Open source alternative to Folium
Last verified
Run Nintendo 3DS games on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android with this free GPL-3.0 emulator building on Citra's legacy.
Best for players with a physical 3DS game collection who want to continue playing titles on modern hardware with improvements over the original screen and controls. Supports higher resolutions and modern controllers for a more comfortable experience.
You primarily use an iPhone or iPad and prefer a simpler App Store install over a RetroArch setup.
Best for developers building homebrew 3DS applications who need a debugging environment that reflects real hardware behavior. Azahar is designed as a debugging hub for homebrew developers, making it useful beyond game playback.
You are developing for a different console or platform.
Best for researchers and archivists studying the 3DS ecosystem. The project is designed as a research and preservation platform, and the community compatibility list provides structured data on which titles run and how accurately.
Your work requires hardware-level accuracy that only original hardware or FPGA can provide.
3DS games exist in a library that Nintendo no longer supports through official channels. The hardware ages, and players who own physical game collections face limited options for continuing to enjoy those titles on modern Windows, macOS, Linux, or Android devices. Commercial options like Folium addressed only Apple users, while PC and Android users lacked an actively maintained free emulator. Homebrew developers building 3DS applications also needed a maintained debugging environment, and preservation researchers needed a stable research platform for the 3DS ecosystem. Azahar was started in March 2024 to build on Citra's codebase, add improvements over the original hardware, and give the 3DS community an actively maintained free emulator.
Runs as a standalone application on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. Linux users install from Flathub; Android from the Google Play Store or via APK. For iOS and tvOS, LibRetro cores are available through RetroArch, adding coverage beyond the standalone builds.
Renders games at higher resolutions than the original 3DS screen. Adds support for modern controllers, eliminating the need for 3DS-specific hardware. Provides save states, letting players save and restore progress at any point in a game.
Ships as a LibRetro core for RetroArch, extending 3DS emulation to iOS and tvOS in addition to the standalone apps. Users who already manage multiple emulators through RetroArch can add 3DS emulation without a separate standalone install.
Functions as a debugging environment for developers building homebrew 3DS applications. Provides an execution environment that aids in testing homebrew code, making Azahar useful beyond game playback for the 3DS development community.
Maintains a public compatibility list where players submit game compatibility reports after completing titles. This data makes the emulator's real-world capabilities visible and helps users know which games run reliably before they start.
Folium is a paid 3DS emulator for iPhone and iPad, available through the App Store as the first commercial 3DS emulation option for iOS. Azahar is free, GPL-3.0-licensed, and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and (via RetroArch) iOS and tvOS. For anyone on a platform other than iPhone or iPad, Azahar is the natural choice.
Folium is iOS and iPadOS only. Azahar covers Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS and tvOS via LibRetro cores in RetroArch. If you want to play 3DS games on a PC or Android device, Folium is not an option; Azahar covers all of these.
Folium is a paid App Store purchase. Azahar is free under the GPL-3.0 license, downloadable from GitHub Releases, Flathub, and the Google Play Store. For users who already own a physical 3DS game library, paying for emulator access on top is an avoidable cost.
Azahar is community-developed with 8,679 GitHub stars, 834 forks, and a public roadmap via GitHub milestones. It has a public compatibility list contributed to by the community. Folium is a commercial product with an App Store release model.
Folium is the right pick for iPhone or iPad users who want 3DS emulation installed directly from the App Store without configuring RetroArch. It offers a native iOS experience with no additional setup.
For Windows, macOS, Linux, or Android users, Azahar is the clear pick: free, open-source, and actively maintained. iOS users can use Azahar via RetroArch at no cost, or use Folium for a simpler App Store install. If you are playing on any platform other than iPhone or iPad, Azahar is the better-supported, more broadly available option.
Install Azahar on Linux from Flathub, or download installers for Windows, macOS, and Android from GitHub Releases.
```bash
flatpak install flathub org.azahar_emu.Azahar
```
Download the Windows installer, macOS universal build, or Android APK: https://github.com/azahar-emu/azahar/releases/latestAzahar is an open-source 3DS emulator project based on Citra. The project describes itself as continuing Citra's legacy, maintaining its codebase and adding new improvements. Azahar is not Citra under a different name; it is an independently developed continuation with its own community, public roadmap, and release cycle.
Azahar runs as a standalone application on Windows (10 or later, 64-bit), macOS (13.4 or later), Linux (modern 64-bit), and Android (10 or later, 64-bit). For iOS and tvOS, it is available as a LibRetro core through RetroArch. Android users can install from the Google Play Store; Linux users can install from Flathub.
Desktop requires Windows 10 (64-bit), macOS 13.4 (Ventura), or modern 64-bit Linux; a CPU with single-core Passmark above 1,800 (SSE4.2 required on x86_64); OpenGL 4.3 or Vulkan 1.1; and 2GB RAM (4GB recommended). ARM64 is supported on desktop; Windows on ARM is not. Android requires Android 10 (64-bit), a Snapdragon 835 SoC or better, OpenGL ES 3.2 or Vulkan 1.1, and 2GB RAM (4GB recommended).
No. Azahar is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo. It is a community-developed open-source project that emulates 3DS hardware. The project operates independently under the GPL-3.0 license with no commercial or official relationship with Nintendo.
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