Emulation General Wiki - User contributions [en]

Ares

2026-08-07T20:47:34Z

104.22.127.39: /* Overview */

{{lowercase title}}
{{Infobox emulator
|title = ares
|logo = ares-logo.png
|screenshot = Ares_Screenshot.PNG
|logowidth = 230
|developer = Near (formerly known as byuu (謬/view)), LukeUsher
|version = {{Version|ares}}
|active = Yes
|platform = [[Emulators on Windows|Windows]] [[Emulators on Linux|Linux]] [[Emulators on macOS|macOS]] [[Emulators on BSD|FreeBSD]]
|architecture = x64, ARM64
|target = [[Atari 2600 emulators|2600]][[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|Famicom / NES]][[Super Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|Super Famicom / SNES]][[Nintendo 64 emulators|Nintendo 64]]/[[Nintendo_64_emulators#Peripherals|64DD]][[Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators|Game Boy (Color)]][[Game Boy Advance emulators|Game Boy Advance]][[WonderSwan emulators|WonderSwan (Color), Pocket Challenge V2]][[SG-1000 emulators|SG-1000]][[Master System emulators|Mark III / Master System, Game Gear]][[Sega Genesis emulators|Mega Drive / Genesis]][[Sega_Genesis_emulators#Hardware_features_and_peripherals|Sega/Mega CD, 32X, CD 32X]][[PlayStation emulators|PlayStation]][[PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) emulators|PC Engine (SuperGrafx) / TurboGrafx-16]][[Neo Geo and variants|Neo Geo]][[Neo Geo Pocket emulators|Neo Geo Pocket (Color)]][[MSX emulators|MSX2]][[ColecoVision emulators|ColecoVision]][[ZX Spectrum line|ZX Spectrum]][[My Vision emulators|My Vision]][[Pioneer_LaserActive|Sega PAC and NEC PAC]]
|website = [https://ares-emu.net ares-emu.net]
|support = [https://www.patreon.com/LukeUsher Patreon][https://ko-fi.com/LukeUsher Ko-fi] [https://github.com/sponsors/LukeUsher GitHub Sponsor] [https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lukepusher PayPal]
|prog-lang = {{Proglang|C++}}
|license = {{License|ISC}}
|source = [https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares GitHub]
|issuetracker = [https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/issues GitHub]
}}

'''ares''' is a free and open-source, [[Multi-system_emulators|multi-system emulator]]. It is a descendant of [[higan]] and [[bsnes]], and focuses on accuracy and preservation.

==Download==
{| cellpadding="4"
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Win-big|Mac-big|WoA-big}}
|'''[https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/releases Official releases]'''
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Win-big|Mac-big|WoA-big}}
|[https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/releases/tag/nightly Official Nightly builds]
|-
|colspan="3"|<hr/>
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Lin-big}}
|'''[https://flathub.org/apps/details/dev.ares.ares Flatpak]''' '''[https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/ares-emu/ ArchLinux AUR]''' '''[https://github.com/pkgforge-dev/ares-emu-appimage/ AppImage]'''
|
|colspan="3"|<hr/>
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|BSD-big}}
|'''[https://www.freshports.org/emulators/ares/ FreshPorts]'''
|}

==Overview==
ares began development as bsnes on October 14th, 2004. It is available under the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) license, which is a permissive license that is functionally similar to the BSD and MIT licenses. It used to be under the terms of the Creative Commons (CC) BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, which it made the ares emulator a non-commercial software that does not permit publishing modifications (forks) online. The reason for this was to prevent splintering development between higan and ares.

Most cores in ares are original and were started when the project was run by Near, although its Nintendo 64 core's graphics emulation is based on Themaister's ParaLLEl-RDP Vulkan renderer as well as MAME's software renderer, and an original Atari 2600 core was added later. Its most useful cores are the ones that have been in development the longest or that have few competing options. Its SNES emulation is derived from that of the original [[bsnes]] project and is the most accurate one around. Its WonderSwan and Neo Geo Pocket emulation are also the most complete and accurate, with the highest compatibility available (100% in the case of the WonderSwan). The Genesis emulation is highly accurate across the console and its add-ons, albeit slightly less compatible than some competing options. 32x and CD emulation both have >95% compatibility with commercial games, making ares by far the best option for the 32x across emulators.

