Borked3DS vs Panda3DS
Borked3DS
borked3ds.github.io
Panda3DS
panda3ds.comSide by side
| Figure | Borked3DS | Panda3DS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Nintendo 3DS Emulators | 7.8 (#7) | 8.0 (#6) |
| Compatibility | The project says it works with Bravely Offline after renaming borked3ds.exe to citra-qt.exe and copying the bundle into the relevant Citra directory. | The emulator is a work in progress, not all games have been tested, and the compatibility list may not always be up to date. |
| Desktop frontends | Desktop releases include a Qt GUI frontend and an SDL command-line frontend, which can take command-line options. | PC builds include a minimal SDL frontend without a GUI and an experimental Qt 6 frontend with a user interface. |
| License | The repository identifies its license as GPL-2.0. | The emulator is licensed under GPLv3, while the website is under the MIT License. |
| Product | Borked3DS is an experimental Nintendo 3DS emulator based on Citra. | Panda3DS is an emulator for the Nintendo 3DS. |
| Purpose | Borked3DS is a Citra-derived project that continues Nintendo 3DS emulation development. | It lets fans play Nintendo 3DS games with enhancements and other features on computers and portable devices. |
Plans
In their own words
Borked3DS
Borked3DS is a free, open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator project derived from Citra. It offers builds for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, and the project describes Desktop and Android as having nearly the same applicable settings and functions, with Offset Time excepted. Desktop releases include a Qt graphical interface and an SDL command-line frontend that accepts options. Desktop versions also include Skylanders IR portal support for most compatible 3DS games. On Desktop and Android, users can adjust SPIR-V shader optimization, disable it, and enable validation or legalization; Android adds log-level selection and regex filtering. The Android APK supports 64-bit Android 9 or later on ARM or x86 hardware, with Vulkan 1.3 or later recommended. The unified Mac binary supports 64-bit x86 and ARM, with minimum macOS versions 13 and 14 respectively. Linux builds are 64-bit AppImages based on Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, and 24.04. The project warns that testing and support are limited, so bugs may persist; LLE audio may fail or crash on some Android hardware, where HLE audio is the suggested workaround.
Panda3DS
Panda3DS is a free, open-source emulator for Nintendo 3DS games on computers and portable devices. It supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, with Lua scripting, cheats, controller input, support for some system apps, and work-in-progress amiibo support. The project offers automatically updated nightly builds and manually updated stable builds released every few weeks. Desktop builds include an SDL frontend without a GUI and an experimental Qt frontend with a user interface. Panda3DS is still in early development: many games boot, while many do not, and graphics, audio, and usability features can be incomplete. Compatibility information may not always be up to date, and not all games have been tested. Android is also early in development, so compatibility and performance may differ from desktop. Audio support is experimental; the configuration menu is still being developed, and settings must be changed by editing config.toml in a text editor. The emulator is licensed under GPLv3.