Master System emulators
| |
| |
| Top: Sega Master System. Bottom: Sega Game Gear. | |
| Developer | Sega |
|---|---|
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Third generation |
| Release date | 1985 |
| Discontinued | 1996 |
| Predecessor | SG-1000 |
| Successor | Genesis / Mega Drive |
| Emulated | ✓ |
The Sega Master System (SMS) is an 8-bit console released by 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 SG-1000, which the Master System lacks) and in September of 1986 in the US. It was retailed for $199.99. 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 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 $149.99. 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 Game Gear via an adapter. For this reason, most SMS emulators can also run GG games.
Internally the Master System extends Sega's older SG-1000 by adding more RAM and a single new video mode; since the SG-1000 was built from the same CPU, video, and audio chips as the ColecoVision. Many Master System emulators also run ColecoVision games.
Emulators
| Name | Platform(s) | Latest Version | System E |
GG | libretro | Retro Achievements |
Accuracy | FLOSS | Active | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC / x86 | |||||||||||
| Genesis Plus GX[1] |    
|
libretro core | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Very high | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| MAME |
|
0.265 libretro core |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | High | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| ares |
|
v137 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | High | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Emulicious |
|
2024-04-30 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Very high | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| BizHawk |
|
2.9.1 | ✓[2] | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Very high | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | |
| Cega |
|
git | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Cycle | ✓ | ✓ | TBD | |
| FinalBurn Neo |
|
libretro core Stable WIP builds |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✗[3] | ✓ | TBD | |
| Phoenix |
|
2.8.JAG | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Very high | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| higan |
|
v110 | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | High | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| TwoMbit |
|
1.0.5 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Very high | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| CLK |
|
2024-01-22 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Very high | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Gearsystem |
|
3.5.0 | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | High | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| MasterGear |
|
4.9.3 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | High | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Pantheon |
|
13.640 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | High | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Kega Fusion |
|
3.64 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Mid | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| PicoDrive |
|
1.93 | ✗ | ✗[4] | ✓ | ✓ | Mid | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| FreezeSMS |
|
4.6 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Very high | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| DarcNES |
|
9b0401/9b0313 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Low | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| MEKA |
|
0.8-alpha (2023-08-26) | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ? | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| SMS Plus |
|
git | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ? | ? | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Osmose |
|
1.4 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ? | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| HiSMS |
|
0.01 beta | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ? | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | |
| nemulator |
|
4.4 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ? | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Essgee |
|
git | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ? | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Mobile / ARM | |||||||||||
| Genesis Plus GX[1] |   
|
libretro core | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Very high | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| MasterGear |
|
4.9.3 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | High | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| MasterEmu |
|
4.0.1 git |
✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | High | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| MD.emu | 
|
1.5.77 (Android) 1.5.46.02 (Pyra) |
✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | High | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| PicoDrive |
|
libretro core | ✗ | ✗[4] | ✓ | ✓ | Mid | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| GearMasterPlayer |
|
1.0.5 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | High | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Consoles | |||||||||||
| PSMS alt+ | 
|
1.2 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | High | ? | ✗ | ✓ | |
| PicoDrive |   
|
1.93 | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ? | Mid | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Genesis Plus GX |    
|
1.7.5 RC1 | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ? | Mid | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| MasterBoy |
|
2.10 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Mid | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | |
| Virtual Console |
|
N/A | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Mid | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | |
| ApprenticeminusDS | 
|
0.4.0 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Mid | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | |
| SMS Plus DC | 
|
0.2b | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Mid | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | |
| DrSMS | 
|
6.0 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Mid | ✗ | ✗ | ~ | |
| UltraSMS | 
|
2000 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Low | ~ | ✗ | ✓ (GG only) | |
| MasterGear | 
|
0.2 | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | Low | ✗ | ✗ | ~ | |
 |
Consoles: SG-1000 • Master System • Genesis / Mega Drive • CD • 32X • Pico • Saturn • Dreamcast Handhelds: Game Gear • VMU / VMS Arcade: System series • Model 1 • Model 2 • Model 3 • NAOMI |
