Dendy vs Nesbit
Dendy
github.comNesbit
nesbit.appSide by side
| Figure | Dendy | Nesbit |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 0 |
| Spec score · NES Emulators | 7.6 (#12) | 6.9 (#20) |
| Audio | Sound-chip emulation is described as work in progress and may produce pops and crackles. | Nesbit plays sounds from all four synthesized channels. |
| Controls | The emulator supports keyboard controls, likely detects connected gamepads, and emulates the Zapper with a mouse. | It provides an on-screen virtual controller on iOS and iPadOS and supports hardware keyboards and gamepads on all platforms. |
| Downloads | Prebuilt binaries are available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, though the maker says they are not guaranteed to work on Windows. | The maker links to a TestFlight build for iOS and iPadOS and a macOS download. |
| Limitations | The maker cautions that Dendy is not intended to match established emulators in accuracy or compatibility, and lists tested games that fail or have issues. | Nesbit emulates one controller, does not play sampled audio, and does not implement some illegal CPU instructions. |
| Maker | The GitHub profile identifies Max Poletaev as the maker and lists Belgrade, Serbia. | The site identifies its maker as Jason and says he has over 13 years of experience writing software for Apple platforms. |
| Product | Dendy is a NES/Famicom emulator written in Go with network multiplayer. | Nesbit is a toy NES emulator and debugger built from scratch in Swift for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. |
In their own words
Dendy
Dendy is a free NES/Famicom emulator written in Go, with desktop versions for Windows, macOS, and Linux and a WebAssembly version for modern browsers. The desktop program has no graphical interface and runs from the command line with a .nes ROM file. Player one can use a keyboard or a detected gamepad, and a mouse can emulate the Zapper light gun. Options include save-state control, rewind, screenshots, CRT effects, and Game Genie codes. Network multiplayer uses rollback networking and peer-to-peer connections. A public relay can help players behind NATs find peers and connect, though it will not work if both players are behind symmetric NATs. Users can also build and run their own relay. The browser version does not currently support netplay. The maker cautions that Dendy may not match established emulators in accuracy or compatibility, so some games may not run. Sound emulation is still in progress and may produce pops and crackles. The project is MIT-licensed.