Changes

|type = [[:Category:ConsolesHandheld consoles|Handheld game console]]

|successor = [[Nintendo 3DS DSi emulators|Nintendo 3DSDSi]]

 {{for|other emulators that run on NDS hardware|Emulators on DS}}  The '''[[gametechwikipedia:Nintendo DS|Nintendo DS]]''' (NDS) is a handheld console produced by Nintendo in on November 21, 2004, and had 2 ARM CPUs (ARM9 and ARM7) with 4 MBs of RAM. The main selling point was the use of dual screens for gameplay, with one being a touchscreen. It is the first and only console to have come close to the [[PlayStation 2 emulators|PlayStation 2]] in lifetime sales(154.02 million units), as a result of attracting a large amount number of casual players, and even non-gamers, into the gaming community.

! scope="col"|Operating SystemPlatform(s)

! scope="col"|<abbr title="The Nintendo DS is backward compatible with Game Boy Advance (GBA) cartridges. On top of that inserting a GBA cartridge in the Slot-2 of the Nintendo DS while a game is running can unlock various gameplay features for several DS games, GBA/DS connectivity section for more information about this.">[https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Game_Boy_Advance_emulators GBA]</abbr>! scope="col"|NDS[[Nintendo DSi emulators|DSi]]! scope="col"|DSi[[#DS/Wii connectivity|DS<br/>to<br/>Wii]]! scope="col"|[[#Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection|Wi-Fi/WFC]]! scope="col"|[[#DS Download Play|Download<br/>Play]]! scope="col"|[[libretro#Local wireless communication|Local]]! scope="col"|<small>[https://retroachievements.org/gameList.php?c=18 Retro<br/>Achievements]</small>! scope="col"|[[Libretro Core]]! scope="col"|[[Texture_packs#Texture_Replacement (3D)|<small>Texture<br/>Replacement</small>]]</abbr>! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>

! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulatorsemulators|Recommended]]|-!colspan="16"|PC / x86

!colspan|[[melonDS]]|align="left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}|[http://melonds.kuribo64.net/downloads.php {{MelonDSVer}}] [https://github.com/Arisotura/melonDS/actions <br/>Dev Builds]<br/>[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]<ref group=N name=melonDSRA>melonDS libretro core two versions out of date (still on 0.9".3), and the generation 5 Pokemons are broken. If you turn on C-Gear, after a few minutes you'll be unable to save. [https://github.com/libretro/melonDS/issues/179#issuecomment-1407488464 '''You also can't use any wifi features'''] or do in game trades either or the game will freeze.</ref>|{{~}}<ref group=N name=noGBAbutsupportsconnection>[https://melonds.kuribo64.net/board/thread.php?id=1229 melonDS] and DeSmuME are not support backwards compatibility but supports [[#GBA/DS connectivity|GBA to DS connectivity]].</ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}[https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS/issues/1000 *] ||{{✓}}<ref group=N name=WFCAlt>Possible with [https://wiimmfi.de/ Wimmfi], [https://kaeru.world/projects/wfc Kaeru] or [https://github.com/barronwaffles/dwc_network_server_emulator/wiki AltWFC/DWC].<br /> [https://melonds.kuribo64.net/board/thread.php?id=285 Tutorial: How to Connect to WFC in MelonDS]</ref> ||{{~}} ||{{~}} ||{{~}}<ref group=N name=lrRA>Only possible with libretro core. [https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS/issues/1146 Github Issue page for standalone version].</ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}([https://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=182 WIP]) ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||PC{{✓}}

|Multi-platformalign=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}|[httphttps://desmume.org/download/ 0{{DeSmuMEVer}}]<br/>[https://buildbot.9libretro.11com/nightly/ libretro core]|{{~}}<ref group=N name=noGBAbutsupportsconnection></ref> ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}<ref group=N name=WFCAlt></ref> ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}<ref group=N name=lrRA></ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}

|[[DeSmuME#Graphical_Enhancement|DeSmuME X432RBizHawk]]<br/><small>(melonDS 0.9.5)</small>|Multi-platformalign=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}|[https://gitlab.com/TASVideos/BizHawk/-/pipelines Dev builds]<br/>[http://shikaver01.webcrowtasvideos.jporg/desmume_x432rBizHawk/indexReleaseHistory.html 2015-04-19{{BizHawkVer}}]|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~✗}} ||?<ref group=N name=WFCAlt></ref> ||? ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}

