Nintendo 3DS emulator adds HD support, makes portable games look spectacular

Super Mario 3D Land has never looked so good

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Citra, an in-development emulator that plays Nintendo 3DS games, recently added high-definition resolution support and the results are pretty amazing: Games like Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds look incredible in HD.

Nintendo 3DS games typically run at 400 by 240 resolution (and double that to render stereoscopic 3D images). Citra's creators released images of various 3DS games running at 1600 by 900 resolution on the emulator's website, showing off just how well some 3DS games scale up.

Here are a few highlights:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

Kirby Triple Deluxe

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Mario Kart 7

The Citra emulator supported playable Nintendo 3DS games in 2015, but development is far from over, its creators say. The developers are still working on audio and stability issues, but say that "2016 is quickly shaping up as a year filled with higher compatibility, greater stability and much more as Citra mature[s]."

Citra is an open-source emulator and supports Linux, Mac and Windows PC.