Best 3DS Emulators for PC and Mac (2024)
Nintendo 3DS games have captivated a generation of gamers with their innovative gameplay and captivating graphics. But what if you don't have the console at hand? Fortunately, thanks to emulators, it's possible to enjoy these titles on your PC or Mac. In this article, we'll look at the best 3DS emulators available for these platforms, providing an immersive gaming experience without the need for additional hardware.
Before We Begin
It's worth noting that we've excluded some options from our list due to a lack of active development or unreliable development practices. Now that Citra has been closed by the Yuzu team, only two good 3DS emulators remain for PCs and Macs.
Top Nintendo 3DS Emulators for PC and Mac
RetroArch
RetroArch is the best all-in-one emulator across most platforms. It's one of our favorite emulators on Android and an easy recommendation for PC, Mac, Linux, and iOS users as it can create Nintendo 3DS games in addition to dozens of other consoles. Setting it up is a bit of a pain. You need to download the core, load the core, load the game, and then you can either run it or configure your experience from there. It's not bad at all once you get used to it, but it can be a bit daunting for new emulator experience.
RetroArch uses cores to run games. Think of each core as a console you can load as a plugin. So, you only need to download the cores required for the consoles you're interested in. The 3DS core is the open-source Citra emulator, but the Citra developer was closed in early 2024 after legal action from Nintendo. This means it's no longer in active development, but it still offers the best performance and game support we've found.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS (downloads)
Panda3DS
Panda3DS is our pick for the best standalone Nintendo 3DS emulator you can get. We'll be honest here, development is still early, and things are rough around the edges. Some games have graphical bugs and others don't load at all. We also noticed audio issues in a number of titles.
However, if RetroArch doesn't do it for you, Panda3DS is your best bet. It's still in active development, so hopefully, some of the rough edges will be smoothed out over time.
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux (downloads)
These are the best 3DS emulators for PCs and Macs. Tell us about your favorite pinball game in the comments section below. You can also check out the Free PC emulator for Android to play Android games on PC.