So you just installed the Homebrew Launcher and tried out some cool 3ds themes but you already want to do more on your 3ds? In this thread I'll help you install and get running all of the best emulators available for the 3ds atm. You don't need to know anything about the 3ds scene to get started just follow these steps and by the end of the guide you'll be familiar with how the homebrew launcher apps are set up and more.

Here you'll find how to install the following Emulators:
Blue ones are recommended for Old 3DS users.
BlargSnes (SNES Emulator)
CitrAGB (GBA Emulator)
GameYob (GB/GBC Emulator)
FCEUMM3D (NES Emulator)
mGBA New (GBA Emulator)
Handy 3DS (Atari Linx Emulator)
Mednafen NGP (RetroArch Neo Geo Pocket Color Emulator)
PokeMini 3DS (Pokemon Mini Emulator)
3DSSpectrum (ZX Spectrum Emulator)
Genesis Plus GX (RetroArch Sega Genesis-Master System and Game Gear Emulator)
Mednafen Virtual Boy (RetroArch Virtual Boy Emulator)
Mednafen WonderSwan (RetroArch WonderSwan Color Emulator)
FBA CPS-1 (RetroArch Capcom Play System 1 Emulator)
FBA CPS-2 (RetroArch Capcom Play System 2 Emulator)
FBA Neo Geo (RetroArch Neo Geo Emulator)
QuickNES (NES Emulator)
CatSFC (SNES Emulator)
Pcsx ReARMed (Playstation 1 Emulator)
GpSP (Fast GBA Emulator)
New! Picodrive (RetroArch Sega Genesis-Master System Emulator)

If you still don't have the Homewbrew Launcher installed check my other tutorial first
[Tutorial]The Homebrew Launcher and Custom Themes all-in-one Noob's Guide​

Important tip!

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Spoiler: Important tip (App Placement)

Important tip: all of the Homebrew Launcher apps .3dsx files must have the same name as the folder their into or they should be named boot.3dsx.

Examples
Correct:
SD:3ds/Blargsnes/Blargsnes.3dsx
SD:3ds/Portal3ds/Portal3ds.3dsx
SD:3ds/GameYob/boot.3dsx

Incorrect:
SD:3ds/Blargsnes/snesemulator.3dsx

If your app it's set up like the in the incorrect example above, you must rename the .3dsx file and give it the same name as the folder it's into or the homebrew launcher won't recognize it. In my case I'll rename the snesemulator.3dsx to Blargsnes.3dsx Upper and lowercase matter! Naming the .3dsx to boot.3dsx would also work. Now let's get started

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BlargSnes (SNES Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up BlargSnes (SNES Emulator)

1.Click here to download BlargSnes 1.3. For the official thread click here.​

2.Open the .zip file you just downloaded, extract the folder named blargSnes and place it on the folder named 3ds that's on the root of the 3ds SD card(like any other homebrew app).

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
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1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it Snes Roms.

2.Place your Roms on the Snes Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run BlargSnes and you'll see the files of your 3ds root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named Snes Roms on the right of the screen.
4.Press the D-pad or circle pad to navigate and A to enter your Snes Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A.
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You can enter the settings by touching the top right corner of the bottom screen's tool icon and exit the app by pressing the X . Any time while you are in game you can touch the bottom screen and press start to enter the settings or select to change the game.You can Also take Screenshots by pressing L+R after you touch the bottom screen once and the game pauses. The screenshots will be saved on the root of the SD card.

