Looking for the best DS emulator for PC can be tricky. That’s because there are several of them and they have multiple versions. Don’t worry, as we have our list of the best DS emulators that you can get for your PC.
Is Nintendo one of your favorite video games? Or might be that you’re an old-school gamer who still re when the Nintendo DS was the device to have?
Playing some of your favorite DS games on the PC may be appealing to you. But how do you get started? It is difficult to determine which of the many DS emulators is the best.
Read: Pokemon DS Rom Hacks List
In this article, we’ll look at the best DS emulators available for Windows PC.
Note: For Android s, we’ve also created a guide to help you pick the best DS emulator for Android, be sure to check them.
Editor’s Update (January 2025): We added a couple of new entries that you might want to check out. Despite the Switch reaching closer to the end of its era, many retro gamers are still enjoying the best Pokemon games on the Nintendo DS.
Table of Contents
Top 5 Nintendo DS Emulators for PC (UPDATED)
5. iDeaS
A common trend among DS emulators is that some of them are named and spelled with letters “D” and “S” to imply the platform they’re emulating.
Anyway, this emulator is easy to use and can be very efficient. It doesn’t need to have any settings done but you can adjust it if you want to.
One other thing is that as of now, this emulator is the only DS emulator where you can separate the lower screen from the top screen.
The screen separation feature doesn’t affect the game and the touch screen section is still functional.
4. RetroArch
RetroArch is like an “avatar” emulator, as it can also run a bunch of emulators apart from those that emulate the Nintendo DS.
Some examples of platforms that are playable on RetroArch are Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, NES, 3DS, and even the non-Nintendo ones like Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and Atari.
If you’re into other games outside of DS, RetroArch is the best choice for you, as you can use it for a variety of gaming purposes.
All you have to do is to install a DS core (you can choose either a melonDS or a DeSmuME core) in the Manage Cores list, load the DS core, load the content using a ROM and you’re good to go.
The same process is also applicable for playing GBA games on RetroArch.
3. melonDS
A new emulator as of writing this article, melonDS is becoming popular as one of the fastest DS emulators around, be it for PC or Android.
But when it comes to PC, melonDS delivers a quality gaming experience thanks to its versatile screen options where you can virtually customize the positioning of your double screens.
melonDS also has a controller , and it’s easy evolve those Pokemon that only evolve by trading by using this emulator.
Keep in mind that melonDS is described by its creator as a “work in progress,” so expect that this emulator will keep on improving in the following months.
2. No$GBA
No$GBA in its earliest versions was bad. The audio was distorted and the frame rate was very slow.
The good thing is that over the years, No$GBA has gotten better and is one of the best DS emulators usable for PC and other systems depending on the version of the No$GBA that you can get.
No$GBA is a good basic emulator for the DS. Just as we mentioned the latest version has fixed all of its problems. The emulation can run smoothly and the audio is clear.
The emulator also has some nice features in-game that you can use like save states. Perhaps the only con is that depending on the , you may need to set up the settings of the emulator.
You need to set up things like frame rate, sound, and others. That’s when the emulator may run faulty if the settings are done from the start.
1. DeSmuME
DeSmuME is by far the best DS emulator usable for PCs that we highly recommend. The problem would be the ROMs, but that is beside the point.
There are multiple versions of this emulator so the older ones may be buggy so make sure to follow up and use the updated version to ensure fast and efficient emulation.
There are a lot of good things with this emulator. The first thing is that you can use the old quick save and quick load features.
You can save in states which can be a good form of feature where you don’t have to worry about save slots in the actual game.
There really isn’t a weakness to this emulator. Perhaps if you find flaws, then we can just state that you’re using the outdated versions of the DeSmuME emulator.
Related: Best Pokemon Games for Nintendo DS
Conclusion
People may think that DS emulators are hard to find especially for beginners.
But there is a good amount of them and you can always get them for free and this list just showed you the 5 best DS emulator for PC you can get.
For beginners and those who seek maximum Nintendo DS gaming for PC, opt for DeSmuME.
Glitchy background double screening effect
Excellent post. I’m experiencing some of these issues as well..
DeSmuMe tends to drop frame rates, which becomes a problem if your playing a gen 4 game.
Out of all of these which one would you use and runs pretty smoothly?
Desmume works best for me
Hello, I was wondering if you could help me out. I Desume but every time I open it I get an error code.
May I know what error Desmume is showing?
it says “code execution cannot proceed because MSVCR100.dill was not found, it then to try reinstalling the program, but ive already tried several times and it still doesnt work.
I’m not really sure if this will work but give it a try. Make sure you have the latest version of Desmume and patch it here Reply
Sadly it did not work, I might try No$gba instead, or another emulator that you recommend.
Yup, that’s the best to do instead. Let me know how it goes.
I tried the melonDS emulator and so far its worked pretty well, thanks for the help!
Wow! Interesting. I didn’t know that emulator exist.
Hello,I used DeSmuME and it was very good,and worked very well,but.
When I play a game,for example:let’s say I play a Zelda or Kirby title,and then I finish playing that game,even though I saved,when I play the game again it doesn’t have any of my progress,so,I try loading it and it says:”Error loading slot 1″ And then I can’t get my progress back.
Hi there, Mistermemz. I will try to provide the best possible answers I can offer.
– Don’t run DeSmuMe from archive, extract it to your Desktop or D:.
– Don’t rely on the emulator’s save state, use the in-game saves for saving
– Don’t run DeSmume from a removable device (ex. flash drive, or external hard drive)
Hope these fix solves your problem, let me know how it goes to you.
I have No$gba but I can’t get it to run ds games.How do I do it?
Hi, which DS games are you trying to play?
Where can I find game s for DeSmuME?
Sorry but we don’t offer game s here, you can do a search for DS games.
DraStic for Android AUTO-RECOGNISES CHEATCODES! So you don’t have to enter the codes manually!!!
Not bad at all but what about Melon DS – made by a programmer who tested wireless emulation in DeSmuMe
Haven’t heard of that emulator before but I would love to test it.