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No$GBA Vs. Desmume

No$gba Vs. Desmume

  • No$GBA

    Votes: 284 45.2%
  • Desmume

    Votes: 345 54.8%

  • Total voters
    629

ahovking

Scholar Trainer
5
Posts
11
Years
  • Age 30
  • Seen Jun 24, 2012
I Use No$GBA because it was the first Emulation that I found so I use No$GBA.
 

Nerketur

PokéScripter
104
Posts
13
Years
My favorite Emulator for DS games is No$GBA, and this is true for a number of reasons. I last used DeSmume a long time ago, and I really haven't kept up with it much. It does have more features out of the box, it does play games better, and it does have better compatibility. But... N0$GBA, which was last updated in 2008, can STILL polay games that were released before 2012. No updates and it can still play games made almost 4 years later. So It's more stable, it's small (filesize), and it's compact. Those are the main reasons I like it.

Pros:

  • Small filesize. It can fit on ANY computer even if (like me) your hard disk is dangerously close to full
  • Accurate - Yes, there are some glitches, the sound isn't perfect, but it was built to be a very accurate emulator (as far as what the creator had at the time.). This is why GBATEK is on nocash.emu! This is also why No$GBA has always been able to play commercial software. It's based on an actual DS. (I'm sure DeSemuME is too)
  • Minimalist - It has only what it needs to run games. (Savestates only work for GBA, and that's said in the instructions) This means yes, no Wifi, no true savestates, not a whole lot is there. If you want the advanced stuff, you need No$Zoomer. But even then, it's not a lot.
  • Fast - If your computer is better than a DS in specs, No$GBA will run just fine.
Cons:

  • Savestates - They don't work for DS games. I don't care about this, personally, as some say using them is cheating.
  • Minamalist - It isn't fancy, it won't do a lot of cool stuff.
  • Old - Although it can play most anything pre-2012, most current games still need patches to run.

Nothing else really matters in an Emulator for me. So, comparing both emulators by their ability to emulate, DeSemuME really only wins in three areas. WiFi, Sound, and Graphics. None of those matter in the long run. If you want those, just play it on a real DS. Other than those three areas, they're almost equal. DeSemuME is faster on capable hardware, but, eh. I don't have capable hardware.

Also, I have to reply to someone here.
~Some games have very limited functionality because of playability issues with this emulator's touch screen, which is due to the inability to resize the given window however you want to. So in other words playing The Legend of Zelda - Phantom Hourglass on the no$gba... is a royal pain in the butt.
In other words, playing it on a REAL DS is also a royal pain in the butt. Fun.
Conclusion:
Being the first fully-functional DS emulator, it has quite a long history. But as with real life history, all things come to pass their time of greatness. This emulator is simply past its time, and other emulators with teams that are still active are taking the lead roles. Nonetheless, it still runs most games, and the anti-piracy issues with certain ones are not that difficult to fix or compensate for. But it's a sinking ship with many holes in its bough and it won't be long before most of the new upcoming games won't be playable on it, because of compatibility issues still present and the fact that Nintendo is growing smarter as a company.
I agree with most points here. But that's only because No$GBA will only ever be able to Emulate DS games. Never 3DS games. And this year is when DS games stop being made. No$GBA will always be able to play any DS game you throw at it. It is not a sinking ship. It's simply a small little boat that will always putter along. That said, other Emulators are bigger and fancier boats, and yes, eventually might overshadow No$GBA. But it'll never die.
Explanation for my rating:
It is true that No$Gba has many variations as a program for improved functionality and compatibility, and it is also true that the emulation speed can be tampered with, which are the best features of this emulator, but these are the only two reasons that it sustained a rating above 0 points. There are simply too many difficulties, annoyances, compatibility issues, and complicated programming faults that create hindrances for this emulator. If anyone still thinks this is not a sinking ship I am sure that the inactive team that was supposed to be running this project would not mind if you made improvements to their latest version, which was released nearly a year ago, if I'm not mistaken (or longer than that if I'm wrong). If anyone could save this sinking ship, someone already would have, correct?

Wrong. That is because even if you save the ship (the emulator) all of the passengers (in this case, the people that run the project, their fans, and any form or law enforcement authority) will be enraged by the release and will do everything in their power to steal from you, discredit you, or plain and simply make you pay for building up using what they started with. In other words, it doesn't work if someone takes the work of a team that is out of contact and inactive and improves it, because then even if some people approve it, everyone who supported the original team will be against it and will do their best to hinder it.
This is just incorrect. On almost all points.

