Javatari vs Test7800

Javatari is a free Atari 2600 emulator designed for the Web. Users can load cartridges in a browser, with ROMs opened from local storage, iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox or web links. It runs in browsers tested with Chrome, Firefox and Safari, and can be installed as a WebApp on iOS, Android or desktop for offline play. Savestates can be exported and shared. Playback controls include adjustable speed, pause and frame-by-frame advance; display tools include resizing, fullscreen, screen capture and debug modes. Customizable joysticks, joykeys and touch controllers are available, with haptic feedback on mobile. NetPlay lets multiple users connect to and control one virtual console over the internet, although it does not work on Apple iOS because required WebRTC technologies are unavailable there. Performance depends on network quality. A JavaScript API supports ROM loading and console control, and games can be embedded in webpages or launched with a Javatari page link. The project repository identifies the software as licensed under AGPL-3.0.

Test7800 is an experimental Atari 7800 emulator for playing many available 7800 ROM files. It supports flat .a78 ROMs, several bankswitching SuperGame ROMs, and ELF cartridges with an embedded ARM chip. Its emulation includes 6502, TIA, RIOT, and ARM components taken from Gopher2600; the MARIA implementation is new to this project. POKEY and many of its layouts are supported. Players can use a keyboard or gamepad, with a mouse for paddle and trackball input. QuadTari mode supports up to four joystick players, with assignments configurable through -players. An optional overlay displays MARIA state, and the -tv option selects PAL instead of the default NTSC BIOS. Test7800 is available for Linux, macOS, the web, and Windows, and is published under GPL-3.0. The project describes itself as incomplete: important features are missing, and some conglomerate cartridge hardware configurations are not emulated. Its basic command-line debugger lacks many features, and performance was not a design focus. Occasional nightly builds are distributed as prereleases.