Changes

Since Because of the homebrewing scene the 3DS homebrew exploits, provided you can do this exploithas had, you can install a variety of emulators taking advantage of the hardware. Currently, the New 3DS is capable of running much faster than the older models, making it a much more ideal platform for emulation, but despite this there are still some emulators that have issues regardless. For more information on how to homebrew your 3DS, visit [https://3ds.hacks.guide/ 3ds.hacks.guide].

There are [https://gbatemp.net/threads/retroarch-emulation-thread-nightly-builds-included.400913/ preliminary 3DS ports] of the following cores: [http://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/ stable 3DS ports]

* [[mGBA]] (acceptable with Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, but otherwise too some games are slow to use , even on New 3DS , at present)

* PCSX-ReARMed - the latest nightly build has made some improvements, making it possible to have 60 fps emulation on some games (dynarec only works by installing the CIAmainly 2D based games, many but is possible for 3D games if you tweak some of the settings) and even added support for .CHD compression formats. These improvements are too slow even on mainly for the New 3DS)as the original model is not powerful enough.

* [httphttps://filetripraw.netgithubusercontent.com/St4rk/3ds-downloads3DNES/homebrewmaster/dl-3dnes-1-2-f329313DNES_old.html 3dsx 3DNES]<i>no longer in development</i>

* [https://gbatemp.net/threads/snes9x-for-old-3ds.435568/ Snes9x for 3DS] - runs a good majority of games well, even on old 3DS/2DS's. It's recommended to use a New 3DS if you want to run games that uses the SuperFX or SA-1 chip properly.* [http://blargsnes.kuribo64.net/ blargSNES]- It works well, but lacks compatibility for games with certain chips <i>(i.e. the SuperFX chip)</i>.===Genesis===* [https://gbatemp.net/threads/snes9xrelease-picodrive-for-old-3ds.435568493521/ Snes9x PicoDrive for 3DS]

* [https://dl.dropboxusercontentgithub.com/uSteveice10/100702766GameYob/gameyobreleases/gameyob_3ds.zip latest GameYob]: GB/GBC emulationforked from a popular emulator used on the DS. Emulates the Game Boy and Game Boy Color.

The 3DS does include natively a native firmware for a GBA mode, which was mainly used to run ambassador releases instead of having to develop an emulator for them. So far, the ambassador releasesonly way to access this firmware is by injecting a GBA ROM as a VC application. This can be achieved through various programs such as [https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-ultimate-gba-vc-injector-for-3ds.438057/ this one]. Compatibility is perfect barring high with the exception of cartridges with special hardware. This The only downside is not emulationit can't provide features that are normally available on other emulators, such as savestates, screen filtering, or sleep mode, since technically it's running a "virtual" GBA. Also, each ROM must inject and install individually including the [https://3ds.hacks.guide/godmode9-usage.html#backup-gba-vc-saves save files]. If you're using an old 3DS contains /2DS, this is the hardware from best option to play GBA games. On the original other hand, there are also some homebrew GBA emulators available for 3DS:* [https://gbatemp.net/threads/citragb-3ds-gba-emulator-wip.376438/ CitrAGB] - (based on [[gpSP]])* [https://github.com/mgba-emu/mgba/releases mGBA] [https://s3.amazonaws.com/mgba/mGBA-build-latest-3ds.7z (Latest Nightly)] - (can also be used to play GB/GBC) ===Neo Geo Pocket===[https://gbatemp.net/threads/neopop-port-neo-geo-pocket-emu.376830/ NeoPop]===Nintendo DS===[https://github.com/masterfeizz/DeSmuME/releases DeSmuME] - an experimental port of DeSmuME that has since been abandoned, it wasn't very compatible. [https://github.com/DS-Homebrew/TWiLightMenu/releases TWiLight Menu++] - Not technically an "emulator", rather it's a frontend for a seperate program, [https://github.com/ahezard/nds-bootstrap nds-bootstrap], which in turn supported GBAallows for an NDS ROM to be loaded from an SD card. So farIt utilizes the virtual DSi (aka the TWL_FIRM) that the 3DS has for backwards-compatibility, meaning this program can also be installed on the original DSi provided it has CFW installed. Compatibility is high with only way to access this firmware is by injecting a few games having small loading lags, <i>(eg. GTA: Chinatown Wars)</i>, or triggering anti-piracy protections (the latest version now includes AP patches for some games and will patch them on the fly). It also comes pre-bundled with a variety of emulators used on the DS and installing a work-in-progress GBA ROMs as a VChypervisor, [https://github.com/Gericom/GBARunner2 GBARunner2], that works to some degree. *[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0 Compatiblity List]*[https://www.odrive.com/s/8443cc3a-862e-41d7-b064-09378f79f6b3-5965a89a List of AP patches if needed]

Some homebrew apps do real GBA emulation on ===DSiWare===Because the firmware that the 3DSuses for backwards-compatibility is actually the same as the DSi, it's possible to inject DSiWare as an installable <code>.cia</code> file. There's two ways to do this:* [https://gbatemp.net/threads/citragbscripts-dsiware-conversion-easily-convert-to-3dsnds-gbaand-emulatorcia-wipfiles.376438478575/ CitrAGBDSiWare Conversion Script]- This script can be used to convert <code>.bin</code> files from your DSi's SD card to <code>.nds</code> which can then be used to convert into <code>.cia</code>.* [https://github.com/mgbad0k3/GodMode9/releases GodMode9] -emuVersion 1.8.0 added in a script that can convert <code>.nds</code> to <code>.cia</code>, [https:/mgba/releases mGBA3ds.hacks.guide/godmode9-usage 3ds.hacks.guide]has more information on how to update to the latest version if needed.These scripts will <b>ONLY</b> work for DSiWare, <font style="color:red"><b>NOT NDS GAMES</b></font>.

Some have tried injecting alternate ROMs in the available Virtual Console releases (MD, GG, NES, GBA Ambassador, GBC, Japanese emulated SFC compilations) with varying degrees of success. VC emulators for Sega systems, in particular, have high compatibility.<br> There's an easy tool that will convert and inject any supported ROM file as its associated VC application called [https://gbatemp.net/threads/discussion-new-super-ultimate-injector-nsui.500376/ New Super Ultimate Injector]. It's an all in one tool and can even remotely install the injection provided your 3DS is connected to the same network. It's currently in beta, but it's still really useful.