Uniquely, ares is (as of 2026) the only emulator that provides comprehensive support for the [[Pioneer LaserActive]], thereby making MegaLD and LD-ROM² [[LaserDisc]] games playable in emulation for the first time. The Mega Drive-based '''Sega PAC (PAC-S10/PAC-S1)''' has been supported since v146, and the PC Engine-based '''NEC PAC (PAC-N10/PAC-N1/PCE-LP1)''' since v147.

Other cores are less useful, with known incompatibilities and other emulators available that are both faster and more accurate. The GBA emulation was derived from work done in bsnes for the ST018 coprocessor, but is slower and less accurate than [[mGBA]]. Its Atari 2600 emulation is well behind [[Stella]] and [[MAME]], and its PlayStation emulation has some noticeable compatibility gaps that you won't find in [[DuckStation]] or [[Mednafen]].

In terms of features, ares is one of the first emulators to make use of [https://github.com/SnowflakePowered/librashader librashader], a project designed to provide a portable implementation of RetroArch's SLang shader engine. See [[Shader Presets]] for more information.

==Features==
*Native multi-platform UI
*Adaptive sync
*Dynamic rate control
*Save states
*Run-ahead
*Rewind and fast-forward
*Pixel shaders
*Color correction
*6th-order IIR audio filtering
*Input multi-mapping
*Built-in games database
*Debugger

==High CPU usage under Windows==
On some Windows systems, the default audio driver causes very high CPU utilisation, even with no game actually running. Switching from WASAPI to SDL will resolve that issue on OpenGL video driver.
If your video driver is Direct3D, switching to DirectSound audio driver should resolve any audio crackles and instability.

==External links==
*[https://discord.com/invite/gz2quhk2kv Discord]

{{TurboGrafx-16/SuperGrafx emulators}}
{{WonderSwan/WonderSwan Color emulators}}
{{Neo Geo Pocket/Neo Geo Pocket Color emulators}}
{{Famicom (NES) emulators}}
{{Super Famicom (SNES) emulators}}
{{Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators}}
{{Game Boy Advance emulators}}
{{SG-1000 emulators}}
{{Master System/Game Gear emulators}}
{{Sega Genesis emulators}}

[[Category:Emulators]]
[[Category:Multi-emulators]]
[[Category:Console emulators]]
[[Category:Home console emulators]]
[[Category:Handheld console emulators]]
[[Category:Arcade emulators]]
[[Category:Computer emulators]]
[[Category:Atari 2600 emulators]]
[[Category:Famicom (NES) emulators]]
[[Category:Super Nintendo emulators]]
[[Category:Nintendo 64 emulators]]
[[Category:Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators]]
[[Category:Game Boy Advance emulators]]
[[Category:WonderSwan emulators]]
[[Category:SG-1000 emulators]]
[[Category:Master System emulators]]
[[Category:Sega Genesis emulators]]
[[Category:Pioneer LaserActive PAC emulators]]
[[Category:Pioneer LaserActive NEC/PC Engine PAC emulators]]
[[Category:Pioneer LaserActive Sega PAC emulators]]
[[Category:Super Game Boy emulators]]
[[Category:Add-on console emulators]]
[[Category:PlayStation emulators]]
[[Category:PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) emulators]]
[[Category:Neo Geo Pocket/Neo Geo Pocket Color emulators]]
[[Category:MSX emulators]]
[[Category:ColecoVision emulators]]
[[Category:ZX Spectrum emulators]]
[[Category:Windows emulation software]]
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
[[Category:macOS emulation software]]
[[Category:BSD emulation software]]
[[Category:Active emulation software]]

