Luna's Project64 vs RustyN64

Luna's Project64 is a free Nintendo 64 emulator for Windows and Linux. It is a fork of Project64 3.0.1 and describes itself as a Linux-compatible alternative to Project64 2.4. Its stated priority is gameplay functionality for a select set of games, not accuracy or broad compatibility; included plugins are intended to support those games. The emulator offers 100 savestate slots, with faster loading and changes to prevent crashes from repeated state loading while Discord screensharing. It prompts users when a new version is ready. Version 3.7.3 fixes a RetroAchievements Hardcore exploit, improves memory decommit handling, and addresses edge cases that could deadlock state saving or loading. Version 3.7.3 is required for RetroAchievements Hardcore, and Star Display plus Luna is allowed. The project is licensed under GPLv2 and distributed through GitHub Releases. It supports cheats, high-resolution rendering, controller remapping, and Direct3D 8, Vulkan, and OpenGL 3.3 graphics APIs. Speed controls use Ctrl+ and Ctrl-.

RustyN64 is a free Nintendo 64 emulator written in pure Rust, built for cycle-accurate emulation. Its core schedules the CPU and coprocessors against a shared 187.5 MHz master-clock timeline. Version 0.7.0 is described as its first playable release, showing video, sound and controller input with homebrew ROMs. The project says its low-level graphics path matches Angrylion across 164 conformance vectors, while its accuracy battery remains stubbed at 0%. Identical seeds, ROMs and input sequences are stated to produce identical framebuffer and audio output. The desktop frontend offers save states, rewind and run-ahead, disabled by default. A WebAssembly browser entry point runs a homebrew ROM and displays video on a 2D canvas; a fuller browser shell remains roadmap work. Commercial support is limited: one title can boot and execute game code but has not yet reached a rendered frame. Desktop builds are listed for Linux x64, macOS ARM64 and Windows x64. Desktop use requires a wgpu-supported GPU backend, and commercial ROMs are not included.