Citra Emulator Android

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Aureo Harvey

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Aug 3, 2024, 5:40:49 PM8/3/24

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Citra is a Nintendo 3DS emulator for Android that's capable of running tons of games from this console's catalog at full speed. This is the developer's first official public version after several forks or versions modified by third parties have popped up. It compiles some of the features implemented by the other versions and unifies them in a common project that, after several years of upgrades, has finally reached its prime.

The emulator can show both screens of the console in real time, or you can choose to see only one in full screen and assign a button to alternate between both. As for the controls, you can customize the touch buttons as you please, although your screen will most likely be filled with virtual controls. That said, Citra's official version supports external physical controllers.

Citra supports a large number of games from the Nintendo 3DS catalog, many of which have significantly better graphics than what you'd find on the original platform. Games like Pokmon Sun and Moon and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds look incredible. You can even add graphic modifications to add higher resolution textures.

Citra is quite possibly the best and most advanced Nintendo 3DS emulator available for Android. We're talking about an open-source project created altruistically that lets you enjoy your laptop games from the comfort of your Android smartphone.

The requirements for using Citra Emulator on Android are pretty basic. Almost any mid-range device with Android 7.0 or higher, plus a Snapdragon 750 processor or better, can play games without any trouble.

Dear Citra developer can you please downgrade the android version requirements to 8.1 both the canary and nightly since I have the phone version below 9 now I'm stuck using old version and I really wa...See more

Uptodown is a multi-platform app store specialized in Android. Our goal is to provide free and open access to a large catalog of apps without restrictions, while providing a legal distribution platform accessible from any browser, and also through its official native app.

If you are using an Android phone, then I recommend a telescopic controller like the GameSir X2. This USB-C controller will wrap around the phone and provide a more seamless experience than clipping a controller to your phone. This controller also has a power passthrough, so you can charge the phone while playing (sadly the USB-C passthrough does not support video out).

Another important aspect of retro gaming is to build your ROM library. Here is a general list of systems that can be played on Android. Those noted with an asterix cannot play every game at full speed, and so performance may vary. For PS2 and GameCube on lower-end Android devices, I recommend getting PAL region ROMs, because they cap out at 50Hz which will give you better performance than struggling to reach the standard 60Hz found in NTSC region ROMs. ROM files are copyrighted and will not be shared on this website.

Additionally, an important component of a ROM library is maintaining BIOS files. BIOS files are system files necessary for some emulators (GBA, Sega CD, or PS1/PS2), and are helpful in improving accuracy with other systems. These files are copyrighted so you are on your own to find them, but a quick search for a RetroArch bios pack should get you on your way. Note that PS2 BIOS files can be easily dumped from your PS2, or you will need to find them elsewhere. Here is more information about BIOS files.

When building your ROM library, another handy trick is to compress your files to save on storage space. This guide will walk you through how to compress many of the CD-based systems PlayStation, Sega CD, Saturn, 3DO, Dreamcast, Jaguar, and TurboGrafx-CD (PC Engine CD).

One other note to make: plugging the SD card directly into your PC to transfer files will give you much greater transfer speeds, about 4x the speed of USB file transfers. So I recommend removing the SD card and plugging it into your computer whenever you have a large batch of files to transfer; USB transfer works fine in a pinch for smaller transfers.

There is a staggering amount of frontend options available for Android devices. Here is a quick summary of some of the most popular options, and the pros and cons of each. Personally, I would recommend trying some of the free options like Daijisho, ATV Launcher, LaunchBox (trial version), DIG, and/or Pegasus, and see if one of those are a good fit for your play style before you shell out money on something you may or may not like.

Arc Browser is a paid ($8.50) app that is similar to DIG in its feel, and Reset Collection in its setup. It does have an active development community within Discord and a comprehensive website that can walk you through some of its customization options. You have a choice of classic and modern UI examples within the frontend, and the app seems particularly designed to be used with a controller, which is great for Android-based handheld consoles.

RetroArch is a kitchen-sink emulation program available on a variety of platforms, including Android. RetroArch can play dozens of emulated systems while standardizing options like hotkeys, controls, screen settings, and more. The platform is uniquely challenging to set up, and so for that reason I created a standalone RetroArch starter guide. So when setting it up, I recommend following the guide to get oriented.

Duckstation is a powerful PS1 emulator that is more accurate than the PCSX-ReARMed RetroArch core. There are also Duckstation and Swanstation RetroArch cores, which work well. The standalone Duckstation emulator requires more performance power than the RetroArch core, so depending on your device, you may want to use RetroArch instead. Some have reported that ePSXe runs better on lower-end Android devices, so if Duckstation is giving you a hard time, maybe try that one too. Duckstation is available in the Google Play Store for free.

Under App Settings, not a lot needs to be changed here. I recommend going to the Enhancements section and adjusting the Resolution Scale depending on how much you want to upscale your 3D graphics. For reference, 3x is 720p and 5x is 1080p. Also in App Settings > Enhancements, turn ON the PGXP Geometry Correction to reduce wobbly polygons; this may negatively affect performance so you may have to adjust as needed.

Recommended file types: Duckstation supports .bin/.cue, .iso, .img, .chd, .pbp, and .m3u file types. I recommend converting your bin/cue and iso files to .chd to save on file space, and using .m3u files or .pbp files for multi-disc games. You can learn how to do that by reading this guide.

This app is the best Nintendo 64 emulator available on Android, and is in active development. There is a free version as well as a paid version ($4) that removes ads, and also provides cloud saving and netplay features.

To improve the navigation experience, go into Settings > Input > Show in-game menu > When slide gesture is used. Now, you can swipe from the left side of the screen to bring up the Mupen64 side panel when in a game, to easily save your game, exit, etc.

The default emulation profile is Glide64-Accurate. In general this is the best profile to use. If you want to change it to a new default profile, go to Profiles > Select Profiles > Emulation profile and make the change. To change it per-game, tap on a game then select Settings > Emulation profile and adjust it there.

Yaba Sanshiro 2 is a standalone Sega Saturn emulator that is in active development. There is a Pro version ($5.60) which disables ads and prompts to upgrade. This app will provide the best emulation performance, but if you have a powerful enough system, you could also try the RetroArch Yabasanshiro core to take advantage of the integrated and streamlined settings available within RetroArch instead. Note that the standalone Yaba Sanshiro emulator does not work with most Android frontend apps, so in that regard RetroArch may be more ideal for your setup.

The navigation menu for Yaba Sanshiro 2 can be a little weird looking on some devices (like smartphones), so one quick fix is to go into Settings > Game Select Screen > Force Android TV Mode. That might look better on your device.

BIOS: If you want the original Saturn boot video sequence within the standalone emulator, you must place the BIOS file (saturn_bios.bin) in the yabause/bios folder on your internal storage (this folder will only appear once you have opened the app at least one time). You can achieve the same result with RetroArch by placing the BIOS file in the RetroArch system folder.