Software & Apps > Apps > Best Apps > The Ultimate Guide to DS Emulators on Android: Top Picks for 2025 Play your favorite classic Nintendo DS games on your smartphone By Robert Earl Wells III Published on January 13, 2025 Pink Nintendo DS on the corner of a table. Denise Jans / Unsplash Apps Best Apps Payment Services Close Nintendo DS emulators for Android make it possible to play DS games on your smartphone or tablet. There are several contenders for the best DS emulator for Android, most of which are completely free. To play Nintendo DS games on Android, you must download ROMs. Video game ROMs are available on the web through torrent websites, but the legality of distributing such files varies from region to region. Make sure to install antivirus software before downloading files from the web. You can also make ROMs from any DS cartridges you own, the legality of which also varies by region. Our 6 Favorite Free Antivirus Software of 2025 01 of 04 Best Paid DS Emulator: DraStic DS Emulator What We Like Adjust the size and placement of screens. Access your save data on multiple devices. What We Don't Like Only one save slot per ROM. No free option. For $4.99, the DraStic DS Emulator is a steal. It comes with hundreds of pre-loaded cheats and lets you back up save state data directly to your Google Drive Cloud. There's even an option to enhance the graphics. It also includes every feature found in all of the other emulators on this list, such as external controller support. While DraStic DS works on most Android devices, it performs best on higher-end phones and tablets. Download For: Android 02 of 04 Best Multipurpose Emulator: RetroArch What We Like Emulates multiple handheld and console video game systems. Open source and ad-free. What We Don't Like Requires a little time and technical knowledge to set up. The interface could be more user friendly. RetroArch is a multipurpose video game emulator for every platform, from Android to Linux. The Android version supports games for the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, and the original Game Boy, as well as console games and non-Nintendo systems. That said, you must download the core for each emulator. You can even play and create your homebrew games for DS with the Libretro API. Download For: Android 03 of 04 Best Performing DS Emulator: Fast DS Emulator What We Like Resizeable screens. Consistent frame rate. What We Don't Like Annoying ads that can't be removed. Requires an internet connection to start up. Fast DS Emulator is designed to work with devices running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and up, but it also runs on Android 5.0 (Lollipop), so it's a decent option for older phones. You can customize the on-screen controls and connect controllers for other systems, such as the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons, to play DS games on your Android device. Download For: Android 04 of 04 Best Looking DS Emulator: EmuBox What We Like Exceptional graphics. Play in portrait or landscape mode. What We Don't Like Performance issues arise when too many cheats are active. No option to remove ads. Like Retroarch, EmuBox emulates many systems, including the NES and the PlayStation. Because it was coded using Google's Material Design language, EmuBox can reproduce the DS's visuals flawlessly. Fortunately, there's an option to capture screenshots. On top of that, EmuBox gives you 20 save slots per ROM. Download For: Android Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit