SeedlessDS Showcase: A New Low-End Nintendo DS Emulator Project

Hi everyone!

I want to share a new showcase of something I have been working on recently (6 months).

This project is called SeedlessDS.

SeedlessDS is an experimental Nintendo DS emulator project focused on low-end Android handhelds, especially devices where running melonDS can be too heavy for the available hardware.

One example is the RGDS, which has limited chipset performance for melonDS in many situations. Because of that, I started experimenting with a different approach.

What is SeedlessDS?

SeedlessDS is based on a recompilation and reimplementation effort around the DraStic emulator.

I have been working with reverse engineering tools such as Ghidra and reimplementing several parts of the emulator, which gives me much more control than what was originally possible with the old DraStic Android app.

This allows me to customize and extend the emulator in ways that were not available before.

One of the first major features I have been able to add is:

RetroAchievements support.

For now, RetroAchievements support is still limited to casual mode, but it is already working, and I will be showing it in the showcase video.

Why SeedlessDS?

The name comes from the idea of keeping it connected to my melonDS Android fork, WatermelonDS.

WatermelonDS is still my main Nintendo DS emulator project.

SeedlessDS is like the same idea, but without the melon seeds.

It is still part of the same family conceptually, but it uses a different core approach focused on lower-end devices.

So the idea is:

• WatermelonDS: My melonDS-based project, more accurate and future-focused.

• SeedlessDS: A lightweight alternative using the DraStic core approach, designed for low-end handhelds.

The name is also a reminder of what this project is meant to be:

A smaller, lighter option for devices that cannot run WatermelonDS well yet.

This does not replace WatermelonDS

I want to be very clear about this.

SeedlessDS does not mean I am stopping work on WatermelonDS.

Actually, it is the opposite.

I will continue improving and maturing WatermelonDS, and I still hope that one day it can fully replace the need for SeedlessDS, even on lower-end devices.

But right now, for devices like the RGDS, SeedlessDS is currently the best practical option I have for enjoying Nintendo DS games with good performance and RetroAchievements support.

What I will show in the video

This post is a showcase.

I will be showing:

• SeedlessDS running on Android

• Some Nintendo DS games running at full speed

• RetroAchievements working in casual mode

• How the emulator behaves on low-end hardware

• Why this approach is useful for devices like the RGDS

• Some of the customization made possible by the reimplementation work

This is still early, but it is already very exciting to see it running well.

Current status

Right now, SeedlessDS is still experimental.

RetroAchievements support is working in casual mode, and performance is already very promising on low-end hardware.

There is still a lot to test, improve, and clean up, but the current progress is good enough that I wanted to show it publicly and explain what the project is about.

What comes next

For now, I want to keep testing more games, improving compatibility, and polishing the RetroAchievements integration.

And of course, a Patrons-only test build is coming soon!

Thank you

Thank you so much for supporting my work.

Projects like this take a lot of experimentation, debugging, reverse engineering, and testing across different devices.

WatermelonDS will continue to grow.

SeedlessDS is here to help the lower-end devices today.

- Sapphire 💙