What’s the best hardware to emulate DS, 3DS, and Wii U games?

Emulating dual screen systems has traditionally been a bit difficult due to the limited amount of dual screen hardware on the market. Worst yet, many of the best dual screen devices (like the Surface Duo) haven’t been successful outside niche tech nerd audiences. That’s why, in this video, I highlight some of the best portable hardware options currently available. (With any hope, this video’s list will become outdated sooner rather than later.)

As stated in the video check out the various links below for more info on specific systems. Much of the gameplay footage featured in this video was taken from those previous videos.

Android

Linux and Windows

Connection materials to mount a display to a handheld

Disclaimer

Purchasing anything through the Amazon or Mechanism links may earn the channel a small commission. Nonetheless, everything recommended are materials that I have used for videos or else use during my personal time.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro
01:18 A much-needed caveat
04:33 Android devices (DS and 3DS)
09:15 Android devices: A note about folding screens
10:34 Linux and Windows devices (Wii U)
15:09 Summary
16:41 Outro

[Perryprime]

Touchscreens cant beat physical buttons

[Able]

You definitely deserve many more views and subscribers. You clearly put a lot of thought into these videos. Thanks for the great content 😁👍

[meropolis]

I do enjoy your content. You're generally well informed about video subject matters. It's a good listen while I work 🤘

[DynoMikeGaming]

dude I love your videos and passion for this hobby. Seriously.

[BuzzFish]

I’ve been getting into this scene lately, I got siblings who are 12 and 15yrs apart from me. They are iPad kids and it’s not even really their fault, so to combat this I bought them all a 3ds to replace the iPads. I went in and modded them, put a bunch of games on there and even pretendo for live service. It’s been so fun getting to see them enjoy the same games I was back in 2011. For anyone with a capable desktop already I would recommend getting the new 3ds xl and streaming the emulators from your pc. I’ve looked into it and the ones out are very good with low latency, hopefully that saves you a few bucks. Also thanks for this great video!

[olevet]

bro just went those crazy extra miles with insanely thorough testing and options, kudos to ya sir

[Evercade_Effect]

I enjoy your passion for the DS/3DS consoles, and I like all the options from the least to the most expensive, with all the pros and cons. 😀

[chimerastar]

absolutely love this video. deserves much more attention

[PsoBloke]

You can really tell you use \ have tried all the options featured which really adds to the videos content. Love it!

[eddyhg]

Great video man, finally someone who goes this deep with this stuff ahah

[stanleymikkosantiago]

I still used my lg v50s with dualscreen case (snapdragon 855) using saitake controller. Still my best for emulating 3ds and other old games.

[panduino]

I got a Samsung Z Fold 4 a few months back, easily my favorite for DS emulation! Having the folding screen adds an easy way to split the display

[saqqawattuhb]

Love this guy, he's passionate about this stuff.

[MediumQuality]

Great video. I appreciate your well reasoned comments about considering whether or not someone should spend a bunch of money just to get the *perfect* dual screen gaming experience.

For me, the best solution has been to have vertical monitor as secondary display on my desktop PC. I also really like connecting a pair of AR glasses to my Steam Deck. I don't have to contend with big black borders when I just have a giant display magically floating in front of me.

[Nodm]

Been really wanting to this for a while now

[johnsducks]

A lot of these are cool in their own ways, seeing that fold phone 3ds emulation really makes me want one, though the New 3ds non-xl model will always be my favorite, just cannot beat that ds lite level pocketability

[dminant]

I love my Duo 2 paired with a GameSir G8. I got really lucky to find one a few months back for $300 locally, it has a crack on the outer casing on just one side, but it’s masked and held together really well with a leather skin. I use it for everything from NES-GC, PS2, DS and 3DS. Essentially all 4:3 gaming libraries with the exception of original Xbox. I could sell all of my handhelds, including my Deck OLED and I’d be happy with just the Duo 2.

[fancy]

I love my DSL, DSi, 3DS and New 3DS LL. That probably reflects my love for duo screen handhelds but so far none of the options on the market really bring back the childhood memory😢

[StopChangingUsernamesYouTube]

I've found my favorite solution so far for non-3DS dual screen stuff is probably one of the hackiest options: 5-7" screens aren't hard to find being sold as portable monitors.

I have a 7" 1080p touchscreen display that I can clip to the top of my Steam Deck with a 3d-printed mount and connect with a short type C cable. I don't really use the touch input on it, but it's not too tough to set that up with "xinput --map_to_output 'device_name' " in console if you want touch input on both screens. It'd be a bit beyond the scope of a mobile YouTube comment to go into the weeds, but the Arch Linux wiki can get you going in the right direction for that.

Anyway, it's proven pretty fantastic for DS games. I don't really use it for Wii U games, since the default approach of just swapping screens usually works well for me. It does cut down battery life a bit to drive both screens, but I doubt it'd be that tough to get a power input connected through some adapter spaghetti.

[johnsducks]

Wow I never would have thought to just slap a phone or tablet on top of the steam deck for this, actually a great idea