nds4ios is a port of the multi-platform Nintendo DS emulator, DeSmuME to iOS.
Currently, emulation is powered by a threaded ARM interpreter. As a result, emulation is rather slow on older devices, like the iPhone 4s and below.
nds4ios runs at nearly full speed on the iPhone 5 and above, and achieves full speed on devices using the A7-S5L8960X SoC (iPhone 5s, iPad Air, iPad mini Retina, and anything newer than these devices).
Due to the need to mmap the entire ROM into memory, older devices with only 256MB of RAM are not supported by nds4ios. These devices include the iPod touch 4, iPad 1, iPhone 3GS, and anything below those devices.
ROMs must be placed in /User/Documents (or /private/var/mobile/Documents, it's a symbolic link).
We all work hard to make software that users will enjoy and love. If you enjoy nds4ios, please consider making a donation to help us create and provide better things.
Do not redistribute code-signed copies nds4ios on other sites. We already provide official ways to download nds4ios below. THIS IS A FAIR WARNING.
If you're jailbroken, please follow the instructions here: http://nds4ios.angelxwind.net/i/?page/downloads#jailbroken
If you're NOT jailbroken, please follow the instructions here: http://nds4ios.angelxwind.net/i/?page/downloads#notjailbroken
-
Open a Terminal instance and go to your working directory.
-
Do
git clone https://github.com/InfiniDev/nds4ios.git -
then Navigate to the "nds4ios" folder in your working directory.
-
Open "nds4ios.xcodeproj", connect your device, select it on Xcode and click the "Run" button (or Command + R). Don't build it for the iOS Simulator. IMPORTANT: Make sure you change your running scheme to Release first. Otherwise you will get errors on compile!
- Alternatively, run
xcodebuild -configuration Releasefrom Terminal and then copy the resulting *.app bundle to your /Applications directory on your device.
- In nds4ios, tap on the + button in the upper right hand corner.
- Download a ROM package of a ROM that you own the actual game cartridge for from a site such as CoolROM.
- Wait patiently, watch the progress bar, and nds4ios will automatically unzip the file, delete the readme, find the .nds file, and refresh itself. Your ROM should show up in the list. Magic!
- In nds4ios, tap on the + button in the upper right hand corner.
- Download a ROM package of a ROM that you own the actual game cartridge for from a site such as CoolROM.
- Tap the "Open in..." button in the top left hand corner, and select nds4ios.
- nds4ios will automatically unzip the file, delete the readme, find the .nds file, and refresh itself. Your ROM should show up in the list. Magic!
- Download one of the many web browsers available on the App Store with download managers built in, such as Cobium or Dolphin Browser.
- Download a ROM package of a ROM that you own the actual game cartridge for from a site such as CoolROM.
- From the app's list of downloaded files, tap on the ROM, and select nds4ios in the "Open in..." menu.
- nds4ios will automatically unzip the file, delete the readme, find the .nds file, and refresh itself. Your ROM should show up in the list. Magic!
Option 4 - On-device via Safari Downloader+/Chrome Downloader+ or browser with download capabilities (Jailbroken version ONLY)
- If you're jailbroken, grab one of the many download tweaks available for Mobile Safari or Chrome for iOS, or grab one of the many web browsers available with download managers built in, such as Cobium or Dolphin Browser.
- Download a ROM package of a ROM that you own the actual game cartridge for from a site such as CoolROM.
- Using iFile or another filesystem explorer, move the .nds file to /User/Documents/.
- Kill nds4ios from the app switcher if it's backgrounded, and launch it again to see changes.
Option 4 - Using a computer via iTunes File Sharing / iFunBox / iExplorer (Non-jailbroken version ONLY)
- Plug your device into your computer and launch iTunes.
- Go to your iDevice's info page, then the apps tab.
- Drag and drop *.nds ROM images that you own the actual game cartridge for into the iTunes file sharing box for nds4ios.
- Kill nds4ios from the app switcher if it's backgrounded, and launch it again to see changes.
- Install OpenSSH if you plan to utilise SCP (SSH) to transfer ROMs.
- If you do not wish to utilise SCP, then download iFunBox/iExplorer/similar tool that uses AFC2 over USB and install it on your computer.
- Drag your ROMs into the directory: /User/Documents/
- Saves go in: /User/Documents/Battery/
When something in nds4ios isn't working correctly for you, please open a GitHub issue ticket here.
- iOS device
- iOS version
- Jailbreak status
- Download location
- Slow performance
- Crashing on older devices with 256MB of RAM (iPod touch 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, and anything released prior to those devices.)
- GNU Lightning JIT (Currently running into pointer corruption issues.)
- Paravirtualisation (far-off goal, only after GNU Lightning JIT works)
- OpenGL ES rendering
- Automatically fix permissions of crucial folders on the jailbroken distribution
- Ability to change the folder the ROM chooser reads from
- Minimise memory footprint (which will fix support for devices with low RAM)
- Add more localizations (currently have: English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, French, Japanese, German)
- Much more.
- DeSmuME
- Jeffrey Quesnelle (jeffq)
- rock88
- Karen Tsai (angelXwind)
- Brian Tung (inb4ohnoes)
- Jesús A. Álvarez (maczydeco)
- W.MS
- Riley Testut (rileytestut)
- David Chavez (dchavezlive)
- Michael Zhang (Malvix_)
- Angela Tsai (vanillastar67)
- winocm (winocm)
- Jesús Higueras (GranPC)
- Fabio Poloni (einfallstoll)
- iain-benson