Mesen

2025-04-08T00:57:40Z

172.69.90.164:

__FORCETOC__
{{Infobox emulator
|title = Mesen
|logo = Mesen2logo.png
|logowidth = 64
|version = {{Version|Mesen}}
|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)]]
|developer = [https://github.com/SourMesen Sour (Mesen 1 and Mesen 2)]; [https://github.com/mkwong98/Mesen mkwong98 & NovaSquirrel] have a fork that has released numerous "beta" builds
|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/SourMesen/Mesen2 GitHub]
}}
'''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 report is actively discussed by Sour at the [https://forums.nesdev.org/viewtopic.php?t=24391 NesDev forums].

==Download==
{| cellpadding="4"
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|macOS}}
|[https://www.mesen.ca/#Downloads '''Dev builds (official website)''']
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|macOS}}
|[https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2#development-builds Dev builds (GitHub)]
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|macOS}}
|[https://www.emucr.com/search/label/Mesen Dev builds (EmuCR)]
|}

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

==Overview==

According to test ROMs, it is ranked as the most compatible NES/FDS emulator, slightly above [[puNES]] with a score of 100%.<ref>https://www.mesen.ca/#Compatibility</ref>

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.

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

==Hardware support==
===Mappers===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|0
|1
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|32
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|64
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|96
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|101
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|103
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|111
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|-
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|132
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|162
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|}

==List of forks==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
! scope="col"|[[libretro]]
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
!colspan="8"|PC / x86
|-
|[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]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
|}

===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}}

{{Nes}}

[[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:Windows emulation software‏‎]]
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
[[Category:macOS emulation software]]
[[Category:Netplay]]
[[Category:Custom Assets]]
[[Category:Inactive emulation software]]

Emulation General Wiki - User contributions [en]

Mesen