Difference between revisions of "Sega Genesis emulators"

From Emulation General Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Emulators)
(Tags: Mobile edit, Mobile web edit)
(recent nightly builds supports SegaCD games mostly.)
(45 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 22: Line 22:
  
 
==Emulators==
 
==Emulators==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
+
<div style="max-width:100%; overflow:auto;">
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
+
! scope="col"|Latest version
 
! scope="col"|CD
 
! scope="col"|CD
 
! scope="col"|32X
 
! scope="col"|32X
Line 38: Line 39:
 
|[[BlastEm]]
 
|[[BlastEm]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
|[https://www.retrodev.com/blastem/changes.html {{BlastEmVer}}]
+
|[https://www.retrodev.com/blastem/changes.html {{BlastEmVer}}] [https://www.retrodev.com/blastem/nightlies/ Nightly builds] <br/> [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]
|{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{}}<ref group=N name=blastemCD>Recent blastem-nightly builds supports Sega CD</ref> ||{{✗}}[https://old.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/b6ktic/blastem_genmd_emu_062_released/ejlgfi0/ *] ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Genesis Plus GX]]
 
|[[Genesis Plus GX]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
|{{GenPlusGXVer}}
+
|{{GenPlusGXVer}} [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} <ref group=N name=libretroonly>On some platforms, this emulator is ''only'' available as a libretro core.</ref> ||{{{✗}} <ref group=N name=noncomm>Due to using a [[Licensing#Non-commercial licenses|non-commercial license]]. Source code is still publicly available.</ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}}[https://github.com/ekeeke/Genesis-Plus-GX/issues/64 *] ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} <ref group=N name=libretroonly>On some platforms, this emulator is ''only'' available as a [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/windows/x86_64/latest/ libretro core] ([https://tasvideos.org/Bizhawk/Libretro bizhawk compatible]). </ref> ||{{✗}} <ref group=N name=noncomm>Due to using a [[Licensing#Non-commercial licenses|non-commercial license]]. Source code is still publicly available.</ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Kega Fusion]]
 
|[[Kega Fusion]]
Line 51: Line 52:
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[Exodus]]
+
|[[PicoDrive]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
|[http://www.exodusemulator.com/index.php/downloads/current-release {{ExodusVer}}]
+
|[http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php {{PicoDriveVer}}] [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/ libretro core]
|{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} <ref group=N name=picoinput>PicoDrive Libretro/BizHawk version doesn't have stylus and turn page support, while the Windows standalone version does. </ref> ||{{}} <ref group=N name=libretroonly /> ||{{}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[BizHawk]]
 
|[[BizHawk]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
|[http://tasvideos.org/BizHawk/ReleaseHistory.html {{BizHawkVer}}]
+
|[http://tasvideos.org/BizHawk/ReleaseHistory.html {{BizHawkVer}}] [https://gitlab.com/TASVideos/BizHawk/-/pipelines Dev builds]
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
+
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}} <ref group=N name=picoinput /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[ares]]
 
|[[ares]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
 
|[https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/releases {{aresVer}}]
 
|[https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares/releases {{aresVer}}]
|{{}} ||{{✓}} ||? ||{{✗}}||{{✓}}||{{✓}}||{{~}}
+
|{{~}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}||{{✓}}||{{✓}}||{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
|[[PicoDrive]]
+
|[[Exodus]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
|[http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php {{PicoDriveVer}}]
+
|[http://www.exodusemulator.com/index.php/downloads/current-release {{ExodusVer}}]
|{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} <ref group=N name=libretroonly /> ||{{}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✗}} ||{{}}
+
|{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{✗}} ||{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[MAME]]
 
|[[MAME]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]
 
|[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]
|{{}} ||{{}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{}}
+
|{{~}} ||{{~}} ||{{~}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[FinalBurn Neo]]
 
|[[FinalBurn Neo]]
Line 109: Line 110:
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|[https://github.com/higan-emu/higan/releases {{higanVer}}]
 
|[https://github.com/higan-emu/higan/releases {{higanVer}}]
|{{~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}}<small>(bsnes)</small> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
+
|{{~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|-
 
|Megado
 
|Megado
Line 130: Line 131:
 
|[[Genesis Plus GX]]
 
|[[Genesis Plus GX]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Linux|Pandora}}
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Linux|Pandora}}
|{{GenPlusGXVer}}
+
|{{GenPlusGXVer}} [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/android/latest/ libretro core]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} <ref group=N name=libretroonly /> ||{{✗}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} <ref group=N name=libretroonly /> ||{{✗}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
Line 139: Line 140:
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[PicoDrive]]
 
|[[PicoDrive]]
|align=left|{{Icon|Pandora|Gizmondo|Wiz}}<br/>{{Icon|GP2X}}
+
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|Pandora|Gizmondo|Wiz}}<br/>{{Icon|GP2X}}
|[http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php {{PicoDriveVer}}]
+
|[http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php {{PicoDriveVer}}] [https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/android/latest/ libretro core]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} <ref group=N name=libretroonly /> ||{{✗}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} <ref group=N name=libretroonly /> ||{{✗}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|-
Line 170: Line 171:
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|}
 
|}
 +
</div>
 
<references group=N />
 
<references group=N />
  
Line 179: Line 181:
 
:;[https://github.com/libretro/Genesis-Plus-GX-Wide Genesis Plus GX Wide]
 
:;[https://github.com/libretro/Genesis-Plus-GX-Wide Genesis Plus GX Wide]
 
:Custom fork of Genesis Plus GX available as a libretro core, it includes experimental widescreen options. Sega CD/Mega CD games are currently unsupported.
 
:Custom fork of Genesis Plus GX available as a libretro core, it includes experimental widescreen options. Sega CD/Mega CD games are currently unsupported.
 +
 +
;[[BizHawk]]
 +
:"Just works out of the box" solution for Genesis/Mega Drive, CD & 32X, bundled with two cores (Genplus-GX/Genesis Plus GX without [https://github.com/TASEmulators/BizHawk/issues/1528 Nuked OPN2 support] and PicoDrive), ensuring both excellent compatibility and good speed without needing to mess with RetroArch. Compatible with "genesis_plus_gx_libretro and picodrive_libretro".
  
 
;[[Kega Fusion]]
 
;[[Kega Fusion]]
Line 184: Line 189:
  
 
;[[Exodus]]
 
;[[Exodus]]
:Think [[bsnes]], but for the Genesis. Even though higan also emulates Genesis games, Exodus has already achieved cycle accuracy at the familiar cost of high system requirements. It is the newest Genesis emulator and is far from complete.
+
:Think [[higan]], but for the Genesis. Even though higan also emulates Genesis games, Exodus has already achieved cycle accuracy at the familiar cost of high system requirements. It is the newest Genesis emulator and is far from complete.
  
 
;[[PicoDrive]]
 
;[[PicoDrive]]
Line 193: Line 198:
  
 
;[[MAME]]
 
;[[MAME]]
:Has the parent drivers <code style="color:green">genesis</code>, <code style="color:green">sms</code>, <code style="color:green">gamegear</code>, <code style="color:darkred">segacd</code>, and <code style="color:darkred">32x</code>. Green drivers are reported as OK, where red ones are reported as not working as of version 0.200.
+
:Has the parent drivers <code style="color:green">genesis</code>, <code style="color:darkred">segacd</code>, <code style="color:darkred">32x</code> and <code style="color:darkred">Pico</code>. Green drivers are reported as OK, where red ones are reported as "preliminary" as of version 0.246.
  
 
;[[GENS]]
 
;[[GENS]]
 
:Close to Kega Fusion in features and compatibility, but has largely been surpassed by better emulators. There are many different forks and iterations of Gens, so your experience will differ quite a lot depending on which version you use.
 
:Close to Kega Fusion in features and compatibility, but has largely been surpassed by better emulators. There are many different forks and iterations of Gens, so your experience will differ quite a lot depending on which version you use.
  
;[[higan]]
+
;[[higan]] / [[ares]]
 
:Also developing cycle-accurate Genesis emulation, akin to its very own [[Super Nintendo emulators|SNES emulator]] bsnes. It's promising but incomplete.
 
:Also developing cycle-accurate Genesis emulation, akin to its very own [[Super Nintendo emulators|SNES emulator]] bsnes. It's promising but incomplete.
  

