emmd vs Lakka

emmd is a free Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) emulator written in Go and targeting Model 1 hardware. Its desktop library can scan ROMs and organize games with artwork and metadata. It includes save-state management, rewind, fast-forward, shader effects, RetroAchievements integration and configurable settings. The emulator supports Motorola 68000 and Zilog Z80 CPUs, VDP rendering, YM2612 FM synthesis and SN76489 PSG audio. It handles two-player three-button and six-button controllers, battery-backed SRAM, and save states checked with CRC32 checksums and ROM CRC matching. NTSC and PAL can be detected from a ROM header or selected manually. A LibRetro core is available for compatible frontends, and a documented macOS build creates an application bundle with an icon and code signing. The stated scope is officially licensed, released Genesis games; unlicensed or homebrew games, prototypes, beta ROMs and non-controller peripherals are unsupported. Platforms listed are Windows, macOS, Linux and iOS. Building requires Go 1.25 or later, and the repository identifies the license as GPL-3.0.

Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that turns a small computer into a retrogaming console. It is built on LibreELEC and RetroArch, with RetroArch serving as its graphical interface and providing unified emulator configuration and joypad autoconfiguration. Listed features include automatic controller recognition, rewinding, netplay, and shaders. Official builds target Raspberry Pi, Allwinner, iMX6, Amlogic, and 32-bit and 64-bit PC systems. Installation uses USB images specific to the target hardware, and installation instructions cover GNU/Linux, Windows, and MacOS. The PC version is intended for dedicated hardware and does not support virtualization, dual boot, or CD and DVD installation. Users must supply their own ROMs; documentation also covers BIOS files. Netplay requires both players to use the same ROM, and cores without savestate support cannot use it. Lakka is community-driven and open source, and the listed price is free; required hardware is not included. The project says it remains under heavy development, so bugs, missing features, or unsupported hardware may occur.