Emulators on the DS
There are many emulators present for the DS and DSi. This page provides a comprehensive explanation on the many emulators and loaders bundled into TWiLight Menu++.
List of systems supported by TWiLight Menu++ #
| Format | Loader | Extensions | Save file | 
|---|---|---|---|
| ARGV1 | Native | .argv |  |
| 雅达利 2600 | StellaDS | .a26 |  |
| Atari 5200 | A5200DS | .a52 |  |
| Atari 7800 | A7800DS | .a78 |  |
| Atari XEGS | A8DS | .xex, .atr |  |
| ColecoVision | S8DS, ColecoDS | .col |  |
| DS | nds-bootstrap, flashcard kernel, native | .nds, .dsi, .ids, .srl, .app |  saves/[rom name].sav2 |  
| DSiWare | Unlaunch, nds-bootstrap | .nds, .dsi, .ids, .srl, .app |  saves/[rom name].pub, saves/[rom name].prv, saves/[rom name].sav3 |  
| DSTWO Plugin | DSTWO4 | .plg |  |
| Game Boy (Color) | GameYob | .gb, .sgb, .gbc |  [rom name].sav |  
| Game Boy Advance | GBARunner25, native6 | .agb, .gba, .mb |  [rom name].sav |  
| Game Gear | S8DS | .gg |  [rom name].gg.sav |  
| Genesis/Mega Drive | jEnesisDS, PicoDriveTWL | .gen, .md |  [rom name].srm7 |  
| Intellivision | Nintellivision | .int |  |
| Master System | S8DS | .sms |  [rom name].sms.sav |  
| MSX | ColecoDS | .msx |  ??? | 
| Neo Geo Pocket (Color) | NGPDS | .ngp, .ngc |  /data/ngpds/[rom name].ngp.fla |  
| FastVideoDS | FastVideoDSPlayer | .fv |  |
| NES/Famicom | nesDS | .nes, .fds |  [rom name].sav |  
| PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 | NitroGrafx | .pce |  |
| Rocket Video | Rocket Video Player | .rvid |  |
| SG-1000 | S8DS, ColecoDS | .sg |  |
| Sord M5 | ColecoDS | .m5 |  |
| SFC | SNEmulDS | .smc, .sfc |  [rom name].srm8 |  
| WonderSwan (Color) | NitroSwan | .ws, .wsc |  ??? | 
| Xvid | tuna-viDS | .avi |  
These are just recommended emulators and loaders that are present in TWiLight Menu++. There are other emulators for these consoles (such as lolSnes, Gbaemu4ds, etc.)
Other emulators for the DS #
| Format | Loader | Extensions | Save file | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Neo Geo | neoDS | .neo |  (unknown) | 
BIOS usage #
| Format | Loader | Path | Required | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Boy (Color) | GameYob9 | User-set | No | 
| Game Boy Advance | GBARunner2, native6 | /_gba/bios.bin |  See 10 | 
| Famicom Disk System | nesDS | /disksys.rom |  Yes | 
-  
Text files containing the path to a DS homebrew app and arguments to launch it with, see nds-hb-menu’s README for more info ↩
 -  
Only for retail ROMs, homebrew do not have specific save files ↩
 -  
Only when running in B4DS mode ↩
 -  
Only works from a SuperCard DSTWO flashcard as it has additional processing power and RAM inside the flashcard ↩
 -  
When running in DSi Mode, it can use the DSP for better sound ↩
 -  
Requires a Slot-2 flashcart and thus only works on DS Phat and DS Lite ↩ ↩2
 -  
jEnesis can only save when running from a flashcard, but PicoDriveTWL can save from SD and flashcard ↩
 -  
Saving requires a flashcard or a new version of the emulator (legacy version is used by default) ↩
 -  
Has a bug where the BIOS screen is not shown when starting a game via arguments ↩
 -  
Not required for native, required for a few games with GBARunner2, required for all games with GBARunner3 ↩
 
Notes on specific emulators #
RAM Disks #
- In order for jEnesisDS, SNEmulDS (legacy version), or neoDS to work on the DSi SD card, you’ll have to use a RAM disk with nds-bootstrap 
- A RAM disk maker for jEnesisDS and SNEmulDS (legacy version) is built into nds-bootstrap. You will need to create your own RAM disk for neoDS. See Creating RAM Disks on how to do so
 - The reason why RAM disks are used is because these emulators’ ARM7 hooks don’t work properly
 
 
Comparison between PicoDriveTWL and jEnesisDS #
- PicoDriveTWL 
- Was made for DSi
 - Does not require nds-bootstrap RAM Disks 
- Saving is supported on DSi SD cards
 - Quicker load times between TWiLight Menu++ to the emulator on the DSi SD card
 
 - Supports arguments
 - Limit is 3 MB on a Flashcard 
- Takes advantage of the DSi extra RAM or DS Memory Expansion Pak to extend this limit
 
 - No sound emulation
 - Framerate is extremely choppy
 
 - jEnesisDS 
- DS Mode 
- Requires nds-bootstrap’s RAM disk to be used for DSi SD cards
 - Saving is unavailable for DSi SD cards
 
 - Takes a while to load
 - No argument support
 - Limit is 3 MB on all platforms (due to roms loading in RAM) 
- No DS Memory Expansion Pak or DSi Extended Memory support
 - There is a patch for Sonic 3 & Knuckles that removes the multiplayer, getting the size count down
 
 - Sound Emulation
 - Framerate is smooth
 
 - DS Mode