MSX emulators

MSX

Developer	Microsoft, ASCII Corporation
Type	Computers
Generation	Z80-based home computers
Release date	1983
Discontinued	1996
Emulated	✓

MSX is a Z80-based family of home computers, designed by Microsoft in cooperation with ASCII Corporation, which appeared in 1983. They were popular in Asian, South American and European countries as well as the former Soviet Union, but are virtually unknown in North America.

MSX software came on a variety of media, including cassette tapes, 3.5" floppy disks, ROM cartridges, and even LaserDiscs. Only ROM cartridges are preserved on the No-Intro set for now. You'll also need an extensive BIOS ROM pack, though if you're using the blueMSX core in RetroArch, you'll only need four of them. There are game manager tools to help with configuring which BIOS and games come with which feature. The Japanese Wii Virtual Console also included basic MSX 2 emulation.

Emulators

Name	Platform(s)	Latest Version	MSX 1	MSX 2	MSX 2+	TurboR	Accuracy	libretro	Retro Achievements	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
openMSX		git	✓	✓	✓	✓	Cycle	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓
blueMSX blueMSX_libretro		2.8.2 libretro core	✓	✓	✓	✓	Cycle	✓	✓	✓	~	✓
MAME		git artifacts 0.266 libretro core	✓	✓	✓	~	High	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓
fMSX fMSX_libretro		6.0 libretro core	✓	✓	✓	✗	Mid	✓	✓	✗	✓	~
WebMSX		git	✓	✓	✓	✓	High	✗	✗	✓	✗	~
Emulicious		2024-05-31	✓	?	?	?	?	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗
ares		v138	✓	✓	?	?	?	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗
CLK		2024-06-03	✓	✓	✗	✗	Cycle	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗
Pantheon		14.062	✓	✓	~	~	High	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗
MSXPLAYer (fMSX based)		MSX Game Reader (Commercial)	✓	~	~	✓	Mid	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
DarcNES		9b0401/9b0313	~	✗	✗	✗	Low	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗
Mobile / ARM
openMSX		0.15.0	✓	✓	✓	✓	Cycle	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓
blueMSX_libretro		libretro core	✓	✓	✓	✓	Cycle	✓	✓	✓	~	✓
fMSX_libretro		libretro core	✓	✓	✓	✗	Mid	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓
MSX.emu (blueMSX tech)		1.5.77 1.5.46.02 PyraBuild 16 Pandora	✓	✓	✓	✓	High	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓
Consoles
blueMSX_libretro		libretro core	✓	✓	✓	✓	Cycle	✓	✓	✓	~	✓
fMSX_libretro		libretro core	✓	✓	✓	✗	Mid	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓
fMSX PSP		5.4.2 git	✓	✓	✓	✗	Mid	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓
PSPMSX		1.5.1	✓	✓	✓	✗	Mid	✗	✗	~	✗	✓
MiiSX		0.4	✓	✓	✓	✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
BlueMSXbox		v8	✓	✓	✓	✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
msxDS		0.94	✓	✓	✓	✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
MSXAdvance		0.4	✓	?	?	✗	Low	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗
DreamMSX DC		0.2g	✓	✓	?	✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
UltraMSX2		1.0	?	✓	?	✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗

You may also want to check out Takeda Toshiya's website for emulators of many old Japanese computer systems (see the Download section of the Common Source Code Project). Includes yayaMSX1, yayaMSX2, yayaMSX2+ (MSX/MSX2/MSX2+ emulators by Mr.tanam and Mr.umaiboux), yayaFS-A1 (by Mr.umaiboux) and ePX-7. Emu-France also has a bunch of Takeda's emulators mirrored. Their downloads are smaller than Takeda's own releases.

Comparisons

PC

openMSX

In recent years, it surpassed blueMSX in terms of accuracy and hardware support. It's also the only MSX emulator that supports Palcom LaserDisc games.

blueMSX

An inactive open source project with cycle accuracy and, thus, very high compatibility. It is also available as a libretro core.

