344
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
expanded DSi on melonDS
;[[DraStic]]: A payware, closed-source emulator for [[Android emulators|Android]] devices that can run games at a decent speed even on potato phones. Some unsubstantiated rumours have spread around that the developers deliberately put in issues to mess with pirated copies, though at the very least, don't expect any support from exophase and company if you get your hands on a pirated copy. It's on par or better than DeSmuME, and emulating it through BlueStacks on PC may actually be a viable and fast alternative aside from a slight input delay. Available for free on Raspberry Pi and Odroid via RetroPie.
;[[No$|No$GBA]]: Focuses on speed, and has major compatibility issues and glitches as a result. But because it was originally a GBA emulator, the DS's 3D features are still very poorly handled. However, it might be an option for a very low-end machine but don't expect a lot of games to run perfectly, or at all. A fan program, No$Zoomer, was released for version 2.6 which increases compatibility and options, as well as the titular zooming abilities. The biggest addition is noise cancellation which clears up static that No$GBA makes with its 3D rendering. No$Zoomer hasn't rebased yet but does add options for window resizing. There haven't been any noticeable changes with regards to accuracy, however. As of v2.8, No$GBA supports DSi games and is currently the first and only emulator that does. Only use No$GBA in the cases of DSi games, debugging (if you've taken up romhacking for DS games), if you value speed above everything, or just as a last resort.
;[[melonDS]]: Arisotura's goal is to make an emulator that's better optimized and includes features that others lack, either intentionally or not. While the developers of No$GBA had documented the Wi-Fi capabilities first, melonDS is the first and only emulator that's gotten as far as it has and it has been found to work reasonably well with a handful of games. There's also hope that melonDS will implement DSi emulation in the future<ref name="next direction for melonDS">http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=47&b=15</ref>, though not much and has been mentioned since and probably wonrecently began attempts at booting the DSi't be added in until much later in development if evers firmware<ref name="melonDSi">http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=94</ref>. It could surpass DeSmuME when it covers more features.
;[[mGBA#medusa|medusa]]: [[mGBA]] developer endrift is also creating a DS emulator, but it's very much a 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.
===Local Multiplayer, Wi-Fi Connection, and Wii/DS Connection===
* MelonDS supports wireless communication with several games, including New Super Mario Bros. and Pokemon. No$GBA can emulate it but the connection fails somewhere during establishing the actual connection (despite the names from the other DS showing just fine).
* Download Play isn't supported by any emulator so far, though NDS-bootstrap homebrew on the Nintendo 3DS can boot some of them. MelonDS fails during the download process though some actually go as far as booting, but never to the actual "game"<small>[Citation Needed]</small>.
* Nintendo WFC (Online Multiplayer) was successfully emulated with third-party DeSmuME forks but has quite a bit of requirement (Ethernet cable, though this can be circumvented with external software). After service shutdown, there was a version compatible with the fan servers (restoring all DLC data but sadly most multiplayer games had their content lost forever).
* DS/Wii connection isn't emulated in any capacity. ''Pokémon Battle Revolution'' playability is very limited this way.
DSi used an encryption system for the game dumps that went on to be enhanced and used for the 3DS. This encryption is checked at start-up, hence why Nintendo DS emulators don't even manage to boot DSiWare dumps. It's very unlikely DSi-mode emulation is ever going to be implemented in DeSmuME in particular due to various ''creative differences'' unique to that project.
melonDS recently started attempts at DSi emulation and has been able to boot its firmware<ref>http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=94</ref>. It's being worked on off an experimental branch and requires a lot of files to be dumped from the DSi in order to work. Most of it is being done using the documentation that the No$GBA devs have already compiled on the subject.
===BIOS Files===
