DS games in widescreen — with an optional phone touchscreen and controller. Enjoy DS games like never before.
WideMelon is a DS emulator built from melonDS that gives supported games a genuinely wider 3D view. It reveals more of the game world at the sides while keeping menus, sprites, videos, and the touchscreen at their original proportions.
For a more console-like setup, WideMelon can also send the bottom screen to your phone and use it as a touch controller. No separate mobile app is needed: scan the QR code and play from your phone's browser.
- True widescreen 3D views from native 4:3 through 32:9.
- Unstretched 2D interfaces, menus, sprites, videos, and touchscreen content.
- Optional phone bottom screen, touch input, and customizable DS controls.
- Render scales from 1× to 8×, fullscreen, and integer scaling.
- Recent-ROM home screen, save states, drag and drop, and familiar melonDS tools.
- Separate configuration and saves from a standard melonDS installation.
Download the latest build from the WideMelon Releases page.
| Platform | Download |
|---|---|
| Windows | Download the x64 .exe and open it. |
| macOS | Download the Apple Silicon or Intel .dmg, then drag WideMelon to Applications. |
| Linux | Install the Debian package, use the AppImage, or choose an AUR package below. |
Development builds from the newest commit are available from the Release workflow.
Download and install the current package:
VERSION=1.0.2
wget "https://github.com/pruefsumme/widemelon/releases/download/v${VERSION}/widemelon_${VERSION}-1_amd64.deb"
sudo apt install "./widemelon_${VERSION}-1_amd64.deb"WideMelon will appear in your application menu and can also be started with
widemelon.
The AppImage works on most x86_64 Linux distributions:
VERSION=1.0.2
wget "https://github.com/pruefsumme/widemelon/releases/download/v${VERSION}/WideMelon-${VERSION}-x86_64.AppImage"
chmod +x "WideMelon-${VERSION}-x86_64.AppImage"
./"WideMelon-${VERSION}-x86_64.AppImage"Choose one package. All three install the same widemelon command and desktop
entry, so they cannot be installed together.
Stable release, built locally:
yay -S widemelonStable release, prebuilt binary:
yay -S widemelon-binNewest development revision from main:
yay -S widemelon-git- Open WideMelon and choose your viewport, window resolution, and render scale.
- Open a legally obtained
.ndsROM with the folder button or File > Open ROM. - The next time you start WideMelon, double-click the game in Recent ROMs.
- For phone play, select the phone button and follow the pairing steps below.
You can also drag a ROM directly onto the WideMelon window. WideMelon does not include games, ROMs, commercial BIOS or firmware files, or saves.
WideMelon can move the physical bottom screen and DS controls to a phone while the wide top screen stays on your computer.
- Select the phone button on the home screen, or open Config > Phone screen & controller….
- Choose the private Wi-Fi or Ethernet address shared with your phone.
- Start the connection and scan the QR code with your phone.
- Use Edit controller layout… to move, resize, or customize the controls.
The bridge is off by default and requires session-only pairing. Keep the phone and computer on the same trusted, non-guest network. If the phone disconnects, the bottom screen automatically returns to the desktop window. The phone bridge does not stream audio.
See the phone setup and troubleshooting guide for firewall help, diagnostics, and network details.
A Nintendo DS screen is normally 256 × 192 pixels. WideMelon expands the 3D render target and adjusts the projection so compatible games reveal additional geometry on both sides. The original view remains centered and keeps the same scale; native 2D layers are composited over the middle without stretching.
Results depend on how each game draws its scene. Some games expose a great deal of additional world detail, while others may cull objects outside the original view. Menus, battles, videos, and special effects can remain 4:3 by design. The expanded profiles require the classic OpenGL renderer; native 4:3 remains available as the compatibility profile.
Caution
Compatibility note: Widescreen support is game-dependent. It may not work correctly or provide much benefit in every game, because results depend on how that game renders its 3D scene.
WideMelon is a C++17 and CMake project. The complete source, pinned dependencies, platform prerequisites, build commands, test workflow, and packaging notes are documented in BUILD.md.
On a supported Linux development system, the normal workflow is:
./scripts/build.sh
./widemelonWideMelon is based on melonDS and is maintained as an independent project. Thanks to the melonDS contributors and everyone testing WideMelon, reporting compatibility results, and improving the experience.
WideMelon is free software released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. Third-party components and their licenses are documented in THIRD_PARTY.md.