Can You Play Pokémon Gold on Nintendo DS? Legal Ways to Play GBC Games Today

Not directly. Pokémon Gold (Game Boy Color, 2000) uses a different cartridge shape/voltage than DS/DS Lite.

Legal Ways to Play

• Game Boy Color / Advance / SP / Micro — Native hardware. GBA SP AGS‑101 (backlit) best.
• Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console — Official release (2017). $9.99 on eShop (closed March 2023; redownload only if purchased). Includes wireless Link Cable emulation for trading.
• Analogue Pocket — FPGA hardware; plays original GBC carts perfectly (1080p via Dock).
• Emulation (PC/Phone/Deck): mGBA, SameBoy, RetroArch — Legal if you dump your own cart (e.g., GB Operator, OpenGB).

DS/DSi/3DS Backward Compatibility

• DS/DS Lite: GBA slot → plays GBA games only (not GBC).
• DSi/DSi XL/3DS: No GBA slot; no native GBC support.

Best Modern Experience: 3DS Virtual Console (if owned) or Analogue Pocket. Otherwise, GBA SP + original cart.