Mesen

2026-08-07T18:10:39Z

104.22.127.39: /* List of forks */

__FORCETOC__
{{Infobox emulator
|developer = [https://github.com/SourMesen M. Bibaud (aka Sour)] & [https://forums.nesdev.org/viewforum.php?f=3 NesDev]
|title = Mesen
|logo = MesenCE.png
|logowidth = 64
|version = {{Version|Mesen}} (MesenCE)
|active = Yes
|platform = [[Emulators on Windows|Windows]] [[Emulators on Linux|Linux]] [[Emulators on macOS|macOS 11/12]]
|target = [[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|NES / Famicom]] Famicom Disk System [[Super Nintendo emulators|SNES / Super Famicom]] [[Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators|Game Boy (Color)]] [[Game_Boy_Advance_emulators|Game Boy Advance]] [[TurboGrafx-16 emulators|PC-Engine (TurboGrafx-16)]] [[Master_System_emulators|Master System]] [[Master_System_emulators|Game Gear]] [[SG-1000 emulators|SG-1000]] [[WonderSwan emulators|WonderSwan (Color)]]
|accuracy = Cycle-Accurate
|website = [https://www.mesen.ca/ Mesen.ca]
|support = [https://www.patreon.com/Mesen Patreon]
|prog-lang = {{Proglang|C++}}, {{Proglang|C#}}, {{Proglang|C}}
|license = {{license|GPLv3}}
|source = [https://github.com/nesdev-org/MesenCE/ Github] [https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2 GitHub](archived)
}}
'''Mesen''' is a free and open-source [[multi-system emulators|multi-system emulator]] for Windows, Linux and macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon). It can emulate the [[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|Famicom (NES)]], Famicom Disk System (FDS), Super Famicom (SNES), GB/GBC, GBA, PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16, [[SG-1000 emulators|SG-1000]], [[Master System emulators|Master System]]/[[Master System emulators|Game Gear]] and WonderSwan/Color consoles.

The version currently under development is Mesen 2.x, first released as a preview build in 2023. The older Mesen 0.x branch could only emulate NES, and SNES/GB(C) emulation was found in a separate emulator named [[Mesen S]]. The current Mesen [[Libretro]] core for [[RetroArch]] is still based on the 0.x branch, but receiving backports from the newer branch. For the sake of disambiguation, we will refer to the 0.x branch as Mesen 1 and the 2.x branch as Mesen 2.

Mesen's development and bug reports are actively discussed on the [https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?t=24391 NesDev forums] by Sour.

As of June 2026, the main Mesen 2 repos development has ended. The last successful automated build and commit from the lead developer (Sour) occurred on July 16, 2025 ([https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2/actions/runs/16314313088 Build #698]). However, the Mesen fork [https://github.com/nesdev-org/MesenCE MesenCE] has continued development, being updated by Sour with other community members. As of June 4th, Mesen officially became MesenCE through a release by Sour<ref>https://github.com/nesdev-org/MesenCE/releases/tag/2.2.0</ref>.

==Download==
{| cellpadding="4"
|-
Mesen:
|{{Icon|Win|Lin|macOSx64|macOSARM}}
|[https://www.mesen.ca/#Downloads '''official website''']
|-
|{{Icon|Win|Lin|macOSx64|macOSARM}}
||[https://github.com/nesdev-org/MesenCE#development-builds Github repo]
|}

[[File: Mesen UI and Screens.png|thumb|300px|Mesen UI and Screens]]

==Overview==

It has [[Emulation Accuracy|cycle-accurate]] emulation and offers numerous features, including:
* Support for over 290 mappers, (all licensed games supported.)
* FDS (Famicom Disk System) support
* [[Wikipedia:Nintendo Entertainment System (Model NES-101)|Top loader NES variant]] support
* [[Wikipedia:Nintendo VS. System|VS. System]] support
* [[Wikipedia:Dendy (console)|Dendy]] support
* [[Texture_Packs#Sprite_Replacement_.282D.29|HDNes HD packs]]
* NTSC/PAL support
* NSF/NSFe support
* Video recording/playback
* Video filters (xBRZ, NTSC, etc.)
* Netplay
* Debugging tools
* Overclocking
* Custom palettes
* Sound effects (fake stereo, reverb, etc.)
* Rewind

Mesen 2 can also run GBA and also SNES games, which features some of the enhancements and hardware features such as [[Super_Nintendo_emulators#Enhancements|Super FX]] and [[Super_Nintendo_emulators#Hardware_features_and_accessories|Satellaview]] support. Game Boy (DMG) and Game Boy Color (CGB) games can also be played on Mesen 2, but only Game Boy Color can play CGB games. For DMG games, you can choose either Game Boy or Game Boy Color, or run the game in Super Game Boy mode by loading the Super Game Boy BIOS (1 or 2) into the SNES core.

