Best DS Emulator For PC Full Download {Windows or MAC}

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The Nintendo DS is the most recent handheld system developed by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 and was the first handheld system to feature dual screens. On this device, you can play Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid Prime Hunters, etc.

However, some people may like to play these games on PC via a Nintendo DS emulator. If you are also seeking for a Nintendo switch emulator PC, here are some recommendations for you.

1. DeSmuMe

DeSmuMe is one of the best DS emulators for PC. It has the following advantages:

• Thanks to being open-source, this emulator is constantly improving.
• It allows users to play exclusive DS titles at maximum graphics.
• It allows users to customize the graphics and emulation settings based on their system configurations. You can either opt for high graphics quality coupled with mediocre performance or low graphics quality with flawless performance.
• It has high compatibility. You can use DeSmuMe on both Windows and macOS.

2. MelonDS

When we talk about best DS emulator for PC, we can't avoid MelonDS. MelonDS is also one of the best Nintendo DS emulator. It has the following advantages:

• It has excellent features like OpenGL renderer, 3D upscaling, joystick support, local multiplayer, and online connectivity. (Thanks to OpenGL render, the Nintendo DS emulator allows you to tap in extreme resolutions even with medium performing systems.)
• It has high accuracy. 2D & 3D rendering by the MelonDS emulator are almost pixel-perfect.
• It can save progress whenever a player wants to and displays live FPS while playing games.
• Like DeSmuMe, MelonDS is open-source but it is available for both Windows and Linux.

3. NO$GBA

NO$GBA is an ideal emulator for anyone who is rocking an older computer system or wants to enjoy DS games on a low-powered laptop. It has the following advantages:

• Although it only has handful graphic settings, you can get good game graphics comparable to DeSmuME with a few tweaks.
• It takes very few system resources and works very fast, even on underperforming PC’s.
• It can be installed on a Windows 10, Windows XP and MS-DOS computer system.

However, NO$GBA also has disadvantages, for example, it is lacking in screen layout features and it is only available on Windows.

4. RetroArch

RetroArch is an all-in-one emulator and it can be used to play games of nearly all retro consoles. It has the following advantages:

• It can run games from all mainstream retro consoles like NES, SNES, DS, DSi, 3DS, 64, Atari, MAME, and many more.
• It has highlights like RetroArch are shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, run ahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and much more.
• It allows you to record your gaming session and even stream your gameplay on Twitch.
• It can be installed on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Its disadvantage is that running games is relatively difficult as compared to the other Nintendo DS emulators here.

5. Citra

The last NDS emulator for PC I recommend is Citra. It has the following advantages:

• It enables users to set internal resolutions up to 4K.
• It allows you to run several 3DS titles at full graphics and high resolution, even with a mediocre system.
• It has joystick support, screen layout options, and cheat code support. It also offers an in-house screen recorder.
• It emulates 3DS local Wi-Fi so that you can play multiplayer with other people running games on the emulator.
• It can be installed on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

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Hello readers, today I am going to share every information about the Nintendo DS emulator and also I will give you a list with details of the top 10 best Nintendo DS emulators which are easily available on the internet for free. If you are looking for those best Nintendo DS emulator then keep reading this article. Now, I come to the main topic because I know why you are here.

You can play many games on the Nintendo DS such as Pokémon X, The Legend of Zelda, The Fire Embalm Fates and many more. However, not every game is perfect for playing on handheld devices and here we use the emulator to enjoy those games.

Top 10 Best Nintendo DS Emulators

The Nintendo DS is a very popular handheld gaming console among gamers of all time. There were many awesome games available for the system and it is easier to put those awesome games on a smartphone than to move them to another device to play. If you search for the best Nintendo DS emulator on the internet then you will find many emulator names available, but not every emulator is good for your device. So, today we have written this article for you that will help you to select the best Nintendo DS emulator for your device.

