Citra – 3DS emulator How to play Nintendo 3DS games on android

As the years have passed by, the hardware on mobile phones has grown stronger, faster and quite capable of rendering heavy games! As someone who grew up playing the N64 and 3DS, I would be more than happy to replay my favourite 3DS games while travelling. In this guide, I will share how you can play Nintendo 3DS games on your Android devices using the Citra emulator.

Is it possible to play Nintendo 3DS games on your Android device?

With the evolving hardware of mobile phones emulating games from old consoles like the ‘3DS’ has become possible. Citra emulator allows users to play the Nintendo 3DS games on their Android devices. Citra emulator is more than capable of running your favourite titles from the iconic Nintendo console on your Android device.

Best way to play Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time on PC

Citra emulator minimum requirements for Android:

• Processor equal to or better than:
  • Qualcomm SNAPDRAGON – SD 625
  • EXYNOS – Octa – 7420/ Hexa – 7872
  • MediaTek – Helio P25r /Helio – X20
• Hardware Requirements: –
  • Android 6.1 or Higher
  • 64Bit Ram
  • 4 GB or above

Even though the minimum requirements of the emulator state that an SD 625 should be enough to run the game, it is highly advised that you go for a flagship device with silicone preferably as good as that of a Snapdragon 845. Hence why it is always recommended for Android gamers to go for an old flagship device instead of a new budget phone.

Citra Emulator for Android Installation Guide

The official version of the Citra emulator is listed on the Google Play store, the official version focuses on quality and visual experience which might work well for some people. However, if you are looking for complete emulation speed and performance then I highly recommend Citra MMJ here which is a fork version of the emulator, focusing on performance and emulation speed entirely You can choose either version as per your requirements.

• Install the Citra Emulator or the Citra MMJ.
• Save your games in (.CCI, CCIX,.3DS, or .3DSX) format on your Android device. Citra supports games only in these formats, you can dump those files to your phone using this guide.
• Open the Citra emulator.
• Click on the ‘Add to Library’ button then, find the games saved on your device in the Citra emulator and launch the game.

Citra best settings for the best performance

The following settings will speed up your Citra emulation on Android devices and allow you to play the game much better. These settings are highly recommended however, you are free to experiment as games and devices vary and may perform differently

• Go to the settings menu by clicking the settings icon at the top right of your screen.
• Enable ‘Use Dual Core’
• Leave screen layout to default
• Internal resolution depends from game to game and a lot on your device’s hardware. If the game emulates flawlessly on your device feel free to crank it up.
• Keep Accurate multiplication off as it slows down the game significantly.
• Leaving the rest of the settings at default is recommended.

Once you have the settings configured and games added to the library, click on the game title to launch it from the main menu.

Improving Citra’s performance on Android and taking it to a level further

Once you are in-game, click the back key on your Android device to bring up the Citra pause menu, under there navigate to the ‘Cheat Codes’ section, there you will find a list of compatible mods or cheats which vary from game to game. Make sure to enable the 60 FPS or the 30 FPS mod or any other that you like, to increase the speed and run the game at its full potential.

Some great Nintendo 3DS games you can play on Android phones.

The Citra emulator for Nintendo 3DS is highly optimised on Android and allows you to play a myriad of games without issues granted that you have a decent enough device. Here, we have listed titles that not only work well but also are some of the best games 3DS has given to us.

• The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D.
• The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask.
• Resident evil revelations
• Pokemon X and Y
• Mario Kart 7
• Spider man edge of time
• Super Mario 3D land
• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

3DS on your Android device and how it works

The Citra emulator is in a very stable condition and allows you to play your favourite 3DS titles on your Android devices. The titles are playable through touch screen controls with the 3DS layout which can be customised through the pause menu and the settings options as well. In addition to that you can connect a controller to your Android device via Bluetooth to get a better gaming experience.

Read our guide on how to play the Ocarina of Time 3D and Majoras Mask (3DS version) on Android devices using the Citra emulator.