Star growth

Today—

This week—

This month—

Repository activity

Activity history will appear here once this repo has been tracked for a couple of days.

Embed badge

Show this repository's current trending rank in your README.

Trending badge for ZallaxDev/pokeemerald-3Ds-dualscreen

Markdown for your README

[![Trending on Repoburst](https://www.repoburst.com/api/badge/ZallaxDev/pokeemerald-3Ds-dualscreen)](https://www.repoburst.com/repo/ZallaxDev/pokeemerald-3Ds-dualscreen)

README

Pokémon Emerald 3Ds Dual Screen

Rediscover Hoenn. Two screens. A new perspective.
A native Nintendo 3DS port with a touch interface and an optional voxel overworld.

Screenshots · Features · Getting started · Documentation · Community · Support the project

Pokémon Emerald 3Ds Dual Screen brings the adventure to Nintendo 3DS as native homebrew. The game runs on the top screen, while a dedicated touch interface on the bottom screen replaces the START menu. Enable the optional voxel overworld to explore supported areas from a new angle.

Screenshots

A look at the adventure across both screens.

View more screenshots · 9 more images

Features

	What to expect
Native 3DS homebrew	Runs directly on the console's ARM11 using libctru, Citro2D and Citro3D, without an emulator.
Two screens, one adventure	The game on top, with a dedicated touch interface below in place of the START menu.
Optional voxel overworld	Modelled buildings, trees, signposts and terrain relief, with adjustable camera angle and zoom.
Built from your own cartridge	The builder generates the game data locally from your own dump. No ROM content is distributed.

A new perspective on Hoenn

The voxel overworld is off by default. Open OPTION on the bottom screen and enable VOXEL 3D, then adjust 3D ANGLE and 3D ZOOM to set your camera.

3D mode is a work in progress. Only some buildings, trees, signposts and terrain relief are modelled today. Most of the map and nearly all interiors are still shown flat. More areas will be modelled as the project moves forward.

Getting started

What you need

A Nintendo 3DS / 2DS family console with custom firmware (Luma3DS) and the Homebrew Launcher.
A clean dump of your own Pokémon Emerald (USA, Europe) cartridge.
Your console's SD card, connected to your computer.

Supported ROM SHA-1:

f3ae088181bf583e55daf962a92bb46f4f1d07b7

Install on Windows

Download Emerald3DS-vX.Y.Z-Windows.zip from the latest release and extract the whole ZIP.
Run Emerald3DS-Builder.exe, choose your ROM and your SD card, press Install.
Make sure SD:/3ds/dspfirm.cdc is present for sound, put the SD card back in your console and launch Pokémon Emerald 3Ds Dual Screen from the Homebrew Launcher.

For the complete walkthrough, including sound setup and updates, see the installation guide.

The builder writes /3ds/emerald3ds/Emerald3DS.3dsx, Emerald3DS.smdh and emerald3ds.pak. The ROM is only read: it is not copied, uploaded or modified, and the builder needs no Internet connection.

Updating? Run the new release's builder again to generate a matching data pack. The game tells you if the pack does not match the release. Installing or updating does not overwrite your save.

Linux and macOS installation

Run the builder from source with Python 3.11+ and Pillow, using the payload/ folder from the matching release ZIP:

python -m emerald3ds_builder --payload /path/to/payload install --rom /path/to/rom.gba --sd /path/to/card

See the builder documentation for setup and additional commands.

About this repository

This repository contains no game content. It holds the port's own code, the tools that build it and the builder that turns your own cartridge dump into the game's data pack. Nothing derived from the ROM is distributed here or in the releases.

Component	Location	Role
Engine	pret/pokeemerald · `upstream.lock`	The Pokémon Emerald decompilation, pinned to a specific revision.
Port patches	`patches/pokeemerald/`	The port's changes to the upstream engine.
3DS backend	`3ds_port/`	ARM11 backend, GPU compositor, NDSP audio, touch UI and voxel overworld.
Data builder	`builder/`	Creates the data pack locally from the player's own supported ROM.

Building from source

python tools/bootstrap.py        # pinned upstream + patches + port -> build/upstream
python tools/bootstrap.py --make # also builds the 3DSX there

Start with the development guide for requirements, the development loop, loose data, data packs and host tests.

Documentation

Guide	What's inside
Install and update	Installation, sound setup and updating an existing installation.
Development	Build requirements, workflow and tests.
Architecture	How the engine and the 3DS backend fit together.
Asset pipeline	How game data is prepared for the port.
Releasing	Building and packaging a release.
Contributing	Guidelines for contributing to the project.
Changelog	Changes across releases.

Community

Join the Discord community to talk about the project and share your adventures in Hoenn. Follow @DustZallax on X for project updates and to stay in touch.

Support the project

If you're enjoying this new way to explore Hoenn, you can buy me a coffee on Ko-fi. It's an optional way to support my work on the project, and every coffee is appreciated. Thank you for being part of the adventure!

You can also support the project by starring the repository, sharing it or contributing.

Provenance and licences

Only original Pokémon Emerald 3Ds Dual Screen code, tools and documentation are licensed by this project (LICENSE-PORT.md). The decompilation, the game and third-party components keep their own terms; see NOTICE.md and docs/PROVENANCE.md. AI-assisted tooling was used during development: AI_DISCLOSURE.md.

Pokémon Emerald 3Ds Dual Screen is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures or The Pokémon Company. Pokémon and Pokémon Emerald are trademarks of their respective owners.