Nintendo DS emulator that runs on both non-jailbroken and jailbroken iOS devices arrives

NDS4iOS (TouchArcade 001)

Back in February, GBA4iOS 2.0 released with iOS 7 controller support and Dropbox integration, running fine on both non-jailbroken and jailbroken devices.

If you’re not a big fan of Game Boy Advanced, Game Boy Color and original Gameboy games, how about a similar iOS emulator that lets you play Nintendo DS titles, no jailbreak required whatsoever?

Enter NDS4iOS, now available to install through an over-the air download via the NDS4iOS website. This app has been available for ages, but not for non-jailbroken devices. Starting today, NDS4iOS supports both non-jailbroken and jailbroken iPhone and iPad devices, allowing you to play Nintendo DS ROMs though you’ll need to set your device’s date back to February 8, 2014 to install it properly…

Like GBA4iOS, NDS4iOS too supports iOS 7 controllers and features options for control pad style and position, an in-app web browser to download Nintendo DS games as ROMs and more.

Don’t forget you shouldn’t be using ROMs you haven’t purchased – stealing is bad for your karma. And if you have a Dropbox account, NDS4iOS lets you store game saves and load ROMs using the popular cloud storage service.

As per TouchArcade, NDS4iOS offers “a pretty good framerate” on your iPhone and iPad and you can interact directly with the touchscreen, just like a normal Nintendo DS. On the other hand – as some of you pointed out down in the comments – the app is bearable on the latest devices.

Apple’s strict rules put a whole bunch of annoying limitations on console emulators so the team has had bypassed the App Store entirely. Instead, you can download NDS4iOS free of charge by visiting the official website using Safari on your iOS device and hitting the download link.

Next, disable the ‘Set Automatically’ option in the app’s settings and manually set the date to February 8, 2014. This is important because otherwise the app may refuse to work. I wholeheartedly suggest reading the instructions on the website before installing.

Long story short, the trick relies on using an enterprise provisioning profile that companies normally use to distribute apps to employees internally. Apple has already revoked the profile, but backdating your device to February 8 should do the trick.

An iPhone or iPad running iOS 5.1.1 or later is required.