GB Enhanced+ vs melonDS

GB Enhanced+ is a free, open-source emulator for DMG, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Pokémon Mini systems, available on Windows, Linux and macOS. Nintendo DS emulation is described as experimental. The project focuses on emulating peripherals and less common hardware, with support listed for the Wave Scanner, Wantame Card Scanner, Vaus Controller and WorkBoy. It also supports link-cable emulation, real-time clock features, save states and controller input. Configuration options include joystick haptics, accelerometer input for motion controls and netplay settings for linking emulator instances. The emulator can automatically apply an IPS or UPS patch file when it shares a name with a ROM. PDF and ODT manuals cover operation, netplay, rumble support and motion controls. Building it requires SDL 2.0, OpenGL 3.3 or greater, a C++ compiler and CMake; Windows also requires GLEW. Qt for the GUI and SDL2_net for netplay are optional. It is licensed under GPLv2. Save states from version 1.9 and earlier are incompatible with version 1.10.

melonDS is a free, open-source emulator focused on Nintendo DS emulation, with builds listed for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its feature list includes a nearly complete CPU, video, and audio core, a JIT recompiler, an OpenGL renderer with 3D upscaling, joystick support, savestates, RTC, microphone, and lid controls. The project also lists DLDI support. Wi-Fi features include local multiplayer and online connectivity, but are a work in progress and may not work with all games. DSi emulation and GBA slot add-ons are also in progress. DS emulation requires configured BIOS and firmware files; DSi emulation additionally needs a DSi NAND image. melonDS uses raw save files and can import saves from DeSmuME, DraStic, or a flashcard, but does not support the special save memory type used by WarioWare DIY and Jam with the Band. Direct online connectivity requires libpcap or WinPcap, Ethernet, and administrator or superuser privileges; indirect mode does not require Ethernet or those privileges. The software renderer is more accurate but more CPU intensive, while OpenGL may be faster but less accurate.