Master System/Game Gear emulators: Difference between revisions

|name=Game Gear

|image=Sega-Game-Gear-WB.png

|image_size=250px

|manufacturer=[[Sega]]

|type=[[:Category:Handheld video game consoles|Handheld video game console]]

|generation=[[:Category:Fourth-generation video game consoles|Fourth]]

|release_date=JP: October 6, 1990<br>NA/EU: April 1991<br>AUS: 1992

|discontinued=WW: April 30, 1997 (Sega)<br>NA: 2002 (Majesco Entertainment)

|successor=[[Genesis Nomad]]

|emulated={{Ya}}

The '''[[wikipedia:Master System|Master System]]''' is an 8-bit console released by [[wikipedia:Sega|Sega]] on October 20, 1985, in Japan (as "Mark III"; in all actuality, the Master System and Mark III differ a bit due to the original Japanese release having more features, such as card functionality and backward compatibility with '''[[wikipedia:Sega SG-1000|SG-1000]]''', which the Master System lacks) and in September of 1986 in the US. It was retailed for {{Inflation|USD|199.99|1986}}. It had a Zilog Z80A at 4 MHz with 8 KBs of RAM and 16 KBs of VRAM. It had a Yamaha YM2602B VDP GPU. It was designed to be a direct competitor to the [[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|Nintendo Entertainment System]] and was technically superior to it in some ways. The Sega Game Gear was released in April of 1991 and was a competitor for the Game Boy. It had a backlit screen, color, and a nice-looking design. It retailed for {{Inflation|USD|149.99|1991}}. It had a Zilog Z80 CPU at 3.5 MHz with 8 KBs of RAM and 16 KBs of VRAM.

There are a lot of hardware similarities between the SMS and the Game Gear (GG). Notably, SMS game cartridges can actually be played on the '''[[gametech:Sega Game Gear|Game Gear]]''' via an adapter. For this reason, most SMS emulators can also run GG games.

|+{{Emulator comparison introduction}}

!libretro core

|[https://snepulator.net/android.html Snepulator]

| align="left" |{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}||{{Ya}}

|[https://github.com/JoppyFurr/Snepulator/releases {{SnepulatorVer}}]||{{Green}} {{License|MIT}} ({{License|Permissive}})

|?

<small>(SMSHawk)</small>

|[https://gitlab.com/TASVideos/BizHawk/-/pipelines Dev builds]<br>[http://tasvideos.org/BizHawk/ReleaseHistory.html {{BizHawkVer}}]

|MasterGear  

|||{{Na}}

|||{{Na}}

|||{{Na}}

|||{{Na}}

|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]<br>[https://github.com/notaz/picodrive/releases 1.93]<br> [https://github.com/irixxxx/picodrive {{PicoDriveVer}} (irixxxx's fork)]

|||{{Ya}}

|||{{Na}}

|||{{Na}}

|||{{Na}}

|[[BlastEm]]<ref>Only standalone version for now.</ref>

| align="left" |{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}||{{Ya}} 

|[https://www.retrodev.com/blastem/nightlies/ Nightly builds]  

|?||{{Ya}} 

|{{Dunno}}

| align="left" |{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}||{{Ya}}

|[[FinalBurn Neo]]

| align="left" |{{Icon|Android|iOS}}||{{Ya}}

|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]||{{Yellow}} {{License|NC}}

|||{{Ya}}

|[[Genesis Plus GX]]<ref>Only available on PC and mobile as a libretro core.</ref>

|[https://snepulator.net/android.html Snepulator MS]

| align="left" |{{Icon|Android}}||{{Ya}}

|[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.snepulator.ms {{SnepulatorVer}}]

|{{Green}} {{License|MIT}} ({{License|Permissive}})

|||{{Na}}

|ApprenticeminusDS

| align="left" |{{Icon|NDS}}||{{Na}}

|[https://www.gamebrew.org/wiki/Apprentice_MinusDS 0.4.0]||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}}

|||{{Na}}

|||{{Ya}}

|MasterBoy

| align="left" |{{Icon|PSP}}||{{Na}}

|[https://archive.org/details/masterboy.-7z 2.10]||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}}

| align="left" |{{Icon|3DS|Switch|PS2|PSP|PS3}}||{{Ya}}

[http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php {{PicoDriveVer}}]

|||{{Ya}}

|SMS Plus DC

| align="left" |{{Icon|DC}}||{{Na}}

|0.2b||{{Yellow}} {{License|NC}}

|||{{Na}}

|SMS Plus GX

| align="left" |{{Icon|PS2|PSP|NGC|Wii|Xbox}}||{{Ya}}<br><small>(Libretro Core)</small>

|[https://www.retroarch.com/?page=platforms libretro core]

