Difference between pages "Sega Genesis emulators" and "MelonDS"

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{{Infobox console
+
{{lowercase title}}
|title = Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
+
{{Infobox emulator
|logo = RS39200_Megadrive.png
+
|title = melonDS
|image = Sega-Genesis-Mk2-6button.jpg
+
|logo = MelonDS.png
|image2 = Sega-Nomad-Front.jpg
+
|logowidth = 80
|imagecaption = '''Top:''' PAL Sega Mega Drive.<br/>'''Middle:''' Sega Genesis Model 2 with 6-button controller.<br/>'''Bottom:''' Sega Genesis Nomad, portable variation.
+
|version = {{MelonDSVer}}
|developer = [[:Sega]]
+
|active = Yes
|type = [[:Category:Home consoles|Home video game console]]
+
|platform = [[Emulators on PC|Windows]]<br/>[[Emulators on Linux|Linux]]<br/>[[Emulators on macOS|macOS]]<br/>[[Emulators on Android OS|Android]]<small> (Unofficial)</small><br/>[[Emulators on Switch|Nintendo Switch]]<br/>[[Emulators on Vita|PlayStation Vita]]
|generation = [[:Category:Fourth-generation video game consoles|Fourth generation]]
+
|target = [[Nintendo DS emulators|Nintendo DS]]
|release = 1988
+
|developer = [https://github.com/Arisotura Arisotura]<br/><small>[https://github.com/Arisotura/melonDS/graphs/contributors Repository contributors]</small>
|discontinued = 1997
+
|accuracy = Medium-Accurate
|predecessor = [[Master System emulators|Master System]]
+
|website = [http://melonds.kuribo64.net/ melonds.kuribo64.net]
|successor = [[Sega Saturn emulators|Saturn]]
+
|support = [https://www.patreon.com/staplebutter Patreon]
|emulated = {{✓}}
+
|prog-lang = C, C++
 +
|license = GNU GPLv3
 +
|source = [https://github.com/Arisotura/melonDS GitHub]
 +
|bios          = [[Emulator_Files#Nintendo_DS_.2F_DSi|Required for DSi]]
 
}}
 
}}
The '''[[gametech:Sega_Genesis|Sega Genesis]]''' is a 16-bit, fourth-generation console released by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega 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 {{Inflation|USD|299.99|1992}} 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 {{Inflation|USD|159.99|1994}}. It had 2 SH-2 RISC CPUs at 23 MHz with 256KB of RAM and 256KB of VRAM.
+
'''melonDS''' is a free and open-source [[Nintendo DS emulators|Nintendo DS]]/[[Nintendo DSi emulators|DSi emulator]] aiming for better performance than [[DeSmuME]] and to emulate Wi-Fi and local multiplayer capabilities. It is developed by Arisotura (formerly known as StapleButter), a former contributor to DeSmuME, and has been available as a [[libretro]] core since version 0.6.
  
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 [[Master System emulators|Sega Master System]] (SMS), and the [[Master System emulators|Game Gear]] (GG) as well as earlier Sega consoles. Genesis-based arcade boards and the [[Sega Pico]] are still sketchy, however.
+
==Downloads==
 
+
{| cellpadding="4"
==Emulators==
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
 
! scope="col"|Name
 
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
 
! scope="col"|Latest Version
 
! scope="col"|CD
 
! scope="col"|32X
 
! scope="col"|[[Sega Pico|Pico]]
 
! scope="col"|[[Libretro|Libretro Core]]
 
