R4 3DS .org

Today we're going to cover some more classic emulation.  And specifically the A2DS, which is an Apple ][ emulator for the Nintendo DS, DSi, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 2DS systems.

The Apple II computer (which actually was labelled the Apple ][) was one of the most popular computers back in the era of 8-bit computer systems.  It was, in reality, one of the very first truly successful personal / mass-produced computers.  Prior to the Apple II, most computers were kits for hobbyists and not something that could be found in every day households around the world.  It was easy to use, required absolutely NO assembly and with a little learning, it could be used by the every man of the day.

It was released back in 1977 and stayed essentially unchanged until production of the Apple II stopped back in 1993.  It had a huge presence in education in the USA and with the release of popular software like VisiCalc and the countless games, it because very popular with both business users as well as families looking to enter in to the computer age.

It was also a super easy to upgrade computer.  It looked more like an appliance, rather than a piece of electronics.  The lid popped off easily (and without the need for even basic tools) to allow access to the expansion ports.   It also sported and had a large, vast and varied collection of some truly amazing games for their time.  

Today, with the help of cards like the R4 3DS, we're able to play some great freeware and homebrew games made for the DS, DSi and 3DS.  But the other side of homebrew are emulators.  If you don't know what emulators are, they're apps, but apps designed to allow gamers to play classic games for old school computers and video game systems, just as if they were being played on the original hardware.

A2DS, which is a short form for Apple 2 DS, brings all of the great, weird and wacky 8-bit games and makes them all portable for your gaming pleasure.  WIth the help of the Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL and even the Nintendo 2DS systems, you're able to play some innovative games that have defined many of the genres of games today, albeit with low res graphics.

A2DS allows you to run most of the games that were available for the Apple II.  Though not every single game runs at 100% glitch free, but a good two thirds of the games out there do, expanding your gaming library by several thousand games that were created for this amazing system.  We have some of our own favourites, which we'll cover in brief below.

Just because these games are old and graphically inferior to todays HIDEF 3D filled games, doesn't make them bad games… in fact, many of these games helped create entire genres, or gameplay styles that are still very much in use today.

And what article on emulation would be complete without some suggestions on which games you should play.  After all, we realize not all of our visitors grew up in the days of 8-bit computing, so some of you may be hard pressed to think back to some must have games for these old systems.  Here are some of our favourites, in no particular order.

Karateka: A game released way back in 1984.  It was a huge success and was well received by both the gaming press of the day as well as the gamers that lined up to buy this amazing game.  It featured some of the most realistic animations for the characters in this classic beat'em up.  It was also popular because it mixed elements of both the platform game styles as well as fighting game elements, which helped the game appeal to a very wide audience.

The Oregon Trail:  This was, perhaps, one of the most unexpected hits ever made for computer systems.  The game was originally designed and created to help teach school kids about life as it was for pioneers in the 19th century.  What started as an educational game, ended up getting so popular that there have been countless spinoffs for virtually all of the computers out there, and it's a game that continues to live on, with even a Nintendo 3DS version release back in 2011.   It's a game that truly makes learning fun, and it just goes to show you that computers, learning and video games can make a very successful mix.

Castle Wolfenstein: Oh boy this game brings back a lot of great memories.  Not to be mistaken with the much newer Wolfenstein 3D, this game was originally developed for the Apple II and published by Muse Software.  The game made great use of a combination of game styles.  It had both adventure game elements mixed in with some of the best real time action gaming of the day.  Graphically the game (by todays standards) wasn't much to look at, but the combination of stealth style game play made it hard to put down, and it offered up endless replay value.

You'll need an R4 3DS to use A2DS, which you can download from our 3DS Homebrew section today.  For instructions and information on how to use the emulator, check out the actual download page, as we've got that covered too.