Custom Borders

You can create or download already created borders for this emulator. All borders are files named blargSnesBorder.bmp and you have to place them on the root of your 3ds SD card. You can only have one border at a time

Download custom borders here or here
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GpSP (Fast GBA Emulator)

Note: Best choice for New 3ds!
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Spoiler: Setting up GpSP(Fast GBA Emulator)

1.Click here to download GpSP. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named gpsp_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Now you will need the official GBA bios. I can't link it here but I can help you find it.
​

1.In your pc google for "gba bios" without quotes and click on the first page on the top of the results.
2.You will now see a list of many bios. Scroll down and click the one that says GBA Bios, NOT the one that says GBA Bios (Debug).
3.Once you click on the link that said GBA Bios you'll download a file named Game Boy Advance (W).7z archive which you can open with Winrar.
4.Open it and extract the file named Game Boy Advance (W) with the extension .gba and put that file on the root of your 3ds SD card.
5.Now rename the file to gba_bios and change it's extension from .gba to .bin

You should now have the correct bios needed named gba_bios.bin You'll need to place it in this directory: if you don't have them create the folders needed. SD:retroarch/cores/system/ and inside of the system folder extract and place the gba_bios.bin bios file.​

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to Start playing.​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it GBA Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the GBA Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run GpSP and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named GBA Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your GBA Roms.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

Speed up tips!
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1.If your gameplay is not as smooth as you want it to be you could try turning off VSync.
On the emulators startup screen choose Settings. Then Video and then scroll down and on VSync press Left or Right to turn off.

2.You could also get a speed improvement if you turn off Audio Sync.
On the emulators startup screen choose Settings. Then Audio and then scroll down and on Audio Sync Enable and press Left or Right to turn off.

Last Resort!
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3.You could get a great speed improvement if you don't mind turning the audio off. On the emulators startup screen choose Settings. Then Audio and then scroll down and on Audio Enable and press Left or Right to turn off.Yo close content and choose the game again for it to take effect.

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Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

mGBA New (GBA Emulator)

Note: Most games may run slow
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Spoiler: Setting up mGBA (GBA Emulator)

1.Click here to download the best mGBA build that have worked for me. Or you can download a new untested build here for it's official page click here.​

2.Open the .zip file you just downloaded, extract the folder named mgba and place it on the folder named 3ds that's on the root of the 3ds SD card(like any other homebrew app).

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to Start playing.​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it GBA Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the GBA Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run mGBA and you'll see the files and folders of your 3ds root.
4.Press the D-pad or circle pad to navigate right and A to enter your GBA Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A.​

You can enter the settings by pressing the X button while in game. You'll find the save state options there. Change the screen scaling by pressing Y. To exit the emulator press X to go to the menu then select exit game and press B.

Troubleshooting​

Problem: You keep getting screen freezes after selecting mGBA on the homebrew launcher .
Fix: Download the fixed boot.3dsx from This tweet and replace the one you have on the root of your 3ds card with it and try again.
Problem: Your games are running slow and the sound doesn't work properly.
Fix: This emulator is on alpha stage and bugs are getting fixed so this things are expected to happen. Try out other games some work better than others.

CitrAGB (GBA Emulator)

Note: Most games may run slow
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Spoiler: Setting up CitrAGB (GBA Emulator)

For the official thread click here.​

1.The easiest way to get this emulator is by downloading smealum's homebrew starter pack.
if you don't already have it you can download it here.
2.Once you download the .rar extract the files from the starter.zip to the root of your SD card and merge the 3ds folder if you already have it and don't replace the boot.3dsx.

Now you will need the official GBA bios. I can't link it here but I can help you find it.​

3.In your pc google for "gba bios" without quotes and click on the first page on the top of the results.
4.You will now see a list of many bios. Scroll down and click the one that says GBA Bios, NOT the one that says GBA Bios (Debug).
5.Once you click on the link that said GBA Bios you'll download a file named Game Boy Advance (W).7z archive which you can open with Winrar.
6.Open it and extract the file named Game Boy Advance (W) with the extension .gba and put that file on the root of your 3ds SD card.
7.Now rename the file to gba_bios and change it's extension from .gba to .bin

You should now have the correct bios needed named gba_bios.bin and game_config.txt which came in the starter pack in the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to Start playing.​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it GBA Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the GBA Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run CitrAGB and you'll see the files of your 3ds root on the left of the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named GBA Roms on the right of the screen.
4.Use the D-pad or circle pad to navigate right and A to enter your GBA Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A.

