- Top 5 Best Nintendo 3Ds Emulators for Android, Windows and Mac 1. Citra (available for Windows and Mac). Citra was launched in 2015 as an Open Source project and at the start there. R4 3Ds Emulator. R4 3Ds emulator is the next one on the list of the best emulators available for Windows.
- Citra Citra is a Nintendo 3DS emulator for Mac that can run commercial games at 100% of their speed, in addition to adding a series of characteristics to improve their visuals above and beyond the modest resolution.
- Download Nintendo 3DS Emulator for PC. Click here to download (11 MB) the Nintendo 3DS Emulator on your PC. Open the downloaded file and install the emulator on your PC. Open the emulator and you can now enjoy all the 3D games on your PC using the 3DS Emulator without paying a cent.
- The original emulator was leaked to be the first Nintendo 3DS emulator running commercial ROMs, while others royal that's already been ported to other programmers have to make a donation of $2.50. It is a certified emulator provided to developers in Nintendo 3DS development kits. Official website for Dualis.
- Citra is an open-source emulator for the 3DS which claims to be able to play many of your favorite games. Like other emulators for systems with 3D graphics, Citra can upscale games, which means it can make games look better than on the real thing. While Citra can run games, speeds and accuracy may not be at a level yet where it can replace an actual 3DS.
Nintendo 3DS was marvelous gaming system when it was launched in 2011. I had some really technical advanced features such as displaying stereoscopic 3D effects without using 3D glasses. This was successor to Nintendo DS and it had compatibility with old Nintendo DS consoles.
For the first time, the 'It just works' philosophy now extends to open source video game emulation on the Mac. With OpenEmu, it is extremely easy to add, browse, organize and with a compatible gamepad, play those favorite games (ROMs) you already own. Download Citra for macOS. Download Citra for macOS, a free Nintendo 3DS Emulator written in C for playing Nintendo 3DS games on macOS operating systems. Download the application 3DS Emulator for Mac. Step 1 - Like and Share this page on Facebook. Step 2 - Tweet this page on Twitter. Step 3 - Wait for download.
Sony, the other major gaming console producer launched its own gaming console PlayStation Vita to take on Nintendo 3DS.
Current version of handheld gaming system is feature rich with features like StreetPass, SpotPass, augmented reality. It also comes with a virtual console that players can use to play games released on older system.
Nintendo 3DS also comes bundled with various applications to make gaming more fun and use this device as entertainment gadget. These applications are
- Nintendo eShop – online gaming distribution shop
- Miiverse – Online Social networking service to connect with other 3DS users
- Internet Browser to surf web
- Nintendo Video – To watch videos from Netflix and Youtube
- Swapnote – Messaging application
- Mii Maker
Now people who own 3DS system can always play games on it. But what about people who do not own this wonderful gaming device. Or what about people who want to play games before buying actual Nintendo 3DS system.
Well there is a solution for this problem. You can try Nintendo 3DS emulator to play games. An emulator creates virtual Nintendo 3DS environment on host machine like computer, laptop, Android phone so that you can play Nintendo 3DS games on it.
What are Best Working Nintendo 3DS Emulators for PC, Android, iOS and Linux?
Here is list of best emulators for 3DS for Android, PC desktop, MAC that you can download and play games.
- Citra 3DS Emulator
- RetroArch
- TronDS
- DeSmuME
- No$GBA
- NeonDS
- iDeaS
Citra 3DS Emulator
Citra 3DS Emulator is the most actively developed and popular emulator for 3DS. It is an open source project with a great team working on it. Team releases a quarterly update on development progress.
Citra can only decrypted dumps of games. It can not run natively encrypted dumps. So you will need to have physical Nintendo 3DS system or own game to play it on emulator. There is a tutorial on how to dump game cartridge or installed titles on emulator.
Around 49 games work perfectly and 48 games work great on Citra 3ds emulator. Citra only support desktop systems Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux at time and does not have support for Android and iOS.
Website – https://citra-emu.org/
Download Citra 3DS Emulator – https://citra-emu.org/download/
List of Compatible Games – https://citra-emu.org/game/
Download this reliable 3DS emulator and play your favorite games on computer or laptop.
RetroArch
RetroArch is not actual emulator. It just act as frontend to different emulators, game engines and media player. So instead of downloading 3DS emulator, Wii and Gamecube emulator, Sega Dreamcast emulator, Nintendo DS emulator, Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulator separately, you can download RetroArch and different emulator core. This way you can play games from different gaming systems game on single program without need for downloading different emulators. It is available for Linux, Windows 10 / 8 / 7 /Vista, Windows XP & Later, Windows 98 SE / ME / 2000, Windows 95 / Windows 98, Apple macOS / OSX, Web Browsers, Android, iOS, Blackberry, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita / TV, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, Raspberry Pi, GCW Zero.
Website – http://www.retroarch.com/index.php
Download RetroArch – http://www.retroarch.com/index.php?page=platforms
No$GBA
No$GBA is abbreviation for No Cash GBA. It is an advanced Nintendo DS / DS Lite and GameBoy emulator for Windows XP, Windows VISTA and MS-DOS. It supports multiplayer for GBA games. It can emulate al know save types and real multiple cartridges. It can also load multiple NDS ROM files for linking games.
Website – http://www.nogba.com/
DeSmuME
DeSmuME is actually Nintendo DS emulator not 3DS emulator. It is available for Window and Macintosh.
Project was launched in 2006 and it was active till 2015. After that development came to halt. There is active community on discussion forum where you can ask about support or any other issue.
RetroArch and OpenEmu emulators are based on DeSmuME. It has support for Homebrew programs.
Website – https://desmume.org/
TronDS
This project was started in 2014 with basic emulator. Developers were very active initially but then they kid of abandoned project. It is no more developed any more.
