Games
5 Best DS Emulator for Nintendo Enthusiasts

The DS emulator is perhaps one of the greatest gaming inventions for old-school fans of the Nintendo to relish and relive some of the best gaming titles the iconic console has to offer. Although the Nintendo DS has seen better days, it has provided some of the most incredible games during its run, with legendary markers such as Pokémon, Zelda, and Super Mario. However, with the DS emulator, you can enjoy these games on without the need for a Nintendo DS.
What is a Nintendo DS?
In order to play Nintendo games, you must physically own a Nintendo console as these titles aren’t intended by developers to play on any other devices. You can still bypass this requirement by downloading illegally replicated versions of these games from Internet vendors, such as Nintendo ROMs. A Nintendo game emulator is software that enables you to play these Nintendo ROMS on unapproved devices, such as a PC or other gaming consoles.
What are the best Nintendo DS emulators?
It’s rather unfortunate that there aren’t that many options to choose from because the development of the Nintendo DS emulator platform is still somewhat niche. However, we did discover a couple that performed admirably, therefore listed below are the top Nintendo DS emulators.
5. Duos
Although far from the most complete and powerful emulator available for download, Duos is certainly one of the most accessible and user-friendly emulators as it can run on virtually any computer regardless of its power consumption capability. The simplicity and accessibility of this emulator might be its strongest feature as you won’t have to bother with emulation problems or glitches.
Regarding its compatibility, although it allows you to play the majority of the games on the platform, it remains largely incomplete in terms of customization options compared to other emulators on this list. Duos also doesn’t have a quick save/rapid load functionality which may cause a nuisance for some users.
4. Retroarch
Retroarch is undoubtedly the most versatile DS emulator available as it is compatible with games from all Nintendo systems (NES, SNES, DS, DSi, 3DS, 64), as well as titles from other consoles such as Atari, MAME. You can even get games that no longer available on Nintendo eshops.
It also contains all the essential graphic and emulator options, providing up to 4K local resolution, along with shader options that can significantly improve the gaming experience. There is support for joysticks, a choice of save slots, and many screen layout options. Although its user interface may seem intimidating initially, it becomes much simpler after some usage. However, compared to the other Nintendo DS emulators present, running games on Retroarc can be rather challenging for low-end devices.
3. NeonDS
NeonDS is another excellent DS emulator that allows users to run the best Nintendo DS games on their PC smoothly and easily, running games at 60 FPS effortlessly thanks to its optimization provided by OpenGL 2.0.
It is extremely accessible and usually doesn’t have any issues when it comes to standard emulation. However, despite having a pretty generous compatibility list that contains all of Nintendo DS’s most iconic titles, this emulator does not support all games on the platform.
2. No$GBA
Although initially a throw-away emulator with extremely slow framerate and distorted audio, No$GBA has gradually redeemed itself to become one of the best Nintendo DS emulators over time. No$GBA is a solid entry-level DS emulator, with crystal sharp image and audio qualities that are also open for customization according to individual preferences. The emulator also has hands down the best controller setting that not only configures your mouse or touchscreen but also maps your keys to your controller, allowing for a more convenient and smoother gaming experience.
However, one drawback of No$GBA is that certain versions of this emulator might require you to configure the emulator settings, such as the frame rate, sound, and others for it to function properly. If the settings are made from the beginning, the emulator can operate incorrectly at that point. Additionally, it does not support Linux and Mac, which makes it not a cross-platform application.
1. DeSmuME
DeSmuME is perhaps by far the greatest DS emulator available for PCs. This emulator has a ton of support features. For instance, its quick save and rapid load functionality which also allows you to save in states so you don’t need to worry about save slots during gameplay. The emulator can speed up your software processing with its turbo button. Additionally, it also supports USB controllers and cheats. The DeSmuME doesn’t have any noteworthy weaknesses, just be sure to use the most recent version to ensure the most effective emulation.