Important

If your 3ds is on firmware version between 9.3 up to 9.9 you'll get some serious slowdowns due to the lack of some services. Not all the games work. Keep that in mind if a game gets stuck after selecting it it's not that you did something wrong is just that that game is not compatible.
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GameYob (GB/GBC Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up GameYob (GB/GBC Emulator)

1.Click here to download GameYob Steveice's Build. For the official thread click here.​

2.Open the .zip file you just downloaded, extract the folder named 3ds and place it on the root of your 3ds SD card (Merge folders if it's needed)

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it GBC Roms.

2.Place your Roms on the GBC Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run GameYob and you'll see the files of your 3ds root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named GBC Roms on the bottom screen.
4.Use the D-pad navigate and press A to enter your GBC Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A.

Touch the bottom screen while in gameplay to enter the settings. This emulator features Fullscreen scaling, Savestates, cheats and much more!
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Custom Borders

You can create or download already created borders for this emulator. All borders are .png files and you can place them on any directory of your 3ds SD card. After getting your border ready run the emulator using the Homebrew Launcher and follow these steps:



You can find borders on it's official thread here or google GameYob Borders for more.

Important!!
If you have problems with any game disable the autosaving feature on the GameYob tab of the settings.

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FCEUMM3DS (NES Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up FCEUMM3DS (NES Emulator)

1.Click here to download FCEUMM3DS latest working build. For the official thread click here.​

2.Open the .zip file you just downloaded, extract the folder named 3ds and place it on the root of your 3ds SD card (Merge folders if it's needed)

Setting up the Roms
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In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it NES Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the NES Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run FCEUMM3DS and press A on the Choose ROM option. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named NES Roms on the bottom screen.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your NES Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A.

Touch the bottom screen while in gameplay to enter the settings. This emulator features Fullscreen scaling, Savestates, cheats and much more!

While in game press Y to create a save state, X to load the save state and L to speed up time.

Handy 3DS (Atari linx Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up Handy 3DS (Atari linx Emulator)

1.Click here to download Handy 3DS latest version. For the official thread click here.​

2.Open the .zip file you just downloaded, extract the folders named 3ds and lynx and place them on the root of your 3ds SD card (Merge folders if it's needed)

Now you will need the official Atari Linx bios. I can't link it here but I can help you find it.
3.In your pc google for "Lynxboot.img" without quotes and click on the second page on the top of the results.
4.You will now see a list of many files. Scroll down to the download extras section and click the one that says LynxBOOT.IMG(You need it for EMU).Click on it and you'll download a zip file named lynxboot.zip
5.On the root of the 3ds SD card open the older named lynx and then enter the folder named Bios.
6.Extract the file lynxboot.img from the .zip you downloaded it and place it on the empty folder named Bios. Done!​

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them.
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1.On the root of 3ds SD card open the folder named linx and you'll see a folder named Roms inside
2.Place your Roms on the Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run Handy 3DS.
4.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A.​

Press the L trigger for full screen
R to rotate the screen
Touch the bottom screen for settings

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Mednafen NGP (RetroArch Neo Geo Pocket Color Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up Mednafen NGP (RetroArch Neo Geo Pocket Color Emulator)

1.Click here to download Mednafen NGP. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named mednafen_ngp_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it NGP Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the NGP Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run Mednafen NGP and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named NGP Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your NGP Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

To enable sound
1.Touch the bottom screen to enter the emulator settings and press B one time to go to the main menu.
2.Go to settings on the main menu below Load Content.
3.Select Audio.
4.On Enable Audio press Right to se it on.
5.Press B twice to go back to the main menu.
6.Press A on Save New Config.
7.If your game was running load it again from the Load Content option.