|[[melonDSNo$|No$GBA]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows, Linux|DOS}}|[http://melondsproblemkaputt.kuribo64.netde/downloadsgba.php 0.7htm {{No$GBAVer}}]|{{✓}} ||{{~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗~}} <small>(WIP)</small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows, |Linux|macOS}}|[https://github.com/shonumi/gbe-plus/releases 1.2{{GBEVer}}]|{{✓}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} <small>(WIP)</small>

|[[NooDS]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}|[https://github.com/Hydr8gon/NooDS/releases git]|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} <small>(WIP)</small>|-|[[mGBA#medusa|mGBA/medusa]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows, |Linux|macOS}}|[https://mgba.io/downloads.html #medusa alpha 2]|{{✓}} ||{{✓✗}}[https://mgba.io/timeline.html#IN+THE+FUTURE *] ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} || {{✗}} ||{{✓}} || {{~}}<ref name="medusa suspended"/>||{{✗}} <small>(WIP)</small>

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows, |Linux|macOS}}|[https://github.com/PSI-Rockin/CorgiDS/releases 0.1git]<br />[http://www.emucr.com/search/label/CorgiDS SVN]|{{✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}<ref>https://corgids.wordpress.com/2018/02/12/extended-break/</ref> ||{{✗}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|[https://github.com/rasky/ndsemu Gitgit]|{{✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}

|[[No$|No$GBA]]|Windows, [[DOS emulators|DOS]]|[https://web.archive.org/web/20110225190819/http://problemkaputtneonds.decom/gba.htm 2.9NeonDS]|{{✓}} |align=left|{{✓}} Icon||{{✓}Windows} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}|-|NeonDS|Windows

|{{✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows, |Linux}}|[https://github.com/Cydrak/dasShiny Gitgit]|{{✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|[http://www.emulator-zone.com/download.php/emulators/nds/duos/DuoS.zip 8/25/2012 Beta]|{{✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}

|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}

|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}|-|[https://web.archive.org/web/20111130005614/http://ideasemu.biz/ iDeaS]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}|[http://www.emulator-zone.com/files/emulators/nds/ideas/ideas1040.7z 1.0.4.0]|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}

!colspan="16"|[https://www.gamulator.com/emulators/nintendo-ds/windowsMobile /ideas iDeaS]|Windows, Linux|[https://web.archive.org/web/20150221150649/http://ciacin.site90.com/ajx/resolve_link.php?link=ideas1040.7z 1.0.4.0]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}ARM

!colspan|<small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/desmume/ DeSmuME_libretro]</small>|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS}}|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]|{{~}}<ref group=N name=noGBAbutsupportsconnection></ref> ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}<ref group=N name="9"WFCAlt></ref> ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||Mobile{{✓}}

|[[align=left|{{Icon|Android emulators|Android]], Pandora|Pyra}}|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dsemu.drastic 2&hl=en_US&gl=US {{DraSticVer}}]<br>[https://pyra-handheld.5com/repo/apps/32 0.1Pyra]|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}|-|[[melonDS]]<small> (unofficial)</small><br/><small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/melonds/ melonds_libretro]</small>|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS}}|[https://github.com/rafaelvcaetano/melonDS-android git]<br/>[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.magnum.melonds 1.8.0]<br/>[https://buildbot.libretro.2acom/nightly/ libretro core]<ref group=N name=melonDSRA></ref>|{{~}}<ref group=N name=noGBAbutsupportsconnection></ref> ||{{~}} ||{{✗}} || ? ||? ||? ||{{~}}<ref group=N>Only possible with libretro core but [https://github.com/rafaelvcaetano/melonDS-android/discussions/1117 work-in-progress for standalone version].</ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}} <small>(WIP)</small>|-|[[Delta]]|align=left|{{Icon|iOS}}|[https://github.com/rileytestut/Delta git]|{{✗}} ||{{~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}|-|[https://inds.nerd.net/ iNDS]<br/><small>(nds4ios-derived)</small><br/><small>(DeSmuME-based)</small>|align=left|{{Icon|iOS}}|[https://github.com/iNDS-Team/iNDS/releases git]|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} || ? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}

