Azahar (emulator)
Nintendo 3DS emulator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Azahar is a free and open-source game console emulator of the Nintendo 3DS handheld system for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. Azahar was created as a community-driven continuation of Nintendo 3DS emulation development following the discontinuation of the Citra emulator.[3] The name Azahar is derived from the Spanish word for "orange blossom", continuing the citrus themed naming established by the previous emulator’s name and logo.[4]
| Azahar | |
|---|---|
| |
 Azahar Emulator about dialog | |
| Original author | Citra team |
| Developer | Azahar Emulator team |
| Release | 22 March 2025 |
| Stable release | 2125.0
/ 27 March 2026 |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android[1] |
| Platform | |
| Type | Video game console emulator |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later[2] |
| Website | azahar-emu |
| Repository | github |
Development
The creation of Azahar followed legal action taken by Nintendo against Tropic Haze LLC., the parent company responsible for the development of the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu and the Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra, which in March 2024 resulted in a settlement and the termination of official development and support for both projects.[5][6] In the months that followed, several independent forks of Citra emerged as members of the emulation community sought to continue Nintendo 3DS emulation development.[7][8] In late 2024, two of them (Lime3DS and a fork maintained by a former Citra developer) announced the merge of their codebases and development efforts under a new project named Azahar.[9][10] The first public releases of Azahar were made available in early 2025.[11][12]
The emulator was released incorporating changes developed in its predecessor forks, including user interface and user experience improvements from Lime3DS, as well as additional functionality originating from the fork maintained by the former Citra developer, such as Artic Base, a homebrew tool designed to enable access to software libraries hosted on original Nintendo 3DS systems.[3] The initial release also introduced additional changes, including the removal of support for encrypted ROM files.[13] The development team stated that this decision was intended to reduce concerns related to the circumvention of technological protection measures, an issue raised during the legal proceedings involving Yuzu.[14] The release also added support for re-downloading previously purchased software from the Nintendo 3DS digital storefront, the Nintendo eShop.[14]
Development of Azahar continued during 2025 and early 2026, with the inclusion of compressed ROM support,[15] dual screen capabilities on Android[16][17] and other general improvements.[18]
| Requirement | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Computer | ||
| Operating system |
| |
| CPU | x86-64 CPU with SSE4.2 support | Single-core performance > 1,800 on Passmark |
| Memory | 2 GB | |
| Graphics hardware | ||
| Android | ||
| Operating system | Android 10 (64-bit) | |
| CPU | AArch64 | Snapdragon 835 or better |
| Memory | 2 GB | |
| Graphics hardware |
| |
Reception
Time Extension noted the emulator's ability to cache shaders on game load, resulting in higher performance and decreased frame rate stutters compared to other emulators.[19] Android Authority called Azahar "the best way to play Nintendo 3DS games on Android".[20] Retro Dodo called the emulator "one of the best on the market".[21]