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Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

PokeMini 3DS (Pokemon Mini Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up PokeMini 3DS (Pokemon Mini Emulator)

1.Click here to download PokeMini 3DS. For the official thread click here.
2.Open the .zip file you just downloaded, extract the folder named PokeMini and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms need to be place inside the PokeMini folder you just added to your 3ds folder or in a sub directory of the PokeMini folder for it to able to detect them. Now with the latest version of Pokemini Roms don't necessarily have to be placed on the PokeMini folder but it's still easier to place them there as it's still the starting default directory when choosing Roms.​

1.On the root of your 3ds SD card look for your folder named 3ds and open it.
2.Now open the folder named PokeMini and inside of it you can place all of your roms but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it PokeMini Roms.
3.Place your Roms on the PokeMini Roms folder.You don't need to extract the Roms, leave them as .zip archives.
4.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher, run PokeMini 3ds and press A on the Load ROM option. You"ll see your PokeMini Roms folder.
5.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your PokeMini Roms folder.
6.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A a to start playing. Press SELECT while playing to enter the emulator settings.

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3DSSpectrum (ZX Spectrum Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up 3DSSpectrum (ZX Spectrum Emulator)

1.Click here to download 3DSSpectrum. For the official thread click here.
2.Open the .zip file you just downloaded, extract the folder named Spectrum and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms need to be place inside the roms folder that can be found inside the folder named Spectrum you just extracted to the folder named 3ds it to able to detect them. ​

1.On the root of your 3ds SD card look for your folder named 3ds and open it.
2.Now open the folder named Spectrum and inside of it open the folder called roms.
3.Place your Roms on the on that roms folder. The Roms must be on .sna format.
4.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher and run Spectrum.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A a to start playing.

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up - q
down - a
left - o
right - p
y - space
b - m
x - right shift
a - joystick fire
start - enter

Genesis Plus GX (RetroArch Sega Genesis-Master System and Game Gear Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up Genesis Plus GX (RetroArch Sega Genesis-Master System and Game Gear Emulator)

1.Click here to download Genesis Plus GX. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named genesis_plus_gx_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.​

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
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1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it Sega Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the Sega Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run Genesis Plus GX and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named Sega Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your Sega Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

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Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

Y - A
B - B
X - Y
A - C
L - X
R - Z​

Mednafen Virtual Boy (RetroArch Virtual Boy Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up Mednafen Virtual Boy (RetroArch Virtual Boy Emulator)

1.Click here to download Mednafen Virtual Boy. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named mednafen_vb_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it VB Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the VB Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run Mednafen Virtual Boy and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named VB Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your VB Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

To enable sound
1.Touch the bottom screen to enter the emulator settings and press B one time to go to the main menu.
2.Go to settings on the main menu below Load Content.
3.Select Audio.
4.On Enable Audio press Right to set it on.
5.Press B twice to go back to the main menu.
6.Press A on Save New Config.
7.If your game was running load it again from the Load Content option.

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Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

Mednafen WonderSwan (RetroArch WonderSwan Color Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up Mednafen WonderSwan (RetroArch WonderSwan Color Emulator)

1.Click here to download Mednafen WonderSwan. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named mednafen_wswan_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it WS Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the WS Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run Mednafen WonderSwan and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named WS Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your WS Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

To enable sound
1.Touch the bottom screen to enter the emulator settings and press B one time to go to the main menu.
2.Go to settings on the main menu below Load Content.
3.Select Audio.
4.On Enable Audio press Right to set it on.
5.Press B twice to go back to the main menu.
6.Press A on Save New Config.
7.If your game was running load it again from the Load Content option.