It has support for GPS, GPU emulation, Circle pad emulation.
Though we do not recommend it, people who want to give this emulator for 3ds can download it.
Website – http://trondsemu.byethost15.com/
Download – http://trondsemu.byethost15.com/downloads.html
iDeaS
iDeaS is an old Nintendo DS emulator. There is no active development and it was last released in 2012. We would not recommend wasting your time on this 3DS emulator.
Download – https://ideas.en.softonic.com/
FCE Ultra
FCE Ultra is also Nintendo DS emulator. Last update was made in 2011.
Download – https://fce-ultra.en.softonic.com/
NeonDS
NeonDS is Nintendo DS emulator for Windows 2000 and prior versions. Not worth downloading and trying.
Download – https://neonds.en.softonic.com/
Best Nintendo 3Ds Emulators for Android
MooG 3DS
MooG 3DS is MOGA Enhanced fast emulator that can run on low-end android phones and high-end tablets. Officers pc game download. It can run 3DS, Gameboy advanced, and Gameboy 2DS games. It is optimized for power saving.
It support various external controller like USB/Bluetooth controllers, keyboard, touchscreen or trackball.
Price – Free
Download – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waltersteele83.moog3ds
Final Words on Emulators for 3DS
Harsh reality is that there are only few 3DS emulators for pc, mac and linux. Among these also, Citra is the only emulator that is continuously developed with active community.
Nintendo 3Ds emulator comes handy to play Nintendo games on pc computer or laptop, without actually buying gaming console.
FAQs about Nintendo 3DS Emulator
3ds Emulator For Macbook
Is there a emulator for 3DS?
Yes. There are many emulators. Check list of 3DS emulators.
Is there a real 3ds emulator for Android?
All 3DS emulators for Android are real. Only thing is an emulator is just trying to create Nitendo 3DS system environment on Android so that you can play those games on Android. In real world, an emulator can never be as good as original system.
Are emulators legal?
Emulators are not illegal as they do not violate any copyright laws. So it is legal to download 3DS emulator and run it on your personal computer or android phone.
But ROMs are protected by copyright. So you should legally purchase purchase ROMs that you want to run on 3DS emulator.
Are emulators safe?
Most emulators are safe if you download from official website. But it is always good idea to scan downloaded emulator with antivirus software.
Nintendo emulators have been in the market for a while and they seem to get better with time. These emulators bring back your favorite childhood Nintendo video games right to your iPhone, iPad or Mac. You can now relive your favorite games without having to look for the classic Nintendo consoles.
To play Nintendo games seamlessly, you will need a good Nintendo DS emulator. However, with a wide range of emulators available, it can be a challenge to find the best. We have handpicked the best DS emulator for your iPhone or Mac device.
Drastic DS emulator
This application allows you to Nintendo DS games with the highest speed. It comes with a MOGA support which is a user friendly and reliable NDS emulator. Other benefits you will get from the emulator include:
- Increasing the resolution and enabling 3D
- You can use it on both in portrait and Landscape screen modes.
- Can manage more than a thousand cheat codes
- The application can save the game any moment and resume whenever needed.
- It offers plenty of control options with sync option for Google Drive or external game controls.
GBA4ios
GBA4iOS makes it possible to play Game Boy Advance games straight on your iPhone. This emulator supports older games and boasts of simple functionality and faster performance. Some features have been added as a result of the latest update which includes; Dropbox sync, AirPlay, and cheats.
GBA4ios is available through open source code with the support for GB and GBC games. A recent update to this emulator has added the support for the latest iPhone models. Other features are URL Scheme GBC, GB support, Dropbox support, Controller Skins, Multiplayer support, cheat codes, and the ability to save states.
iNDS emulator
iNDS Emulator is available on iOS devices as long as they are running iOS 9 and above. However, your device needs to be jailbroken in order to use this emulator. Due to many features provided by the emulator and graphics required to run it, it isn’t compatible with devices older than the iPhone 5 or those with less than 256MB RAM.
NDS4ios
NDS4ios is one of the most popular DS emulators for PC. Unlike other emulators, you can’t download it from the app store. Nevertheless, you can install NDS4ios using apps like TuTuApp, through the use of the IPA file.
You can also use other alternative sources that are available. The performance of this application is excellent. Besides, it’s a good option for playing NDS games in 2D. 3D games, on the other hand, are often slow and lagging.
Duos emulator
This application is perfect for those who possess old computers and want to enjoy NDS games. It doesn’t consume a lot of resources on your computer but it will run the downloaded games effectively. It doesn’t have a great user interface, but gamers find it easy to set up and use. To load a certain game, you right-click on it and prompt the emulator to run it.
You can’t attach a joystick to your machine to play with Duos. The quality of sound and compatibility with different devices make this one of the best emulators for Nintendo.
3ds Emulator For Mac
No Cash GBA emulator (No$GBA)
No$GBA has the ability to run most demanding DS games without problems on different devices. Unlike other emulators that are resource intensive, this software doesn’t require too much resources. The best part is that these requirements don’t hinder its graphics performance.
It features gamepad support, several ROMs reading options, and multiplayer support.
DeSmuMe emulator
DeSmuMe Emulator is among the best Nintendo DS emulator. It is compatible with several devices including PC and iOS. With it, you can play commercial and homebrew games without delay and collisions.
It features a perfect sound reproduction for NDS ROMs which can be downloaded from Romsmania, which is the largest and best online resource hosting the best ROMs. You can make your game enjoyable and real by trying features like external gamepad support and cheat code.
If you are looking for the best Nintendo DS emulators, then hopefully you have enjoyed trying out some of the emulators we have listed above. If you have any ideas or suggestions, don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments section.