Best way to emulate NES/SNES/GBA on the go--DS or 3DS?

[cowgod]

I know emulation for SNES is a little dicey on the DS, but I can live without perfect accuracy. I just want some easy way to play retro games on the go.

I have been interested in getting a 3DS. Is it possible to emulate NES/SNES/GBA games on it still, or has Nintendo pretty well locked it down now a days?

I have an old DS Lite (original white one) still, but I hate having to bring all my GBA games with me everywhere. Is the Super DSTWO still the best option? Would there be any benefit to getting one of the slot 2 devices for GBA games?

Also, where can I buy this stuff with Paypal? Every site I see seems really shady and it doesn't look like ebay has any DS stuff.

[irixith]

SNES emulation on the DS will let you down, even with a DStwo. The 3DS is pretty much a no-go in this area as well. I'd recommend you look to get something like a GCW-Zero instead, aka a device that's been built with emulating classic systems on the go in mind.

The reason that a lot of the stores don't accept PayPal is that PayPal will lock down accounts of sellers trading in these "grey market goods". Ever since Nintendo won that judgement regarding flash carts, it's pretty much been alternative payment processors ever since. eBay also does not allow those products on its site.

[Tanooki]

I hate to say it but you're fairly screwed if you want those 3 things running on a DS, and 3DS isn't happening.

Your best bet is NON-nintendo hardware. With that I can think of two items, one the long standing ease of hacking a Sony PSP. Then there is this thing: http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Console- ... B00M58TVI2

I've seen that one recommended a few times, it'll run all sorts of stuff, whatever you can fit into a 32GB SDHC card into its slot. Amazon has a decent price, google in its pop up shopper junk to the side I saw something a bit lesser than that.

With Nintendo hardware though, your best bet and it's going backwards, is the GBA and just for NES, GB/GBC, PCE(CDs even), SMS/GG games and other old stuff as it's solid. When you want more demanding things, forget Nintendo handheld hardware.

[fastbilly1]

NES works great on my DSiXL, SNES and GBA are not usable.

[hobbes_182]

The PSP SNES emulator runs, some games get buggy though.

For example, the Mode 7 intro to Final Fantasy 3 craps out. I'm curious if other members have found a highly stable SNES emulator.

[Tanooki]

SNES9XEX+ but it's for android.

[cowgod]

I'd recommend you look to get something like a GCW-Zero instead, aka a device that's been built with emulating classic systems on the go in mind.

That looks really cool, but it seems like I have to wait quite a while before I can get my hands on one.

[cowgod]

Then there is this thing: http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Console- ... B00M58TVI2

That thing looks really awesome! Anyone here have experience with it? Can it run a nice front end for all games or are you stuck with Android apps that can only do one platform at a time? Something like xbmc that just lists out all games would be nice.

[joehero]

Another option is a psp. You can usually find them fairly cheap. I bought my last one off craigslist for $25. Upgrade the memory card to a 32g memory card off ebay for about $10 and download all the emulators and games you want (up to the 16 bit era). There are plenty of sites with tutorials for modding your psp and only takes minutes to complete.

[Exhuminator]

I tried a bunch of emulators on my DS not long ago. NES, GB, GBC, Genesis, and Master System all emulated highly decently. SNES was a joke though.

If you can deal with virtual buttons I recommend emulators on your smartphone. Everything I've tried on mine has emulated excellently.