Backward compatibility is always appreciated, there's no doubt about it. However, sometimes a console's implementation can be lacklustre, either due to technical difficulties or laziness on the manufacturer's part. Depending on who you ask, the 3DS' DS/DSi mode can be said to fit in either: your only options are to either play games upscaled to the 3DS' screen resolution, which includes a blurry filter that cannot be turned off, or in native res mode, which is hardly ideal as it doesn't make use of the entire screens - thus introducing big black bars all around. Due to it, some people preferred playing DS(i) titles on past consoles as it made a number of games look significantly better without any compromises.

But things are finally starting to change with the release of TWPatch made by @Sono. After lots of research and reverse engineering, he made a patcher that is able to change how TWL_FIRM's image upscaling behaves. A total of nine different scaling filters are available (not counting Nintendo's default one), several of which are able to make your games look much sharper than before! In order to give you an idea of what to expect, here is a comparison taken from the thread (made by @youny43 - left: default / right: patched) :

​

For the curious, here's a list of the included filters:

• Nintendo default
• Sono's crisp (original patch)
• Sono's crisp (tweaked)
• Zero interpolation (double pixel)
• Linear interpolation 1
• Linear interpolation 2
• Sharpen test 1
• Linear sharpen 1
• Darken crisp
• Darken Nintendo

The patcher works on both Old and New 3DS models as long as they are running Luma CFW. You need to have enabled loading external FIRMs and modules in Luma's configuration menu, otherwise, the custom filters won't be applied. The process can take several minutes, so be sure to have enough battery charge (and patience) before proceeding. If you're unsure on which one to apply, you can preview how they'll look inside the homebrew app and compare it to Nintendo's default one.

If you want to try this yourself, make sure to read the instructions & remarks in @Sono's post before downloading (linked below).

Source

 

[verypedro]

That is a neat little thing you've discovered there, Sono! Playing DS games in the 3DS has been a chore for me because of the blurry image.

But I don't think it's working for me right now. The app says it is patched, but I don't see any difference when actually playing games...

 

[verypedro]

That is a neat little thing you've discovered there, Sono! Playing DS games in the 3DS has been a chore for me because of the blurry image.

But I don't think it's working for me right now. The app says it is patched, but I don't see any difference when actually playing games...

I've took some photos to show what I meant.

This is the game with the default fiter:


Then I applied the Zero Interpolation patch because it's the one with the most difference IMO:


But nothing seemed to change:

 

[Sono]

I don't think it's working for me right now. The app says it is patched, but I don't see any difference when actually playing games...

You have to enable module loading and game patching in Luma settings. Hold SELECT and press Power button to show the menu.

 

[verypedro]

You have to enable module loading and game patching in Luma settings. Hold SELECT and press Power button to show the menu.

Oops, my bad! It is working now and I have been using the Crisp Patch and I love it!
Thanks for the help!

Now I'm looking forward for that widescreen patch. The 3DS will be the basically complete after that, keep up the good work!!

 

[SassyBassy]

Any idea on when the widescreen patch will be out?

No rush tho.

 

[Sono]

Any idea on when the widescreen patch will be out?

Definitely not in the next few days. I'm currently doing "homework" for a job application.

 

[VivreDNA]

Thank you so much for the patch. its really awesome... ^^

 

[TR_mahmutpek]

Sorry for bump but how to make tw patches? There is no guide or link.

 

[Foxi4]

Sorry for bump but how to make tw patches? There is no guide or link.

Follow the link marked Source, then read the instructions, all the way through - you'll find a download link there.

 

[TR_mahmutpek]

Follow the link marked Source, then read the instructions, all the way through - you'll find a download link there.

Oh, thx!

 

[xFilipx]

Is it normal that it switches to default nintendo filter when using widescreen?

 

[TR_mahmutpek]

Is it normal that it switches to default nintendo filter when using widescreen?

I think yes because iirc @Sono said it isnt possible to use widescreen and tw patches together, yet..

 

[AvocadoToast]

Anyone know how to access the redshift menu? I'm pressing Y + B and nothing comes up. Also anyone have the latest version that they can post somewhere with a download?

 

[FireSide_01]

I'm trying to use this, but it never works. It says the patch is applied but nothing changes.

 

[YoungsterJ4y]

Hi, the downloads appear to be down (404). Is this still being maintained/are you still comfortable having it up? I'd love to try the patch, it looks really nice!

