Low-level 3DS emulator 3Beans released alongside setup tutorial video
When you talk about 3DS emulation, most people would jump to Citra. As the defacto choice since its first release it's seen tremendous success, and even after its abrupt discontinuation lives on in the various forks you can find online. Both Citra and its forks remain a fantastic choice for anybody wanting to jump into a 3DS game on their PC with as little effort as possible, but what about those who are after just that bit more? Let me introduce you to 3Beans.
Launched earlier this week, 3Beans separates itself from the pack by being a low-level 3DS emulator. What this means for you is that it doesn't just emulate the game you're trying to play, but the whole 3DS firmware too. This allows you to, on top of running games, install custom firmware, to make use of Luma3DS' various features, or even run userland homebrew right from the ever-nostalgic 3DS home menu. The sky is the limit, and it's a genuinely impressive effort. Setup is naturally a touch more complex than with other 3DS emulators, with 3Beans needing various firmware files to operate, as well as an SD card image. The creator Hydr8gon has fortunately included a setup guide with the announcement video that's easy enough to follow assuming you have a 3DS with custom firmware to hand.
Those interested in trying it out for themselves can find the latest automated build over on the project's GitHub releases page. 3Beans is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac, with each version requiring you to dump your own files from a 3DS system.
GitHub Page
