Recommended emulators

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What are recommended emulators?[edit]

Well, they're emulators that are recommended by wiki authors/contributors.

Please consider these while recommending an emulator:

  • have high compatibility (and mappers support for systems like NES, GB/GBC, SMS/GG)
  • various hardware features like connectivity, peripherals and special hardware support etc.;
  • offering useful enhancement features;
  • be capable of running on various modern devices/operating systems and run full speed on modern affordable hardware - something like: Vulkan 1.3/D3D12 (12_1) GPU with drivers still up-to-date and AVX2 supported CPU;
  • generally, be usable day-to-day by even the not-so-tech-savvy users;
  • be improved regularly--in other words, be active and, preferably, be open-source (not closed-source), as that ensures that any active programmer can keep the software in shipshape condition and able to run on latest operating systems.
  • accuracy-focused emulators are only recommended when they're have reasonable amount of compatibility compared to general-use emulators. This one should only be considered for Homebrew, Game engine recreations and source ports and development/developer communities or users that just want to ensure they'll be able to play most games with the least amount of unexpected/unreported glitches or timing issues etc. (Do NOT use "preserve the hardware's inner workings for posterity" mindset for recommendation on emugen wiki)

And also there are very early or limited options for specific systems like Xbox 360, if that is the case, authors/contributors usually "recommend or somewhat recommend" that emulator if it has some level of compatibility.

The list of recommended emulators is available on each Console page. Check the console page in Category:Consoles and look at the "Recommended" column.

What aren't recommended emulators?[edit]

Emulators that aren't the best in those categories. They still may be good emulators, and offer many great features, but are not the best option for general users or falls short compared to other emulators.

And also there are unemulated systems or very early emulation systems like V.Flash, if there are emulators for that system that can't run any of the commercial game or software then do NOT "recommend or somewhat recommend" that emulator (e.g. "just a stub with no actual execution", MAME's "MACHINE_SKELETON" state).