ares vs Azahar
ares
ares-emu.netAzahar
azahar-emu.orgSide by side
| Figure | ares | Azahar |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Console Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 8.9 (#3) |
| Project history | ares began as a higan fork on March 25, 2020 and became public open source under Luke Usher's leadership on July 5, 2021. | The project continues the legacy of Citra and is actively developed by a community of contributors. |
| Purpose | ares is a cross-platform, open-source multi-system emulator focused on accuracy and preservation. | The project aims to let 3DS owners use their game libraries with features such as higher resolutions, modern controllers, and save states. |
Plans
In their own words
ares
ares is a free, open-source emulator for multiple systems, with a stated focus on accuracy and preservation. It supports systems including Arcade, Atari 2600, WonderSwan, ColecoVision, NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation, though some listed systems are experimental. Playback options include save states, run-ahead, rewind, and fast-forward. Pixel shaders and optional color correction can alter display characteristics, while Virtual Game-Pads let users configure controls for use across emulated systems. The interface framework uses WinAPI on Windows, Cocoa on macOS, and GTK2 or GTK3 on POSIX platforms. Simple debugging features such as trace logging support development of original software for supported systems. Windows builds support Windows 7 or later; AMD64 binaries require at least Intel Nehalem or AMD Jaguar architecture. macOS binaries require Catalina 10.15 and support Intel and Apple Silicon. The project prefers Linux users compile from source and points to third-party packages rather than official Linux binaries. Source code uses the ISC license. Android is not supported, and a BIOS is required.
Azahar
Azahar is a free, open-source emulator for Nintendo 3DS games, with standalone applications for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. It is intended to let 3DS owners use their game libraries with options such as higher resolutions, modern controllers and save states. The project also serves homebrew debugging, research and preservation of the 3DS ecosystem. Community contributors continue work associated with Citra. Libretro cores allow use with RetroArch and similar frontends, including on iOS and tvOS, but Azahar’s FAQ says native iOS support is not planned for the foreseeable future and points users to an iOS build of the original Citra instead. Android requires version 10.0 or later on a 64-bit device. A per-game compatibility tracker provides reports, though the FAQ warns that these may be outdated. The mobile app privacy policy says registration is not required and the app does not collect information. Azahar states that it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo.