Best Android DS Emulator

Nintendo DS emulation is one of the most performant forms of emulation on Android. In comparison to other platforms, there are a lot of DS emulators, and that’s why you’ll need to know the best Android DS emulator. Keep in mind that the best Android DS emulator will be custom-built for DS games. If you also want to play Nintendo 3DS games, you’ll also need the best Android 3DS emulator. Of course, we have you covered there as well. (We also have the best Android PS2 emulator, just to say!)Best Android DS EmulatorHere we’ll detail our pick for the best emulator, and give a few honorable mentions, too!melonDS – The Best DS Emulator

The current wearer of the prestigious crown is none other than stellar melonDS. It's complimentary, it's accessible, and it's consistently updated with cutting-edge features and performance enhancements.

The emulator comes with a wide array of options to make your experience tailored. melonDS has robust controller support, adaptable to your liking. There are diverse themes to suit light mode fans, and dark mode enthusiasts. You can enhance the resolution of titles with resolution settings and find your optimal balance between performance and visual fidelity.

It comes with integrated support for Action Replay too, so it's never been more effortless to indulge in a little shenanigans.

Keep in mind the Google Play version is an unofficial port, the GitHub version is the most current.

As far as DS emulators on Android go, DraStic is an exceptional option. However, the app is a paid experience which can be off-putting for some.

At $4.99, DraStic is still affordable, and it’s definitely worth the price of entry. Despite being around for over a decade, it still holds up remarkably well.

Released in 2013, this app changed the state of emulation on Android. Nearly all Nintendo DS games run seamlessly outside of a few bad apples. Furthermore, the app can run on even low-power devices. That’s just a major benefit of being around for so long. 

DraStic offers a lot of options for those who like to tweak their emulation experiences. For starters, you can increase the resolution of 3D rendering in DS games. Additionally, there are also save states, speed options, screen placement changes, controller support, and game shark codes. 

One significant missing feature is multiplayer support. However, with most DS multiplayer servers now offline, you’re only missing local multiplayer. 

h3 class="wp-block-heading">EmuBox – Most Comprehensive

EmuBox is free to download, and funded by ad revenue. This does mean that ads may display while it's in use, something that some might find annoying. This also means that the emulator can only be used on a device that is online, which is a bit of a disappointment.

While there are some negatives, there is a big advantage to EmuBox. It is a multipurpose emulator, and isn't restricted to only DS ROMs. You can run ROMs from several different consoles, including the original PlayStation and Game Boy Advance.

Emulation nintendo nintendo ds