Nintendo DS

Nintendo

Portable Game Console - Lifespan: 2004- 2011

Information

Emulators

  • libretro: melonds DS

  • libretro: desmume

  • libretro: desmume2015

  • libretro: melonds

  • melonds

  • bizhawk: melonDS

Games Location

File extensions

.nds .bin .zip .7z

System Features

RetroachievementsNetplayController autoconfig

lr-melondsds: YES lr-desmume: YES lr-desmume2015: YES lr-melonds: YES MelonDS: NO Ares: NO BizHawk: YES

lr-melondsds: NO lr-desmume: YES lr-desmume2015: YES lr-melonds: NO MelonDS: NO Ares: NO BizHawk: NO

lr-melondsds: YES lr-desmume: YES lr-desmume2015: YES lr-melonds: YES MelonDS: YES Ares: YES BizHawk: YES

BIOS

Bios fileFoldermd5

firmware.bin

\bios

145eaef5bd3037cbc247c213bb3da1b3

bios7.bin

\bios

df692a80a5b1bc90728bc3dfc76cd948

bios9.bin

\bios

a392174eb3e572fed6447e956bde4b25

dsi_bios9.bin

\bios

dsi_bios7.bin

\bios

dsi_firmware.bin

\bios

dsi_nand.bin

\bios

Controls

Stylus movement can be simulated with mouse or with right analog stick (if the feature is enabled).

RetroBat keyNintendo DS key

START

START

SELECT / BACK

SELECT

D-PAD

D-PAD

Left analog stick

Right analog stick

Touchscreen joystick

B

A

X

Y

L1

L

R1

R

L2

MelonDS_DS: microphone DesMUme: LID close/open

R2

MelonDS_DS: next screen layout DesMUme: TAP Stylus MelonDS: Swap Screens

L3

MelonDS_DS: close lid DesMUme: Toggle Microphone MelonDS: Close LID

R3

MelonDS_DS: touch joystick DesMUme: Screen Swap

Specific System Information

Running DSi games

RetroBat allows you to run DSi nand files (.bin) with libretro:melonDS_ds, libretro:melonDS and melonDS standalone emulators.

libretro:MelonDS_ds has native support, there is nothing special to do except run the game.

For libretro:melonDS and MelonDS, you need to place a '.bin' dsi nand file in the roms\nds folder, the file will be detected by RetroBat and will automatically launch to the DSi firmware when running the game, from there you will be able to select the game from the nand and run it:

Example of a nand file:

When running from RetroBat, you will be directly booted in the DSi nand:

Note that melonDS is able to run nand files directly, libretro:melonds, however, will require you to have a least 1 .nds game file in the folder (it will use this game as starter to run the nand file).

Adding games to a nand_file

Only the standalone melonDS emulator allows to install games to a nand, in order to do this, proceed as follows:

  • Run melonDS (emulators\melonds)

  • Open the config > emu settings windows and navigate to the DSi-mode tab:

  • Browse to any firmware file you want to modify and click "OK"

  • Close the setting window and navigate to system > Manage DSi titles

  • In the next window, you can delete or import titles

  • Press "import title..." and in the next screen, select the title to import to nand

  • Confirm with "OK", the title is now install to the nand and you can close the emulator

Next time you run the .bin nand file from RetroBat, the added title will be available in the nand menu for you to play.

DS nand files have a limited size, running nand files that are heavier than the maximum authorized number of blocks will lead to a black screen.

Last updated

Copyright The RetroBat Team 2019-2024