An exclusive feature '''not available in older versions''' is support for the PC-Engine, the CD-ROM², as well as the WonderSwan and WonderSwan Color.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="175" position="center" captionalign="center" >MesenScreenshot.PNG|Screenshot of Mesen1.
Mesen_logo.png|Mesen1 Logo.
Mesen2logo.png|Mesen2 logo
MesenCE.png|MesenCE logo
</gallery>

==Hardware support==
===Mappers===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|6
|7
|8
|9
|10
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|12
|13
|14
|15
|-
|16
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|18
|19
|
|21
|22
|23
|24
|25
|26
|28
|28
|29
|30
|31
|-
|32
|33
|34
|35
|36
|37
|38
|39
|40
|41
|42
|43
|44
|45
|46
|47
|-
|48
|49
|50
|51
|52
|53
|54
|
|56
|57
|58
|
|60
|61
|62
|63
|-
|64
|65
|66
|67
|68
|69
|70
|71
|72
|73
|74
|75
|76
|77
|78
|79
|-
|80
|
|82
|83
|
|85
|86
|87
|88
|89
|90
|91
|92
|93
|94
|95
|-
|96
|97
|
|99
|
|101
|
|103
|104
|105
|106
|107
|108
|
|
|111
|-
|112
|113
|114
|115
|116
|117
|118
|119
|120
|121
|
|123
|
|125
|126
|
|-
|
|
|
|
|132
|133
|134
|
|136
|137
|138
|139
|140
|141
|142
|143
|-
|144
|145
|146
|147
|148
|149
|150
|151
|152
|153
|154
|155
|156
|157
|158
|159
|-
|
|
|162
|163
|164
|165
|166
|167
|168
|
|170
|171
|172
|173
|174
|175
|-
|176
|177
|178
|179
|180
|
|182
|183
|184
|185
|186
|187
|188
|189
|190
|191
|-
|192
|193
|194
|195
|196
|197
|198
|199
|200
|201
|202
|203
|204
|205
|206
|207
|-
|208
|209
|210
|211
|212
|213
|214
|215
|216
|217
|218
|219
|220
|221
|222
|
|-
|224
|225
|226
|227
|228
|229
|230
|231
|232
|233
|234
|235
|236
|
|238
|
|-
|240
|241
|242
|243
|244
|245
|246
|
|
|249
|250
|
|252
|253
|254
|255
|}

==List of forks==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" colspan=2|Name
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
! scope="col"|[[libretro]]
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
|rowspan=2|Mesen 2-based
|[https://github.com/nesdev-org/MesenCE MesenCE]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/nesdev-org/MesenCE/actions/workflows/build.yml Maintenance Builds]
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
|- style="background:red"
|[https://github.com/TheAnsarya/Nexen Nexen]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/TheAnsarya/Nexen/releases Releases]
|{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|rowspan=2|Mesen 1-based
|[https://github.com/mkwong98/Mesen Mesen (mkwong98)]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[https://github.com/mkwong98/Mesen/releases Beta Builds]
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|-
|[https://github.com/NovaSquirrel/Mesen-X Mesen-X]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[https://github.com/NovaSquirrel/Mesen-X/releases/ 2023-09-11] [https://github.com/negativeExponent/libretro_builds/releases libretro core]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|}

WE STRONGLY DISCOURAGE THE NEXEN FORK BECAUSE IT'S BEING CODED USING AI. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.<ref>https://github.com/TheAnsarya/Nexen/issues/2189#issuecomment-4442487427</ref>

===Comparisons===
;[https://github.com/NovaSquirrel/Mesen-X Mesen-X]:This fork was meant to centralise development efforts that were happening in multiple different forks of Mesen 1. No longer under active development, and now [https://github.com/NovaSquirrel/Mesen-X/issues/152 officially deprecated as of Mesen 2's release].

==Trivia==
Origins of the name essentially come from two things:

* It's "NES EMulator", backwards -> Mesen.
* It's the Japanese word used to talk about a person's gaze or point of view, (目線 - めせん - Mesen), which is the reason why the logo is an eye icon.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201015055201/https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen/issues/426#issuecomment-401466936 Mesen's Name Origins]</ref>
*
[[File:目線.ogg]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{TurboGrafx-16/SuperGrafx emulators}}
{{WonderSwan/WonderSwan Color emulators}}
{{Famicom (NES) emulators}}
{{Super Famicom (SNES) emulators}}
{{Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators}}
{{Game Boy Advance emulators}}

[[Category:Emulators]]
[[Category:Console emulators]]
[[Category:Home console emulators]]
[[Category:Multi-emulators]]
[[Category:Famicom (NES) emulators]]
[[Category:Super Nintendo emulators]]
[[Category:PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) emulators]]
[[Category:Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators]]
[[Category:Add-on console emulators]]
[[Category:Super Game Boy emulators]]
[[Category:Windows emulation software‏‎]]
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
[[Category:macOS emulation software]]
[[Category:Netplay]]
[[Category:Custom assets]]