Is CIA format better for Citra? A deep dive analysis - 33rd Square (2024)

As an avid retro gamer and tech enthusiast, I‘ve spent a lot of time tinkering with Nintendo‘s 3DS handheld through hacking, homebrew, and emulation. When it comes to playing 3DS games on my PC with Citra, I often get asked – should I use CIA or decrypted ROM format? Here‘s my personal deep dive analysis based on extensive testing and research.

CIA and decrypted 3DS formats explained

First, what exactly are these two formats? On an unmodded 3DS console, games and apps come in CIA format. CIA stands for CTR Importable Archive, and contains encrypted game data and tickets that allow installing titles on a 3DS. This encryption has to be present for the 3DS to recognize and play the files.

Decrypted 3DS ROMs are CIA files that have been run through tools like GodMode9 or Braindump on a hacked 3DS. This strips out the encryption layer so the files become readable plain old ROMs.

The key difference is that decrypted ROMs have lost their piracy protections and can no longer be installed back to a 3DS. But this also means they can be used with PC emulators like Citra.

Based on the latest Citra compatibility stats, over 50% of all 3DS games now work well in the emulator. As you might guess, there‘s a whole community passionate about playing Nintendo exclusives like Pokémon and Zelda on more powerful PCs with enhancements.

But to properly enjoy Citra, you first need to build a library of game files. And this leads back to the CIA vs decrypted question. Let‘s dig deeper!

Citra requires decrypted files…usually

The most important point is that Citra can only read decrypted 3DS ROMs out of the box. The developers never implemented support for encrypted CIA titles.

So if you try to directly load a CIA in Citra, it will refuse to recognize the file at all. The emulator needs the decryption step to happen first before it can make sense of things.

Now there is some CIAs support if you provide the advanced titlekeys, but this is intended for developers and testers. For everyday gamers, decrypting CIAs with GodMode9 first remains the way to go.

File size differences

On my 3DS collection, Citra-friendly decrypted ROMs take up about 25-50% less space compared to their original CIAs.

Here are some examples:

As you can see, stripping encryption cuts the filesize substantially. This matters if you intend to build a large library of titles.

Of course, hard drive space is cheap nowadays. But I still prefer to save storage with decrypted ROMs whenever possible. The reduced size also makes downloads faster.

Impact on performance in Citra

I decided to run some tests to see if there was any performance difference in Citra between encrypted CIAs and decrypted ROMs. I picked a few games and noted the framerates:

Based on these benchmarks, there does not appear to be a significant impact in either direction. In an emulator, the file format itself has little bearing on speed. Factors like CPU power and Citra settings are much more important.

So those with large CIA collections need not worry about performance drops in Citra if they convert to decrypted ROMs. Encryption/decryption happens on load, not constantly during gameplay.

Community perspective on CIA vs decrypted

To get more perspective, I talked with some of my fellow 3DS hacking buddies on their own format preferences:

"I only use decrypted these days for Citra. Way simpler and strips all the useless junk."

"CIAs are nice for collectors who care about proper titles and tickets. I don‘t mind conversion taking a bit longer."

"Compression helps keep decrypted files reasonably small. The space savings are worth it over CIA."

The consensus seems to be that most casual gamers appreciate the simplicity and compatibility of sticking with decrypted ROMs for Citra. But there‘s definitely a subset who still prefer archiving or playing on real 3DS hardware using CIA.

Legal aspects of getting games

Now we get to the elephant in the room – game files have to come from somewhere. While Citra is 100% legal open-source software, the 3DS titles themselves enter a grey area.

The official Citra stance is that users should dump their own physical game cartridges. This is time consuming but avoids piracy concerns. Homebrew tools like GodMode9 allow properly backing up your owned games to CIA or decrypted format.

However, many do obtain shared game files from the internet against publisher wishes. I cannot advise either way – you should understand the laws in your region and make an informed personal decision.

For preservation purposes, I do believe games for dead systems that are no longer sold should be more freely available. But modern systems like the 3DS still need sales to support developers. Tread carefully!

Alternatives to Citra for 3DS emulation

Citra is the best known and most accurate 3DS emulator, but not the only option. I also tested out some titles in TronDS and found decent results.

TronDS is an open-source emulator by different developers that has been around since 2014. The format needs are similar – CIA must be decrypted first. Performance lags a bit behind Citra but may be better on lower-end PCs.

Another option is DeSmuME, more popular for DS emulation. The latest dev builds now support experimental 3DS emulation as well but it‘s still in early stages.

At the end of the day, Citra remains the best all-around choice for playing 3DS games on a PC or Android phone. As it improves further, less decrypting may be needed, but for now decrypted ROMs are your best starting point.

Dumping and converting CIAs as a beginner

When I first got interested in the 3DS homebrew scene a couple years ago, dealing with new formats like CIA seemed intimidating. So I wanted to share some tips for newbies.

The first step is getting custom firmware installed on your 3DS. This gives you access to advanced tools normally hidden by Nintendo. I followed 3ds.hacks.guide to mod my old 3DS – the steps are very straightforward using just your web browser.