[https://emutopia.com/index.php/emulators/item/295-sega-master-system/410-sms-plus-gx Wii/NGC]

|{{Yellow}} {{License|NC}}

|||{{Ya}}

|[[Virtual Console]]

| align="left" |{{Icon|Wii|3DS}}||{{Na}}

|N/A||{{Red}} {{License|Proprietary}}

|[[Input lag|Input lag mitigating]]||{{Dunno}}

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Widescreen hacks#Emulators .282D.29|Widescreen hack]]

| {{Dunno}}

| {{Dunno}}

|[[Overclocking|Overclock]]||{{Dunno}}

| {{Dunno}}

|{{Enhancements/Post-processing/AI-powered filter compatible}}||{{Dunno}}

| {{Dunno}}

|[[High dynamic range#Inverse tone mapping|Inverse tone mapping compatible]]||{{Dunno}}

| {{Ya|link=https://www.libretro.com/index.php/category/hdr/}}

|{{Enhancements/Post-processing/Shader chain}}||{{Ya|link=https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/pull/1397}}

| {{Ya}}

|Automatic emulated controller connect/disconnect

|Automatic updater||{{Dunno}}

| {{Ya}}

|[[Frontends#Graphical User Interfaces .28GUIs.29|Big Picture Mode]]||{{Dunno}}

| {{Ya}}

| {{Ya}}

|Built-in [[Cheats and patches|cheat manager]]||{{Ya|link=https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1ay6fm1/ares_v136_released/krslaki/}}

| {{Ya}}

| colspan="6" |<small>Exclusive to [https://docs.libretro.com/guides/crtswitchres/ libretro cores] and [[GroovyMAME]] at the moment.</small>

<small>Also there is a [https://github.com/psakhis/Groovy_MiSTer project] for achieving software emulators like libretro cores and GroovyMAME send the raw RGB data over a network to a core running on MiSTer, it basically turns the MiSTer into a GPU for the emulator allowing for easy setup and use with CRT TVs/Arcade monitors.</small>

| {{Na}}

| {{Na}}

| {{Dunno}}

| {{Dunno}}

|Command-line options||{{Dunno}}

| {{Ya}}

| {{Ya}}

| {{Dunno}}

|Per-game profiles||{{Dunno}}

| {{Ya}}

|[https://www.portablefreeware.com/faq.php#portable Portable] and [https://www.portablefreeware.com/faq.php#stealth stealth]

<small>Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary [[Computer specifications#Operating System|prerequisites and dependencies]] for your operating system if it is not statically linked.</small>

|[[Save disk space for ISOs|Streamable compression format]]||{{Dunno}}

| {{Ya}}

|Fast forward/Turbo speed||{{Ya}}  

|{{Ya}}

|Frame step

|[[wikipedia:Macro_(computer_science)|Macros/Scripts]]/[https://tasvideos.org/LuaScripting Lua]||{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Rewind||{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|Save states||{{Ya}}

|{{Ya}}

|{{Dunno}}

|[[Sound and audio#Ambient sounds simulation|Ambient sounds simulation]]

|[[Sound and audio#Audio filters and presets|Audio filters and presets]]

|[[wikipedia:Category:Debugging|Debug features]]||{{Dunno}}

|[[Netplay#Master System|Netplay]]

<small>Should not be confused with link cable emulation.</small>

|[[RetroAchievements]]

|[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/1djp8ro/ares_v139_release/l9ckjp2/ roadmap]||{{Dunno}}

| {{Ya}}

|Rich Presence (RPC)

|Screen translator

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|On-cartridge save batteries

<small>Used by both Mark III/Master System and Game Gear for games.</small>

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Ya}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Keyboard||{{Dunno}}

|{{Na}}

|Light Phaser||{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Paddle Control||{{Ya|link=https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/pull/675}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Sega Graphic Board||{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|Sports Pad||{{Ya|link=https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/pull/692}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

| colspan="2" |FM Sound Unit||{{Ya|link=https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/issues/830}}

|{{Dunno}}

| colspan="2" |[https://segaretro.org/Gear-to-Gear_Cable#Compatible_games Gear-to-Gear Cable]

<small>The Gear-to-Gear Cable, known as the VS Cable in Japan, is an accessory for the Sega Game Gear. It allows two systems to be linked together and play multi-player games together.</small>

|[https://www.smspower.org/Homebrew/BOoM-SMS Furrtek's Master Tap]||{{Dunno}}

|{{Ya}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Na}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

| colspan="2" |System Converter||{{Dunno}}

|{{Ya}}

| colspan="2" |[[wikipedia:Hot_swapping#Gaming|Cartridge hot swapping]]