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Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

FBA CPS-1 (RetroArch Capcom Play System 1 Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up FBA CPS-1 (RetroArch Capcom Play System 1 Emulator)

1.Click here to download FBA CPS-1. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named fb_alpha_cps1_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.
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Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
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1.You can place the roms (which on this emulator are.zip files) on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it CPS1 Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the CPS1 Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run FBA CPS-1 and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named CPS1 Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your CPS1 Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.​

Troubleshooting
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If your game never loads and on the bottom screen you this error:
RetroArch [INFO] :: Does not have samples for monitor refresh rate estimation. Requires to run for at least 4096 frames.
Than it's just that your game is not compatible.Hold the power button to turn off your 3ds and keep trying different roms untill you get some working. Try games that are not too big in size!
​

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Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

FBA CPS-2 (RetroArch Capcom Play System 2 Emulator)

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Spoiler: Setting up FBA CPS-2 (RetroArch Capcom Play System 2 Emulator)

1.Click here to download FBA CPS-2. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named fb_alpha_cps2_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.​

1.You can place the roms (which on this emulator are.zip files) on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it CPS2 Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the CPS2 Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run FBA CPS-2 and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named CPS2 Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your CPS2 Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.
​

Troubleshooting
​

If your game never loads and on the bottom screen you this error:
RetroArch [INFO] :: Does not have samples for monitor refresh rate estimation. Requires to run for at least 4096 frames.
Than it's just that your game is not compatible.Hold the power button to turn off your 3ds and keep trying different roms untill you get some working. Try games that are not too big in size!
​

​

Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

FBA Neo Geo (RetroArch Neo Geo Emulator)

​

Spoiler: Setting up FBA Neo Geo (RetroArch Neo Geo Emulator)

1.Click here to download FBA Neo Geo. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named fb_alpha_neo_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Downloading and Setting up the Bios
​

1.In your pc google for "neo geo bios" without quotes and click on the first page on the top of the results.
2.Scroll down until you find the Direct Download Links: section and below click on Download Neo-Geo (neogeo).
3.A new web page will load up. Scroll down again until you find the Direct Download: section and below click on Download Neo-Geo.
4.Wait for 10 seconds and the download will start. You'll get a file named neogeo.zip and that is the bios needed. You'll need to place it in the same directory where your Neo Geo Roms are located.​

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
​

1.You can place the roms (which on this emulator are.zip files) on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it Neo Geo Roms.
2.Place your Roms and the neogeo.zip Bios on the Neo Geo Roms Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run FBA Neo and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named Neo Geo Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your Neo Geo Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

Troubleshooting
​

If your game never loads and on the bottom screen you this error:
RetroArch [INFO] :: Does not have samples for monitor refresh rate estimation. Requires to run for at least 4096 frames.
Than it's just that your game is not compatible.Hold the power button to turn off your 3ds and keep trying different roms until you get some working. Try games that are not too big in size!

​

Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

QuickNES (NES Emulator)

​

Spoiler: Setting up QuickNES (NES Emulator)

1.Click here to download QuickNES. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named quicknes_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it Nes Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the Nes Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run QuickNES and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named Nes Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your Nes Roms.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

​

Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

CatSFC (SNES Emulator)

​

​

Spoiler: Setting up CatSFC (SNES Emulator)

1.Click here to download CatSFC. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named catsfc_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it Snes Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the Snes Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run CatSFC and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named Snes Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your Snes Roms.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

​

Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

Pcsx ReARMed (Playstation 1 Emulator)

​

Spoiler: Setting up Pcsx ReARMed (Playstation 1 Emulator)

Important:Most games run slow even on New 3ds
​

1.Click here to download Pcsx ReARMed. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named pcsx_rearmed_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Downloading and Setting up the Bios
​

1.In your pc google for "ps1 bios" without quotes and click on the first page on the top of the results.
2.You'll find the Bios Files: section. Scroll down and click on PS1 Bios SCPH 1001.
3.A download will start and you'll get a .zip file named PS1_Bios_SCPH1001.zip
4.Inside the PS1_Bios_SCPH1001.zip you'll find a SCPH1001.BIN file and that is the bios needed You'll need to place it in this directory: if you dont have them create the folders needed. SD:retroarch/cores/system/ and inside of the system folder extract and place the SCPH1001.BIN bios file.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing. The roms have to be on the following formats: .img .bin and .cue I recommend getting them from a really cool rom site.
​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it Ps1 Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the Ps1 Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run Pcsx ReARMed and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named Ps1 Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your Ps1 Roms.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.
​

Speed up tips!
​

1. If your gameplay is not as smooth as you want it to be you could try turning off VSync.
On the emulators startup screen choose Settings. Then Video and then scroll down and on VSync press Left or Right to turn off.
2. You could also get a speed improvement if you turn off Audio Sync.
On the emulators startup screen choose Settings. Then Audio and then scroll down and on Audio Sync Enable and press Left or Right to turn off.