Revision as of 10:48, 22 September 2022

Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
RS39200 Megadrive.png
Sega-Genesis-Mk2-6button.jpg
Sega-Nomad-Front.jpg
Top: PAL Sega Mega Drive.
Middle: Sega Genesis Model 2 with 6-button controller.
Bottom: Sega Genesis Nomad, portable variation.
Developer Sega
Type Home video game console
Generation Fourth generation
Release date 1988
Discontinued 1997
Predecessor Master System
Successor Saturn
Emulated

The Sega Genesis is a 16-bit, fourth-generation console released by Sega in Japan on October 29, 1988 and in the US on August 14, 1989. It had a Motorola 68000 CPU at 7.6 MHz and a Zilog Z80 at 3.58 MHz. In other regions, it was known as the Mega Drive. It had several add-ons, including the Sega CD (a CD add-on, called Mega CD outside America) and the 32X (a 32-bit, cartridge-based add-on).

The Sega CD was released on October 15, 1992, and retailed for $299.99 and had a Motorola 68000 CPU at 12.5 MHz and 64 kbit of RAM. The Sega 32X was released on November 21, 1994 for $159.99. It had 2 SH-2 RISC CPUs at 23 MHz with 256KB of RAM and 256KB of VRAM.

Genesis emulation is very good, with a high degree of game compatibility (many of them claiming nearly 100% compatibility with commercial games, including Virtua Racing). They are available on many platforms. Many Genesis emulators also feature compatibility with the Sega Master System (SMS), and the Game Gear (GG) as well as earlier Sega consoles. Genesis-based arcade boards and the Sega Pico are still sketchy, however.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Latest version CD 32X Pico libretro FLOSS Active Recommended
PC / x86
BlastEm Windows Linux macOS 0.6.2 Nightly builds
libretro core
[N 1] *
Genesis Plus GX Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 1.7.5 RC1 libretro core * [N 2] [N 3]
Kega Fusion Windows Linux macOS 3.64
PicoDrive Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 1.93 libretro core [N 4] [N 2] [N 3]
BizHawk Windows Linux 2.9.1 Dev builds ~ [N 4]
ares Windows Linux macOS v136 ~ ~
Exodus Windows 2.1 ~
MAME Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 0.264 ~ ~ ~ ~
FinalBurn Neo Windows Linux macOS Stable WIP builds [N 3]
Gens/GS Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD r7
DGen Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 1.33
Genecyst MS-DOS x.xx
KGen/KGen98 MS-DOS 034b
9804
GENS Windows Linux BeOS 2.14
higan Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD v110 ~
Megado Windows Linux git ?
Regen Windows Linux 0.972 ?
AloneMD Windows 1.0.2 ?
Mobile / ARM
Genesis Plus GX Android iOS Linux Pandora 1.7.5 RC1 libretro core [N 2] [N 3]
MD.emu Android Dragonbox Pyra 1.5.77 (Android)
1.5.46.02 Pyra
PicoDrive Android Pandora Gizmondo GP2X Wiz
GP2X
1.93 libretro core [N 2] [N 3]
Consoles
NeoGenesis Xbox V25 ?
Genesis Plus GX GameCube Xbox 360 Wii 1.7.5 RC1
RetroArch 360 0.9.8.3
[N 3]
PicoDrive PlayStation 2 Wii
PSP
1.93
PicoDrive 1.51b
1.18.0
[N 3]
Virtual Console Wii N/A
Sega Genesis Plus Xbox 360 Libxenon ?
  1. Recent blastem-nightly builds supports Sega CD
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 On some platforms, this emulator is only available as a libretro core (bizhawk compatible).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Due to using a non-commercial license. Source code is still publicly available.
  4. 4.0 4.1 PicoDrive Libretro/BizHawk version doesn't have stylus and turn page support, while the Windows standalone version does.

