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The best Nintendo 3DS emulators for Android
June 20, 2025
The Nintendo 3DS is an excellent console. It houses some undisputed classics like Mario Kart 7, several Pokemon games, The World Ends With You, Bravely Default, the very underrated Etrian Odyssey series, and much more. As it turns out, it is possible to emulate the handheld on your Android phone. Citra is the top dog here, but you can also find other options in our best emulators for Android list. Every emulator on this list uses Citra in some form or another, so that’s your best bet. In fact, if you find another 3DS emulator that doesn’t use Citra, we might not recommend it as of this writing. In any case, here are the best Nintendo 3DS emulators for Android.
The best Nintendo 3DS emulators for Android
Citra Emulator
Price: Free
Citra has seen better days. After a Nintendo lawsuit that resulted in a $2.4 million, the developers shut down operations and are starting to shut down their websites, since March 2024. The app will stop receiving support. Luckily, you can still download it, and it continues to be among the best Nintendo 3DS emulators for Android.
It includes a high compatibility rate, support for built-in functions like the camera, and even some settings to improve your graphics. Of course, it also offers the usual stuff like save states, load states, external controller support, and more. It worked pretty well in our testing, and played any games we threw at it without much issue. There’s some quirkiness here and there, but it’s nothing to worry about. The only downside is that it doesn’t seem to work well with Exynos-powered phones.
There is an unofficial fork of Citra called Citra MMJ (GitHub). It may work better in some cases, and it will likely be supported for longer. It requires a third-party install, and we have a tutorial for installing third-party apps if you need help with it. That said, you can still get the official Citra, at least for now.
What we like:
- It’s an OG, and most other 3DS emulators are based on it.
- It’s free!
- Works very well most of the time.
What we don’t like:
- Not available from the Google Play Store.
- It is discontinued, so the developer will no longer support it.
- The sites are likely going down soon.
Lemuroid
Price: Free
Lemuroid is an all-in-one emulator. It supports dozens of consoles through the Libretro core library, including the Nintendo 3DS. It uses the Citra core, so it’s powered by the same underlying emulator as the Citra emulator above. Thus, it boasts similar game compatibility and functionality. The benefit of getting something like Lemuroid is the ability to emulate multiple game consoles within a single app. It’s also fairly easy to use once you get the hang of things.
What we like:
- It is still available from the Google Play Store.
- Powered by Citra.
- It has excellent compatibility, and it can emulate multiple consoles.
What we don’t like:
- UI may be a bit hard to understand at first.
RetroArch Plus
Price: Free
RetroArch works a lot like Lemuroid. It uses the Libretro core library to emulate a bunch of different consoles. It also uses the Citra core to emulate the Nintendo 3DS. RetroArch is every bit as powerful as Lemuroid but includes a fully customizable setup. That means the learning curve is much higher with RetroArch than it is with Lemuroid. However, in terms of pure functionality, you’ll get about the same performance out of 3DS games either way.
This version is made for devices running Android 8.0 or newer, which should include most of you by now. If you run an older software version, though, you can get the base RetroArch app.
What we like:
- Available straight from the Google Play Store.
- Supports multiple consoles.
- Fully customizable.
What we don’t like:
- Because it is more customizable, it is also harder to understand at first.
- Two versions are supporting different devices, which may make things confusing to many.
33DDSS Emulator
Price: Free (ad-supported)
33DDSS Emulator is another very popular Nintendo 3DS emulator. It works great, and hiccups are rare. It also offers wide device support and is available straight from the Google Play Store for free.
While this emulator offers a seamless experience, it is one of the few Nintendo 3DS emulators that has ads. People aren’t very fond of this.
What we like:
- It is free.
- It’s available straight from the Google Play Store.
- Simple and capable.
What we don’t like:
- It is supported by ads, and they can be pretty intrusive.
Azahar
Price: Free
Azahar Emulator was previously known as Lime3DS. It is a merge between LiMe3DS and PabloMK7’s Citra fork. This merger took place in late 2024. While the Lime 3DS did a great job improving upon Citra, the dead platform needed more expertise in order to better adapt software in the future. PabloMK7 had this experience.
It’s still a very simple and clean Nintendo 3DS emulator. It works well, and the minimalist design and minimalist UI keep things both fun and straightforward. The great news is you can get it straight from the Google Play Store.
What we like:
- This is a Citra fork.
- Smooth and simple to use.
What we don’t like:
- The merger may be confusing
If you’re looking to game on your computer, we also have a list of the best Nintendo 3DS emulators for PC and Mac.
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