<small>It was sometimes possible to apply cheats (such as a player having infinite lives) and other temporary software alterations to games by hot swapping cartridges, even though the cartridges were not designed to be hot swappable.</small>

| colspan="2" |[http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Cartridge_tilting Cartridge tilting]

<small>{{YouTubePlaylist|PLkAqx5EV7l_DkwOv4WmVEBLv39WPEUm3dCartridge tilting is an action performed on cartridge-based systems to create otherwise impossible glitches. Cartridge tilting is not a glitch, but rather the process which creates glitches.}}</small>

| colspan="6" |<small>There is no emulator currently includes built-in cartridge tilting simulation. As a workaround, you can try the external [https://github.com/redscientistlabs/RTCV Real-Time Corruptor (RTCV)] tool. It is a real-time memory/data corruption tool for inducing glitches during emulation, which might mimic some effects of cartridge tilting (e.g., visual/audio artifacts or crashes). However, it is not a true "cartridge tilting" simulator, as it works on live memory rather than simulating cartridge read errors.</small>

| colspan="2" |''GG Aleste 3'' compatibility||{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

| colspan="2" |Switch between 315-5216, 315-5237, 315-5297, GG I/O chips||{{Dunno}}

| colspan="2" |Switch between 315-5124, 315-5246, 315-5378 video processors||{{Dunno}}

|{{Dunno}}

Named ''Sega Keyboard SK-1100''. It essentially adds some of the missing features of the SC-3000 to an SG-1000 or Sega Mark III. It is not compatible with the Japanese / Korean models of Master System due to pinout differences in their respective expansion ports.

Most known emulators such as Ares, Kega Fusion, MEKA, MAME, and Genesis Plus GX do support this add-on. Unfortunately, this soundboard was not carried to the Sega Genesis by any means and must be modded by the owner or through flash carts such as ''Mega Everdrive X7''.

Known as ''SegaScope 3-D Glasses'', it is a 3D glasses set to be used within the Card port (or with a headphone jack in Japanese models of SMS). It works similar, but way better, than Famicom 3D System games.

Working similarly to the ''TV Tuner'', the ''Stereo FM Tuner'' is an unlicensed special cartridge that allows a Game Gear owner to hear FM radio stations. It was released only in the United States, but it can work in any country that accepts the 87.5 ~ 108.0 MHz bands for FM broadcasting.

Just like the ''TV Tuner'', the cartridge itself has no actual software, so, it is not emulated for now.

The ''Gear-to-Gear Cable'' is a cable that allows two players to compete with each other in several games.

The 3DS Virtual Console emulator, m2engage, allows ''Gear-to-Gear Cable'' emulation through Local Play. Alternatively, the Game Gear emulator used in ''Sonic Origins Plus'' also allows several Sonic games to be used in their respective Versus modes.

Two games released in Sega Card, ''Pit Pot'' and ''Hang-On'' display an incompatibility message if they are played in a real SG-1000/SC-3000 through the ''Card Catcher''. This feature predicts the not backward compatible warning screens from Game Boy Color-only games by more than 15 years.

Emulators that are updated still to this very day such as MEKA, Genesis Plus GX, MAME, and Emulicious, can handle almost every kind of unlicensed cartridge mapper known to the community. Most of them are used for multicarts that contain original SMS games, SG-1000 games, or even unlicensed MSX1 conversions. Notably, the only unlicensed Western cartridge with a custom mapper is ''4 PAK All Action'' from HES, which was released only in Australia.

Conversions of MSX1 and ColecoVision games made by bootleg companies in Taiwan or South Korea (except for ColecoVision) or by the community. While made primarily thanks to the legacy video modes inherited from SG-1000, they are optimized for Master System and Game Gear through flash carts such as ''Master Everdrive'' and ''Everdrive GG''. They will not work on a Sega Genesis.

International Master System models do have a ROM header routine check. Most games that originated from Japanese-style cartridges do not include this ROM header, which forces the BIOS to give a '''SOFTWARE ERROR''' message, regardless from an adapter or through a custom flash cart. The only BIOS that bypasses this check is the one included in Japanese and Korean models. On Game Gear, the Majesco-manufactured models include a BIOS that works in the same way as the TMSS from Sega Genesis, except the routine is performed in the same way as the International Master System models do.

| rowspan="1" |Arcade

|Sega System E

|{{Dunno}}

|{{WIP-Box}}||{{Ya}}

A revised version of the SG-1000. It combines the VDP and SN76489 in one single chip. A prototype diagnosis program, ''SG-1000 M2 Check Program'', can be used to test hardware problems and emulators' accuracy.