How to Play Nintendo DS Emulator Games on Chromebook

A Chromebook is a laptop or tablet running on a Linux-based Chrome OS as its operating system. Originally it is a platform built around Google’s cloud apps, including Chrome, Gmail, etc.

Since the introduction of Chromebooks, they have been doing very well in the education market. Over time, the demand for these Chrome OS laptops has increased significantly. However, many users have raised the query about playing Nintendo DS Emulator Games on Chromebook. So without any further ado, let’s get started:

Also Read- How to Play Roblox on a Chromebook

Best Emulators to Play Nintendo DS Games on Chromebook

1. Super DNS Emulator

The Super DNS emulator is available for $2.99 on the Play Store, works fast, and comes with some unique features. Do not that the performance of this extension will depend heavily on your device’s specifications and processing power.

Now that we know how things work with the ChroNDS emulator. Let’s get started on how we can download the extension and play Nintendo DS games on it.

1. Download the Super DNS App from the Google Play Store on your Chromebook.
   
2. Once the application is installed, open it and grant permissions as required.
   
3. Now Navigate to the application’s homepage and click on Rescan to find all DS ROMs on your device. If it’s taking longer to load, select the File Browser option and then the games zip file on your device to open it.
   
4. The game will now open in a desktop layout. But as it’s an Android app, the game will be optimized to work with touch by default. You can use the touch controls if your Chromebook supports a touch screen.
   
5. To play the game using a keyboard, click on the Menu option in the top corner and select Settings.
   
6. Now follow the instructions on the screen and map your keyboard according to your requirements.
7. Once done, you can start the game and play your favorite Nintendo DS emulator games on your Chromebook.
   

2. Drastic DS Emulator

Drastic DS Emulator is another emulator for Chromebooks that can emulate popular 2004 handheld consoles with two screens. It is available for $4.99 on the Play Store. Additionally, it can enhance the graphics of the game two times their original resolution and customize the placement and size of screens.

Let’s know how to download the extension and start playing Nintendo DS games on it.

1. Download the Drastic DS Emulator from the Google Play Store.
   
2. Once the application is installed, open it and grant permissions as required.
   
3. Click on the Load new game button. A list of all the DS ROMs available in your storage will then be displayed. In the list select the game you want to play.
   
4. Click on Start Game on the next screen.
   
5. The game will now open in a desktop layout. But as it’s an Android app, the game will be optimized to work with touch by default. You can use the touch controls if your Chromebook supports a touch screen.
6. To play the game using your device’s keyboard click on the arrow icon at the bottom and select Menu.
   
7. Navigate to Options > External Controller > Map Control to map the keyboard controls.
   
8. Now click again on the arrow icon and select the Gamepad to disable on-screen controls.
   
9. You can now enjoy your favorite Nintendo DS emulator games on Chromebook.

3. melonDS

MelonDS is the best Nintendo DS emulator for your Chromebook if you want to get better FPS without spending any money. Being a Linux-based app its installation is quite lengthy. Here is how you can get started with melonDS:

1. Press Shift + Alt + Delete and click on the Gear icon to open Chrome OS Settings.
   
2. Navigate to Advanced > Developers and turn on the Linux development environment and follow the steps on the screen.
   
3. You will now find a Linux folder in your App drawer. Open the folder and click on Terminal.
4. Run the following commands one by one in the terminal to install Flatpak. Its installation is necessary to install melonDS on your Chromebook.

   sudo apt install flatpak
   flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

   

5. Now download and install the melonDS app.
   
6. Again run the following command in the terminal app for the installation procedure to complete.

   flatpak install flathub net.kuribo64.melonDS

7. Once the procedure is completed the melonDS app will be visible in the Linux apps folder.
   
8. You will now have to install NDS firmware to be able to run DS games.
   
9. Now relocate both the firmware and game ROM files into the Linux folder so that only Linux can access those files.
   
10. Now extract the downloaded firmware file using these commands in the terminal.

    sudo apt install p7zip-full 
    7z x NDS\ Firmware\ \&\ BIOs.7z

11. Once done open the melonDS application from the app drawer and select congif > Emu Settings.
    
12. Click on the browse button beside DS firmware and select the firmware.bin file. Then click on the browse button and select the files in the firmware folder.
    
13. Now select File > Open ROM and choose the game you previously moved to the Linux folder.
    
14. You can now start the game and play your favorite Nintendo DS emulator games on your Chromebook.

Wrapping Up

This was how you could play Nintendo DS emulator games on Chromebook. We hope that the steps mentioned above were able to help you. If you still have any issues, feel free to drop a comment below.