You now have two fresh options for Nintendo DS emulation

Nintendo DS emulation has come a long way. If you grew up gaming on the retro handheld, you already know just how unique it was thanks to its two screens (one with touch input), a stylus, and games designed to be played on both screens at once. This same uniqueness, however, also makes it especially tricky to recreate the Nintendo DS experience on modern devices. That’s where developer Sapphire Rhonodite comes in with updates for two Nintendo DS emulators.

The two projects, which are looking to fill the gap left by DraStic, are SeedlessDS and WatermelonDS (via RetroHandhelds). The former is based on DraStic r2.6.0.4a, while the latter is a fork of melonDS.

Both emulators focus on dual-screen gaming, so handhelds like the Anbernic RG DS and the AYN Thor are ideal pieces of hardware for trying out these updates.

WatermelonDS is the more ambitious of the two. According to its developers, it retains DraStic’s goal of providing “a powerful Nintendo DS emulator experience on Android, with modern Android features.”

The latest release is version 0.7.0, and it adds a new launcher icon and splash screen, complete with UI changes and a more consistent identity. It also improves the way the emulator’s ROM list and RetroAchievements interface are presented.

In addition to the fresh coat of paint, the update also begins experimenting with Vulkan FastPath to potentially improve performance in the future.

More information and download links for WatermelonDS can be found on its GitHub page.

The lighter alternative

SeedlessDS, on the other hand, is designed for lower-end devices. “The idea is simple: WatermelonDS is the main project. SeedlessDS is the smaller sibling for lower-power devices. It is the watermelon without the seeds,” explains Sapphire Rhonodite.

It’s best suited to devices like the Anbernic RG DS, offering a UI designed to match the WatermelonDS family, physical controller navigation, dual-screen device support, RetroAchievements integration, and a lot more.

What makes SeedlessDS special is that while maintaining its lightweight nature, it also offers modern features like a controller-first interface, save states, cheats, and even global and per-game settings.

Plus, there’s more to come. SeedlessDS’ roadmap includes improved compatibility, performance, controller support, dual-screen behavior, and, most importantly, a Linux version for compatible handheld devices such as the Anbernic RG35XX SP.

Once again, information and download links for SeedlessDS can be found on its GitHub page.