Systems /
Also known as Famicom
Nintendo's 8-bit console, launched as the Famicom in Japan in 1983. It revived the home console market after the 1983 crash and introduced Mario, Zelda and Metroid.
11 emulators
A multi-system emulator focused on accuracy and preservation, continuing the work of higan. It covers Nintendo, Sega, NEC, SNK and other consoles with a simpler interface.
A multi-system emulator built for tool-assisted speedruns, with frame-perfect input recording, memory tools and Lua scripting across dozens of cores.
A long-running NES/Famicom emulator popular with ROM hackers and speedrunners for its debugger, PPU viewer, Lua scripting and movie recording.
An arcade emulator continuing FinalBurn and FinalBurn Alpha, covering boards such as Capcom CPS-1/2/3, Neo Geo and many Sega, Konami and Toaplan systems, plus a set of consoles and home computers. It is the main emulator behind Fightcade's online play.
Near's accuracy-first multi-system emulator, which grew out of bsnes. It now only gets occasional maintenance commits; development of its cores continues in ares.
The Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, a long-running project to document and preserve arcade hardware that covers thousands of boards and, since absorbing MESS, many computers and consoles as well.
A command-line multi-system emulator whose PlayStation, Saturn and PC Engine modules aim for high accuracy. It also covers Nintendo and Sega consoles and handhelds, the Atari Lynx, Virtual Boy and Apple II.
A multi-system emulator best known for its accurate NES core and deep debugging tools, also covering SNES, Game Boy, GBA, PC Engine, SMS/Game Gear and WonderSwan. Sour's repository is now an archive of version 2.1.1 (mid-2025); development continues as Mesen CE.
The community-maintained continuation of Mesen, run by the NESdev community, with the same multi-system cores and debugging tools.
The Undead Edition of Nestopia, a highly accurate NES/Famicom emulator, maintained since the original author stopped development. Since version 2.0 its cross-platform GUI is built on the Jolly Good Emulation project's Qt frontend.
An accurate NES/Famicom emulator and NSF player with very wide mapper and UNIF board support, shader presets, rewind, a cheat editor and a Qt interface.
Nothing matches those filters. Know one we're missing? Add it.
Mini consoles and FPGA hardware that play NES software. About hardware
An FPGA board designed by Till Harbaum to re-create the Amiga and Atari ST, later joined by many 8-bit computer, console and arcade cores. It loads software from an SD card and has analog video output.
Photo: Evan-Amos · Public domain · source
A cartridge console from Hyperkin with slots for NES, Famicom, SNES, Super Famicom, Mega Drive and Game Boy cartridges, which it plays in software emulation over 720p HDMI, with save states and cheats.
Photo: DemonDays64 · CC BY 4.0 · source
Nintendo's miniature NES with 30 built-in games. Sold as the NES Classic Edition in North America and the Nintendo Classic Mini in Europe.
Photo: MiNe · CC BY 2.0 · source
Nintendo's miniature Famicom for Japan, about 60% of the original's size, with 30 built-in games. As on the original, its two controllers are wired to the console.
Photo: Evan-Amos · Public domain · source
An FPGA console with both NES and Famicom cartridge slots, four controller ports and 720p HDMI output. RetroUSB calls it the first FPGA NES console; it was discontinued in December 2025.
An FPGA console for NES and Famicom cartridges with both HDMI and analog RGB output. A Nt mini Noir edition followed in 2020.
Photo: sorgelig, MiSTer project (DE10-Nano with the MiSTer SDRAM and I/O boards) · GPL-3.0 (project repository) · source
The Intel Cyclone V SoC development board that the MiSTer project is built on. Most MiSTer cores also need an add-on SDRAM board, and analog video needs an I/O board.
A low-cost MiST-compatible FPGA board designed by Manuel Fernández Higueras, with a Cyclone IV FPGA, USB ports for controllers and VGA output. MiST cores are resynthesised for it.
A modular console that installs games from original discs and cartridges and runs them in software emulation. The base unit reads CD-based games; Element Modules, sold separately, add NES, SNES, Mega Drive, N64 and other cartridge slots.
A low-cost FPGA board from Retro Remake that is compatible with the DE10-Nano used by the MiSTer project. It is sold in production batches, bundled with SDRAM and, in larger packs, an analog I/O board and USB hub.
The successor to the SiDi, a MiST-family FPGA board with a larger Cyclone 10 LP FPGA and two SDRAM chips, adding HDMI, optical audio and joystick ports.
A ready-built console from Heber that runs the open-source MiSTer FPGA project, with 128 MB SDRAM on board so it plays all standard MiSTer cores. The Analogue model adds RGB and VGA outputs and a cartridge expansion slot.
A MiSTer-compatible FPGA console from Retro Remake styled after the PSone, with ports for original PlayStation controllers and memory cards. It runs the MiSTer cores for other consoles and computers too.
Hardware re-creations for FPGA boards such as MiSTer. What's an FPGA core?
| Format | What it is |
|---|---|
.nes | iNES cartridge image |
.unf | UNIF cartridge image |
.fds | Famicom Disk System image |
.nsf | NES music file |
