bsnes vs Hemulator

bsnes is a free, open-source emulator for Super Nintendo and Super Famicom games, with support for Super Game Boy and Satellaview. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Graphics options include HD Mode 7 with optional supersampling, a multi-threaded PPU renderer, and OpenGL multi-pass pixel shaders. The emulator also provides low-level emulation for SNES coprocessors such as DSP-n, ST-01n, and Cx4. It accepts standard ROM files, optional higan game folders, and 7-zip decompression, and can apply BPS and IPS soft patches. Its games database has thousands of entries, and its cheat database covers hundreds of popular games. Save states can include screenshot previews and names, with undo and redo. Other tools include rewind, frame advance, cheat code search, movie recording and playback, and screenshots. Speed settings are 50%, 75%, 100%, 150%, and 200%, with smooth audio output retained. The project lists nightly builds for Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD.

Hemulator is a free, open-source emulator for classic gaming systems on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The project lists 17 systems, with support at different stages of development. It detects ROM formats and system types automatically, and gives users five save-state slots for each game. Display settings include software and OpenGL-accelerated CRT effects such as scanlines and phosphor filters; audio playback is integrated through rodio. Users can adjust controls, window dimensions, video backend, and display filters. Headless command-line tools provide debug dumps, instruction tracing, logging, and benchmarking. The documentation also describes using these tools in CI/CD for automated testing and repeatable regression checks. Windows and Linux packages are listed, including 32-bit and 64-bit builds and Debian packages. Users must supply their own legally obtained ROM files; Hemulator does not include or distribute copyrighted game data. NES emulation supports 14 mappers, so games that rely on unsupported mappers will not work. The project directs users to GitHub bug reports, feature requests, and Discussions for help.