The Best Nintendo DS Emulators in 2024 for All Games

As Nintendo looks to shift focus towards the Switch‘s unrevealed successor, let’s take a trip down memory lane and reminisce on Nintendo’s lineup of handheld consoles, specifically the Nintendo DS, more commonly referred to as DS only. The DS was released only a year before the legendary PlayStation Portable (PSP), and was a technological marvel by itself, featuring a laptop like design with dual screens.

Although the age of the DS is far gone, its outstanding game lineup, and legacy, continues to be enjoyed to this day through emulators. So, if you’re looking to relive your childhood or get a taste of what games were like in the good old days, here are the best Nintendo DS emulators in 2024.

An Overview of the Nintendo DS

Released in November 2004, the Nintendo DS sported a foldable design similar to laptops and its predecessor, the Game Boy Advance (GBA) SP. Its lid had a screen in the center, with both sides being used for speakers. The bottom half sported another screen in the center, along with a directional pad on the left side and the buttons on the right. The bottom screen had touch capabilities and even had a stylus.

Although the DS did not possess the same versatility as the PSP, it was still a major success and remains Nintendo’s highest selling console, the best-selling handheld console and the second-best-selling console of all time. Its success can be attributed to an outstanding lineup of games like Nintendogs, Pokémon Black/White, Pokémon Black/White 2, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and more.

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What is Emulation?

Emulation is the act of imitating of a device through the use of software, in order to run another software, that would normally be incompatible with your own device. Emulators are software used to carry out this function. For the most part, emulators exist to archive and enjoy old and retro classic game titles, but they can also be used for programming e.g. using an emulator to develop a software for another device.

There are different emulators for every device/console. Additionally, multiple emulators may exist for the same device/console. Each emulator will yield different results, as the results are dependent on several factors; on the compatibility of the game/software being emulated, your hardware, the settings within the emulator being used, the condition of the emulator etc.

The Nintendo Switch itself offers emulation through its Nintendo Switch Online membership, but there’s no way to play DS games through the subscription as of yet. Hence, we have to make use of these emulators made by fans to enjoy some classics.

READ MORE: The Ultimate Guide to Emulating Pokémon Games on PC ➜

The State of Nintendo DS Emulation

The Nintendo DS is a console from 2004, and at the time of writing, it is nearly two decades old. Moreover, true to the nature of Nintendo’s games, the DS did not have particularly powerful hardware and did not feature many 3D games, unlike its rival the PSP, which featured many games with amazing graphics at that time.

Many Nintendo DS games, like Pokémon Black/White 2, featured a hybrid 2.5D art style. Therefore, the DS isn’t particularly hard to emulate and since the developers of the emulators have had a lot of time to work on their respective emulators, they’ve been able to run every, or almost every, DS game from the start till the end successfully without any errors.

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The Best Nintendo DS Emulators

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best Nintendo DS emulators out there:

1. DeSmuME

Platforms: Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android

If you don’t mind the weird name, DeSmuME might be the best DS emulator ever. It is, by definition, the closest to perfection an emulator can get, as it is able to play nearly every DS game from start to finish without any issues. It’s also really easy to use and well-optimized, working on old PCs wonderfully. DeSmuME is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.

Aside from its perfection, DeSmuME also has its own features to enhance your DS gaming experience; graphics upscaling, speed hacks, save slots, a cheat code manager, screen recorder and screenshot capabilities. It’s open-source too. The only downside of DeSmuME would be that it has no Wi–Fi/multiplayer capabilities, which can be quite a pain as some games require it to work.

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2. DraStic DS Emulator

Platforms: Android

Our Android buddies have nothing to worry about as we haven’t forgotten about them. The DraStic DS Emulator is the best DS emulator on the Google Play Store. Although it was a paid app on its release more than a decade ago, the developers, Exophase, made it a free app a while back in response to Nintendo’s lawsuit against the developers of Yuzu, a Switch emulator.

At any rate, DraStic is the best DS emulator as it is compatible with most Android phones, and also compatible with most DS games too. It plays them effortlessly, even on budget 5-year-old Android phones. Aside from that, it offers many features like graphic filters, speed hacks, entering cheat codes, built-in cheats for popular games and more.

3. Delta

Platforms: iPhone, iPad

Following the EU‘s decision to allow emulators on Apple‘s App Store, iPhone and especially iPad owners no longer have to resort to jailbreaking to install emulators on their devices. Recently, Delta, an old face to veteran jailbreakers, made its way on to the App Store. To run Delta, you’ll need to have at least iOS 14 on your device. Other than that, the emulation is not very resource-intensive, so it should be a breeze.

For those who don’t know Delta is a well-known GBA emulator, and upon its official release on the App Store, has included support for Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and several other retro consoles. It is fully open-source and has a user-friendly interface, save state support, speed hacks, controller support and more.

Unfortunately, online multiplayer is not support, although local multiplayer on the same device is supported.

READ MORE: How to Play Any PS1 Game on Your Android ➜

4. melonDS

Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android (unoffical)

melonDS is a fairly recent project when compared to the other emulators on this list. While it may lack the features found in DeSmuME and might not be as well optimized, its still a pretty solid emulator. Oh and there’s also the fact that it also supports Wi-Fi multiplayer. Yup, that’s right; melonDS might be the only emulator on this list to support online multiplayer.

melonDS is completely open-source and supports a wide variety of platforms; Windows, Linux, macOS and even an unofficial Android port. Aside from Wi-Fi multiplayer, melonDS also supports multiple save states, speed hacks, cheats and more. It may not offer the same level of performance as DeSmuME, but since it has Wi-Fi multiplayer, it’s definitely worth checking out.

5. RetroArch

Platforms: Everything (no joke)

RetroArch may be the most well-known emulator on this list, as it is one of the most well-known emulators out there. The best part is that RetroArch by itself isn’t even an emulator; it uses cores or engines from other emulators to provide an all-in-one emulator solution. Therefore, you might see several different cores for the same console. It is fully open-source too.

At any rate, RetroArch is pretty much a universal emulator and is available across all major platforms; Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android. For the DS, it uses DeSmuME’s core so you can be sure that its going to have no problems in terms of performance. It also features speed hacks, cheats, save states and controller support. The only downside is that RetroArch is pretty un-user-friendly and its interface leaves much to be desired.

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Emulation and Piracy

The Nintendo DS is nearly 20 years old and even though its classics continue to be enjoyed to this day through these emulators, it’s important to remember that emulation itself not piracy. However, the method of obtaining the games for emulation is mostly done through illegal means, even more so when you have no way to legally purchase the games anymore, like for the DS.

That’s not to say you’re fresh out of luck though. There are always people selling their old games on places like eBay and other similar stores. Therefore, make sure to stay on the right side of the law and get your games from someone who’s already owned them or borrow them.

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Conclusion

With the help of DS emulators, it’s safe to say that the legacy of the DS still lives on and continues to be enjoyed by future generations. Now, excuse us, as we fire up New Super Mario Bros. on DeSmuME to liev out the good old days.