📄 [Guide] How to play .CIAs on your PC

Alright, so you wanna play .CIAs on your PC, huh? I gotchu, .CIAs are just more convenient than .3DS roms. They took less space and generally work better with emulators. Plus, they give you access to all the extra goodies like DLCs and updates without the headache. Let’s break it down step by step, and I’ll keep it chill so you don’t get lost in the sauce. Here’s how you do it:

Requirements

I. A Citra fork: Obviously, you need a Citra fork. Don’t know where to get one? No stress, just click here.

II. These two files: You’ll need two specific files to make this work. I’m talking about aes_keys.txt and seeddb.bin. These two are essential for decrypting and running .CIAs. If you don’t have them, just click their names.

Step 1: Setting up Citra

Fire up your Citra emulator, the one you just downloaded. Look for citra-qt.exe and open it. Once it’s running, go to the top menu and click File → Open Citra Folder. This will take you to the folder where Citra stores all its important stuff. Keep this window open, you’ll need it in a sec.

Inside the Citra folder, look for a folder called sysdata. Open it up, and you’ll see a file named mcu.dat. Now, take those two files you downloaded earlier (aes_keys.txt and seeddb.bin) and drop them right in there. Easy peasy.

Once the files are in place, close Citra to restart it. This makes sure the emulator recognizes the new files. Now comes the fun part. Open Citra again, and go to File → Install CIA. Find the .CIA file you wanna play (you know, the game you totally dumped from your own 3DS, right? ). Click it, and let Citra do its thing. Once it’s installed, you'll see the game pop up in your library. Just double-click it, and boom, that’s it, my dude! You’re now a certified .CIA player. Enjoy your 3DS library on PC!

Wait, Pokémon Thread and PS1 CIAs aren’t working?

Oh, you’re trying to play those Pokémon Thread .CIAs or PS1 games like Persona 2? YOU JERK! Citra is designed to emulate 3DS games per se, not the Virtual Console releases. Sure, they can technically run, but it’s overkill and won't work perfectly. You’ll likely run into issues like:

Performance problems: Citra might struggle to run these older games smoothly.
Compatibility issues: Some CIAs just won’t boot or will crash randomly.

So, you’re better off using a dedicated emulator for the original console. They won't recognize .CIAs files so you'll have to patch and find roms yourself. However, the .NDS games hosted here will work on dedicated emulators like melonDS and DeSmuME. If you're curious about which games hosted here you can play in Citra or Azahar, here's the current list:

Luigi's Mansion
OFF
Doki Doki Literature Club!
KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance]
DIGIMON WORLD Re:Digitize -Decode-
Detective Pikachu
Dementium: The Ward
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse: Collector's Edition
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Sonic Generations
Super Mario 3D Land
Cave Story
Cave Story 3D
METROID: SAMUS RETURNS
New Super Mario Bros. 2: Gold Edition
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Xenoblade Chronicles
-AZURE STRIKER- GUNVOLT: STRIKER PACK
Luigi's Mansion 2: Dark Moon
Yo-kai Watch
HYRULE WARRIORS LEGENDS
MONSTER HUNTER STORIES
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Runbow: Deluxe Edition
MONSTER HUNTER GENERATIONS ULTIMATE
Fire Emblem Warriors
DRAGON QUEST XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS
Mighty Switch Force!
Mighty Switch Force! 2
nintendogs + cats
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
Animal Crossing: New Leaf — Welcome Luxury + Amiibo
Super Mario and the Crystal Crescents
Ever Oasis
Rune Factory 4
STORY OF SEASONS
Yoshi's New Island
Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World
Tomodachi Life
Miitopia
Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale
Kirby Triple Deluxe
Kirby Planet Robobot
Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn
cooking mama 4: Kitchen Magic
cooking mama 5: Bon Appétit!
cooking mama: Sweet Shop
gardening mama 2: Forest Friends
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy