So, what's the best current 3DS emulator for Windows?

[tonyhoro]

Lime3DS was a good alternative (so I've been told) but it got merged with Azahar which doesn't support .3ds format anymore.

 

[opeb]

As far as i know Azahar lets you simply change a .3ds file extension to .cci and then the game should work. All of mine did, except for one.

 

[Trillid Tetraoxide]

I stopped with Azahar Plus

 

[Coon]

The Citra is good, I don't know any other.

 

[qw90700]

I only know Citra and never needed anything else. Whatever game I played on Citra works ok.

I also use Citra to implement custom textures for Radiant Historia for example. Thus I can enjoy better resolution graphics + bring back the original artwork, and I even made custom outfit sprites for a character because lore-wise her default outfit didn't make sense so I made her "undercover" outfit to make her look like an ordinary person as she should have been from the start to hide her royal ass lol. IDK if other 3DS emulators would support custom texture implementation.

 

[Boularingos29]

I used to play NDS and 3DS games with NO$GBA and it was fine:)

 

[qw90700]

I used to play NDS and 3DS games with NO$GBA and it was fine:)

3DS games? On NO$GBA?

I thought my dude Martin Korth stopped at NDS lol.

 

[Nelson2001 Nelson2001]

For now I use Azahar because it is the current 3DS emulator that is under development but it is functional and feels like the spiritual successor to the discontinued Citra.

 

[Onionstarz]

I use Tanuki3DS

GitHub - burhanr13/Tanuki3DS: 3DS Emulator

3DS Emulator. Contribute to burhanr13/Tanuki3DS development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[Mahan_Native]

depends on your game

for something like Shin Megami Tensei games, Monster Hunter and lots of other games the last version of Citra is good enough.
but if you want alternatives:
Lime3DS
PabloMK7 Citra
Azahar or Azahar Plus

the best one currently is Azahar; it's the most updated 3DS emulator.
if you are having problem with .3ds format just rename the format to .cci format you don't need any converter tool.
but if you don't want to deal with the renaming hassle, just use Azahar Plus.

Post automatically merged: Jul 10, 2025

I use Tanuki3DS

GitHub - burhanr13/Tanuki3DS: 3DS Emulator

3DS Emulator. Contribute to burhanr13/Tanuki3DS development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Tanuki3DS is also pretty good. check this one as well

 

[DrunkGecko]

i say citra because of the arctic base capture tool

 

[secreto7]

As far as i know Azahar lets you simply change a .3ds file extension to .cci and then the game should work. All of mine did, except for one.

Also I heard that has problems detecting DLCs as encrypted, and not functioning with patched and translated games because of the "protection" Azahar devs implemented.

 

[Halcón Negro]

Im using either PabloMK7 Citra or Mandarine

 

[tonyhoro]

depends on your game

for something like Shin Megami Tensei games, Monster Hunter and lots of other games the last version of Citra is good enough.
but if you want alternatives:
Lime3DS
PabloMK7 Citra
Azahar or Azahar Plus

the best one currently is Azahar; it's the most updated 3DS emulator.
if you are having problem with .3ds format just rename the format to .cci format you don't need any converter tool.
but if you don't want to deal with the renaming hassle, just use Azahar Plus.

Post automatically merged: Jul 10, 2025

Tanuki3DS is also pretty good. check this one as well

Thanks, I didn't know Azahar Plus had .3DS format support.

 

[secreto7]

Thanks, I didn't know Azahar Plus had .3DS format support.

Also I think that Azahar Plus still has the option to decrypt games on the fly with keys.
And I heard that the original Azahar doesn't work with some DLCs and translated or patched games because it detects them as encrypted.