolation]] is quite possible. [[Input_lag|Input latency]] will be a crucial factor, but its impact likely varies depending on the specific technique employed, it's recommended to use '''after applying the "Internal Framerate Hack"'''. While '''AFMF''' or '''LSFG''' could be used with Citra?, please be aware that some visual glitches and artifacts may occur at this time.
|-
| Preload [[Wikipedia:ROM_image|ROM image]] to RAM For users with sluggish multi-platter HDDs or plagued by horrible seek times, this enhancement '''might''' offer smoother experience, potentially reduced power consumption; it also shines when images reside on a network drive. Although keep in mind that preloading image would take some time, and it will require additional amount of RAM capacity.
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=6 | Post-Processing
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Anti-aliasing_algorithms|Post-rendering AA]] (FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)
| {{N}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20201217074552/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/3623 *]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Comparison_gallery_of_image_scaling_algorithms|Post-rendering scaling]] (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and [[Wikipedia:GPUOpen#FidelityFX_Super_Resolution|FSR 1]])
| {{Y}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Shaders_and_filters|Filters]]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
|[[Shaders_and_filters#AI-powered filters|AI-powered filter compatible]] ([https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/gfecnt/nvidia-freestyle-ansel-enhancements-geforce-experience-article/ Freestyle])
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Shader_Presets|Shader Chain]]
| {{~}}<ref group=N2 name=lrExclusive>Exclusive to libretro core.</ref>
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
|[[High_dynamic_range#Inverse_tone_mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=5 | [https://tasvideos.org/Emulatorresources/Features TAS features]
| [[Wikipedia:Macro_(computer_science)|Macros/Scripts]]/[https://tasvideos.org/LuaScripting Lua]
| {{?}}
| {{Y}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Rewind
| {{N}}[https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/5859 *]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed
| {{Y}}[https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/3353 *]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Savestates
| {{Y}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [https://tasvideos.org/Movies Movie recording/playback]
| {{Y}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20201217052538/https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/3500 *]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=2 | Controls
| [[Controllers#Mouse_Injectors_for_Emulators|Mouse Injector Compatible]]
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Input_lag|Input lag-mitigating technique]]
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=6 | Quality of life
| Built-in [[Mods,_hacks_and_fan-translations#Built-in_graphics_mod_editor.2Fmanager_for_emulators|Graphics mod editor/manager]]
| {{✗}}
| {{✗}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Built-in [[Cheats_and_patches|Cheat Manager]]
| {{Y}}
| {{Y}}[https://github.com/wheremyfoodat/Panda3DS#compatibility *]
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Save_disk_space_for_ISOs|Streamable compression format]]
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Per-Game Profiles
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| Command Line Options
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Frontends#Graphical_User_Interfaces_.28GUIs.29|Big Picture Mode]]
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|-
| rowspan=3 | Misc
| [https://retroachievements.org/gameList.php?c=62 RetroAchievements]
| {{N}}
| {{N}}
| {{?}}
|-
| [[Virtual_reality#VR_game_room_simulations|EmuVR support]]
| colspan=3 | Exclusive to [https://www.emuvr.net/wiki/Installation_Guide#Downloads libretro cores] at the moment.
|-
| [[Wikipedia:Category:Debugging|Debug Features]]
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
| {{?}}
|}
</div>
<references group=N2/>

==Game images==
===3DS vs. CIA===

There are two types of 3DS game images currently:
;NCSD-type: Includes '''.cci''' (CTR Cart Image), aka '''.3ds''' - data on physical carts, can be executed right off the bat, not used much since no one bothered to develop a CFW solution to load them yet (besides converting them to CIA) and only overpriced flashcarts (Gateway/Sky3DS) can load them.
;NCCH-type: Includes '''.cia''' (CTR Importable Archive) and '''.cxi''' - installers that unpack game data to the SD card or the 3DS NAND memory. Some homebrew apps (FBI, DevMenu) can install CIA files on 3DS systems with CFW installed. Digital games are often distributed as CIAs.

*Note that CTR (Citrus) is the internal code name for the 3DS.