​

Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

Picodrive (RetroArch Sega Genesis-Master System Emulator)

​

Spoiler: Picodrive (RetroArch Sega Genesis-Master System Emulator)

1.Click here to download Picodrive. Or you can download a new untested build here. For it's discussion thread click here.
2.Open the .rar file you just downloaded, extract the folder named picodrive_libretro and place it on the 3ds folder located on the root of your 3ds SD card.

Setting up the Roms

In this emulator Roms don't have to be in a specific folder for it to able to detect them. As soon as you load it from the Homebrew Launcher you can navigate through the folders you have on your 3ds SD card look for your Rom and press A to start playing.
​

1.You can place the roms on the root of the 3ds SD card but to be more organized I recommend creating a folder on the root of the SD card and name it Sega Roms.
2.Place your Roms on the Sega Roms folder.
3.Go to your 3ds Homebrew Launcher run Picodrive and press A on the Load Content option.Then press A on Select File and press A again in sdmc:/. You'll see the files of your 3ds SD root on the bottom screen and the folders including the one you created named Sega Roms.
4.Use the D-pad to navigate and press A to enter your Sega Roms folder.
5.You'll see your roms, select the one you want to play and press A, Wait a bit and your game should load up.

Touch the bottom screen to enter the settings.
Exit the emulator by selecting the Quit RetroArch option in the settings and then press START.

You now have installed some of the best Emulators available for the 3ds. Hope this guide was helpful.

Thanks to the awesome Developers and their teams that made all of this possible!!

My main language is not english but I hope you could all understand me. I'll be on the look for any typos I may have.

Thanks to
StapleButter and his team for BlargSnes
shinyquagsire23 and his team for CitrAGB
Drenn and Steveice10 for GameYob 3ds
Steveice10 again for FCEUMM3DS
endrift for mGBA
nop90 and hippy dave for Handy 3DS
seagal112 for Neopop
nop90 again for PokeMini 3DS
seagal112 again for 3DSSpectrum
Radius4, aliaspider, Twinaphex and all the LibRetro Team for Genesis Plus GX, Mednafen Virtual Boy, Mednafen WonderSwan and all of the RetroArch ports.
and smealum and his team for the Homebrew Launcher and all that he has done for the 3ds scene.​

 

[GiovyX96]

I don't remember if it was paused or the bottom screen wasn't from that emulator when I edited the pics but I also have 30 fps max with dynarec on my 9.0 new 3ds. I wish one day it runs at 60fps

Edit: it is from that emulator but it must have been paused or something when I took the screenshot.

Ah ok XD
Thanks

 

[Real_Redwolf]

You might also want to put PicoDrive which is a Genesis/Master System emulator. And it should be put in blue because it runs at full speed (or close to) on o3DS.

 

[RegularMoron]

I approve, Picodrive is the best Megadrive emulator.

 

[JJTapia19]

Sorry for the late reply. I wasn't getting notifications for some reason. Added Picodrive!

​

I'm still missing some other emulators but I'll add more soon.

​

 

[Jeremy Whiting]

What am I missing if every retroarch emulator shows "1.3.0 - No core" at the bottom when started? The "Help" menu dialog says to set the core with "Load Core" but I don't see that option anywhere either. I downloaded the retroarch daily build and extracted it all onto the sd card. Using oot3dhax with 10.3.0-28U firmware.

