Key Takeaways
1. Azahar is a new Nintendo 3DS emulator developed from Lime3DS source code after the shutdown of Yuzu and Citra due to legal issues with Nintendo.
2. The first release candidate of Azahar is available for testing on Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows, with plans for a stable release if no major issues are found in the first week.
3. A notable feature of Azahar is the “Disable Right Eye Rendering” hack, which improves performance by displaying graphics in monoscopic mode, beneficial for lower-powered devices.
4. To avoid legal problems, Azahar requires users to own a Nintendo 3DS to extract game files, using a tool called Artic, and does not support loading encrypted games.
5. Azahar developers emphasize legal use, encouraging users to back up their own original games and providing information on this in their blog.
Back when Yuzu, a well-known Nintendo 3DS emulator, shut its doors, Citra didn’t take long to follow suit, seemingly due to the legal actions Nintendo announced against the emulator’s creator. Shortly after, Azahar was introduced as a new Nintendo emulator that uses the source code from Lime3DS, which itself is based on Citra. Today, the developers of Azahar have shared the first release candidate for this new 3DS emulator.
New Release Candidate
The initial release candidate is a software version that the developers claim will lay the groundwork for future features. It’s being made available on Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows for testing purposes. If no major problems are uncovered within the first week of testing, it is likely to transition into the first stable release. You can grab it from the Azahar GitHub repository.
Great Hardware Choice
For 3DS emulation, something like the Lenovo Legion Go (currently $602.99 at Amazon) is a fantastic choice, especially when held vertically with the controllers disconnected.
The release candidate comes with a variety of intriguing features, one of which is a hack called “Disable Right Eye Rendering.” This forces the emulator to display graphics in monoscopic mode—meaning it only uses one eye—potentially giving a 50% performance increase. This will probably only be needed on lower-powered Android devices, but it’s a handy tool to have. Azahar also enables users to download games directly from the Nintendo eShop if they have the 3DS system files.
Avoiding Legal Issues
To prevent facing the same issues as Citra and Yuzu, Azahar mandates that users must have an actual Nintendo 3DS to extract game files, using a new tool called Artic. There’s no method to load encrypted games, meaning game files must be decrypted first before they can be used in the system. One reason encrypted game support was removed is that bypassing TPM and security protocols was a crucial part of the arguments in lawsuits against Yuzu and Citra.
However, Azahar does offer cryptographic keys to users, claiming that this is necessary for compatibility, and that these keys aren’t “creative enough to be protected by copyright law.” This simplifies things for users, as they won’t need to extract keys from their consoles.
Emphasis on Legal Use
The developers of Azahar maintain that their goal is not to promote piracy, and much of their communication stresses that users should only use the emulator to back up their own original games. More details on this are available in a recent blog post from Azahar regarding game loading.
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