ares vs Sapphire
ares
ares-emu.netSapphire
dylanbutler.devSide by side
| Figure | ares | Sapphire |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · Game Boy Advance Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 6.7 (#26) |
| License | The source code is distributed under the ISC license. | Sapphire is licensed under the MIT License. |
| Purpose | ares is a cross-platform, open-source multi-system emulator focused on accuracy and preservation. | Sapphire is a Game Boy Advance emulator written from scratch in Go. |
| Save states | Save states let users resume games that lack native saving. | Save states work on desktop and in the browser, saving progress to a file or browser local storage. |
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.