 

[VMM]

What's the best GBA emulator so far for 3DS/New 3DS?

 

[DragonspiritPT]

What am I missing if every retroarch emulator shows "1.3.0 - No core" at the bottom when started? The "Help" menu dialog says to set the core with "Load Core" but I don't see that option anywhere either. I downloaded the retroarch daily build and extracted it all onto the sd card. Using oot3dhax with 10.3.0-28U firmware.

Which console are you trying to emulate? For some, you need BIOS files. Also make sure you are copying both 3ds and retroarch folders to SD card.

What's the best GBA emulator so far for 3DS/New 3DS?

Gpsp and mGBA, try playing around these two.

On a side-note, I tried a NES emulator. FF3 runs at 250 fps, lol. Had to use v-sync and could even add a sharpening filter.
Bahamut Lagoon on the SNES runs around 30fps, not smooth. Will try other games.

 

[VMM]

Gpsp and mGBA, try playing around these two.

On a side-note, I tried a NES emulator. FF3 runs at 250 fps, lol. Had to use v-sync and could even add a sharpening filter.
Bahamut Lagoon on the SNES runs around 30fps, not smooth. Will try other games.

Tried Pokémon Firered on both, none worked fine, mGBA worked better but still has some lame slowdowns.
I tried tons of games, but even when it didn't show slowdowns, the audio never worked properly.

 

[DragonspiritPT]

Tried Pokémon Firered on both, none worked fine, mGBA worked better but still has some lame slowdowns.
I tried tons of games, but even when it didn't show slowdowns, the audio never worked properly.

I tried Pokemon Red, and just played the beginning. Runs higher than 50fps, almost hitting 60, but it has some issues. mGBA + N3DS. Make sure you are using the latest mGBA version. It's playable, but not perfect.
However, if you wanna play Pokemon, go for the GBC emulator, I tried Pokemon Crystal, is pretty flawless.

edit: Unsure about the gpsp, I really gtg now, I'll try to test it later

 

[VMM]

I tried Pokemon Red, and just played the beginning. Runs higher than 50fps, almost hitting 60, but it has some issues. mGBA + N3DS. Make sure you are using the latest mGBA version. It's playable, but not perfect.
However, if you wanna play Pokemon, go for the GBC emulator, I tried Pokemon Crystal, is pretty flawless.

edit: Unsure about the gpsp, I really gtg now, I'll try to test it later

I have a N3DS but it wasn't quite as I expected.
I expected a better GBA emulation since both GBA and 3DS use ARM architecture but it was a bit disappointing. It's even more dissapointing considering N3DS has twice the GPU processing power than 3DS. I guess I should wait, 3DS is still in it's early scene. I guess I was so impressed with blargSNES that I was expecting too much from GBA emulators. Let's wait, time will show what 3DS and New 3DS are capable of.

 

[DragonspiritPT]

Good news, gPsp runs Pokemon Firered at 80fps. And I don't think that the new 3ds has a better gpu, isn't it just the cpu that was enhanced?

 

[Kuresu]

Does anyone have any recommended settings for the following emulators from RetroArch:

PSX, SNES, NES, GBA?

EDIT: Also, my GBA emulators keep crashing, anyone know why?

mGBA just gets a white screen whenever i load a rom.

gpSP says it failed to load audio/video driver and crashes whenever i load a rom.

EDIT 2: GBA seems to have a faulty bios, i will continue to search for a valid one.

But if anyone has any recommended settings for said emulators, would still love to have them.

 

[abelxcane]

Does anyone have any recommended settings for the following emulators from RetroArch:

PSX, SNES, NES, GBA?

EDIT: Also, my GBA emulators keep crashing, anyone know why?

mGBA just gets a white screen whenever i load a rom.

gpSP says it failed to load audio/video driver and crashes whenever i load a rom.

EDIT 2: GBA seems to have a faulty bios, i will continue to search for a valid one.

