Gaming has become a major enjoyment in today’s world. However, many of the gamers are still stuck with the old-gen games available with Nintendo DS. When it was released in 2004, it quickly became the most popular handheld gaming console. Its popularity is intact even today. Therefore, emulators are now available so that you can enjoy these games on your PCs. So what are the best emulators available? What are their features? Read this article to know all the details about the best Nintendo DS Emulators For PC.
Playing games on emulators is very common nowadays. You need to download and install an emulator and start playing. Nintendo DS games are still top-rated. However, graphics remain a concern regarding the old games. Therefore, you should go for an emulator that supports every Nintendo DS game and increases its graphical quotient. Therefore, the best Nintendo DS emulators are:
1 NO$GBA
NO$GBA allows you to play Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games on your Windows 10 computer. It is widely popular because of its wonderful graphic qualities. This software also has options for the customization of the emulator settings to match your needs. Moreover, NO$GBA works equally well on classic computers and low-end PCs. However, it requires tweaking processes to run on low-quality devices.
One of its greatest features is that it allows you to save a game at any stage you’ve reached. NO$GBA also supports joysticks and cheat codes. It contains multiple support features, numerous cartridge reading and can load many ROMs. This emulator only runs on Windows OS, like Windows XP, Windows 10, and MS-DOS systems.
2 Citra
Citra is the best Nintendo DS emulator present at the moment. It is mostly used to play old games like Pokemon and Legend of Zelda effortlessly. You can run every Nintendo DS game in this emulator with full settings and high graphics. There are also customizable features available. You can adjust your graphic resolution to match your device settings.
Users can also connect to Wi-Fi using Citra. Moreover, you can connect external controllers to enjoy multiplayer games with your family and friends. There are also support for an in-house screen recorder, screen layout, joystick, and cheat code. Citra is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux OS.
3 DeSmuMe
One of the perfect emulators in this list of the Top Best Nintendo DS Emulators is the DeSmuMe. This open-source software is compatible with all Windows and Mac devices. The constant updates have also made it completely bug-free. There are various customization features available in DeSmuMe. Hence, you can always alter the graphics or the controller settings according to your comfort.
Moreover, you can always save your game at the current state with this emulator. DeSmuMe provides USB controller support and cheat code managers. The most exciting thing to notice is that this emulator is fully free of cost.
4 DraStic DS Emulator
DraStic DS Emulator is one of the most versatile entries in this list of the best Nintendo DS emulator for your device. This simple emulator is compatible with almost every device, starting from Mac, Windows to Android. You can run every Nintendo DS game on the DraStic DS Emulator and configure them according to your comfort. It allows easy customization of graphics and controllers. However, the only problem is that you have to run it with an android emulator whenever you want to access it on Windows.
5 MelonDS Emulator
This is another emulator for playing every Nintendo game on your Windows computer. MelonDS Emulator has low-graphics features. However, its main advantage is that you can connect it to your Wi-Fi. Moreover, you can also play multiplayer games with this emulator. Like some other entries in this list, it also allows saving the game at your current stage and displays the Live FPS.
MelonDS Emulator has various customizable features. It utilizes the system’s hardware resources to enhance and speed up the performance. Some of this emulator’s important features are – OpenGL renderer, joystick support, and 3D upscaling. It is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux systems.
6 iDeas
iDeas allows you to set the game in the best way possible. It is highly customizable and one of the most used emulators at the moment. You can easily customize the graphics settings to match your preference and your device’s settings. Like every good DS emulator, iDeas also allows users to enjoy every Nintendo DS game. Moreover, the developers update it frequently to provide the best experience to the users. Therefore, the emulation quality increases with every new update or release. As a result, every game runs smoothly and performs at the highest quality.
7 TranDS
Graphics is the most integral part of PC gaming. Gamers are always looking for games with excellent graphics. Good graphic quality can make any game enjoyable and look real. Therefore, TranDS is one such emulator that targets the graphic category. Moreover, with this emulator, you can personalize your settings. It allows customization of your controllers and graphic settings to suit your needs. You can play almost every Nintendo DS game with TranDS on your PC. As a leading emulator in the market, it is compatible with both Windows and Mac devices.
8 R4 Nintendo DS Emulator
R4 Nintendo DS Emulator guarantees one of the best experiences for Nintendo games on PC. It is capable of running every kind of DS game on your computer. The best thing is that the games do not run for the sake of running. R4 Nintendo DS Emulator enhances these games’ performance so that you can enjoy them at the top level and with comfort.
Moreover, it is also easy to access games through this emulator. Oncethe installation gets finished, R4 Nintendo DS Emulator allows locating the games from the folders smoothly. After that, you have to click on the games to start them. The graphics quality of this emulator is another reason for you to choose it.
9 3DMOO
3DMOO is in this list of the best emulators for Nintendo DS despite being at a development stage for its graphical excellence. Nintendo DS games are old. Hence, the emulators need to make the graphics clearer. Therefore, this emulator is perfect for that. The developing team of 3DMOO is working relentlessly to improve this emulator. Their main focus is to provide a bug-free experience and a more updated version.
However, 3DMOO is still able to run every Nintendo DS game on your PC. The software is available for free and can be installed from the Microsoft Store. 3DMOO guarantees high performance and excellent graphics. The only thing you have to be aware of is that there are still bugs in the software. Therefore, although a game starts and runs smoothly, it can crash midway.
10 NeonDS
NeonDS is one of the most important entries in the list of the best Nintendo DS emulator on your PC. Like every major emulator, it also allows you to play every Nintendo game on your PC. Moreover, it contains highly customizable features. However, the only issue is that it has not received any update for very long. Hence this has led to a downgrade in its value in comparison to other emulators.
So, when running games on NeonDS, you still encounter old bugs. Despite no updates, it still runs every Nintendo DS game with perfect accuracy. Moreover, it also allows you to play commercial games. NeonDS is designed with an open-source freeware program and contains a user-friendly interface.
11 OpenEmu
The most interesting feature of OpenEmu is that it is also compatible with more consoles besides supporting Windows and Mac. It is one of the ideal Nintendo DS emulators because you can run various games on it. However, one drawback of this emulator is its graphical aspects. Unlike other entries in this list, OpenEmu contains limitations in its graphic customizations.
You cannot change your graphic settings to match the game with your PC. Therefore, it is often not possible to play a game with a clear interface. Despite this drawback, OpenEmu supports various controllers and contains a user-friendly and classic interface.
12 RectroArch
You can play more than Nintendo DS games with RetroArch. This emulator is capable of running DES, NES, 3DS, and DSI games on your PC. RetroArch allows you to play every game with excellent graphics and is one of the most used emulators for Windows 10. However, its navigation and personalization features were complicated to use in the first few days of launching it. Nevertheless, once it becomes easy to comprehend, it provides the best customization features.
RetroArch allows you to increase your graphics up to 4K depending on your device. Moreover, it includes shaders, rewinding, next-frame, netplay, response time, run ahead, blind accessibility features, and machine translation. You can also record your gameplay and stream it on Twitch. RetroArch supports different screen layouts, joysticks, and save slot option. It is compatible with Mac, Windows, Linux and is a good Nintendo DS emulator for Android.
Final verdict
These are the best high-quality DS emulator on your PC. Nintendo DS games are pretty old. Hence, they require a good emulator to enhance their graphics and make them suitable for current-gen gaming. So, you can use any one of the above-mentioned emulators to run your favorite Nintendo game on your Windows 10 PC with ease and enjoy the ultimate gaming experience.
