The Nintendo DS and DSi retro gaming scene is a thriving one, and one of the brightest gems for fans of the historic British home computer has just received a significant update. SpeccySE, the ZX Spectrum emulator for DS/DSi, has reached version 1.5 with new improvements and important fixes, continuing its mission to bring the magical world of Sir Clive Sinclair to Nintendo’s handheld.

What’s new in Version 1.5?

The latest release, dated October 20, 2025, brings with it some notable updates that Spectrum lovers will appreciate:

  • ULAplus Support: Finally! Games that take advantage of the expanded color palette (64 colors from a palette of 256) can now be displayed in their full color glory. A leap in visual quality for select titles.
  • Improved Audio Beeper: The Spectrum 48K’s iconic “monaural” sound has been refined for greater accuracy, making the audio experience even more authentic.
  • Stability Fix: Fixed a potential issue in the Z80 core related to stack memory management that was causing a couple of games to crash. More stability and less frustration.
  • “Under the Hood” Improvements: As per tradition for developer wavemotion-dave, lots of small cleanups and code optimizations for smoother emulation.

What is SpeccySE?

For those unfamiliar with it, SpeccySE is a Nintendo DS and DSi emulator that faithfully recreates the ZX Spectrum 48K and 128K machines. Designed with a “minimalist” philosophy – “pick the game and play” – it stands out for its ease of use and efficiency, running directly from the SD card via homebrew like  TWL++ .

Main Features:

  • Multiple File Support : Load snapshots ( .Z80,  .SNA), tape files ( .TAP,  .TZX up to 512KB), ROM ( .ROM), and even files  .PRG directly into memory.
  • State Management: Save and restore your game state at any time, to pick up exactly where you left off.
  • Joystick Support: Configurable for Kempston, Sinclair, and custom layouts for the 12 DS buttons.
  • Slide-n-Glide Mode: A brilliant feature for platform games like  Chuckie Egg , this makes climbing stairs with the D-Pad much more fluid and forgiving.
  • High Score Saving: Keeps track of your high scores with initials and date.
  • ZX81 Emulation: Using Paul Farrow’s emulator, you can also play ZX81 titles (files  .P).
  • .POK Support: Apply cheats to your games via  .pok dedicated files.

Why Choose SpeccySE?

As the developer himself admits, there was no real  need  for this emulator, as the excellent  ZXDS already exists. However, SpeccySE was born from wavemotion-dave’s passion for the system and his desire to learn by creating. The result is a clean, responsive emulator that runs beautifully on DS/DSi hardware, offering a straightforward and uncomplicated gaming experience.

How to Get Started?

To use SpeccySE, you will need:

  1. A Nintendo DS or DSi with custom firmware (such as TWiLight Menu++ ).
  2. The Spectrum BIOS files ( 48.ROM and  128.ROM) to be placed in the emulator directory or in  /roms/bios.

Once configured, all you have to do is download your library of favorite Spectrum games and dive into memories, with the classic loading screens, thankfully, accelerated but not removed!

Conclusions

Version 1.5 of SpeccySE further cements this emulator as a solid and enjoyable alternative for experiencing (or reliving) the ZX Spectrum saga on the small screen of the DS. With a dedicated and constantly working developer, the retro gaming community can only be grateful.

Source: Github.com

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DS/2DS/3DS

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