But if anyone has any recommended settings for said emulators, would still love to have them.

It depends on which 3ds you have (O3ds or N3ds). Also most of the emulators work well at the stock settings retroarch uses.I'll tell you the ones I have used(FYI I run the emulators from the .cia).

O3ds: (NES) quicknes will give you pretty much full speed
(SNES) PocketSNES will give you 40-60 fps depending on the game with some dips to around 30. Alternative is Blargsnes which will give you 50 or higher fps but I found a lot of my games dont work with this one like Umihara Kawase
(GBA) gpSP will give you pretty much full speed.
(PSX) PCSX-ReARMed I had hardly attempted this one because of the very low fps

N3ds: (NES) FCEUmm will give you full speed
(SNES) CATSFC will give you full speed
(GBA) gpSP will give you full speed. I tried mgba some time ago and I noticed dips in the fps in some games but that might have changed with the new nightly builds
(PSX) PCSX-ReARMed Will give you near full speed depending on the game for instance I get 59 fps in Metal Slug X but I get roughly 29 fps in Pocket Fighter. So Its a bit of a experiment to see what works at what speed.

Now (GBA) gpSP Also needs a bios file Location retroarch/cores/system

• gba_bios.bin

(PSX) PCSX-ReARMed Also needs bios files Location retroarch/cores/system

• scph5500.bin (MD5 sum: 8dd7d5296a650fac7319bce665a6a53c)
• scph5501.bin (MD5 sum: 490f666e1afb15b7362b406ed1cea246)
• scph5502.bin (MD5 sum: 32736f17079d0b2b7024407c39bd3050)

Also it can help speed by disabling Audio/video sync (Settings>Audio>Audio Sync Enable OFF and setting sound resampler (Settings>Driver>Audio Resampler Driver to "Nearest". Also you can try disabling VSync (Settings>Video>VSync off) but I don't think it will help much.
If you need the bios I can send you mine as an attachment but not here as its not allowed. Sorry if I missed something as I wrote this in a rush.

 

[Kuresu]

Thank you for the in-depth reply


EDIT: Does anyone else have trouble with the latest builds crashing when trying to load content in RetroArch menu?

 

[leerz]

does a neogeo emu exist? i recall neods working pretty well on the DS

 

[TheToaster]

does a neogeo emu exist? i recall neods working pretty well on the DS

Yes, check the OP's post. There is a link to one.

 

[abelxcane]

Thank you for the in-depth reply


EDIT: Does anyone else have trouble with the latest builds crashing when trying to load content in RetroArch menu?

Your welcome and yeah the latest builds seem to have a problem so I would stick to the latest stable build or the latest nightly build that worked for you.

 

[LukEdge]

I tried out gpSP, runs great! ...except for some weird lines on the top of the screen, here's a video for reference:

Specially visible around 24~26 seconds.

Did I download a faulty BIOS? Set something up wrong?

 

[abelxcane]

I tried out gpSP, runs great! ...except for some weird lines on the top of the screen, here's a video for reference:

Specially visible around 24~26 seconds.

Did I download a faulty BIOS? Set something up wrong?

Are you using a stable release or a nightly?

 

[LukEdge]

Are you using a stable release or a nightly?

I tried both the latest nightly build at the time, tried again the latest nightly build today, and I tried the stable one too (http://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.3.1/nintendo/3ds/), but I got the same issues with every version. It's the only emulator where I have this happen, but it's also the one GBA emulator that works great for me in terms of frame rate and such. I'm installing the CIAs by the way. I also just downloaded another version of the DBZ Supersonic Warriors ROM, as well as tried out other ROMs, and they all show the same kind of problem.

Next I'll try converting older versions of the emulator to CIA to see if it works. For reference, when I open the retroarch menus it shows "1.3.1 - gpSP v0.91", and my System Settings on the emunand shows "Rei 10.6.0-31U".