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
 
! scope="col"|Active
 
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
 
|-
 
!colspan="10"|PC
 
|-
 
|[[BlastEm]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
 
|[https://www.retrodev.com/blastem/changes.html {{BlastEmVer}}]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[Exodus]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[http://www.exodusemulator.com/index.php/downloads/current-release {{ExodusVer}}]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[Genesis Plus GX]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|{{GenPlusGXVer}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}* ||{{~}} <ref group=N name=noncomm>While this emulator is open-source, its software license explicitly forbids commercial usage of any kind. The Free Software Foundation [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html#selling are not fans of this approach].</ref> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[BizHawk]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[http://tasvideos.org/BizHawk/ReleaseHistory.html {{BizHawkVer}}]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||? ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[Kega Fusion]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
 
|[http://www.carpeludum.com/kega-fusion 3.64]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[PicoDrive]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|[http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php {{PicoDriveVer}}]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}<ref group=N name=PicoDrive>Only recommended for running 32X software as a cross-platform alternative to Kega Fusion.</ref>
 
|-
 
|[[FinalBurn Neo]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS}}
 
|[https://github.com/finalburnneo/FBNeo/releases/latest Stable] [https://ci.appveyor.com/project/tmaul/fbneo-kbhgd/branch/master WIP builds]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|[[MAME]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|[http://www.mamedev.org/release.html {{MAMEVer}}]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|[http://segaretro.org/Gens/GS Gens/GS]
+
|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|Mac}}
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|'''[http://melonds.kuribo64.net/downloads.php Official Builds]'''<br/><small>Also available on [https://github.com/Arisotura/melonDS/releases Github]</small>
|[http://www.dusers.drexel.edu/gitweb/gitweb.cgi/~korth/gens.git r7]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|[http://dgen.sourceforge.net/ DGen]
+
|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|Mac}}
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
+
|'''[https://github.com/Arisotura/melonDS/actions Dev Builds]'''
|[http://sourceforge.net/projects/dgen/files/dgen/ 1.33]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|[[Genecyst]]
+
|colspan="3"|<hr/>
|align=left|{{Icon|DOS}}
 
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20070205202050/http://www.zophar.net/genecyst/gcystxxx.zip x.xx]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|[[GENS]]
+
|align=center|{{Icon|Android-big}}
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|BeOS}}
+
|'''[https://github.com/rafaelvcaetano/melonDS-android Source]''' '''[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.magnum.melonds Play Store]''' <br/> Unofficial melonDS Android port
|[http://gens.me/downloads.shtml 2.14]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|[[higan]]
+
|colspan="3"|<hr/>
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
 
|[https://github.com/higan-emu/higan/releases {{higanVer}}]
 
|{{~}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}<small>(bsnes)</small> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|Megado
+
|align=center|{{Icon|NX-big}}
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
+
|'''[https://github.com/RSDuck/melonDS/releases Release 6]<br>[https://gbatemp.net/threads/melonds-for-switch-continuation.570021/ GBATemp Thread]'''<br><small> Ported by Hydr8gon, and currently maintained by Generic (aka RSDuck), who added an ARM64 JIT and other improvements. (Unofficial)</small><!--I don't know what the current status is for the Switch Port in terms of compatibility-->
|[https://github.com/merwaaan/megado git]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|-
 
|-
|Regen
+
|align=center|{{Icon|Vita}}
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux}}
+
|[https://github.com/Rinnegatamante/melonDS-Vita Vita port]<br><small>No longer maintained</small>
|[http://aamirm.hacking-cult.org/www/regen.html 0.972]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
|-
 
|AloneMD
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}
 
|[https://up1.xwikisas.com/#650YS5cXMSc7sGflY1dqeg 1.0.0]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||?
 
|-
 
!colspan="10"|Mobile / ARM
 
|-
 
|[[Genesis Plus GX]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Linux|Pandora}}
 
|{{GenPlusGXVer}}
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|MD emu
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|Pyra}}
 
|[https://pyra-handheld.com/repo/apps/77 1.5.46.01 Pyra]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[PicoDrive]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Android|iOS|Linux|Symbian}}
 
