Comparison of Sega Mega Drive emulators
From Sega Retro
The following is a comparison of the most popular Sega Mega Drive/Genesis emulators:
Emulation Capabilities
Key for 68000:
- D: Supports all documented instructions.
- F: Supports undocumented flag operations.
- A: Supports Address Error.
- M: Supports undocumented MOVEM read behavior.
- V: Properly emulates DIVS/DIVU cycle timing.
Key for Z80:
- D: Supports all documented instructions.
- U: Supports all undocumented instructions.
- F: Supports undocumented flag operations.
- R: Properly emulates the 'R' register.
- T: Properly emulates all instruction cycle timing.
Key for YM2612 (In addition to numeral rating):
- S: Supports SSG-EG
- C: Supports YM2612 DAC Debug register $2C
Key for VDP (In addition to numeral rating)
- D: DMAs block Z80 68k bus access
- C: CRAM Dot emulation
- S: Zero Size DMA Transfers
Emulator | 68000 | Z80 | VDP | YM2612 | PSG | DAC | Speed | Compatibility | Debugging Capabilities | Overall |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AGES | *** | *** | ** | ** | *** | **** | **** | *** | None | *** |
Exodus | DFAMV | DUFRT | 5 DCS | 4 S | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | Yes, sophisticated | 5 |
DGen | *** | *** | *** | *** | *** | ** | **** | *** | None | *** |
GenaDrive | ** | not present | ** | * | not present | not present | ** | * | None | * |
Genecyst | ** | *** | *** | *** | ** | ** | 5 | *** | Partial | *** |
Generator | *** | *** | **** | *** | **** | *** | ** | *** | None | *** |
Genesis Plus | **** | **** | **** | **** | *** | *** | * | **** | None | **** |
Gens | D | DU | **** | 2 | **** | **** | 5 | **** | partial, DebuGens, Gens KMod | **** |
Gens/GS | D | DU | 2 S | 2 | **** | **** | 5 | **** | None | **** |
Gens/GS II | D | DUF | 2 S | 2 | **** | **** | 5 | **** | None | **** |
HazeMD | 4 | Yes, separate build (hazemdd.exe) | 3 | |||||||
Kega Fusion | D | 3 S | 4 S | 4 | 2 * | 5 | 5 | None | 4 | |
Megasis | **** | *** | *** | **** | *** | **** | *** | *** | None | *** |
Regen | 4 | 4 S | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | Yes, buggy | 4 |
- DAC / YM Timers / Z80 speed emulation results in way too smooth playback
Operating Platform
Emulator | DOS | Windows | Mac OS X | GNU/Linux | BSD | BeOS | Dreamcast | Xbox | PlayStation 2 | PlayStation Portable | GameCube/ Wii |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AGES | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
DebuGens | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
DGen | Yes (v.1.04a and lower) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Genecyst | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
GenEm | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Generator | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
Genesis Plus | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | As MEGADRIVE for PSP | Yes |
Gens | Yes (v.1.05 and lower) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | As Gens-X, Gens_xport and Xenesis | As PGen | No | No |
Gens/GS | No | Yes (r5 and later) | Not officially supported | Yes | Not officially supported | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Gens/GS II | No | Yes | Not officially supported | Yes | Not officially supported | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Gens Plus! | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Gens Rerecording | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
HazeMD | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Kega Fusion | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Megasis | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
PSPGenesis | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Regen | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
retroDrive | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Triton | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Emulation Support
Emulator | Mega CD | Sega 32X | Sega Master System | Sega Game Gear | SG-1000 | SC-3000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AGES | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
DebuGens | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
DGen | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Genecyst | No | No | No | No | No | No |
GenEm | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Generator | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Genesis Plus | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Gens | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Gens/GS | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Gens/GS II | Yes | Yes | No (in progress) |
No (in progress) |
No (in progress) |
No |
Gens Plus! | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Gens Rerecording | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
HazeMD | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Kega Fusion | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Megasis | No | No | No | No | No | No |
PSPGenesis | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Regen | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
retroDrive | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Triton | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |