ares vs Nexen
ares
ares-emu.netNexen
github.comSide by side
| Figure | ares | Nexen |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · Game Console Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 7.2 (#33) |
| Spec score · TurboGrafx-16 Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 7.2 (#21) |
| Spec score · SNES Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 7.3 (#20) |
| Spec score · Multi-System Emulators | 8.9 (#2) | 7.1 (#47) |
| Spec score · Sega Master System Emulators | 9.0 (#2) | 7.1 (#18) |
| License | The source code is distributed under the ISC license. | The project says its additions are released under The Unlicense while the base code remains under GPL v3. |
| Save states | Save states let users resume games that lack native saving. | It provides unlimited timestamped saves per game, a visual picker, and 36 rolling checkpoints at five-minute intervals. |
| Supported systems | The catalogue includes Arcade, Atari 2600, WonderSwan, ColecoVision, NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Sega systems, Neo Geo Pocket and PlayStation. | The README lists NES, SNES, Game Boy and Color, Game Boy Advance, Master System and Game Gear, PC Engine, WonderSwan, and Atari Lynx as fully supported. |
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.
Nexen
Nexen is a free, open source multi-system emulator for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It lists eight fully supported systems: NES, SNES, Game Boy and Color, Game Boy Advance, Master System and Game Gear, PC Engine, WonderSwan, and Atari Lynx. CPU and PPU emulation is cycle-accurate, with full coprocessor support listed for several SNES chips. Each game can have unlimited timestamped saves, a visual picker, and 36 rolling checkpoints at five-minute intervals. Movie tools support frame-by-frame recording and playback, rerecording, and imports and exports for BK2, FM2, SMV, LSMV, VBM, and GMV files. A TAS editor provides a piano-roll timeline, undo and redo, greenzone seeking, alternate branches, and Lua scripting. Debugging tools include a disassembler, memory viewer, breakpoints, trace and code/data logging, and a profiler. Nexen also lists rollback netplay and exports symbols, code coverage data, cross-references, and source maps to Pansy for the Flower Toolchain. Sega Genesis, Atari 2600, and Fairchild Channel F support remain in progress.