|[[iOS emulatorsalign=left|{{Icon|iOS]]}}

|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}|-|DeeS|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}|[https://github.com/DeeSEmu/DeeS 1.0.8]|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}|-|[[NooDS]]|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}|[https://github.com/Hydr8gon/NooDS git]|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} <small>(WIP)</small>|-|[http://jeffq.com/blog/nds4droid/ nds4droid]<br/><small>(DeSmuME-based)</small>|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}|[https://github.com/jquesnelle/nds4droid git]|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} || ? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}|-!colspan="16"|Console|-|[[Virtual Console]]|align=left|{{Icon|WiiU}}||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}|-|<small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/desmume/ DeSmuME_libretro]</small>|align=left|{{Icon|Switch|PS4}}<br/>{{Icon|Vita}}|[https://www.retroarch.com/ 0.9.13]|{{~}}<ref group=N name=noGBAbutsupportsconnection></ref> ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}|-|[[melonDS]]<br/><small>[https://docs.libretro.com/library/melonds/ melonds_libretro]</small>|align=left|{{Icon|Switch|Vita}}<br/>{{Icon|PS2}}|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]<ref group=N name=melonDSRA></ref><br/>[https://github.com/rsduck/melonDS/releases git]<small> (Switch)</small><br/>[https://github.com/Rinnegatamante/melonDS-Vita git]<small>(Vita Port)</small><br/>[https://github.com/DanielSant0s/melonDS-PS2 git]<small> (PS2 Port)</small><br/>|{{~}}<ref group=N name=noGBAbutsupportsconnection></ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} || ? || ? || ? ||{{~}}<ref group=N name=lrRA></ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}|-|[[NooDS]]|align=left|{{Icon|Switch|Vita}}<br/>{{Icon|PSP}}|[https://github.com/Hydr8gon/NooDS git]<small> (Switch/Vita)</small><br/>[https://github.com/Xiro28/NooDS_PSP git] <small>(PSP port)</small>|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}

|Dsoid|[[Android emulators|AndroidDeSmuME PSP]]|align=left|{{Icon|PSP}}|[httphttps://wwwcdn.emucrdiscordapp.com/searchattachments/590011753849421846/870274164748079104/desmume_psp_4.zip V4][https://labelgithub.com/Dsoid?&maxXiro28/DeSmuME-results=12 SVNPSP git][https://github.com/Xiro28/desmume_psp_experimental Exp.]|{{✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} || ? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}

|nds4droidDesmumeX|align=left|{{Icon|Xbox}}|[https://www.1emulation.com/forums/topic/35774-desmumex-v087-new-update 0.87]|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} || ? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}|-|[[Android emulatorsDeSmuME PSP|AndroidDSonPSP]]|align=left|{{Icon|PSP}}|[https://githubwololo.comnet/downloads/index.php/jquesnelledownload/nds4droid Git1235 0.7]|{{✗}} ||{{✓✗}} ||{{✗}} || ? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} <small>(POC)</small> ||{{✗}}

