MagicX Zero 40 The MagicX Zero 40 turns an aging Android operating system into the best Nintendo DS emulation handheld on the market. It's not great for anything else, but it beats the original hardware in significant ways, despite only having one screen.
The Nintendo DS was an absolutely groundbreaking handheld, and I have fond memories of sneaking a few turns of Advance Wars: Dual Strike under my desk in high school. Only a few companies have tried to recapture the two-screen magic, and aside from some prohibitively expensive devices, none have succeeded.
But the MagicX Zero 40 takes a different approach. Instead of opting for a clamshell form-factor with two screens, it combines them into a longer, vertical screen with a flat layout. It’s a novel approach, but is it good enough to replace the OG hardware from two decades ago?
For me, the answer is yes. However, there are many caveats that might be dealbreakers for hardcore DS fans.
Strange, but functional design
Ok, so maybe I fibbed a little in the intro. The MagicX Zero 40 has taken over my Nintendo DS game time, but not from the original hardware. My Nintendo DS Lite has been in storage for well over a decade, with the Nintendo 2DS taking up the mantle. I know the screen isn’t perfect for DS games, but the convenience beats pixel-perfect graphics for me.
But in a way, the Nintendo 2DS is a more apt comparison. They’re both flat slabs with the same general layout (although the joystick is at the bottom on the Zero 40). MagicX’s handheld looks strange at first, with all sorts of bumps and curves, but I find it much more comfortable to hold.
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It’s also smaller, although I’m not sure pocketable is the right word. It’s roughly the same size as an old CD jewel case or a slice of bread, neither of which I’d recommend stuffing into your pockets.
That smaller footprint also reduces the effective screen size. For DS games, the vertical panel is split in two, giving the same effect as two 2.6-inch panels. The original Nintendo DS had two 3-inch screens, although the resolution is noticeably worse, and the panels themselves really show their age.
The Zero 40 is compact, but the design is perfect for DS emulation.
You won’t get perfect 2x upscaling on the MagicX Zero 40 (it’s roughly 1.9x), but it still looks significantly better, despite the smaller size. To be fair, there’s no integer upscaling on the Nintendo 2DS I usually play DS games on either, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s not an issue for DS games.
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Of course, you could always emulate DS games on horizontal handhelds like the Retroid Flip 2, but the verticality adds an extra element of immersion. Having the two screens stacked (with an overlay in the middle) gives the same effect as the original hardware. Since plenty of games use a continuous background or allow movement between the two screens, it’s the closest I’ve gotten to playing on a real DS via emulation (at least until I get my hands on the AYN Thor or AYANEO Pocket DS).
Granted, it doesn’t work with a DS stylus. It works just fine with your finger, but you’ll need a capacitive stylus for the same effect. These are the same ones that work with modern phones, and they’re easy and cheap to buy, but it’s still an extra hassle. I’d love to see a revised model with an integrated stylus in the future.
Games that require a stylus are exceptionally difficult on the Zero 40.
If you don’t buy a stylus, the smaller screen and lack of precision make some games very difficult to play. One of my favorites, Elite Beat Agents, was nearly impossible, and others like Cooking Mama and Trauma Center: Under the Knife were exceptionally difficult. There is an inset stick though, which isn’t found on the Nintendo DS and makes certain platformers more comfortable to play.
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
The vertical screen also lends itself to old-school shmups in tate mode. I haven’t played 1942 in nearly 30 years (man, I’m old), and revisiting it on this screen felt incredible. Likewise for countless other classics, although they still don’t take up the full size of the screen. A pre-configured overlay still makes it feel cozy right out of the box.
The non-touch controls are all great. The buttons are nice and quiet, and both the stick and D-pad are a joy to use. The shoulder buttons use quiet microswitches, and the power and volume buttons are on either side of the device. The speakers are nothing to write home about, but they get the job done well enough.
The bad news is that emulation outside of Nintendo DS and tate is pretty awful. Don’t buy this handheld if you want to emulate other systems, since it’s not an all-purpose device.
Powered by Android, driven by DraStic
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
Aside from the form-factor, one of the most surprising things about this device is that it runs Android 10. Typically low-power devices like this one (it runs on an Allwinner A133 Plus) use Linux, which has a lower overhead and a more straightforward setup.
Even stranger, it runs Android 10 from an included microSD card. There’s no internal storage here, although there’s a second microSD card slot if you need extra space. I wasn’t thrilled about this, since losing or corrupting the microSD card will require extra work to get it back in working order. At the very least, the included card is from KIOXIA, so it should last longer than the no-brand cards in most cheap handhelds.
The heavily modified version of Android comes entirely pre-configured.
Granted, you probably won’t even notice that it’s running Android if you don’t swipe down the notifications shade. The MagicX Zero 40 launches directly into a custom version of Dawn Launcher, with all settings pre-configured. It feels much more like custom Linux firmware than Android, and I mean that in a good way.
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
Regardless, the reason why it runs Android is clear: DraStic. This DS emulator first came out over a decade ago, and although it’s since been abandoned and surpassed by MelonDS on Android, it still offers incredible performance on low-spec devices.
There’s an option to change to the MelonDS RetroArch core in settings, but I found that it turned most games into a slideshow. This chipset just isn’t powerful enough for MelonDS.