The emulator enables your system to run programs designed for other systems. One of these emulators is the Nintendo DS emulators. This program allows a person to play Nintendo DS games on their PC. All you need to do is download the best Nintendo DS emulator on your PC and then you can openly enjoy any Nintendo DS game of your choice on the device.

The Nintendo company released the Nintendo DS in 2004 and the device was previously known as a handheld device that has a dual-screen feature. Top Best Nintendo DS Emulators:

1. DeSmuMe

This is our first and best Nintendo DS emulator on the list and I know you think that the name is weird and its spelling is even worse, but believe me this is actually the best DS emulator available for the PC. This Nintendo DS emulator has complete reliability. One of the best things about this emulator is that it is available for both Windows and Mac platforms.

Check Also:10 Best PS1 Emulators for Windows 10 PC

You will experience the best feeling while playing the game in a high-quality DS emulator on your PC. By the way, if your PC setup is awesome then the game speed and audio quality will be the best. This emulator has several emulation configurations. You will find some additional features there such as USB controller support and cheat code manager. The Nintendo DS emulator also provides a save slot feature to continue the game you missed. You can download it from the link given below.

1. DraStic DS Emulator

The second Nintendo DS emulator in the list is DStastic which is only available for Android users. It is the best rated DS emulator available for Android. Users gave this emulator a perfect rating of 4.7 out of 5. There are many new and best features available in this emulator. It can save and resume your game from where you quit playing and best of all, the emulator also supports cheat codes.

Increase the game’s 3D graphics 2 times their original resolution, by the way, this optional feature works best on high-end quad-core devices. You can customize the size and placement of the DS screen for landscape and portrait mode whenever you want. It is a paid emulator but you can try a demo version before purchasing it.

1. NDS4Droid

NDS4Droid is one of the best emulators for Nintendo DS users that everyone likes to use. You can use this DS emulator for free as it takes no cost from everyone. Saving and Resuming feature is also available in it. And it has good sound quality.

One of the really neat things about this awesome DS emulator is that the code is open source. This means that improvements in this app can be made for frequent users and also by users. As an example, you can see a recent update where a user added a German translation feature in the app. This is a great feature and it will make this app more amazing. Even the app has an official website, so if you want to make any good improvements in the project, you can contact them. Download this emulator from the link given below.

1. DuoS 

Nintendo DS developer Roor has launched this awesome DS emulator on the Internet for all and it is named DuoS emulator. It is one of the super-fast emulators on the list. This emulator has many features such as it supports the full-screen resolution and also saves the state system. The sound quality is very realistic.

One of the best advantages of using this emulator is that you can play any game even on a slow PC. And, you will feel a real-life experience while playing the game due to GPU acceleration. It can play almost every commercial game. Very few users reported that this emulator has some minor bugs. Download this DuoS emulator for your device from the link given below.

1. MelonDS

The next best Nintendo DS emulator on the list is the MelonDS which is always trying to improve its quality and features for us. Using its revolutionary OpenGL rendering, this emulator helps all of us to capture high resolutions even with medium-performance devices. The MelonDS is a perfect emulator when you want to play Nintendo games on your device.

In this emulator, you will get some additional features such as a door panel configuration, and joystick support. This awesome DS emulator is only available for Windows and Linux platforms. And another thing is that it has increased performance at the resolutions. This emulator has a strong accuracy. You can download it from the link given below.

1. Pretendo NDS Emulator

The Pretendo NDS emulator is the sixth emulator available on the list. We always want to recommend the best app or product to our readers and this is also the best DS emulator so that you can use it to play games. By the way, this emulator is only available for Android devices and using this emulator you can play most Nintendo DS games on your Android device.

In this emulator, you will get many features. It also has an autosave feature for games. After this feature, everything will be saved automatically and the gameplay will not be interrupted to “save”. To simulate performance, this Pretendo NDS emulator app offers some customizable enhancements such as low graphics setup levels, mute sound, and more. You can also customize the buttons for a better gaming experience. You can download this app from the given link.

1. NO$GBA

The next choice of our best Nintendo DS emulator is the NO$GBA emulator which is a very strong emulator for PC. This emulator has introduced the Gameboy Advance Games. And, it has good game graphics but the emulator has a variety of graphical options. However, this Nintendo DS emulator works very quickly and easily on PCs.

This Nintendo DS emulator is only available for the Windows platform. NO$GBA supports DSI games in Nintendo. This emulator has high velocity and weak endurance. You can use joysticks and also have the option of saving the state. NO$GBA emulator also supports cheat codes. Download it from the link given below.

1. AseDS Emulator

If you want to play your favorite Nintendo DS games on Android devices anytime then AseDS is the best emulator available for you. Inside the app, there are many features that are inbuilt like codebreaker cheats, a dual touch screen, action replays, easy to save stack and load it quickly, and many other features also available. And this emulator also supports wireless control and many things. It is the best Nintendo DS emulator for Android and is also top-rated in the Google Play Store. Now it’s your turn, just try and enjoy on your Android device.

You will experience the best gaming speed to compare to others in this emulator. One bad thing about this emulator is that there are many advertisements that make this app a bit annoying. It supports microphones and wireless controllers. It is only compatible with Android 6.0 7.0. Download this emulator for your Android device from here.

1. RectroArch

RectoArch is an emulator that has a wide variety of features and one of the best features is that you can play various console games directly on your PC using this emulator. If you are looking for an emulator that can run SNES, 3DS, NES, DS, DSI, and more with high quality output, then this is the best option for you.

Check Also: 10 Best GBA Emulators for Windows 10 PC

This DS emulator provides graphic customization as other emulators only allow you to customize your game. By the way, you can increase your graphic to 4k depending on the device. Now, download this emulator and enjoy those games on your device.

1. CoolNDS

CoolNDS is the last Nintendo DS emulator on the list. This DS simulator was last updated in 2014, so you are no longer expecting any new updates and bug fixes from the developers. I took this emulator to the list because I had seen many positive reviews about this Nintendo DS emulator on the Google play store. I recommend you download this CoolNDS emulator and use it once on your device.

Final words

I hope, you will now choose the best Nintendo DS emulator to play these Nintendo DS games on your device. It’s not a difficult task but yes choosing the right app for your device is a bit messy. But after reading this article, you can download the best Nintendo DS emulator. Comment below which one you are going to use. Thank you for reading.

*** Problems with Latest Stable Release ***

—> They are VERY OLD NOW.

Windows users should patch the most recent stable release with an autobuild from here. Just go to the URL which is the latest build and download the executable.

https://ci.appveyor.com/project/zeromus/desmume/build/artifacts

Mac users should use this instead:

2019/03/18 – git#be2735bMac Cocoa (x86, x86-64)

If you are using the autobuild and find a bug, then please report the issue at: https://github.com/TASVideos/desmume/issues

If you are using “latest stable release” and you find a bug, then you aren’t reading this page very carefully. You shouldn’t be using “latest stable release”.

Note for Windows users: DeSmuME depends on the Microsoft UCRT DLLs. If you are unsure if these DLLs are already installed, download and run the latest version of the following installer before running DeSmuME:
Download Latest Prerequisite Installer

Stable Releases (do not use)

Latest Stable Release Which There Is No Reason For You To Use : v0.9.11
Stable releases are designed to have consistent stability, performance, and usability. But they are updated bidecadally and aren’t supported.

Other DeSmuME Releases

If you need an older release for some reason, then you can download these and more at: https://sourceforge.net/projects/desmume/files/desmume/

DeSmuME X432R

The mysterious old Japanese X432R fork also includes the ability to increase the internal 3D resolution like our own nightly builds, but the 3D resolution is limited only to 2x, 3x, or 4x the native size. However, X432R has some frontend features that may be useful for some users. It is available only for Windows 32-bit x86 and Windows 64-bit x86-64. You will have to ask the Internet for it, since the developer’s website has vanished.