3DS:Virtual Console: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:31, 9 May 2023

A Virtual Console (VC) is an official way that Nintendo has provided to play versions of older games on the 3DS. These VC games appear as individual icons on the HOME Menu.
Most of these VCs leverage Nintendo-made emulators, and some of them offer additional functionality like savestates, fast-forward, or perfect-pixel mode (playing at the game's original aspect ratio, with blur removed).

Creating VC injects

Using the software NSUI, you can 'inject' a legitimate rom from most consoles into a Virtual Console game. At current, see the linked page for more specific instructions on using NSUI. Later on, a creation page will be made.

Extracting VC games

Using GodMode9, you can extract the ROMs out of Virtual Console games in raw format so they are usable elsewhere.

This can be a simple process, but pay attention to the type of game you're extracting. You will need to convert NES games and repair SNES games manually.
This is because these types of ROMs are altered when made into VCs, and the alterations must be undone to make them usable in raw format.

Feature overview by console

Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance VC games run natively by leveraging the AGB_FIRM, software built into all models of the Nintendo 3DS that allows for native playback. The AGB_FIRM was only officially used as part of the initial Ambassador Program, but is compatible with all GBA games.

As they run natively, VC injects for these games do not have any extra features such as savestates or fast-forwarding.

As they are ran via native playback, all external programs will not work while playing a GBA VC game. This means remapping buttons, streaming, use of external controllers, etc. are not possible in this mode.

Pressing certain keycombos in these games will create unique effects, as follows:

Holding START while booting into the game will enable pixel-perfect mode until the next time you launch it.
If you press HOME but do not press A, holding START and pressing on the D-Pad in this menu will manage the screen's backlight.
- D-PAD UP and D-PAD DOWN increase/decrease brightness, respectively.
- D-PAD LEFT and D-PAD RIGHT disable/enable power-saving mode, respectively.

NES & Famicom Disk System / Game Boy / Game Boy Color

NES/GB/GBC VC games run via emulators that have identical UIs. They all allow the use of a single savestate and the ability to reset the game at any time.

These games are small enough to run at full speed on both old and new models.

Pressing certain keycombos in these games will create unique effects, as follows:

NES: While playing, pressing L+R+Y switches between players 1 and 2.
GB: While booting in, holding START will enable perfect-pixel mode. While playing, pressing L+R+Y switches the background tint between gray and green.
GBC: While booting in, holding START will enable perfect-pixel mode.

Super NES

SNES VC games use a modified front-end of the NES/GB/GBC emulators.

They allow the use of a single savestate, the ability to reset the game at any time, and the ability to activate or deactivate perfect-pixel mode at any time.

SNES VCs can only be used on New 3DS, as Nintendo's official SNES emulator is heavily unoptimized. If you have an old 3DS, see Snes9x instead.

Game Gear

No official VC games exist for this console, but they are common enough that they are listed here anyway.

Game Gear VC injects use a unique front-end that is most like a heavily expanded version of the SNES emulators.

They allow the use of a single savestate, turbo binds, the ability to reset the game at any time, the ability to remap buttons freely, and the ability to alter various graphical settings or the game's overall performance.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{shortcut|3DS:VC}}
 {{hatnote|1=This page refers to Virtual Console games in general, and does not differentiate between native playback and emulation. For information on emulators specifically, see[[3DS:Emulators|this page.]]}}
-{{Page WIP|notes=*The [[/Creation|creation]] subpage still needs to be created.}}
+{{Page WIP|notes=
+*The subpages for [[/Create|creation]], [[/Extract|extraction]], [[/Extract/Convert NES|NES conversion]], and [[/Extract/Repair SNES|SNES repair]] need to be created.
-A '''Virtual Console''' (VC) title is an official way Nintendo provided to play older games on the 3DS hardware. These Virtual Console games appear as individual icons on the HOME Menu.
+** SNES repair is an enormous pain. Handle that one last.
-<br>Most of these titles leverage off of Nintendo-made emulators, and some of them offer additional functionality like Savestates, Suspend Points, or Perfect-Pixel mode (playing at the game's original aspect ratio, with blur removed).
+}}
+A ''Virtual Console'' (VC) is an official way that Nintendo has provided to play versions of older games on the 3DS. These VC games appear as individual icons on the HOME Menu.
+<br>Most of these VCs leverage Nintendo-made emulators, and some of them offer additional functionality like savestates, fast-forward, or perfect-pixel mode (playing at the game's original aspect ratio, with blur removed).
 == Creating VC injects ==
-By using PC software such as [https://3ds.eiphax.tech/nsui New Super Ultimate Injector (NSUI)], you can "inject" a ROM file from select consoles into a Virtual Console title. At this moment, see the linked page for more specific instructions on using NSUI. Later on, [[/Creation|a creation page]] will be made.
+Using the software [https://3ds.eiphax.tech/nsui NSUI], you can 'inject' a legitimate rom from most consoles into a Virtual Console game. At current, see the linked page for more specific instructions on using NSUI. Later on, [[/Creation|a creation page]] will be made.
 == Extracting VC games ==
-Using [[3DS:GodMode9|GodMode9]], you can [[/Extraction|extract the ROMs from VC games]] in raw format so they are usable in other emulators.
+Using [[3DS:GodMode9|GodMode9]], you can [[/Extract|extract the ROMs out of Virtual Console games]] in raw format so they are usable elsewhere.
+This can be a simple process, but pay attention to the type of game you're extracting. You will need to [[/Extract/Convert NES|convert NES games]] and [[/Extract/Repair SNES|repair SNES games]] manually. <br>This is because these types of ROMs are altered when made into VCs, and the alterations must be undone to make them usable in raw format.
 == Feature overview by console ==
+=== Game Boy Advance ===
+{{hatnote|1=Main page: [[3DS:GBA games]]}}
+Game Boy Advance VC games run natively by leveraging the AGB_FIRM, software built into all models of the Nintendo 3DS that allows for native playback. The AGB_FIRM was only officially used as part of the initial Ambassador Program, but is compatible with all GBA games.
+As they run natively, VC injects for these games do not have any extra features such as savestates or fast-forwarding.
+As they are ran via native playback, all external programs will not work while playing a GBA VC game. This means remapping buttons, [[3DS:STREAM|streaming]], [[3DS:IR|use of external controllers]], etc. are not possible in this mode.
+Pressing certain keycombos in these games will create unique effects, as follows:
+* Holding {{B|START}} while booting into the game will enable pixel-perfect mode until the next time you launch it.
+* If you press HOME but do not press A, holding {{B|START}} and pressing on the D-Pad in this menu will manage the screen's backlight.
+** {{B|D-PAD UP}} and {{B|D-PAD DOWN}} increase/decrease brightness, respectively.
+** {{B|D-PAD LEFT}} and {{B|D-PAD RIGHT}} disable/enable power-saving mode, respectively.
 === NES & Famicom Disk System / Game Boy / Game Boy Color ===
@@ Line 33: / Line 51: @@
 They allow the use of a single savestate, the ability to reset the game at any time, and the ability to activate or deactivate perfect-pixel mode at any time.
-SNES Virtual Console titles can only be used on New 3DS, as Nintendo's official SNES emulator is heavily unoptimized. If you have an Old 3DS, see [[3DS:Emulators#Super NES|Snes9x]] instead.
+SNES VCs can only be used on New 3DS, as Nintendo's official SNES emulator is heavily unoptimized. If you have an old 3DS, see [[3DS:Emulators#Super NES|Snes9x]] instead.
-=== Game Boy Advance ===
-{{hatnote|1=Main page: [[3DS:GBA games]]}}
-Game Boy Advance Virtual Console titles run natively by leveraging the AGB_FIRM software thats built into all models of the Nintendo 3DS, this allows for native playback of most if not all GBA titles. The AGB_FIRM was only officially used as part of the initial Ambassador Program, but is compatible with all GBA games.
-As they run natively, Injections for these games do not have any extra features such as Savestates or Suspend Points. This also means that button remapping, [[3DS:STREAM|streaming]], or [[3DS:IR|use of external controllers]] are also not possible, due to AGB_FIRM being an internal native program, rendering all external 3DS programs unusable while its being used.
-Pressing certain keycombos in these games will create unique effects, as follows:
-* Holding {{B|START}} or {{B|SELECT}} while booting into the game will enable pixel-perfect mode until the next time you launch it.
-* If you press HOME but do not press A, holding {{B|START}} and pressing on the D-Pad in this menu will manage the screen's backlight.
-** {{B|D-PAD UP}} and {{B|D-PAD DOWN}} will increase/decrease the brightness, respectively.
-** {{B|D-PAD LEFT}} and {{B|D-PAD RIGHT}} will disable/enable power-saving mode, respectively.
 === Game Gear ===
+{{info|No official VC games exist for this console, but they are common enough that they are listed here anyway.}}
-Game Gear Virtual Console titles use a unique front-end compared to the other consoles in 3DS Virtual Console.
+Game Gear VC injects use a unique front-end that is most like a heavily expanded version of the SNES emulators.
-These VC titles allow the use of a Single Savestate, Turbo Binding, the ability to freely remap buttons, and the ability to alter various graphical settings or the game's overall performance.
+They allow the use of a single savestate, turbo binds, the ability to reset the game at any time, the ability to remap buttons freely, and the ability to alter various graphical settings or the game's overall performance.
-[[Category:Nintendo 3DS information]]