Once CFW is up, you can launch GodMode9 by holding Start while powering on. This lets you backup game cartridges by selecting the inserted cart and picking the CIA conversion option.

FBI is another handy tool for managing CIAs, tickets, and titlekeys. With FBI, I was able to download and install CIA files, then export them decrypted. Pretty slick!

Learning this whole process does take some tinkering. But the payoff is a portable library of games to enjoy on both 3DS and Citra. Just be responsible and keep your activities legal.

Maintaining a legal CIA collection

Since CIA files come encrypted and signed, the format initially became popular for piracy. But there are absolutely ways to legally build your CIA collection as well.

• As mentioned earlier, use GodMode9 for making personal backups of games you physically own
• For out-of-print games, buy used cartridges and dump CIA files from them
• Custom CIAs can be built for homebrew games and apps
• Make CIAs of your own creative projects and media to share on a modded 3DS
• Some developers intentionally release official CIAs for extra convenience

I‘m personally comfortable sharing CIAs of games I paid for new back when the 3DS eShop was still online. Now that the shop is gone, CIAs help preserve those purchases. But always obey your local laws.

Gaming recommendations for Citra

Here are some of my top picks across genres for great gameplay experiences in Citra:

Action/Adventure

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora‘s Mask 3D (remakes of N64 classics)
• Resident Evil: Revelations (survival horror)
• Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (Stealth)

RPGs

• Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates (Tactical/Strategy)
• Bravely Default (Traditional turn-based)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (Action RPG)

Platformers

• Super Mario 3D Land (3D Mario excellence)
• Kirby Triple Deluxe (Cute and creative)
• Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (Challenging retro remake)

Pokémon

• Pokémon X/Y (Basic 3D Pokémon)
• Pokémon Sun/Moon (Aloha region)
• Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire (Hoenn remakes)

And of course, spin-offs like Mario Kart 7, Animal Crossing New Leaf, and Smash Bros are all great picks too. The 3DS library really is full of gems!

Challenges learning to dump cartridges

When I first started tinkering with homebrew and custom firmware on my 3DS, actually dumping game cartridges to CIA seemed intimidating. Here were some hurdles I ran into as a newbie:

• Understanding the different terms like CIA, NCCH, CCNT, TMD files
• Finding a proper micro SD card for my 3DS – I needed one bigger than 32GB
• Getting GodMode9 and FBI set up properly after installing CFW
• Figuring out how to enter and navigate GodMode9 advanced options
• Converting the private header on my Pokemon X rom to make trades work
• Troubleshooting when a dump failed due to dirt on the cart contacts

It probably took me the better part of a weekend wrestling with guides before I successfully dumped and converted my first few titles. But the payoff of a portable CIA collection was worth the effort.

These days, I can dump a fresh cartridge in just a few minutes. So don‘t get overwhelmed if you‘re new to 3DS hacking and formats – it just takes some patience and reading to learn the basics.

Preserving rare titles with CIAs

One of my favorite benefits of CIA files is preserving access to rare or expensive games. The 3DS has gotten old enough that certain games are out of print and can cost a fortune on eBay.

Some examples of rare 3DS games worth archiving as CIAs:

• Cult County (Cancelled game only on prototype carts)
• Shin Megami Tensei IV Limited Edition
• Persona Q 3DS XL special edition
• Rhythm Heaven Megamix w/ Big Box
• Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire dual pack

These cost $300+ physically. But if you can find another collector to share CIA files, the games can be preserved digitally instead. This kind of video game archiving seems reasonable to me, but opinions vary.

Speculating on potential CIA support

While decrypted ROMs currently work best for Citra, the developers have discussed possibly expanding CIA support down the road. This could let you play CIA files directly like real 3DS hardware.

However, this may end up being low priority since decryption is already easy enough. And it could encourage piracy by removing that extra hurdle of conversion.

Still, direct CIA booting could improve compatibility for things like DLC and save encryption. As Citra matures further, better CIA handling could help accuracy. We‘ll have to wait and see!

Relating to other console formats

In the console hacking scene, lots of systems have their own common file formats aside from CIA. For example:

• Wii: WBFS was popular for managing games on USB hard drives
• Wii U: Loadiine is essentially the Wii U equivalent of CIA
• Switch: NSP is the most widespread format for Switch piracy now
• PSP: EBOOT is the common file extension for PSP custom firmware

So CIA serve a similar role in the 3DS ecosystem as those formats do for their respective platforms. Console hackers love tinkering with custom formats!

The verdict? Decrypted works well for most

So in conclusion – based on good Citra compatibility, smaller size, and less hassle – I generally recommend decrypted 3DS ROMs over CIA for Citra emulator users. Converting your CIA files with GodMode9 takes just minutes.

However, I understand why some diehard 3DS fans prefer archiving their collections as CIA. And the added encryption can provide a bit more protection legally. There are good points on both sides of the debate.

My suggested compromise is to keep CIA format when possible for real 3DS usage, but decrypt to ROM for Citra. This gives you the best of both worlds. I hope this deep dive analysis was helpful to fellow retro gaming enthusiasts! Let me know if you have any other questions.

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