Emulation is a popular way to recapture the gaming magic of a childhood youth with the need for expensive retro handhelds that have often become quite collectable. Regardless of the system, there is always one emulator or core that proves to be superior to its peers. For Nintendo DS that system is Drastic. Sadly Drastic’s developer has removed the emulator from the Google Play store.
As shared by the folks over at The Verge. Drastic developer Exophase has seemingly pulled the popular Nintendo DS emulator from the Google Play Store as it is no longer available to download.
While other Nintendo DS emulators exist such as MelonDS, Drastic is far and away the best DS emulator. It offers a multitude of features and crisp, accurate and reliable emulation. Not only is it a quality emulator, but it is also free and therefore very accessible for gamers who would like to experience some of the DS catalog but who might not have the means to purchase a working handheld with games. Historically Drastic has been a paid app, with a free version that had a smaller feature set. Last year it was made free for all users and Exophase announced that the code was going to be open-sourced. But as The Verge noted it has not been open sourced as yet.
Drastic is another in a long line of Nintendo emulators to be removed from Android. Nintendo has been on the warpath with emulators that target their systems. Yuzu, Citra, Skyline and Ryujinx are just a few of the emulators that Nintendo has recently put an end to. Yuzu, Skyline and Ryujinx were all Switch emulators so it makes sense that they would be targeted. Citra emulated 3DS. Nintendo also managed to get Dolphin taken off of Steam which was yet another blow to the emulation community.
Naturally, nothing ever really goes away on the internet and there are always ways to find copies of these emulators. However, Nintendo shutting down official sources means that these emulators often stop receiving updates and improvements. It also becomes harder to set up alternate devices with smaller communities behind them.