WebMSX

An HTML5 emulator written in JavaScript by Paulo Peccin (ppeccin). It can be installed as a web app on iOS/Android/Desktop, and run offline. It has customizable touch controls and a virtual keyboard for mobile usage, and netplay support for multiplayer games. A more extensive list of features can be found at its GitHub page.

MSXPLAYer

A commercial emulator from the early 2000s that was also distributed through magazines and hardware. Its most recent version was accompanied with the MSX Game Reader produced between 2004 and 2005. The accuracy of its MSX 1 emulation was only above average, but it had surprisingly good TurboR accuracy.

Mobile

MSX.emu

Uses blueMSX's emulation backend and built on top of the developer's Imagine engine used in all his applications. It emulates the MSX range and ColecoVision. Most MSX games should run, and audio can be good. Sega SG-1000 support is planned in the future. Contact the developer for the Cydia store version on iOS.

Hardware Variants

Generations

There were multiple revisions to the MSX standard, reflected in greater or lesser support by emulators:

• the MSX 1 is the original 1983 machine, with a 3.58Mhz Z80, an AY 3-8910 sound chip, and a TMS video processor — it offers resolutions up to 256x192 with attribute-based colours, single-colour sprites and no hardware scrolling. This machine primarily differs from contemporaries such as the ColecoVision and Sega SC-3000 only in its sound chip;
• the MSX 2 is a 1985 revision that significantly upgrades the video processor; the maximum resolution is now 512x212, sprites are up to 16 colour, hardware vertical scrolling is available, more normative bitmap and non-attribute-based tile colour modes are offered, and primitive graphics acceleration is available — the video processor can independently perform tasks such as drawing lines and filling rectangles. Unlike the TMS chip in the MSX 1, no other machines use this video processor, so MSX 2 emulation is attempted less often than MSX 1 emulation;
• the MSX 2+ is a minor revision from 1988 that adds hardware support for horizontal scrolling and a few extra colour modes; some 2+ models offer an optional modest speed improvement to the Z80 to 5.37Mhz;
• the TurboR from 1990 offers the R800 processor as an alternative to the Z80, which is an offspring of the Z800, offering Z80 backwards compatibility with significantly increased throughput.

Commercial software overwhelmingly targets the MSX 1 or MSX 2 standards, with some able to benefit from the improved horizontal scrolling of the MSX 2+. Neither the 2+ nor the TurboR sold in substantial volumes, and a proposed MSX 3 standard never reached consumers.

Specific models

Main article: Manufacturers list (Wikipedia)

MSX machines were manufactured by a wide range of companies including Pioneer, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, Sanyo, Philips and LG Goldstar. Some of the notable machines include:

• the Pioneer Palcom PX-7, an MSX1 computer aimed at the Japanese market. It was meant for attaching to a LaserDisc player, and as such has Superimpose capabilities (putting pictures and texts above the Laser Disc image). The PSG sound is stereo, contrary to almost all MSX machines. Pioneer also sold the ER-101 interface (Laser Vision) unit which made it possible for all MSX computers to have the same functionalities as the Palcom PX-7;
• Panasonic's FS-A1 (1986), FS-A1mkII (W/ added keypad) and its Italian counterpart, the Toshiba FS-TM1 were based on the MSX2 standard; and
• Panasonic's FS-A1FX (1988) and FS-A1WX (W/ added MSX-MUSIC & a Japanese Word processor) are MSX 2+ derived hardware; the FS-A1WSX (1989) was the last MSX 2+ computer.

Resources

• MSX Assembly Pages (The ultimate source of information for the MSX programmer)
• Generation MSX (Fully searchable statistics & info database)
• Tagoo (The most extensive Japanese MSX Software database on the internet)
• MSX for beginners (MSX Resource Center)
• Links page of 'MSX Translations'
• ROM and disk images (The Ultimate MSX FAQ)
• MegaFlashRom (MSX Cartridge Shop. Cartridge with flash ROM memory.)

External links

• Accuracy ratings (from 2005)
• "Any lists of MSX/2 games that contain enough English..." (Reddit thread, Mar-20-2016. Many useful links.)