I’m familiar with DraStic after years of emulating games on my phone, but if you’re not, it’s very full-featured despite its age. Pressing the back button above the D-pad pulls up the menu, which lets you emulate closing the lid for games that need it. The L2 button swaps the two displays, and the R2 button toggles fast-forward. You’ll have to open the menu for save states, but at least they’re there. You can also toggle a switch in settings to auto-save/resume when closing a game.
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
This version of Android is too old for our usual suite of benchmarks, but in practice, every game I tested ran great on DraStic. There’s a performance toggle in settings, but I left it on Balanced and never experienced any issues. Maybe some DS games do require more power, but I couldn’t find any that warranted the hit to battery life.
There are a few disadvantages, though, and they’re mostly related to how long DraStic has been out of development. There’s no support for netplay or RetroAchievements, so you’ll have to get on the cheevo grind elsewhere. Hopefully the developer of DraStic will make good on his promise to make the project open-source so these newer features can be added, but after all these years, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
A few other limitations are related to the MagicX Zero 40 itself. For example, there’s no microphone, so games that require you to blow into the mic don’t work out of the box. Your only options are to bind a special button to create static mic noise (which doesn’t work in some games) or plug a pair of USB-C headphones with a mic into the OTG port. Plugging older headphones with a mic into the 3.5mm jack doesn’t work. There’s also no video out, although I can’t imagine you’d want to use that anyway.
There are a few minor limitations, like the lack of a built-in microphone.
As for shmups, they run on RetroArch without any issues. Most of them are even older than I am, so there’s no surprise there. You can swap cores, adjust overlays, and do anything you’re used to doing in RetroArch. If you’re unfamiliar with RetroArch, the default settings are more than good enough out of the box.
In terms of battery life, the MagicX Zero 40 packs a 4,300mAh battery. The chipset sips power, though, so I was able to easily get six hours of battery life on a single charge. That said, charging back up is very slow. It took more than two and a half hours to charge from 9% to 90%. That isn’t unexpected for a handheld at this price range, but it’s something to be aware of. Also, make sure you plug the charger into the DC USB-C port, not the separate OTG port right next to it.
The problem with pre-loaded fun
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
These emulation consoles exist in a legal gray area, but unfortunately, the MagicX Zero 40 dips a little deep into the black. The 64GB microSD card I received with the console has not just Android 10 pre-installed, but also roughly 1,400 DS games and 500 tate mode games. The 128GB version presumably has even more. Everything is pre-configured, with artwork already scraped and looking good.
For most people, this is probably good news. After all, you can skip the setup of uploading your own ROMs and scraping artwork to get right to playing your favorite Nintendo DS games. It’s very much a plug-and-play system.
The console ships with sketchy pre-installed ROMs, most of which are shovelware.
However, it sets a bad precedent for the industry. If Nintendo decides to take legal action, it could cause some serious problems. Not just for the company, but also for regular customers who want to import the handheld for personal use.
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
There are practical concerns here, as well. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need 1,400 Nintendo DS games. As you might expect, most of them are shovelware. There are no fewer than four games in the Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? series, seven Bratz games, and a whopping 27 Petz games.
If that’s something you need in your life, more power to you. For me, though, I immediately culled the list down to a few dozen games that I actually own and enjoy. Having too many games on these handhelds gives me decision paralysis, preventing me from playing anything at all.
Apart from ROMs and emulators, the MagicX Zero 40 also comes with a copy of… Balatro. I have to question how that got here. Don’t get me wrong, I love this game, but it looks and plays like garbage on this device, so its inclusion is absolutely baffling to me. This isn’t a decades-old title that no one is profiting from. It’s a modern indie game that’s still purchasable on nearly every platform. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this, but handheld makers need to do better.
MagicX Zero 40 review verdict: Is it worth it?
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
Faults aside, the MagicX Zero 40 absolutely fulfills its promise of providing solid Nintendo DS emulation. It’s much more convenient than lugging around my Nintendo DS Lite or 2DS with a case full of games, although there are inconveniences in titles that require precise inputs or microphone support.
There are, of course, other conveniences, like fast-forward and save states, that more than make up for it. It also starts at $75, which is more than a second-hand DS Lite but less than a second-hand Nintendo 2DS. It also charges with a standard USB-C cable, so you don’t have to carry yet another cable or mod your DS.
The MagicX Zero 40 is the best Android-based Nintendo DS emulation device you can currently buy.
These cost significantly more, so in terms of pricing, I’d recommend lower-power devices like the Linux-powered TrimUI Smart Pro ($95.99 at Amazon). That one actually uses the same chipset, although without the magic of DraStic, DS performance is a bit worse.
I should also mention that a few dual-screen devices are just around the corner. The AYANEO Pocket DS looks like an incredible device, but it won’t launch until later this year, and it will probably start at more than $300. The AYN Thor is another upcoming dual-screen device that’s a little more afforable at $250, but at that price it’s a different class of device. Retroid’s external screen add-on is also shipping this week, but that alone costs more than the MagicX Zero 40, and it requires a horizontal handheld that shoots that price even higher.
In other words, the MagicX Zero 40 is the best Nintendo DS emulation device you can currently buy at this price. It’s not perfect and I’d love to see an updated version with a stylus and mic, but I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. Just don’t expect to emulate anything other than DS and tate games or you’ll be in for a bad time.
MagicX Zero 40 MagicX Zero 40 Killer DS emulation • Compact and comfortable • Plug-and-play MSRP: $75.00 A Nintendo DS-focused gaming handheld The MagicX Zero 40 turns an aging Android operating system into the best Nintendo DS emulation handheld on the market. See price at Manufacturer site
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