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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.
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).
Creating VC injects
By using PC software such as 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, a creation page will be made.
Extracting VC games
Using GodMode9, you can extract the ROMs from VC games in raw format so they are usable in other emulators.
Feature overview by console
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 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 Snes9x instead.
Game Boy Advance
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, streaming, or 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 START or 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 START and pressing on the D-Pad in this menu will manage the screen's backlight.
- D-PAD UP and D-PAD DOWN will increase/decrease the brightness, respectively.
- D-PAD LEFT and D-PAD RIGHT will disable/enable power-saving mode, respectively.
Game Gear
Game Gear Virtual Console titles use a unique front-end compared to the other consoles in 3DS Virtual Console.
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.