{{Icon|Pandora|Gizmondo|GP2X|Wiz}}
 
|[http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php {{PicoDriveVer}}]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}<ref group=N name=PicoDrive />
 
|-
 
!colspan="10"|Consoles
 
|-
 
|NeoGenesis
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Xbox}}
 
|[https://digiex.net/threads/neogenesis-v25-download-sega-genesis-megadrive-32x-segacd-megacd-emulator.13698 V25]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[Genesis Plus GX]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|GCN|Xbox360|Wii|3DS}}
 
|[https://bitbucket.org/eke/genesis-plus-gx/downloads {{GenPlusGXVer}}]<br/>[https://digiex.net/threads/retroarch-360-0-9-8-3-download-sega-sens-gameboy-finalburn-emulator-for-xbox-360.12395 RetroArch 360 0.9.8.3]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[PicoDrive]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|PS2|PSP|3DS}}
 
|[http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php {{PicoDriveVer}}]<br/>[https://www.ps2-home.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=1710 PicoDrive 1.51b]
 
|{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}} ||{{~}} <ref group=N name=noncomm /> ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|[[Virtual Console]]
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Wii}}
 
|N/A
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✓}} ||{{✓}}
 
|-
 
|Sega Genesis Plus
 
|align=left|{{Icon|Xbox360}}
 
|[https://digiex.net/threads/sega-genesis-plus-libexnon-genesis-megadrive-emulator-for-xbox-360-download.9936 Libxenon]
 
|{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}} ||? ||{{✗}} ||{{✗}}
 
 
|}
 
|}
<references group=N />
 
  
<nowiki>* Available exclusively as a libretro core</nowiki>
+
==Overview==
 +
As of 0.9.1, melonDS offers:
 +
* Nearly complete core (CPU, video, audio, ...)
 +
* JIT recompiler for fast emulation
 +
* OpenGL renderer, 3D upscaling
 +
* RTC, microphone, lid close/open
 +
* Joystick support
 +
* Savestates
 +
* Various display position/sizing/rotation modes
 +
* (WIP) Wifi: local multiplayer, online connectivity
 +
* (WIP) DSi emulation
 +
* DLDI
 +
* (WIP) GBA slot add-ons
 +
...and more are planned.
  
===Comparisons===
+
Though it's not as mature as DeSmuME in some areas, it's a relatively simple emulator to use and has potential.
;[[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.
 
:;[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.
 
;[[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.
 
;[[PicoDrive]]:Strongly prioritizes performance over accuracy. Compatibility and accuracy isn'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.
 
;[[Exodus]]:Think [[bsnes]], but for the Genesis. Even though higan is also getting into the Genesis game, 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.
 
;[http://aamirm.hacking-cult.org/www/regen.html Regen]:A focus on accuracy has earned it high compatibility with games, but it does not emulate the Sega CD and 32X. It also allows [[overclocking]].
 
;[[BlastEm]]:Aims for cycle-accuracy but unlike Exodus, aims for lower system requirements. It has substantially higher compatibility than Exodus, but it should be noted that the last and current official release has inaccurate color emulation.
 
;[[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]]:Also developing cycle-accurate Genesis emulation, akin to its very own [[Super Nintendo emulators|SNES emulator]] bsnes. It's promising but incomplete. However, it can be used in the latest builds.
 
;[[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.
 
  
==Lock-On Emulation==
+
==Cheats/BIOS==
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.
+
* <B> [https://gbatemp.net/threads/deadskullzjrs-nds-cheat-databases.488711 Cheats Database]</B>
 +
* <B> [https://archive.org/details/ds-firmware_dsi-nand-and-firmware DSi NAND/BIOS + Firmware]</B>
  
* With Sonic 3: Unlocks an alternate version of Sonic 3 with more levels.
+
==Issues==
* With Sonic 2: Unlocks an alternate version of Sonic 2 with playable Knuckles.
+
Like most emulators, development has been rocky with at one point the sole developer putting the project on a [http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=42 hiatus in May of 2018] leaving this [http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=43 to-do list] for anyone who wished to contribute improving the emulator, which is still open-source. [http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=44 On July 2018] it was announced that development was going to continue for melonDS and has since shown potential.  
* 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:
+
There is very little to tweak in terms of improving performance (which can be a good or bad thing). This is mainly due to the developer's goal of accurate emulation rather than providing game-specific hacks.
  
