NooDS-Wii

[radicalten]

NooDS-Wii v1.5 is released. Source code and download are available.

NooDS-Wii v1.5 features:
Sound works for nds and gba
Settings menu: (B and +) or (B and START) Toggle DirectBoot, Frameskip, Enable audio
Support for Wiimote, GC, and Classic Controller

Notes:
This release contains two .dol files: NooDS-Wii-v1pt5-mute.dol and NooDS-Wiiv1pt5-sound.dol
Rename one of the .dol files to boot.dol depending on which version you would like to play.
Some games are not compatible with sound and must be started from mute.dol (game will crash or control will disconnect).
If starting from mute.dol most games will crash if sound is later toggled on.
When enabling sound: FPS Limiter ON, Audio Emulation ON, 16-bit Output ON

Art Credits:
Channel icon designed by Niuus based on Hydr8gon's NooDS logo.

 

[radicalten]

About:
NooDS-Wii is a port of Hydr8gon's NooDS emulator to the wii by radicalten.

Instructions:
NooDS-Wii requires original DS (Not DSi or 3ds) bios files:
Settings::bios9Path = "sd:/noods/bios/bios9.bin";
Settings::bios7Path = "sd:/noods/bios/bios7.bin";
Settings::firmwarePath = "sd:/noods/bios/firmware.bin";
Settings::gbaBiosPath = "sd:/noods/bios/gba_bios.bin";

The program starts in the sd:/noods/ folder and will search for these files in sd:/noods/bios/
You may store your roms in a preferred place such as sd:/noods/roms, sd:/noods/nds, or sd:/noods/gba

Current Progress:
DS games run at 3-15fps, GBA games at 10-35fps.
Wii remote, Gamecube controller, and Wii Classic controller are supported.

 

[Larsenv]

How well does it work? This came out of nowhere

 

[radicalten]

Thank you for your interest in the project. For DS games 6-15fps, for GBA games 20-35fps. In terms of game coverage, most games I tested work (it is likely that if it works on NooDS it should work on NooDS-Wii), but it is hard to know for sure without testing every game.

 

[P0intnCl1ckIt]

Thank you for your interest in the project. For DS games 6-15fps, for GBA games 20-35fps. In terms of game coverage, most games I tested work (it is likely that if it works on NooDS it should work on NooDS-Wii), but it is hard to know for sure without testing every game.

Thanks for this!!! Do you think DS performance could be improved via Wii U overclock forwarder? If I remember correctly, overclocking doesn't work for all apps.

Planning on dedicating some time this weekend to retesting games for NullDC4Wii and now this as well

 

[radicalten]

I don't know what the limitations of vWii overclock forwarding on WiiU are, but it is worth trying out. Please report your findings, I am interested in your results.

 

[P0intnCl1ckIt]

Here is a simple overclock forwarder, in case anyone wants to test.
Path: apps/NooDS/boot.dol

Based on very limited testing, it does improve the performance. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth goes from about 10fps in normal vWii to 15fps overclocked. Unfortunately I ran into 4 other games that crashed before landing on this one.

Also, it appears there is a version of NooDS for Wii U already, so overclocking may be redundant. Haven't tried the Wii U version though.

 

[niuus]

NooDS-Wii v1.1 is released. Source code and download are available.

No readme, no instructions, or proper folder, so I went in blind.

No support for the Wii U Pro Controller, but the Gamecube controller is.

Runs slow, but it does! Seems better than the now ancient DeSmume Wii. Does it use DS BIOS files alternatively, or is it not needed at all?

Ran Contra 4, Game & Watch Collection, New Super Mario Bros, Aliens Infestation.

Reset button doesn't return to Homebrew Channel, and I don't know if there's even a controller combo to go back to ROM selection or exit.

 

[radicalten]

Thank you for trying out the emulator, I appreciate the feedback. I have been focused on trying to find ways to speed up the core emulation, so I have not documented things outside of code. With a wii remote you can point and press A and that acts as the stylus. With the gamecube controller, you can use the c-stick as the stylus and click z. I don't own a Wii U pro controller, so I hadn't thought to add it yet. For Bios files, like the standard NooDS, it needs them or most games won't boot. As for the home menu and browsing combos, I initially had them in, but the code was not having the intended result, so I removed those from the v1.1 release for the time being.

I have edited the OP to reflect this information now.

 

[P0intnCl1ckIt]

Thank you for trying out the emulator, I appreciate the feedback. I have been focused on trying to find ways to speed up the core emulation, so I have not documented things outside of code. With a wii remote you can point and press A and that acts as the stylus. With the gamecube controller, you can use the c-stick as the stylus and click z. I don't own a Wii U pro controller, so I hadn't thought to add it yet. For Bios files, like the standard NooDS, it needs them or most games won't boot. As for the home menu and browsing combos, I initially had them in, but the code was not having the intended result, so I removed those from the v1.1 release for the time being.