;[[DeSmuMEmelonDS]]<small class="plainlinks" style="font-weight:normal;">([https: One //wiimmfi.de/stat?m=25 servers])</small>:Unlike DeSmuME, melonDS can use Wi-Fi and has some DSi support. In terms of the most developed emulators for regular being user-friendly, options in melonDS are more simplified. Has similar DS game compatibility as DeSmuME. Both can run gamesat a higher internal resolution (sharper 3D objects) and can open ROMs inside a compressed archive (ZIP, but works best with higher-end computersRAR, 7Z etc.). This emulator aims for accuracy over speed but you Both can tinker with display the vast amount two screens in a variety of setting to get some extra FPS ways, but melonDS has a hybrid mode. [https://i.imgur.com/S73Eb4m.jpg (see [[Common Problems and SolutionsExample)]] for tips). If you're still having a hard time running anything without While the output playing like syrup try developers of No$GBAhad documented the Wi-Fi capabilities first, or DraStic emulated through melonDS is the first and only emulator that's gotten as far as it has, and it's been found to work reasonably well with a handful of games. Switching to OpenGL in core options may give a performance boost. ;[[BlueStacksDeSmuME]]<small class="plainlinks" style="font-weight:normal;">([https://wiimmfi. de/stat?m=25 servers])</small>:DeSmuME is generally recommended regardless of your PC power. Howeverhas had significant improvements since 2018; new features include less CPU/GPU resource usage and high-resolution 3D rendering, it's not perfect and is still very unoptimized. The official developers have taken major disdain for though Wi-Fi features capability remains neither emulated nor supported. v0.9.13 from May 2022 is the first "Stable" build in over 7 years and is highly recommended over all previous builds (outside of an online play forkthough dev builds are also generally very usable) and DSi features. Because [[OpenEmu]] uses a shallow fork of this unique development philosophy, you'll have to look for alternatives in those casesthe v0.9.11 build and should be avoided as well.;[[DraStic]]: A payware, closed-source payware emulator for [[Android emulators|Android]] devices that can run games at a decent speed even on potato phones. It's on par with (or in some cases better than) DeSmuME, and emulating it through BlueStacks on PC may actually be a viable and fast alternative aside from a slight input delay. Some unsubstantiated rumours rumors have spread around that the developers deliberately put in issues to mess with pirated copies, though at this is considered unsubstantiated. At the very least, donyou shouldn't expect any support from exophase Exophase and company if you get your hands on use a pirated copy. It's on par or better than DeSmuMe, and emulating though it through BlueStacks on PC may actually be a viable and fast alternative aside from a slight input delay. Available is available for free on the Raspberry Pi and Odroid via RetroPie, and runs relatively well there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=715kg1-hmxA ;[[No$|No$GBA]]: Focuses on speed, and has major compatibility issues and glitches as a result. But because Because it was originally initially a GBA emulator, the DS's 3D features are still very poorly handled. However, it might be an '''It's a good option for a very low-end machine machines, but don't expect a lot of games to run perfectly, or at all'''. A fan program, No$Zoomer, was released for version 2.6 , which increases compatibility and options, as well as the titular zooming and resizing abilities. The biggest addition is noise cancellation which clears up static that No$GBA makes with its 3D rendering. It doesn't change accuracy though. No$Zoomer hasn't never rebased yet but does add options for window resizing. There haven't been any noticeable changes with regards to accuracynewer No$GBA versions, and it looks like it was abandoned, howeverso it likely never will. As of In v2.8, No$GBA supports became the first emulator to support DSi games and is currently the only emulator that does, which has been their most notable feature. Only use No$GBA in the cases of for DSi gamesthat don't work on other emulators, debugging (if you've taken up romhacking ROM-hacking for DS gamesor homebrew development), if you value speed above everything, if you're using a potato PC, or just as a last resort. ;[[melonDSDelta]]: Probably the first and only emulator that's provided any signs of hope An open-source application for competition in iOS with the PC space. StapleButter's goal is ability to make an emulator that's better optimized emulate many consoles and includes features that others lackhandhelds, either intentionally or notincluding the DS. Since version 1. While the developers of No$GBA had documented the Wi-Fi capabilities first3, melonDS is the first and only emulator that's gotten as far as it has and it has been found Delta Emulator allows you to work reasonably well emulate Nintendo DS with a handful of gamesDeSmuME or melonDS core. There's also hope that melonDS You will implement need to have DS BIOS or DSi emulation BIOS to play DS/DSi games in Delta using the future<ref name="next direction for melonDS">http://melondscore.kuribo64.netIt also allows you to boot into DS/comments.php?id=47&b=15</ref>, though not much has been mentioned since DSi home screen and probably won't be added in until much later in development if ever. It could surpass DeSmuME when it covers more features and supports more gamesfunctions similarly to melonDS. ;[[mGBA#medusa|mGBA/medusa]]: [[mGBA]] developer endrift is also creating a DS emulator, but it's very much a [https://mgba.io/timeline.html#IN+THE+FUTURE work-in-progress ] and isn't nearly as far as melonDS in terms of the capabilities it's covered. As of March 2018, medusa's development is "suspended until further notice".<ref name="medusa suspended">https://mgba.io/2018/03/09/holy-grail-bugs-revisited/#postscript-a-several-month-late-explanation</ref> ;iDeaS: An abandoned and experimental DS emulator that uses a plug-in system, it's very slow and buggy but has partially gotten some features working , like the camera and slide accessories.;[[Ensata]]: Nintendo's official DS emulator that was leaked to the public. It's not very usable or compatible , but it can run a few games. '''Comparisons of several Nintendo DS emulators:'''* [https://emucross.com/the-next-generation-of-ds-emulators/ Looking Toward the Next Generation of DS Emulators] (By [[Dolphin]] tester, [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/authors/JMC47/ JMC47], AKA Justin M. Chadwick. 5 June 2017. Tested emulators: melonDS (0.2 and 0.3), medusa (Alpha 2) & GBE+ (1.1) compared to the mature DeSmuME.) ===High resolution===;[[melonDS]]:Has an OpenGL renderer with upscaling as of version 0.8.<ref name="melondsopengl">http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=90</ref> The renderer is much faster than DeSmuME's and supports increasing the internal resolution up to 16x native resolution. More features, such as texture filtering, are planned. ;DeSmuME X432R:A fork of DeSmuME that has graphical enhancements, such as an option to increase internal resolution and use MSAA. The devs of DeSmuME have now included an option for increased internal resolution (see below), making X432R outdated. See the [[DeSmuME]] page for more details.

