ColecoVision emulators

For other emulators that run on ColecoVision hardware, see Emulators on ColecoVision.

ColecoVision

Developer	Coleco Industries, Inc.
Type	Home video game console
Generation	Second generation
Release date	1982
Discontinued	1985
Predecessor	Telstar series
Emulated	✓

The ColecoVision was the second-generation video game console produced by Coleco in August 1982 before being discontinued in 1984, partly due to the ongoing crash in North America at the time. It retailed for $174.99 ($584 in 2026) and had a Zilog Z80 CPU at 3.58 MHz with 8 KBs of RAM. Notably, it provided gamers with experiences very much like the arcade versions of games, as well as having Donkey Kong as a pack-in title to showcase this, although the Atari 2600 and Intellivision could do the same with the respected hardware. It shares largely the same underpinnings as the SG-1000. Indeed, a clone of the SG-1000 known as the Dina 2-in-1 (sold in the United States as the Telegames Personal Arcade) had support for both SG-1000 and ColecoVision games, though compatibility with the latter is spotty due to the lack of an expansion module interface or a second numeric keypad, rendering two-player ColecoVision games unplayable.

Emulators

Name	Platform(s)	Latest version	Adam	libretro	Retro Achievements	License	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
BizHawk		2.11.1		✗	✓	MIT BSD-3-Clause	✓	✓
ColEm		5.6	✓	✗	✗	Proprietary	✓	✓
E.mul T.wo		git	✓	✗	✗	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✗	✓
ADAMEm SDL		git	✓	✗	✗	?	✓	✓
ADAMEm	Acorn	1.0 (MS-DOS)Acorn	✓	✗	✗	?	✗	✓
DSP		0.24WIP3		✗	✗	Non-commercial	✓	✓
ares		v148	✗	✗	roadmap	ISC (Permissive)	✓	✓
FinalBurn Neo fbneo_libretro		WIP builds libretro core	✗	✓	✓	Non-commercial	✓	✓^{[N 1]}
CoolCV		0.6.9		✗	✗	Proprietary	✓	✓
MAME		0.289	✓	✓	✗	GPLv2 BSD-3-Clause	✓	✓
Mugrat		0.5.0		✗	✗	Proprietary	✓	✓
Snepulator		git		✗	✗	MIT (Permissive)	✓	~
Pantheon		16.458		✗	✗	Proprietary	✓	~
Phoenix		2.8.JAG	✗	✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	~
vdmgr		0.2.7		✗	✗	Proprietary	✓	~
blueMSX blueMSX_libretro	^{[N 2]}	2.8.2 libretro core	✗	✓	✓	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	~^{[N 3]}	~
Mesen		2.2.1	?	?	?	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✓	TBD
Retro Virtual Machine		2.1.10		✗	✗	Proprietary	✓	TBD
JollyCV		1.0.1		✗	✗	BSD-3-Clause (Permissive)	✓	TBD
higan (火眼) byuu (謬/view)		v110	✗	✓	✗	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✗	✗^{[N 4]}
Clock Signal		2026-07-23		✗	✗	BSD-3-Clause (Permissive)	✓	✗
Bee		2.4.3		✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	✗
FreezeSMS		4.6		✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	✗
MEKA		2025-08-17	✗	✗	✓	Proprietary	✓	✗
DarcNES		9b0401/9b0313		✗	✗	Non-commercial	✗	✗
Mobile / ARM
ColEm+		5.6.4 (Android)	✓	✗	✗	Proprietary	✓	✓
NumPadPlayer		1.0.5	✗	✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	✓
fbneo_libretro		libretro core	✗	✓	✓	NC	✓	✓^{[N 1]}
MSX.emu (blueMSX tech)		1.5.85 git Pandora build 15 1.5.46.02	✗	✗	✗	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✓	✓
blueMSX_libretro		libretro core	✗	✓	✓	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	✓	~
Consoles
fbneo_libretro		libretro core	✗	✓	✓	Non-commercial	✓	✓^{[N 1]}
blueMSX_libretro		libretro core	✗	✓	✓	?	✓	✓
ColEm		2.6.1	?	✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	✓
WiiColEm		0.3	?	✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	✓
ColemPS2		2.0	?	✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	✓
AdamX		v4	✓	✗	✗	?	✗	✓
(D)ColEm		0.99	?	✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	✓
CollisionGC		1.01 b1		✗	✗	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	✗	✓
ColecoDS		11.0	✓	✗	✗	Proprietary	✓	✓
CoG		0.9.7 beta		✗	✗	?	✗	✗

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 FinalBurn Neo was confirmed as having better compatibility than MAME/MESS, blueMSX, openMSX and CoolCV. See this topic.
↑ Only available outside Windows as a libretro core (e.g., RetroArch).
↑ Libretro core is still active.
↑ Superseded by ares

Adam

Adam
Developer	Coleco
Type	Home computer
Generation	Second generation
Release date	1983
Discontinued	1985
Emulated	✓

The Coleco Adam is a home computer and expansion device for the ColecoVision by American toy and video game manufacturer Coleco. The Adam was an attempt to follow on the success of the company's ColecoVision video game console. It was available as Expansion Module #3 for the ColecoVision, converting it into a home computer, and as a standalone unit. As such, it had the benefit of being entirely compatible with all ColecoVision games and peripherals. The computer came with 64 KB of memory, a tape drive for a proprietary medium called Digital Data Packs, a daisy wheel printer, and productivity applications, along with two DDPs for SmartBASIC and Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom Super Game. It was released in October 1983 with the initial price of $700.

Hardware features and accessories

Name		BizHawk	ColEm	DSP	ares	FinalBurn Neo	MAME
Hardware features
Hardware features
Peripherals	Expansion Module #1	?	?	?	?	?	?
	Expansion Module #2	?	?	?	?	?	?
	Roller Controller	?	?	?	?	?	?
	Super Action Controller Set	?	?	?	?	?	?
Misc.
Misc.

Expansion Module #1

Attachable add-on that lets you play Atari 2600 games which contained reverse-engineered TIA chip with the rest of electronics being Atari's original console hardware.

Expansion Module #2

A driving controller (steering wheel + gas pedal) compatible with 5 games: Turbo, Destructor, Bump 'n' Jump, Pitstop, and The Dukes of Hazzard.

Roller Controller

A trackball natively compatible with 2 games: Slither and Victory. A joystick mode switch on the roller controller allows it to be used with others.

Super Action Controller Set

A set of two handheld joystick controllers. Each controller has a ball-top joystick, four finger triggered action buttons, a 12-button numeric keypad, and a "speed roller". Compatible with 4 games: Super Action Baseball, Super Action Football, Rocky Super Action Boxing and a conversion of the arcade game Front Line.