I wasn't using Bios files when I was testing before, which probably would have prevented the crashes and improved the performance a bit. What folder should they go in? Does this share any of the same folders with the Wii U release? Wondering if there could be any conflicts with having both on the SD simultaneously

A couple more questions: Does this currently support booting games directly as a WiiFlow plugin? Do you think in the future the menu could be modified to be full screen?

Thanks again for your hard work!

 

[radicalten]

The bios files should be on the root of the SD (technically only bios7.bin is required). Note that the bios files should be from an original DS not from the future revisions (DSi or 3DS). I don't think there would be any issues with having both the WiiU and Wii versions simultaneously. (perhaps save data could be overwritten?)

Yes, in the future a proper full screen file browser can be implemented, I simply reused the debug menu as the file selection for now.

I don't know too much about WiiFlow plugins, perhaps another user could share their opinion on that.

Thanks for your questions.

 

[niuus]

I don't own a Wii U pro controller, so I hadn't thought to add it yet

When you add the Wii Classic Controller support, it should gain Wii U Pro Controller support, as per libogc compatibility.

The bios files should be on the root of the SD (technically only bios7.bin is required). Note that the bios files should be from an original DS not from the future revisions (DSi or 3DS). I don't think there would be any issues with having both the WiiU and Wii versions simultaneously. (perhaps save data could be overwritten?)

Yes, in the future a proper full screen file browser can be implemented, I simply reused the debug menu as the file selection for now.

Can you please make the files be read from inside the apps/noods folder? Dropping them in the root creates some clutter. You could also make it so it defaults browsing inside a noods folder:

root://noods/roms
root://noods/bios
root://noods/saves

 

[radicalten]

Thank you for your suggestions. I have added classic controller support as well as updated the starting directory to sd:/noods/, and search for the bios in sd:/noods/bios/ in NooDS-Wii v1.2

 

[niuus]

Thank you for your suggestions. I have added classic controller support as well as updated the starting directory to sd:/noods/, and search for the bios in sd:/noods/bios/ in NooDS-Wii v1.2

Super awesome, that makes it much easier to test. Wii U Pro Controller working perfect!

Should BIOS load before the game, as an indicative? Files are there, but DS boot animation didn't show.

 

[radicalten]

That is good to hear! I currently have directboot enabled so that it skips the DS Boot animation. I'm not exactly sure why the bios files are required myself, except that if they are not there, sometimes the games don't work.

 

[niuus]

That is good to hear! I currently have directboot enabled so that it skips the DS Boot animation. I'm not exactly sure why the bios files are required myself, except that if they are not there, sometimes the games don't work.

Oh, it's okey, then it is working as intended. I will test a few more DS games. I had two games that did not work previously, i'm guessing they will run now that the BIOS files are present.

BIOS files are almost always needed with emulated systems, as they have all the system calls the games expect from the console. Unless open source alternatives are already 100% complete mimicking it, they do not replace the full genuine BIOS.

 

[JorgeV]

NooDS-Wii v1.2 is released. Source code and download are available.

NooDS-Wii v1.2 adds classic controller support and now searches for bios files in sd:/noods/bios

The dream comes true

Post automatically merged: Jul 11, 2026

NooDS-Wii v1.2 is released. Source code and download are available.

NooDS-Wii v1.2 adds classic controller support and now searches for bios files in sd:/noods/bios

There's any compatibility list?

 

[niuus]

There's any compatibility list?

Emulator has been out for merely 3 days. Test the games you will play and report back.

 

[radicalten]

NooDS-Wii v1.4 has been released.

Updates since v1.2:
Sound has been added in nds mode (Audio quality is tied to framerate. Beware crackling sounds).
Both 2d and 3d engines have been modified, resulting in small (1-2fps) speedups.

 

[niuus]

NooDS-Wii v1.4 has been released.

Updates since v1.2:
Sound has been added in nds mode (Audio quality is tied to framerate. Beware crackling sounds).
Both 2d and 3d engines have been modified, resulting in small (1-2fps) speedups.

Here's a small contribution for your releases if you want to use it. Just rename the meta.txt to meta.xml and change the content to what you might want.

Logo is based on the official NooDS Google Play logo, which is the only one that I could find.

Quick question, you think adding a "mute" option would help with a little bit more FPS? Sound is crackling hard anyway, might as well optionally disable it in the meantime. An optional FPS counter would be nice too, to compare speed improvements between releases.