Manic EMU vs openMSX
Manic EMU
github.comopenMSX
openmsx.orgSide by side
| Figure | Manic EMU | openMSX |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.42/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 9 | 1 |
| Spec score · Multi-System Emulators | 8.8 (#6) | 8.3 (#13) |
| Purpose | Manic EMU is an all-in-one retro game emulator for iPhone and iPad. | openMSX is an emulator for the MSX home computer system that aims to emulate it with 100% accuracy. |
| Support | The official site links users to FAQ and guides, GitHub, and Discord for support resources. | Users can ask questions in the Discord channel or IRC, use the openMSX forum, or file bugs and feature requests in GitHub’s issue tracker. |
Plans
Manic EMU
- FreeFree
- SideloadFree
- Sideload / GitHubFree
- Premium Monthly$0.99 a month
- Premium Monthly Plan$0.99 a month
- Premium Annual Plan$4.99 a year
- Premium Annual$5.99 a year
- Premium Forever Access$9.99, paid once
- Forever Access$11.99, paid once
In their own words
Manic EMU
Manic EMU is a free retro game emulator for iPhone and iPad, supporting more than 30 classic platforms across consoles, arcade, DOS, Symbian, and J2ME. It includes save states, auto-saves, fast-forward, cheats, shortcuts, filters, screenshots, and custom skins. Cloud import works with Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Baidu, Aliyun, WebDAV, and SMB. The project says iCloud sync keeps games, saves, and settings encrypted in the cloud across devices. Manic EMU integrates RetroAchievements and supports local multiplayer and Netplay on eligible Libretro cores. The free App Store build limits fast-forward to 2×, save states and cheat codes to three each, and controllers to one player. Premium plans cost $0.99 a month, $4.99 a year, or 9.99 USD once for lifetime access, and include higher fast-forward speeds, more save states and cheat slots, and extra controller players. A free sideload build includes premium play features but does not provide iCloud save sync. The app does not include ROMs, BIOS files, or game data.
openMSX
openMSX is a free, open-source emulator for the MSX home computer system, with an aim of 100% accuracy. It emulates almost all MSX, MSX2, MSX2+, and turboR systems, plus some others experimentally. The project lists over 230 machine configurations and over 110 extension hardware configurations. A built-in graphical interface works across supported operating systems. Users can control the emulator with Tcl scripts or a command interface over pipes or a UNIX domain socket, and external applications can connect through that interface. The built-in debugger provides watchpoints, breakpoints, viewers, and real-time data display; save states and a reverse feature support replay or stepping back through time. MIDI connectivity is available through host frameworks on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Downloads include Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android builds, though listed versions differ by platform. Version 20.0 and later requires OpenGL 2 support. Android support is listed only through version 0.15.0, and the default C-BIOS machine does not provide all functionality for a complete MSX machine. Catapult is deprecated; the project recommends its built-in GUI.