Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- tools:emulators [2024/12/11 09:32] – [Nintendo: SNES/Super Famicom] Humphrey Boa-Gart
+++ tools:emulators [2024/12/12 02:59] (current) – [Multi-Platform Emulators] Humphrey Boa-Gart
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Emulators ======
-{{wst>expand}}
+Usually, if you want to run software made for a different operating system on your computer, you will be using a [[tools:vm|virtual machine]]. However, there are many cases where a VM will not be enough. Lots of operating systems //(such as those made for embedded systems, legacy computer hardware, and video game consoles)// are designed for specific chipsets that are wildly different from the chipsets that your computer or server shipped with. In these cases you will need to set up an **emulator**, which simulates the hardware of another device on your own device, allowing you to run software that you wouldn't be able to in a normal virtual machine.
+There are many types of emulators for all sorts of devices and operating systems. This article will mainly focus on emulators that you can run on your computer or smartphone.
 ===== Operating System Emulators =====
-Emulating any of these platforms on your local machine is fairly simple these days, and in most cases doesn't even require setting up a full VM!
+{{wst>expand}}
@@ Line 28: / Line 30: @@
 Back in the 80s/90s, before the market standardized on the Windows/MacOS/*nix ecosystem we know today, there were many more operating systems to choose from. Some of them were designed for hobbyists. Others were professional enterprise machines. Emulating these platforms is a little more complicated than the ones above, as they may require emulation of unique or archaic chipsets. Here's what we know:
-==== Classic MacOS ====
+==== Amiga ====
 {{wst>expand}}
@@ Line 34: / Line 37: @@
 ==== Commodore 64 ====
+{{wst>expand}}
+==== MacOS Classic ====
 {{wst>expand}}
@@ Line 40: / Line 48: @@
 ===== Video Game Emulators =====
-Emulators for **video game platforms** are a big more complex than your average OS emulator. Since game consoles typically use far different CPU's than home computers, these emulators emulate //the entire underlying chipset//.
+Video game emulators are probably the simplest emulators on this page to use: Simply open the software, configure your controller or keyboard, and tell it which ROM file (game) to open.
-Despite that, these are probably the simplest emulators on this page to use: Simply open the emulator, configure your controller or keyboard, and tell it which ROM file (game) to open.
+Some of these emulators require a second ROM to run: That of the console's firmware/BIOS. Most of them do not, but some do, so make sure to read the documentation that comes with the software.
-Some of these emulators require a second ROM to run: That of the console's firmware. Most of them do not, but we will let you know if any of them do.
+Emulating video game consoles allows you to play discontinued games that are now rare or hard-to-find. Foreign titles that were not released in your region can be found this way too, oftentimes patched with fan translations. And if you travel a lot, using an emulator on your phone or laptop will help you save a lot of space in your luggage.
-==== Nintendo: Game Boy, Game Boy Color & Game Boy Advance ====
+== Finding ROM Files ==
+**//Downloading ROMs is considered a form of piracy in many regions, and distributing ROMs can open one up to all sorts of legal headaches. Because of this, we cannot give you ROM files for any of these emulators.//**
+However, we have heard rumors about packages known as "GoodMerge" and "No-Intro" sets, which compile every known game for each gaming platform into massive archives. These can probably be found on P2P networks and Bittorrent. [[https://archive.org/search?query=subject%3A%22romset%22|Archive.org]] also has many ROM sets available, presumably for, uh, scientific and historic archival purposes.
+==== Multi-Platform Emulators ====
+Back in the day, emulators were made to be good at emulating a single console. Nowadays **multi-platform emulators** are an increasingly viable solution, where one emulator will cover a range of consoles. Some popular ones include:
+  * [[https://tasvideos.org/Bizhawk|Bizhawk]]
+  * [[https://mednafen.github.io/|Mednafen]]
+  * [[https://www.retroarch.com/|Retroarch]]
+==== Nintendo 64 ====
+Cross-platform N64 emulation options include [[https://www.mupen64plus.org/|Mupen64Plus]] ([[https://wiki.debian.org/Mupen64Plus|additional info]] for Debian version) and its robust fork [[https://simple64.github.io/|Simple64]].
+Windows users also have the option of the popular [[https://www.pj64-emu.com/windows-downloads|Project64]], which is very easy to set up and supports most N64 ROMs.
+==== Nintendo DS ====
+For Linux, Windows and MacOS, [[github>TASEmulators/desmume]].
+For Android, use [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dsemu.drastic|DraStic]] or [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.swordfish.lemuroid|Lemuroid]].
+==== Nintendo Famicom (NES) ====
+{{ :tools:fceux.png|}}
+For NES emulation, you want **FCEUX**. It is the most popular successor project to the infamous //(and now abandoned)// **FCE** and **FCE Ultra** emulators. It enjoys regular updates and has been ported to all the major operating systems. You can find an appropriate binary for your OS on their [[https://fceux.com/web/download.html|releases page]], or you can visit the project on Github at [[github>TASEmulators/fceux]].