===High Resolution===;DeSmuME X432R:A fork of DeSmuME, that has many more graphical enhancement such as an option to increase internal resolution and use MSAA, the devs of DeSmuME have included an option for increased internal resolution and X432R is outdated. See the [[DeSmuME]] page for more details.;DeSmuME <small>([[libretro]])</small>:Also has an the option to increase internal resolution since the [https://github.com/libretro/desmume/commit/5e430dfbc22f9d54c77f291304a38352ee1e5a63 August 8, 2015 /8/15 git commit]. It requires a very high-end CPU to run at a reasonable framerate.

===Local Multiplayer, Wi-Fi Connection, and Wii/The DS Connection===offers five types of connections:* '''Local Multiplayer is not supported by any emulator. No$GBA can emulate it but the connection fails somewhere during establishing the actual connection wireless communications''' - ''(despite the names from the other DS showing just fineMultiple cartridges).''* '''DS Download Play isn't supported by any emulator so far, though NDS'' -bootstrap homebrew on the Nintendo 3DS can boot some of them.''(Single cartridge)''* Nintendo WFC '''Wi-Fi Connection''' - ''(Online Multiplayer) was successfully emulated with third-party DeSmuME forks but has quite a bit of requirement (Ethernet cable, though this can be circumvented with external software). After service shutdown, there was a version compatible with the fan servers (restoring all DLC data but sadly most multiplayer games had their content lost forever).''* '''DS/Wii connection isnconnectivity't emulated in any capacity. ''Pokémon Battle Revolution* '''GBA/DS connectivity''' playability is very limited this way.

These features are not supported by the mainline DeSmuME project in particular due to The major challenge with emulating multiplayer functionalities is timing inaccuracies and ''creative differences'', and it's highly unlikely they will ever be included in the futurewhich have made many projects, such as DeSmuME, not want to implement them. If you're interested in these features So far, follow other projects and refrain from contacting the developers about them as per their wishes in their "official stance" on Wi-Fi features in generalonly emulator to actually make any progress is melonDS, but even that is still under development.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"|- style=GBA/DS Connectivity==="font-weight:bold;"! Name! melonDS! DeSmuMEInserting GBA cartridges in Slot-2 of the Nintendo DS while a game is running can unlock various gameplay features in some DS games. It's unknown if NO! No$GBA supports this, but it can be done in DeSmuME by going to Config > Slot 2 (GBA Slot) and selecting GBA Cartridge. Select the GBA ROM file, and make sure its <code>.sav</code> file is in the same folder. You may need to reset the game for it to take effect. However, DeSmuME does not support features like the solar sensor from GBA Boktai cartridges used in Boktai DS (Lunar Knight).

==DSi==|-| [[#GBA/DS connectivity|GBA/DS connectivity]]| {{✓}}| {{✓}}| {{~}}|-| [[#Nintendo released the DSi in 2009, doing away with SlotWi-2 (used by GBA cartridges and Guitar Hero games) but also adding new lighting effects, a camera, more RAM, and downloadable titles called DSiWare though those were capped to 16MB because they were installed to the very small internal NAND memory. DSiWare releases were also region locked, and the system language couldn't be changed. The Fi Connection|Nintendo 3DS is also compatible with those games and offers a way to back them up to an SD card.Wi-Fi Connection]]| {{✓}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[#Local wireless communication|Local wireless communication]]| {{~}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[#DS Download Play|DS Download Play]]| {{~}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| [[#DS/Wii connectivity|DS/Wii connectivity]]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|}

===Game FormatsLocal wireless communication===There are three types Players who have a copy of games the same game can link together using DSi hardware enhancements:the DS's wireless signals (given that the game offers this feature).

