DSperate vs Pilas-melonDS

DSperate is a free, public-source Nintendo DS and DSi emulator for Linux on AArch64 and ARMhf. Its CPU emulation includes ARM946E-S and ARM7TDMI interpreters, plus ARM-to-AArch64 and ARM-to-ARMv7 recompilers. Graphics include complete 2D engines, a software 3D rasteriser and optional Vulkan GPU rendering. Experimental DSi support covers DSiWare, NAND boot, an SD card folder, microphone, Wi-Fi, PictoChat and Download Play, but the DSi DSP is not emulated and DSi-enhanced cartridges run as DS games in DSi mode. Local multiplayer and Download Play work over a LAN; internet access uses a user-mode TCP/IP stack. It has ten save-state slots and a hidden automatic slot, configurable screen layouts, cheats, and remappable keyboard and controller input with stylus support. Games can run with built-in FreeBIOS and generated firmware; user dumps allow firmware boot and exact timing. It loads .nds files and .zip files containing an .nds, but not zip64, 7z or rar. The project is licensed under GPLv3 and describes its implementation as clean-room work.

Pilas-melonDS is a free HTML5 and WebAssembly browser frontend for the melonDS Nintendo DS emulator. It opens.nds,.dsi, and.srl files, runs in DS mode by default, and offers experimental DSi mode. Controls include keyboard, Gamepad API, touch, and DS touchscreen input. Users can choose Canvas 2D, WebGL 2, or WebGPU rendering, with audio through WebAudio. Cartridge saves and browser save states use IndexedDB, with as many as six save-state slots per ROM. The frontend can install DSiWare.cia files into DSi NAND or virtual SD storage. Camera and microphone input for DSi require browser media permission and a localhost or HTTPS origin. Browser internet mode provides a compatibility shim for DHCP, DNS, ARP, and basic TCP/HTTP, but it cannot provide arbitrary raw UDP/TCP internet or decrypt HTTPS traffic within the browser sandbox. DSi menu boot requires legally dumped BIOS files and a writable NAND dump; normal DS direct boot can use the built-in FreeBIOS fallback. The project is licensed under MPL-2.0.