+For Debian/Ubuntu users, it is already in the stock repos. Just grab it with ''apt install fceux'' and you're good to go.
+Popular cross-platform alternatives include [[github>punesemu/puNES]] //(which also doubles as a player for NSF music files)// and [[https://fms.komkon.org/iNES/|iNES]].
+==== Nintendo Game Boy, Game Boy Color & Game Boy Advance ====
 {{ :tools:vba-logo.png?200|}}
@@ Line 59: / Line 108: @@
-==== Nintendo: NES/Famicom ====
+==== Nintendo GameCube & Wii ====
-{{ :tools:fceux.png|}}
+For Linux, Windows and MacOS, use [[https://dolphin-emu.org/|Dolphin]]. There is also an [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.dolphinemu.dolphinemu|Android port]].
-For NES emulation, you want **FCEUX**. It is the most popular successor project to the infamous //(and now abandoned)// **FCE** and **FCE Ultra** emulators. It enjoys regular updates and has been ported to all the major operating systems. You can find an appropriate binary for your OS on their [[https://fceux.com/web/download.html|releases page]], or you can visit the project on Github at [[github>TASEmulators/fceux]].
-For Debian/Ubuntu users, it is already in the stock repos. Just grab it with ''apt install fceux'' and you're good to go.
+==== Nintendo Super Famicom (SNES) ====
-Popular cross-platform alternatives include [[github>punesemu/puNES]] //(which also doubles as a player for NSF music files)// and [[https://fms.komkon.org/iNES/|iNES]].
+The most popular SNES emulator these days is **BSNES**, which is also the only one that is being updated for modern machines. You can get it for all major platforms at its [[https://bsnes.org/download|official website]] or from [[github>bsnes-emu/bsnes]].
+Traditionally the SNES emulation sphere has been dominated by two other emulators, neither of which are still under active development but both of which still work just as well as they did back in the day. One is the legendary cross-platform [[https://www.s9x-w32.de/dl/|Snes9x]], which now comes in [[https://www.s9x-w32.de/dl/Snes9x-1.63-x86_64.AppImage|AppImage format]] for Linux users, and even has an [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.explusalpha.Snes9xPlus|Android port]]. The other is the venerable [[|ZSNES]], written in [[tools:assembly|Assembly]] for x86 Windows/Linux, making it absurdly fast on older/slower machines.
-==== Nintendo: SNES/Super Famicom ====
-The most popular SNES emulator these days is **BSNES**, which is also the only one that is being updated for modern machines. You can get it for all major platforms at its [[https://bsnes.org/download|official website]] or on its Github at [[github>bsnes-emu/bsnes]].
+==== Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Mega-CD & 32X ====
-Popular alternatives include the legendary cross-platform [[https://www.s9x-w32.de/dl/|Snes9x]], which is out of development but still works just as well as it did back in the day, and comes in [[https://www.s9x-w32.de/dl/Snes9x-1.63-x86_64.AppImage|AppImage format]] for Linux users! There is also the venerable [[|ZSNES]], written in [[tools:assembly|Assembly]] for x86 Windows/Linux platforms, making it absurdly fast on older/slower machines.
+For the Genesis and it's various add-ons, you will be best off with [[http://www.gens.me/|Gens]], [[https://segaretro.org/Gens/GS|Gens/GS]] or [[https://www.carpeludum.com/kega-fusion/|Kega Fusion]].
-==== Nintendo: N64 ====
-{{wst>expand}}
+==== Sega Master System & Game Gear ====
+The Master System and the Game Gear both used nearly identical chipsets, so emulators for these platforms generally support both systems. Your best bets are [[https://fms.komkon.org/MG/|MasterGear]] and [[https://www.carpeludum.com/kega-fusion/|Kega Fusion]].
-==== Sega: Master System & Game Gear ====
+For Android, check out [[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nostalgiaemulators.gglite|Nostalgia.GG]].
-{{wst>expand}}
+==== Sega Saturn ====
-==== Sega: Genesis/Mega Drive, Mega-CD & 32X ====
+[[https://yabause.org/download/|Yabause]], [[https://www.uoyabause.org/|uoYabause]] and [[https://segaretro.org/SSF|SSF]].
-{{wst>expand}}
+==== Sony PlayStation ====
+Use [[https://www.epsxe.com/download.php|ePSXe]], available for Linux, Windows & MacOS. ([[https://play.google.com/store/search?q=epsxe|Android port]])
+Alternatively, use [[https://duckstation.org/|DuckStation]], also available for Linux, Windows & MacOS. ([[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.stenzek.duckstation|Android port]])
+==== Sony PlayStation 2 ====
+Linux, Windows & MacOS, use [[https://pcsx2.net/downloads|PCSX2]].
+===== More Emulators =====
+As mentioned earlier, there are emulators for all sorts of devices and operating systems. We won't go into them here, but if you are so inclined to see how deep the rabbit hole goes, you should check out [[https://zophar.net|Zophar's Domain]]. There they have info on emulators that you can run on systems such as [[https://www.zophar.net/java.html|Java]], [[https://www.zophar.net/calculators.html|graphing calculators]] and even [[https://www.zophar.net/consoles.html|other video game consoles]].
 {{tag>Tools}}

User Tools

Site Tools

Differences