;DSi-enhanced retail cartridges: Regular DS retail cartridges compatible melonDS supports wireless communication with the older DS modelsseveral games, but unlocking more RAM including ''New Super Mario Bros.'' and features when used on the DSi''Pokémon'' games, similar to some late GBC games on the GBA. A couple of dozen games from Japan and US/EUR relied on this method. Those games will still boot on DS emulators but without the DSi enhancements.;DSi-exclusive retail cartridges: Retail cartridges relying heavily on the DSi hardware features. A boot-up error screen will show when attempting you need to load those on regular DS models (and by extensionhave either multiple instances opened, emulators for those). Only five games were released this waywhich can slow down overall performance, either launch games or because they were too big to fit in 16MBconnect multiple computers via LAN.;DSiWare: Downloadable titles downloaded only through the DSi eShop (discontinued), or the Nintendo 3DS eShop (though it uses a different file packaging format). They have a 16MB size limitation and there are lots of interesting exclusives for No$GBA can connect but fails before the system released that wayactual connection is finished.

All three formats can be converted ===DS Download Play===This feature allows players with a DS and only one copy of a game to *play together.nds formatThis way, not everyone needs a copy of a game. The player with the physical cartridge will host the game while the other players connect using a "downloaded" version received from the host. Compared to regular DS Normally they are either simple mini-games, DSi games had some additional header information that wasn't even correctly dumped in stripped-down demos of the earlier broken dumpsmain game, or a limited version of multiplayer. The 2017 set has updated many of those In most cases, though it's still severely lacking in DSiWare exclusivesbetter to use multi-cart instead. DSiWare dumps exist in both NDS format or CIA format (for the ones who want However, some games, like ''Mario Party DS'', require Download Play to boot it on their 3DS)use its multiplayer.

On the old DS or DS Lite models, as well as most Nintendo DS emulatorsDownload Play is supported by melonDS. Like with local multiplayer, it is very hit and miss but unlocking the first type framerate helps. melonDS will load in regular DS mode without any DSi enhancements, often fail during the second will show an error messagedownload process, but some games actually go as far as booting and the third will crash on bootsometimes in-up due to missing encryption abilities and DSi hardware supportgame as well.

On the DSi/3DS family of handhelds, the first two formats can be played on some select DSi===Nintendo Wi-compatible flashcarts like Fi Connection=== Nintendo had an online service that was available for the (discontinued Wii and now expensive) CycloDS iEvolution flashcard (which won't work on a stock 3DS not with custom firmware the DS that was free to whitelist it)use. As for the third type It was shut down on May 20, it's available for digital purchase at their respective stores (DSi Shop for DSi2014, eShop for the 3DS) and installed as apps due to the limited TWL NAND. In company GameSpy, the 3DS' caseones who were managing these servers, they can also be installed as custom titles in shutting down its multiplayer services after being bought out.cia format (like all 3DS applications, but here itA popular game that used this feature was ''Mario Kart DS''s also a container for a <code>.nds</code> rom in this case, and converting back and forth is possible).

===Emulation==={| class="wikitable" style="textThere was a third-party DeSmuME fork that successfully emulated WFC but has quite a bit of requirement (Ethernet cable, though this can be circumvented with external software). After the service shutdown, there was a version compatible with the fan servers (restoring all DLC data, but sadly, most multiplayer games had their content lost forever). melonDS is one of the only emulators to offer Wi-Fi capabilities. It's still a work-align:center;"|in-progress, but it works relatively well.! scope="col"|Name! scope="col"|Operating System(s)! scope="col"|Latest Version! scope="col"|DSi (enhanced)! scopeDS/Wii connectivity="col"|DSi (exclusive)! scope="col"|DSi (digital)! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]|-|[[No$|No$Uses wireless communication on the DS to connect to the Wii. The idea is parallel to the GBA]]|WindowsLink Cable for the GameCube, and just like the Link Cable, [[DOS emulators|DOS]]|[httphttps://problemkaputtnintendo.defandom.com/gbawiki/Wii-to-DS_connectivity only a handful of games actually have this feature]. Some notable examples include: * ''Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time'' - which is essentially the same as the DS port but can connect with other DSes with the game.htm 2* ''Pokémon Battle Revolution'' - in which players could transfer their Pokémon from the Generation IV main series games and use the DS as a controller. * ''Animal Crossing: City Folk'' - in which data could be transferred between the DS version (''Animal Crossing: Wild World''), and the ''Nintendo Channel'' on the Wii, where players could download demos of DS games to their console using Download Play (basically the same idea as the Download Station kiosk).9]|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}|}So far, no emulator has been able to emulate this feature, nor have attempted to. If this were ever going to be emulated, it would require work on both ends.

