Recommended emulators

What are recommended emulators?

Recommended emulators are reviewed by wiki authors/contributors. The list of recommended emulators is available on each emulation page, check the Wiki page and look at the "Recommended" column.

Emulators are listed in the order of most recommended on top and least recommended on bottom.

Recommendation levels

Recommendation level	Appearence	Description	Template call
Recommended	✓	Recommended emulator. One of the better emulators for the given system(s)	{{✓}} or {{Y}}
Semi-recommended	~	Semi-recommended emulator. Typically an emulator lower compatibility than higher recommended emulators.	{{~}}
Unknown recommendation	?	Untested emulator. An emulator that has not been tested/tested enough.	{{?}}
Further research needed.	!	Further research needed to see if recommended. Typically a emulator that was recently added to the article.	{{R}}
Not recommended	✗	Not recommended emulator. Surpassed by other emulators.	{{✗}} or {{N}}

Recommending emulators

If you want to change the recommendation of a emulator that is listed as 'unknown recommendation' or 'further research needed' you can:

Note follow the recommendation guide below:

• Edit the article your self

or to be on the safe side

• Contact the editor(s) of the article using the talk page

These are not strict rules but a guideline that should be considered while recommending an emulator:

Recommended

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• 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;

• Being 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;

• Being 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.
  • They are playable on mid-end systems, or high-end systems for newer consoles.

Semi-recommended

This should be a small amount of the listed emulators, otherwise should be listed as recommended or not recommended.

• Meets only a few of the recommended guidelines, e.g hard to use GUI but meets the other guidelines.

• 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.

• if it has some level of compatibility, emulators lacking competition (like Xbox 360) or the system is in very early emulation.

Not recommended

• If the emulator(s) for that system can not run any commercial software or game.
  • un-emulated systems, very early emulated systems with little or no compatibility, MAME's "MACHINE_SKELETON" state.
• Falls short of the semi-recommended emulator(s) or considerably short of the recommended emulator(s)