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Emulator Dekopon

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digdat0 edited this page Jul 23, 2026 · 2 revisions

Systems: Nintendo 3DS (3ds) · Runs as: homebrew NRO · Get it: github.com/PalindromicBreadLoaf/dekopon (releases)

Best effort: this guide is community-maintained and may lag behind new releases. The emulator's own site (linked above) is the authoritative source — if anything here doesn't match what you see, trust their instructions.

Dekopon is a Nintendo 3DS emulator for the Switch — a fork of Azahar (the Citra lineage) with Switch-specific work, including a Vulkan backend. It's the reason the 3ds folder in your library is no longer just for organization: as of v1.2.2 (July 2026) it boots and runs games at mostly full speed, with a compatibility sheet tracked from the repo. It's a young, fast-moving project, so expect releases to change details — check the repo when in doubt.

Install

  1. Download the latest release .nro from the releases page and copy it to sd:/switch/.
  2. Launch from the homebrew menu. Dekopon keeps its data under sd:/switch/dekopon/ — its default ROM folder, plus per-game folders (by Title ID) for cheats, mods, and texture packs.

Point it at your HaulNX library

  1. Download 3DS games with HaulNX — they land in sd:/roms/3ds/.
  2. Open Dekopon and go to the Paths option.
  3. Set Rom folder to sd:/roms/3ds.

Your library shows up in Dekopon's game list from then on — new HaulNX downloads appear on the next launch.

Format notes

  • Use bare ROM files (.3ds/.cci cartridge dumps): if a game came down as a .zip, extract it in place first.
  • .cia (eShop-style installable) content goes through Dekopon's built-in CIA installation rather than the ROM folder.
  • Some titles need system files or keys from a real 3DS, as with Azahar upstream — the repo's docs are the authority on what to dump and where it goes.

Tips

  • Full gyro support, button remapping, and multiple screen layouts (the 3DS's two screens have to share one) are all in the settings — layout choice matters a lot per game, so experiment.
  • Cheats (Gateway format), LayeredFS mods, and custom texture packs live under sd:/switch/dekopon/ in folders named by the game's 16-character Title ID.
  • Check the compatibility sheet linked from the repo before assuming a broken game is your setup — 3DS emulation on Switch is new territory, and support is improving release by release.

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