ares vs Lakka

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.

Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that turns a small computer into a retrogaming console. It is built on LibreELEC and RetroArch, with RetroArch serving as its graphical interface and providing unified emulator configuration and joypad autoconfiguration. Listed features include automatic controller recognition, rewinding, netplay, and shaders. Official builds target Raspberry Pi, Allwinner, iMX6, Amlogic, and 32-bit and 64-bit PC systems. Installation uses USB images specific to the target hardware, and installation instructions cover GNU/Linux, Windows, and MacOS. The PC version is intended for dedicated hardware and does not support virtualization, dual boot, or CD and DVD installation. Users must supply their own ROMs; documentation also covers BIOS files. Netplay requires both players to use the same ROM, and cores without savestate support cannot use it. Lakka is community-driven and open source, and the listed price is free; required hardware is not included. The project says it remains under heavy development, so bugs, missing features, or unsupported hardware may occur.