 

[Sono]

Hi, the downloads appear to be down (404). Is this still being maintained/are you still comfortable having it up? I'd love to try the patch, it looks really nice!

I may have forgot to update the download link, it's hosted in the download center now.

https://gbatemp.net/download/twpatch.37400/

 

[agarpac]

first thank you for the hard work
i love this workaround for scale filtering. surprised that it is possible.
it looks bit better but still stupid resolution made it this way so i'll take what i can take lol
2nd, i wonder tho, is it possible to make some kind of more advanced filtering?
like lcd filter that melonds has. for me that is very preferable filter for DS
it was very unfortunate that 3ds resolution isn't really fitting with DS, atleast having 2x ds resolution would be better u know.

 

[emcintosh]

is it possible to make some kind of more advanced filtering? like lcd filter that melonds has.
it was very unfortunate that 3ds resolution isn't really fitting with DS, atleast having 2x ds resolution would be better u know.

[Edit: OP probably meant Nintendo should have given the 3DS a better screen, not that Sono should implement 2x scaling. But my point stands that LCD filtering won't look good without at least 2x resolution.]

Both of these features would need a screen of much higher resolution - the problem (and reason for Nintendo's original blurry scaling) is that the 3DS's screen is only 1.25x the resolution of the DS.

2x scaling would crop 3/8 of the picture vertically (hiding status info like stars, life, coins &c. that are at the edge of the screen) and 1/5 horizontally.

And you can only simulate a lower-res LCD (by dimming lines of pixels in between the 'main' pixels) if you have at least 2x scaling.

I could imagine a filter that blanks the extra 1 pixel when each group of 4 is expanded to 5.

But I'm pretty sure this would look worse than the 'zero interpolation' option that copies pixel 4 into pixel 5.

 

[Sono]

first thank you for the hard work
i love this workaround for scale filtering. surprised that it is possible.
it looks bit better but still stupid resolution made it this way so i'll take what i can take lol
2nd, i wonder tho, is it possible to make some kind of more advanced filtering?
like lcd filter that melonds has. for me that is very preferable filter for DS
it was very unfortunate that 3ds resolution isn't really fitting with DS, atleast having 2x ds resolution would be better u know.

Actually, someone in some other thread (found it!) showed me that some software GBA emulator on the 3DS can run at full speed *and* upscale the image using the CPU, so this is definitely something I should investigate further for DS mode as well.
Although it won't come out anytime soon, as I can't patch something this major into Nintendo's janky code.

[Edit: OP probably meant Nintendo should have given the 3DS a better screen, not that Sono should implement 2x scaling. But my point stands that LCD filtering won't look good without at least 2x resolution.]

Both of these features would need a screen of much higher resolution - the problem (and reason for Nintendo's original blurry scaling) is that the 3DS's screen is only 1.25x the resolution of the DS.

2x scaling would crop 3/8 of the picture vertically (hiding status info like stars, life, coins &c. that are at the edge of the screen) and 1/5 horizontally.
View attachment 403359
And you can only simulate a lower-res LCD (by dimming lines of pixels in between the 'main' pixels) if you have at least 2x scaling.
View attachment 403360

I could imagine a filter that blanks the extra 1 pixel when each group of 4 is expanded to 5.
View attachment 403361
But I'm pretty sure this would look worse than the 'zero interpolation' option that copies pixel 4 into pixel 5.
View attachment 403362

Actually, that 2nd-last filter actually exists in TWPatch, it's one of the DEBUG ones.
Should I move it up to be a main filter? Perhaps with some tweaks, so the contrast is not that harsh.

Oh also, the image is cropped from the top-left corner on real hardware instead of center, and that's due to how the capture card works.

 

[agarpac]

thank you for the reply.

OP probably meant Nintendo should have given the 3DS a better screen

yes. is weird that they decided at that time use more common resolution which makes backward compatible games look worse imo cause of non-integer scaling.

Both of these features would need a screen of much higher resolution - the problem (and reason for Nintendo's original blurry scaling) is that the 3DS's screen is only 1.25x the resolution of the DS.

that... makes sense. resolution on current time definitely has benefit of such filters. i forgot that 3ds has 240p (or something, definitely on this range) which is pretty small and will look very very dark with lcd filter.

Actually, that 2nd-last filter actually exists in TWPatch, it's one of the DEBUG ones.
Should I move it up to be a main filter? Perhaps with some tweaks, so the contrast is not that harsh.

you should! atleast i think more options will be nice to experiment (for myself)