  • "There are simply too many difficulties, annoyances, compatibility issues, and complicated programming faults that create hindrances for this emulator."
No. It is true that there are a lot. But that is only because it's not being updated. No$GBA, as far as I know, was created and updated not by a team, but only one person. And I think the reason he stopped working on it, was he didn't have enough support to go on. Too many people "pirate" the 2.6a version because they "want to use No$Zoomer" He only asks for a 2$ donation, and you can download it. No support = no future updates.

  • "I am sure that the inactive team that was supposed to be running this project would not mind if you made improvements to their latest version, which was released nearly a year ago, if I'm not mistaken (or longer than that if I'm wrong)"
It was in 2008, so longer. And the supposed "team" is only a single person. Not only that, but he probably WOULD mind, as No$ was a good source of food and water monies when he still developed it. So, unless the "updater" was to give him all donations as to the updated project, I'm certain there would be legal issues.


As for the rest, I appreciate the fact you tried to look at them fairly, but I can see a lot of bias for the flashy, huge, and popular games.


I, for one, will always like No$GBA, because it gives me exactly what I want in an Emulator, without all the extra stuff. It matches the DS.
 

bctincher15

blue eye + brown eye =awesome
261
Posts
12
Years
  • Age 33
  • Seen Feb 18, 2013
Does either one allow WiFi??

Desmume kinda does, you need to set it up a certain way.
Just google "desmume wifi", without the quotes.
and a link to GBAtemp should be the first one, and it shows you how to set Desmume to work with WiFi.

Anyways, I prefer Desmume.
 
129
Posts
11
Years
  • Seen Nov 23, 2022
28
Posts
16
Years
  • Seen Aug 19, 2013
DeSmuME is better because 1) the latest version is completely free, 2) it has a built-in video recording utility whereas no$ does not, 3) it has phenomenal 3D rendering compared to no$, 4) it does not require too many system resources to run efficiently on high-end ROMS whereas no$ stutters, and 5) it can play Pokemon games without requiring an AR code.
 

Skitty1

Highlight my signature :)
171
Posts
12
Years
  • Seen Jul 20, 2012
DeSmuME > no$gba

DeSmuME - more updated better graphics, more support (without codes and stuff), and all around better emulation.

no$gba - old and outdated, requires codes to get some roms to work..., graphics suck ass, and to top off the poo smeared cake it needs another program to have an adjustable screen size -.-
 
28
Posts
16
Years
  • Seen Aug 19, 2013
i am using the Desmune 0.9.7 svn 3947


i am using a cable connected to my router , according to the guy who make this its a requirement
I had to set the Ip's and gateway and Dns manually ( gave it my ISP Dns)
Also on the tutorial there is a custom firware link for error 5200 i used the second one )
i use this tutorial http://forum.romulation.net/index.php?topic=54397.0

if you need evidence here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It5buaSpibg&feature=plcp

Do you know how to resolve connection error 52100 on 0.9.9 svn4300 x64?
 

SacredMurathJohn

ROM Hacking
41
Posts
11
Years
DESMUME's only disadvantage is having bad speed acceleration, but No$GBA has many bugs and crashes frequently.
I would say DESMUME.
 

ADLFM14

Legendary Spriter
42
Posts
11
Years
Desmume is better because it can show you tiles,maps,palettes and it's easier to use same like visual boy advance :D
 

Cerberus87

Mega Houndoom, baby!
1,639
Posts
11
Years
It must be frustrating for the Desmume devs to read that, despite all their efforts to develop a great emulator, there are still people who stick with dead software like No$GBA no matter what!

Desmume is heavier on the hardware, but a suitable PC isn't that expensive nowadays, and it outclasses No$GBA in every area. The fact you even need AR codes to play certain games in No$GBA is ludicrous to me... It's simply completely outdated nowadays. No$GBA was outclassed by VBA in the GBA scene, and only got attention because it was able to play DS games.

Desmume's only fault is that in HGSS there's a small bug which may crash the game if you played for too long without saving, but it's easily avoided. Other than that, it has almost all a DS emulator needs.
 

EPICwinner77

Glitch Trainer
7
Posts
11
Years
  • Seen Sep 3, 2012
I use Desmume for 2 reasons.
1.In Desmume you can actually play Pokemon games without the use of an AR code.
2. It's WAY too hard to save in NO$GBA. In Desmume all you have to do is press the save button.
 
18
Posts
11
Years
  • Seen Apr 10, 2013
No$GBA for windows Desmume for MAC and windows, No$GBA runs fastest on my laptop but Desmume is good for wifi battles :P
 
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