Comparisons

BlastEm
Aims for cycle accuracy but unlike Exodus, aims for lower system requirements and has substantially higher compatibility. Development seems to have slowed down though.
Genesis Plus GX
A solid emulator for the Sega Genesis / Sega Master System / Sega CD / Game Gear. The only things it lacks are 32X and Pico support, and a native desktop port. The only way to get this emulator on the desktop is to use the libretro core, which allows for all the benefits of RetroArch like shaders, dynamic sync, and other enhancements. The version used in BizHawk adds features for speedrunners.
Genesis Plus GX Wide
Custom fork of Genesis Plus GX available as a libretro core, it includes experimental widescreen options. Sega CD/Mega CD games are currently unsupported.
BizHawk
"Just works out of the box" solution for Genesis/Mega Drive, CD & 32X, bundled with two cores (Genplus-GX/Genesis Plus GX without Nuked OPN2 support and PicoDrive), ensuring both excellent compatibility and good speed without needing to mess with RetroArch. Compatible with "genesis_plus_gx_libretro and picodrive_libretro".
Kega Fusion
The project of an employee with previous experience at Sega. Kega Fusion has high compatibility, is easy to use, and has plugin-based filter support but it has some issues on newer versions of Windows which can be solved with compatibility settings.
Exodus
Think higan, but for the Genesis. Even though higan also emulates Genesis games, Exodus has already achieved cycle accuracy at the familiar cost of high system requirements. It is the newest Genesis emulator and is far from complete.
PicoDrive
Strongly prioritizes performance over accuracy. Compatibility and accuracy aren't as good as Genesis Plus GX but it's useful on very underpowered systems like the Raspberry Pi Zero. Currently the first and only cross-platform option for 32X and Pico games.
Regen
A focus on accuracy has earned it's high compatibility with games, but it does not emulate the Sega CD and 32X. It also allows overclocking.
MAME
Has the parent drivers genesis, segacd, 32x and Pico. Green drivers are reported as OK, where red ones are reported as "preliminary" as of version 0.246.
GENS
Close to Kega Fusion in features and compatibility, but has largely been surpassed by better emulators. There are many different forks and iterations of Gens, so your experience will differ quite a lot depending on which version you use.
higan / ares
Also developing cycle-accurate Genesis emulation, akin to its very own SNES emulator bsnes. It's promising but incomplete.

Lock-On Emulation

Lock-On Technology is a unique feature found on Sonic & Knuckles cartridges for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis that allowed a player to connect an older game to the cartridge's pass-through port for extended or altered gameplay.

  • With Sonic 3: Unlocks an alternate version of Sonic 3 with more levels.
  • With Sonic 2: Unlocks an alternate version of Sonic 2 with playable Knuckles.
  • With Sonic 1: Unlocks the Blue Sphere minigame with a level select to all possible levels.

The Sonic & Knuckles cartridge can lock on to other cartridges:

  • Smaller than 2MB: Will play a single random level from the Blue Sphere minigame generated from data in the header.
  • Bigger than 2MB: Will boot to Sonic & Knuckles.
  • Has Battery Pack: All save data will be wiped out.

Most emulators don't support Lock-On save for Genesis Plus GX, but there are pre-combined ROMs for the Sonic trilogy available online that can be played as a regular Megadrive ROM on any emulator and still work. The Sonic 3 Complete romhack also achieves the same purpose.

Genesis Plus GX's RetroArch core includes true Lock-On emulation. From the Core Options menu, you can enable the Lock-On feature for either Sonic & Knuckles, Game Genie, or the Action Replay (Pro) -- the latter two using a different technology but with similar effects. Setting this option to anything other than "Off" will enable Lock-on to the cartridge you're currently playing as. After resetting, the game will boot in Lock-On mode.

The following files need to be under the directory for BIOS files (usually "system"):

  • sk.bin (Sonic & Knuckles (2 MiB) ROM)
  • sk2chip.bin (Sonic & Knuckles UPMEM (256 KiB) ROM): If you can't find it online, extract it with a hex editor from a pre-combined Sonic 2 & Knuckles ROM from offset 00300000 to the end of the ROM.

For GG/AR, the files needed are areplay.bin and ggenie.bin, but most emulators support cheat codes from these natively.

Mega Drive Plus / Genesis Plus / MSU-MD modes

The Mega Drive Plus / Genesis Plus (sometimes abbreviated as MD+) is a special mode for certain Genesis games that use enhanced CDDA tracks with a Sega CD. This was not used in any official games, however, the mode itself was first used in the first batch of Pier Solar releases. This feature was been documented to be used on Terraonion's Mega SD flash cartridge, to give similar effects for Genesis games in a way how MSU-1 does in patched SNES games. Another variant was been made for Mega Everdrive PRO, named as MSU-MD.

Currently, only Genesis Plus GX supports both modes as mentioned here, while Kega Fusion supporting games which can only run in MSU-MD mode.

External links

Dreamcast logo.png
Consoles: SG-1000Master SystemGenesis / Mega DriveCD32XPicoSaturnDreamcast
Handhelds: Game GearVMU / VMS
Arcade: System seriesModel 1Model 2Model 3NAOMI