Due to one format being so far restricted to overpriced flashcarts and the very slow Citra development (meaning playing on an actual 3DS is still the preferred way to go), the CIA format is preferred in many sharing websites, downloader tools and even tools to dump your own games.

However, converting a CIA image to 3DS format (and vice versa) is still possible with no loss of content. Read the Encryption section below for a guide.

Some outdated dumping utilities intended for use with Citra (like braindump) produce damaged decrypted 3DS images that can't be easily converted back. No known solution exists so far to fix those dumps.

===Encryption===
Most dumps online are also encrypted. This encryption poses no problem for playing game images on an actual 3DS since it can deal with that encryption with internal keys included in the bootrom, but becomes a problem when trying to emulate them on PC. '''Citra requires additional encryption keys to play encrypted games.''' If you want to play encrypted games on Citra without these keys, you'll have to convert your game images to the decrypted format.

Formerly, decrypting those ROMs used to require real 3DS hardware (bafflingly enough, Citra devs still ask users to do this even nowadays). It required files generated by a real 3DS called '''xorpads''' unique to that game version, using the encryption engine within the 3DS. After this part, these xorpads (which are big) can be used with PC tools (or other 3DS-based homebrew) to produce the decrypted game image. After that, some 3DS homebrew (Decrypt9, GodMode9) included tools to directly convert encrypted images to decrypted images with a single button press, but those still require a real 3DS.

The game changer was the sighax exploit, which allowed for the dumping of the 3DS bootrom, which includes these encryption keys. This file can be downloaded from the [[Emulator Files#Nintendo 3DS|Emulator Files]] page. You can then use a program like '''[https://gbatemp.net/threads/tutorial-extract-decrypt-games-nand-backups-and-sd-contents-with-fuse-3ds.499994/ fuse-3ds]''' to decrypt games using this file. Simply place boot9.bin in the same folder, run the program, mount the encrypted CIA or 3DS, and find the '''decrypted.cxi''' file inside (usually in the first folder). Citra should be able to load this file without issues.

Due to these keys being available, Citra can now play encrypted games (3DS or CIA) without decrypting them. Read [https://web.archive.org/web/20240229064914/https://citra-emu.org/wiki/aes-keys this page]. Then, go to this Reddit page and copy the code from the [https://www.reddit.com/r/CemuPiracy/comments/gpo2ey/aes_key_nintendo_3ds_title_keys_for_citra second comment] (credit floppydoppy2). Copy it and make a new TXT file named '''aes_keys.txt'''. Place this TXT file in the sysdata folder of Citra's user directory. This key file is already included in the 3DS Shared Data download in the [[Emulator files#Nintendo_3DS|Emulator Files]] page.

==Emulation issues==
For more information about Nintendo 3DS hardware and reverse engineering;
* MVG: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAKujG8SXKY The most important Nintendo 3DS Game Ever Made], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjFGxIfDX70 Homebrew on a $100 New Nintendo 3DS LL], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-guh8hXo1bc The Nintendo 3DS eShop Is Going Offline Forever. How to Play All Games After 2023],
* Citra: [https://web.archive.org/web/20240304201632/https://citra-emu.org/tags/progress-report/ Blog], [https://discord.gg/FAXfZV9 Discord]
* Panda3DS: [https://discord.gg/UyepRMm Discord]
* [https://www.3dbrew.org/wiki/Main_Page 3dbrew]
* [https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3DS_Homebrew_Development GBATemp - 3DS Homebrew Development]
* [https://3ds.hacks.guide/ 3DS Hacks Guide]
* [https://fosdem.org/2024/schedule/event/fosdem-2024-1726-panda3ds-climbing-the-tree-of-3ds-emulation/ FOSDEM '24: Panda3DS - Climbing the tree of 3DS emulation]

{{Nintendo}}

[[Category:Consoles|!3DS]]
[[Category:Handheld consoles|!3DS]]
[[Category:Nintendo consoles|!3DS]]
[[Category:Eighth-generation video game consoles|!3DS]]
[[Category:Nintendo 3DS emulators|*]]
[[Category:ARM-based|!3DS]]