No$===GBA added support /DS connectivity===Inserting a GBA cartridge in the Slot-2 of the Nintendo DS while a game is running can unlock various gameplay features for DSi games of all three formats starting with version 2[https://nintendo.8, although some games won't boot and others have graphical glitchesfandom. You'll need to enable "16MB DSicom/wiki/retail" under the settings. Emulation is very iffy due to a so-so List_of_Nintendo_DS_games_with_GBA_connectivity several DS emulation foundation in No$GBA, and the camera is just spoofed as a static image but just causes an emulator crash whenever used, meaning games that use it may boot but it won't be very playable].

DSi used an encryption system for the game dumps that went on It's unknown if No$GBA supports this, but it can be done in DeSmuME by going to be enhanced Config > Slot 2 (GBA Slot) and used for selecting GBA Cartridge. Select the 3DSGBA ROM file, and make sure its <code>. This encryption sav</code> file is checked at start-upin the same folder. You may need to reset the game for it to take effect. As of version 0.9, hence why DS emulators don't [https://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=110 melonDS supports GBA connectivity] and even manage to boot DSiWare dumps. It's very unlikely DSi-mode emulation is ever going to be implemented added support for the solar sensor on GBA Boktai cartridges used in Boktai DS (Lunar Knight), something DeSmuME in particular due has yet to various ''creative differences'' unique to that projectsupport. Either drag and drop the GBA ROM onto the program before starting or open the file before loading the NDS file.

===BIOS Files=Nintendo DSi=={{Main|Nintendo DSi emulation requires a copy of the lower 32K-halves of the ARM7/ARM9 BIOSes (BIOSDSI7.ROM and BIOSDSI9.ROM), which are different from the regular DS BIOS files and needed for the decryption. All the needed files are bios7i.bin, bios9i.bin, BIOSDSI7.ROM, BIOSDSI9.ROM, BIOSNDS7.ROM, and BIOSNDS9.ROM. These unicorns can be found [http://archive.org/details/DSiFirmwareFiles here].emulators}}

It's also advised (but still completely '''optional''') to use a NAND dump as well to increase compatibility (though adding games is more complex, and a soft==Special hardware=={| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-modding solution to dump it is still being worked on). Rename it to align:middle;"DSi|-1.mmcstyle=" (should be about 250MB). Change "Reset/Startup Entrypoint to font-weight:bold;"! Name! DeSmuME! melonDS! No$GBA/NDS BIOS" to now boot the emulator and games in DSi mode. Hex editing required to "install" new DSiWare titles, though loading retail games in DSi mode from the menu is still possible easily. This fixes lots of glitches and crashes related to languages and use of the internal DSi font.

==Special Hardware==|-| Guitar Hero pad| {{✓}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Piano for Easy Piano| {{✓}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Taito paddle controller| {{✓}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Rumble pack| {{✓}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Nintendo Wireless Keyboard| {{~}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Tilt sensor| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Pressure-sensitive touchscreen| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Slide controller| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| DS camera| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| Bayer DIDGIT| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|-| iQue DS region lock| {{✓}}| {{~}}| {{✗}}|};Guitar Hero Padpad: Used in the "Guitar Hero: On Tour" series (required) and Band Hero DS. Supported by DeSmuME (Slot 2).