* Smaller than 2MB: Will play a single random level from the Blue Sphere minigame generated from data in the header.
+
The OpenGL renderer is still being worked on, meaning that there's a slight chance some models/textures may not render correctly.
* 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.
+
==melonDSi==
 +
On October 15, 2019, Arisotura released [http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=103 the beta version of an emulator called melonDSi], an experimental melonDS branch for DSi emulation.  So far, it's able to boot into the home screen of the DSi's firmware and boot some DSiWare, DSi-Enhanced games and other features (cameras, DSP, new wifi, etc.) aren't supported yet.  It used to have required a lot of files to be dumped in order to work (most of which were console-unique), however it has been reworked to require less files (namely, the DSi ARM7 & ARM9 BIOS, the DSi Firmware, and a NAND dump). It has since been merged into the master branch and is available on melonDS 0.9.
  
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.
+
==Getting started==
 +
From the README on GitHub:
  
The following files need to be under the directory for BIOS files (usually "system"):
+
:''melonDS requires BIOS/firmware copies from a DS. Files required:''
* sk.bin (Sonic & Knuckles (2 MiB) ROM)
+
:*''bios7.bin, 16KB: ARM7 BIOS''
* 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.
+
:*''bios9.bin, 4KB: ARM9 BIOS''
 +
:*''firmware.bin, 128/256/512KB: firmware''
 +
:''Firmware boot requires a firmware dump from an original DS or DS Lite. DS firmwares dumped from a DSi or 3DS aren't bootable and only contain configuration data, thus they are only suitable when booting games directly.''
 +
:''DS BIOS dumps from a 3DS can be used with no compatibility issues. DSi BIOS dumps should be usable too, provided they were dumped properly.''
  
For GG/AR, the files needed are areplay.bin and ggenie.bin, but most emulators support cheat codes from these natively.
+
These files can be found [[Emulator_Files#Nintendo_DS_.2F_DSi|here]]. If you do choose to look elsewhere online for system files, be warned that there are old hacked dumps floating around that breaks if the WFC configurations are altered.
  
==Mega Drive Plus / Genesis Plus==
+
In order to use the OpenGL renderer, you must have at least OpenGL 3.1.
 +
More information can be found [http://melonds.kuribo64.net/faq.php in this FAQ].
  
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 [https://downloads.terraonion.com/public/MegaSD_DEV_Manual.pdf 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.
+
To use melonDS in DSi mode, you need extra files which can be found [[Emulator_Files#Nintendo_DS_.2F_DSi|on this page.]]
  
Currently, no Genesis + Sega CD emulators feature this function, although there is [https://github.com/ekeeke/Genesis-Plus-GX/issues/297 plans to be added] in Genesis Plus GX.
+
==Gallery==
 +
<gallery>
 +
Metroid2X.png|Top: 2x the native resolution without OpenGL. <br>Bottom: 2x the native resolution with OpenGL
 +
Chibi4x.png|Top: Native software render. <br>Bottom: 4x the native resolution with OpenGL
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
<!--==References==
 +
<references/>-->
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
* [http://wiki.megadrive.org/index.php?title=Main_Page MegaDrive Development Wiki] - A Wiki about every technical aspect of the SEGA MegaDrive hardware and software. Its aim is to provide the most detailed, accurate and up to date information, to help homebrew development and repairs.
+
* [https://emucross.com/the-one-that-flourished/ The One That Flourished: A Look at melonDS 0.8] (By [[Dolphin]] tester [https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/authors/JMC47/ JMC47], aka Justin M. Chadwick. 6 June 2019.)
* [http://segaretro.org/Category:Mega_Drive_emulators Mega Drive emulators] on Sega Retro
 
* [https://archive.org/details/sega_genesis_library ARCHIVE.ORG Console Library: Sega Genesis]
 
 
 
{{Sega}}
 
  
[[Category:Consoles]]
+
[[Category:Emulators]]
[[Category:Home consoles]]
+
[[Category:Consoles' emulators]]
[[Category:Sega consoles]]
+
[[Category:Handheld consoles' emulators]]
[[Category:Sega Genesis emulators|*]]
+
[[Category:Windows emulation software]]
[[Category:Fourth-generation video game consoles]]
+
[[Category:Linux emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:macOS emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Android emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Switch emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:PlayStation Vita emulation software]]
 +
[[Category:Nintendo DS emulators]]
 +
[[Category:Nintendo DSi emulators]]

