How to Play Nintendo DS Games on Linux with MelonDS – Easy Steps

The Nintendo DS was one of the most successful Nintendo handheld game consoles of all time. Unfortunately, in 2021 it is suspended. So if you want to enjoy your favorite Nintendo DS games, you will have to emulate them.

If you are a Linux user, the best way to emulate a Nintendo DS on Linux is with the MelonDS application. Here’s how to make it work.

Notice: AddictiveTips in no way endorses downloading ROMS from Nintendo DS games online. If you want to emulate your favorite games, use your legal games.

Installing MelonDS on Linux

The MelonDS emulator is excellent and on Linux it allows users to emulate DS and DSi games at their leisure. However, it does not come pre-installed on any Linux operating system, so we will have to go over how to configure it.

To install the MelonDS application on your system, open a terminal window. You can open a terminal window on the Linux desktop by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on the keyboard. Then, with the terminal window open, follow the instructions below.

Flatpak

By far the best way to get the Melon DS emulator to work on your Linux computer is to install it via Flatpak. Why? Flatpak is compatible with 99% of Linux operating systems and can also interface with the Gnome Software application, making things easy for users.

If you want Melon DS to work on your Linux computer like Flatpak, the first step is to install the Flatpak runtime. This runtime is a background helper in Linux, making package updates and installations easy.

In order for the Flatpak runtime to work on your computer, install the “flatpak” package using your Linux package manager. If you need help, follow our detailed guide on the subject.

Once you have configured the Flatpak runtime, the next step is to configure the app store on your system. In a terminal, use the remote flatpak-add command below to add Flathub app store.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Once the Flathub application store is set up on your Linux PC, you will be able to install the Melon DS application on your computer. Using the flatpak installation command then install the app.

flatpak install flathub net.kuribo64.melonDS

Snap package

If you can’t use the Flatpak app store, you will be able to make the MelonDS app work through the Ubuntu Snap store. Snapshots run on a wide variety of Linux operating systems, but only with the Snapd runtime configured.

To configure the Snapd runtime on your computer, install the “snapd” package on your computer. Then enable the “snapd.socket” file with Systemd on your computer. Finally, use the instant installation command to get the latest version of MelonDS up and running on your computer.

sudo snap install melonds

Arch Linux

The MelonDS application can be installed on Arch Linux through the Arch Linux user repository. If you want to install this application on your computer via AUR, start by configuring the “git” and “base-devel” packages on your computer.

sudo pacman -S git base-devel

After configuring the two packages, you will need to install the Trizen AUR helper tool. This application will make the installation of Melon DS much easier. Using the following commands, install Trizen.

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/trizen.git

cd trizen/

makepkg -sri

With the Trizen AUR wizard running, you can install the MelonDS program using the trizen -S command below.

trizen -S melonds

Play DS games with MelonDS

To play with MelonDS, you will need to add the BIOS firmware. You will need to add BIOS exported from your own Nintendo DS / DSi. For more information on how to dump your DS firmware, click here.

Once the firmware is downloaded with the MelonDS dumper, look for the “Config” button within MelonDS. Then select the “Config” button. From here, find the “DS Mode” section; here, add your firmware for the DS. You will need to add ARM9, ARM7, and DS firmware.

When you have added your DS firmware to MelonDS, click the “OK” button to close the settings. Then find the “File” button and click on it with your mouse to open the file menu. From here, click the “Open ROM” button with your mouse.

After selecting the “Open ROM” button, a pop-up window will appear. From here, find the ROM of your Nintendo DS. When you have found it, select it and MelonDS will open it.

Once the ROM is open in MelonDS, click on “Settings” in the emulator, followed by the “Input and Hotkeys” button. Then take a look at the controls. If you want to change the controls, click the boxes and assign new controls. When finished, click “OK”.

With the controls set up, you can play your Nintendo DS game. Enjoy!