;Taito Paddle Controllerpaddle controller: Compatible with Arkanoid, Space Invaders Extreme, Space Invaders Extreme 2 , and Space Bust-a-Move. Supported by DeSmuME (Slot 2).;Tilt Sensorsensor: Used in "Tony Hawk's Motion/Hue's Pixel Painter." No emulators support this add-on yet. (Slot 2);Pressure-sensitive touchscreen: Used in "Harvest Moon DS", "Colors!", "Metroid Prime: Hunters", "Okamiden" and "Rhythm Heaven". No emulators support this feature yet (can work with analog triggers or DualShock 2/3 pressure-sensitive face buttons).;Rumble Packpack: Supported by DeSmuME (Slot 2). Requires compatible Joystick.;Slide Controllercontroller: Required by "Slide Adventure Mag Kid". Yasu made a shoddy [http://home.usay.jp/pc/etc/nds/iDeaS_slide.zip plug-in] for iDeaS (the recommended version was 1.0.2.9.) to try to emulate it. No emulators support this add-on at the moment.;Pokémon Nintendo Wireless Keyboard: Bundled with the "Learn with Pokémon : Typing game Adventure" (JP/UKEU/FRAU). The game refuses to boot without a keyboard, but it can be run on emulators with an anti-piracy fix and another DeSmuME-specific save bug fix. There is also [http://pokemonlog.com/pokemon-fuligin-download-rom/ a pre-patched ROM.] While it's playable using the on-screen keyboard on the lower screen, the keyboard isn't actually emulated. There is [https://github.com/AnimeCommander/Learn.With.Pokemon-Typing-Adventure.lua/blob/master/Pok%C3%A9mon%20Typing%20DS%20Keyboard%20Script.lua a Lua script] that permits using the actual keyboard by mapping presses of the actual keyboard to taps of the virtual Touch Screen. However, you are going to 'll need to blank out all the control/hotkey bindings of DeSMuMe DeSmuME if you are going to play this game , because some of the keyboard keys also activate some controls; otherwise, pressing the Q key would also pause the game, given one example. A recommendation would be to have a separate copy of 32-bit DeSMuMe , which purpose is playing *only* the Pokémon typing gamesthis game. In that copy, place the patched ROM, the Lua script, and a 32-bit version of [https://sourceforge.net/projects/luabinaries/files/5.1.5/Windows%20Libraries/Dynamic/ lua51.dll.] (The platform used in building the <code>.dll</code> should not matter.) Even then, not only is the emulated workaround a little slow, but saving is still broken. Use savestates, instead.;DS Cameracamera: Accessory bundled with the Japan-only Face Training (a European localization for Christmas 2007 was cancelledcanceled, and it was released as a retail DSi game in 2010 using the internal camera rather than the original accessory). Not to be confused with the built-in DSi camera. No emulators exist for it at all.;Bayer DIDGIT: A glucose meter for diabetic children with a game entitled called ''Knock 'Em Downs: World's Fair'' that rewards them for checking their blood sugar levels regularly. The game has been dumped , but no support for the glucose meter peripheral exists as of the time of this writing; it may, however, be possible to add reward points through Action Replay codes, not to mention that the game will still function without the glucose meter attachment anyway (albeit with reduced functionality, of course).

===iQue DS Region Lockregion lock===iQue is Nintendo's Chinese subsidiary (previously a partnership between them and Wei Yen until 2013), so when they released the DS with a few localized games, their ROMs had special flags set in them to check if the hardware that ran the cartridge was iQue's or Nintendo's as a sort of region lock. Nintendo's own hardware would fail this check, throwing an "Only for iQue DS" error in white text on a black background. No other DS games have this mechanism; , not even for Korean releases. This region lock is bypassed by the 3DS for these DS games, even though 3DS games have their own region lock. It's weird.

Emulators differ in their behaviour behavior to this region lock. No$GBA crashes, while DeSmuME can load them. DeSmuME is accurate to non-However, for melonDS, you need a [[Emulator Files|Firmware Dump]] from an iQue hardware and DS, otherwise, it will replicate the failureregion lock.

The only way the ROM will accept other hardware (and thus emulators) is with a hack, involving a simple byte change. Use a hex editor to change the byte located at <code>0x1D</code> from value <code>80</code> to <code>00</code>.

Certain games, such as American Girl titles (e.g. , ''Julie Finds a Way'' and ''Kit Mystery Challenge'') , suffer from severe flickering issues which keep those games from being playable on most emulators. [[DraStic]] was the first emulator able to run the two games properly, and while Desmume DeSmuME r5043 had an initial fix that worked around the glitch, it was removed in later revisions as it broke compatibility with ''Pokemon Pokémon SoulSilver'' , among others; this has since been patched on r5531 once the true nature of the [https://sourceforge.net/p/desmume/bugs/1134/ bug] was better understood. The fix would be later incorporated in into other emulators. ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat'' suffers from flickering and slowdown due to the way it loads sprites, though it isn't as serious in DraStic. ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Jedi Alliance'' is an even more egregious example, crashing due to timing differences between actual hardware and an emulated system.