Revision as of 01:28, 5 October 2021

melonDS
MelonDS.png
Developer(s) Arisotura
Repository contributors
Latest version 0.9.5
Active Yes
Platform(s) Windows
Linux
macOS
Android (Unofficial)
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation Vita
Emulates Nintendo DS
Accuracy Medium-Accurate
Website melonds.kuribo64.net
Support ($) Patreon
Programmed in C, C++
License GNU GPLv3
Source code GitHub
BIOS/Keys Required for DSi

melonDS is a free and open-source Nintendo DS/DSi emulator aiming for better performance than DeSmuME and to emulate Wi-Fi and local multiplayer capabilities. It is developed by Arisotura (formerly known as StapleButter), a former contributor to DeSmuME, and has been available as a libretro core since version 0.6.

Downloads

Windows Linux macOS Official Builds
Also available on Github
Windows Linux macOS Dev Builds

Android Source Play Store
Unofficial melonDS Android port

Switch Release 6
GBATemp Thread

Ported by Hydr8gon, and currently maintained by Generic (aka RSDuck), who added an ARM64 JIT and other improvements. (Unofficial)
Vita Vita port
No longer maintained

Overview

As of 0.9.1, melonDS offers:

  • Nearly complete core (CPU, video, audio, ...)
  • JIT recompiler for fast emulation
  • OpenGL renderer, 3D upscaling
  • RTC, microphone, lid close/open
  • Joystick support
  • Savestates
  • Various display position/sizing/rotation modes
  • (WIP) Wifi: local multiplayer, online connectivity
  • (WIP) DSi emulation
  • DLDI
  • (WIP) GBA slot add-ons

...and more are planned.

Though it's not as mature as DeSmuME in some areas, it's a relatively simple emulator to use and has potential.

Cheats/BIOS

Issues

Like most emulators, development has been rocky with at one point the sole developer putting the project on a hiatus in May of 2018 leaving this to-do list for anyone who wished to contribute improving the emulator, which is still open-source. On July 2018 it was announced that development was going to continue for melonDS and has since shown potential.

There is very little to tweak in terms of improving performance (which can be a good or bad thing). This is mainly due to the developer's goal of accurate emulation rather than providing game-specific hacks.

The OpenGL renderer is still being worked on, meaning that there's a slight chance some models/textures may not render correctly.

melonDSi

On October 15, 2019, Arisotura released the beta version of an emulator called melonDSi, an experimental melonDS branch for DSi emulation. So far, it's able to boot into the home screen of the DSi's firmware and boot some DSiWare, DSi-Enhanced games and other features (cameras, DSP, new wifi, etc.) aren't supported yet. It used to have required a lot of files to be dumped in order to work (most of which were console-unique), however it has been reworked to require less files (namely, the DSi ARM7 & ARM9 BIOS, the DSi Firmware, and a NAND dump). It has since been merged into the master branch and is available on melonDS 0.9.

Getting started

From the README on GitHub:

melonDS requires BIOS/firmware copies from a DS. Files required:
  • bios7.bin, 16KB: ARM7 BIOS
  • bios9.bin, 4KB: ARM9 BIOS
  • firmware.bin, 128/256/512KB: firmware
Firmware boot requires a firmware dump from an original DS or DS Lite. DS firmwares dumped from a DSi or 3DS aren't bootable and only contain configuration data, thus they are only suitable when booting games directly.
DS BIOS dumps from a 3DS can be used with no compatibility issues. DSi BIOS dumps should be usable too, provided they were dumped properly.

These files can be found here. If you do choose to look elsewhere online for system files, be warned that there are old hacked dumps floating around that breaks if the WFC configurations are altered.

In order to use the OpenGL renderer, you must have at least OpenGL 3.1. More information can be found in this FAQ.

To use melonDS in DSi mode, you need extra files which can be found on this page.

Gallery


External links