Arcade emulators
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Arcades are not a single console, but rather hundreds of separate arcade system boards. Most arcade emulators focus on emulating many systems in one program, with some focusing on a few systems, and others attempting to emulate every system.
Emulators
Name | Operating System(s) | Latest Version | # of Emulated systems | Libretro Core | Recommended |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MAME | Multi-platform | 0.266 | Thousands[1] | ✓* | ✓ |
Final Burn Alpha | Windows | 0.2.97.34 | Hundreds | ✓ | ✓ |
DICE | Windows, Linux, OS X | 0.9 | 18 | ✗ | ✓ |
Supermodel | Windows, Linux, OS X | 0.2a | 1 (Sega Model 3) | ✗ | ✓ |
Raine | Windows, Linux, OS X | 0.63.10 | 1058 | ✗ | ✗ |
Kawaks | Windows | v1.63 | 3 (Neo Geo, CPS1, CPS2) | ✗ | ? |
Model 2 Emulator | Windows | 1.1a | 1 (Sega Model 2) | ✗ | ? |
CPS3 Emulator | Windows | 1.0a | 1 (CPS3) | ✗ | ? |
DEmul | Windows | 0.582 | ? | ✗ | ? |
*as MAME (0.157), MAME 2010 (0.139) and MAME 2003 (0.78)
Name | Operating System(s) | Latest Version | # of Emulated systems | Libretro Core | Recommended |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UO CPS1PSP | PlayStation Portable | 2.3.1 | 1 (CPS1) | ✗ | ✓ |
UO CPS2PSP | PlayStation Portable | 2.3.1 | 1 (CPS2) | ✗ | ✓ |
UO MVSPSP | PlayStation Portable | 2.3.1 | 1 (Neo-Geo) | ✗ | ✓ |
UO NCDZPSP | PlayStation Portable | 2.3.1 | 1 (Neo-Geo CD) | ✗ | ✓ |
Name | Operating System(s) | Latest Version | # of Emulated systems | Libretro Core | Recommended |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MAME* | Android | 0.157 | ? | ✓ | ✓ |
Mame4droid | Android | 1.6.1 | ? | ✗ | ✓ |
aFBA | Android | 2.1 | ? | ✗ | ✓ |
*Only available on mobile as a libretro core (e.g. RetroArch).
Comparisons
- MAME is very extensive, with the majority of arcade system boards from the 1970's, 1980's and early 1990's supported. Do not expect support for more recent boards, such as atomiswave. MAME focuses on accuracy and archiving arcade games, which means it does not always focus on usability for the end user. Only the most up to date romdumps will work in the latest MAME. There are many MAME front-ends available.
- Final Burn Alpha supports a many boards, such as Neo Geo, Capcom CPS1-3 and others. It is very good for the boards it supports. The Neo-Geo X system in fact uses FBA. It offers much better speeds on lower end hardware than MAME and has been ported to many different devices, such as Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Original XBox, Sega Saturn, Android, Wii, Dingoo, and many others.
- DICE is made for emulating old arcade machines from the early 1970's at a very high level of accuracy. Since these machines had no CPU, the emulator instead emulates discrete logic components in the circuit board. This method is very system-intensive, and getting full speed requires at least a mid-range gaming PC along with the 64-bit version of the emulator.
- Supermodel emulates Sega's Model 3 arcade platform focusing in accuracy. Presently, Supermodel is in a very early "alpha" stage of development, meaning it lacks many planned features. It does not yet have a user-friendly graphical interface, game compatibility remains low, and all CPUs are emulated using straightforward (and slow) interpretation rather than fast just-in-time translation.