ClassicBoy Pro vs higan

ClassicBoy Pro is an Android emulator for retro games, with a ROM scanner and game database. Its maker describes about twenty built-in emulation cores for systems including PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, NES, Super NES, Sega systems, arcade games, and Atari 2600. External plugins extend support to systems such as Nintendo DS, MAME, Sega Saturn, and PC Engine/CD. The app can scan selected files or directories to identify games for a browsable library, where users can locate or favorite them. Controls include touchscreen buttons, external gamepads, customizable layouts, gestures, and accelerometer input; the maker lists gesture and sensor controls as premium features. Other listed tools include adjustable game speed, cheat codes, save and load states, and game-data import and export. Wireless controllers can connect over Bluetooth. The free version includes on-screen buttons and gamepad mapping. The app is listed for Android and Windows through Google Play Games, but the listing does not show in-app purchase prices. It does not include ROMs, and users must have the right to play each ROM.

higan is a free, standalone multi-system emulator for Windows, macOS, Ubuntu Linux and FreeBSD. It focuses on accuracy, preservation and configurability, and emulates systems including Famicom, Super Famicom, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Mega Drive, PC Engine, MSX, ColecoVision, Neo Geo Pocket and WonderSwan. Official releases are available through the project’s GitHub releases page. Automated nightly builds are also listed for Windows, macOS, Ubuntu Linux and FreeBSD, but those builds are untested. The distribution includes icarus, a game library importer, along with the libco, nall, ruby and hiro components. The project was originally developed by Near. higan is free software under the GNU General Public License version 3 or a later version. The license states that the software comes without warranty. For community support, the project links to a discussion forum and a Discord chat. Its standalone format is listed as an emulation format, and the supported desktop systems include more than the general Linux, macOS and Windows platform listing.