The ultimate tool for analyzing Nintendo DS games is a dedicated , which allows developers and ROM hackers to translate compiled binary code back into human-readable assembly or C-style source code.
In recent years, the emulation and preservation communities have shifted toward . Notable projects include the decompilation of Super Mario 64 , The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time , and several Pokémon titles for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
This draft outlines a technical paper regarding the development and methodology of a Nintendo DS (NDS) decompiler, focusing on the challenges of the ARM9/ARM7 dual-core architecture. nds decompiler
are widely accepted as legitimate justifications. Many public decompilation projects explicitly state their educational intent. As the Call of Duty decompilation project notes, "there are cases where reverse engineering may be legally justified, such as when it is done for educational or research purposes".
Nintendo DS games were largely programmed in C and C++, compiled down to machine code for the ARM9 (and ARM7) processors. Decompilation is the process of reversing this, allowing developers to see the logic. Key Applications Modifying game assets, maps, and mechanics. The ultimate tool for analyzing Nintendo DS games
The game code is compiled into machine code for these two distinct instruction set architectures. When a developer compiled a game using tools like the official Nintendo SDK (often based on Green Hills or ARM compilers), the human-readable source code was transformed into raw ARM and Thumb instructions, stripped of variable names, comments, and high-level structure. The NDS decompiler’s job is to reverse this process, recovering as much abstraction as possible from this binary wasteland.
If you are looking to get started, downloading alongside an NDS loader script is your best entry point into exploring the inner workings of your favorite Nintendo DS games. Share public link This draft outlines a technical paper regarding the
overlays (Dynamic code segments loaded into RAM only when needed)
Install a community NDS plugin for Ghidra to save manual memory mapping setup. Import arm9.bin or arm7.bin into a new Ghidra project.
: A command-line utility for macOS and Linux that allows for detailed extraction of the header, ARM binaries, and overlays.
The Nintendo DS frequently switches between ARM mode (for performance-heavy tasks) and Thumb mode (to save RAM). Decompilers sometimes misinterpret where this switch happens, resulting in completely broken, garbled pseudocode until manually corrected by the user.