Rewind
Made a mistake? Hold the rewind button and the game runs backwards, up to ten seconds. It starts slowly, so you can let go at exactly the right moment, and a small indicator shows how far you have gone back.
Free and open source
Sega's classic consoles,
emulated on every screen you own.
EmilDrive emulates the Sega classic consoles (Mega Drive / Genesis, Mega CD, 32X and Master System) on your Mac, Windows PC, Linux computer and Android phone. Add the folders where your games live, or point it at a computer on your own network.
Version 1.4 · GPL-3.0-or-later · From the author of EmilNES · No games included: use games you own.
- Mega Drive / Genesis
- Mega CD / Sega CD
- 32X
- Master System
- SVP cartridges
Made for using, not for fiddling
The things you reach for while you play are one tap away, and the extras stay out of your way until you want them.
Ghost challenges
Race a ghost of your own best run, in games with a course or a level. EmilDrive finds the start and the finish for you, records every attempt, and tells you how many frames faster or slower you were.
Automap
In games that scroll, EmilDrive draws a map of everywhere you have been, built from what the game showed. Open it at any time, zoom in and out, and see where you are and where your ghost is.
HD pixel art
An upscaler that works layer by layer, so sprites and backgrounds are enlarged separately and edges stay sharp: Crisp 2x or Smooth 4x. It is still pixel art, only bigger and cleaner. Off until you turn it on.
A library that finds your games
Add folders, or connect to a computer or NAS over SFTP, SMB or FTP. Every file is checked by what is inside it, so only real games show up, whatever they are called.
At home and away, one server
Give a server a second address, such as its Tailscale or NetBird name. EmilDrive tries the first and falls back to the second, with one library and one set of saves.
Pick up where you left off
Save states that last between sessions, kept for every game, and the app remembers where you were when you come back.
Two players, any controller
Controllers take player 1 and 2 in the order you plug them in. Name them, change any button, even give one button two jobs. Touch controls on the phone.
Mega CD, no BIOS file needed
Use the BIOS from your own console, or use BIOS HLE: EmilDrive reproduces what the BIOS does, so a disc can start without any BIOS file. Discs can even start while they are still downloading.
Cheats and sound recording
Cheat codes you can switch on and off while you play, and a recorder that saves the game's music and effects as a WAV file.
Remastered music
The soundtrack replayed with sampled real instruments, while the sound effects stay original. Off by default; the original sound is what you get unless you choose it.
The same on every device
Mac, Windows, Linux and Android share the same features and the same settings, so what you learn on one works on the others.
Fast
Emulated from scratch in Rust: several times faster than real time on a computer from 2012, so older machines and phones keep up.
Install
Pick your system. The same version, the same features, everywhere.
With Homebrew
brew tap igiamai/emildrive https://gitlab.com/igiamai/emildrive-dist.git
brew install --cask emildriveOr the disk image
One app for Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Open the image and drag EmilDrive to Applications.
With Scoop
scoop bucket add emildrive https://gitlab.com/igiamai/emildrive-dist.git
scoop install emildriveOr the portable zip
Download EmilDrive-1.4-windows-x64.zip
Unzip it anywhere and run emildrive.exe. Nothing else to install. Windows 10 or later, 64-bit.
Snap (Ubuntu App Center and most distributions)
sudo snap install emildrive
Ubuntu package (PPA)
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:igiamai/emilators
sudo apt update
sudo apt install emildriveOr download
The APK
- Open the downloaded file. Android asks to allow installs from your browser or file manager once.
- Tap Add games and choose a folder on the phone, or connect to a server on your network.
- Tap a game. Touch controls appear on screen; a Bluetooth controller works too.
Every file has a SHA-256 checksum on the releases page. All downloads are on gitlab.com/igiamai/emildrive-dist.
How well does it run?
Estimated share of games that are playable.
Based on automated tests of 498 games and discs.
Tested against the public test suites
Test ROMs and open processor test suites, with the results they report.
100%VDP port access tests passedThe FIFO test ROM's own results screen
99.6%68000 instruction checks passedEvery instruction checked for results, flags and timing against an open test suite
99.9%Z80 instruction checks passedSame kind of open test suite; undocumented flag bits are not counted
Your games stay yours
No games, no downloads from the Internet
EmilDrive includes no games and no console BIOS files, and it does not fetch any. It only connects to servers you add, and only on your own network or a private VPN such as Tailscale or NetBird.
Secrets kept safe
Server passwords go to your computer's own credential store (Keychain, Credential Manager, Secret Service) or, on Android, to the secure Keystore. SFTP servers are recognised by their key.
Questions
Do I need a BIOS to play Mega CD games?
No. Use the BIOS from your own console if you have one, or use BIOS HLE: EmilDrive reproduces what the BIOS does, in its own code (high-level emulation), so no BIOS file is needed and none is included. It covers what games use.
Where do I get games?
EmilDrive does not provide games. Use games you own, for example dumped from your own cartridges and discs. Put them in a folder on your device, or on a computer or NAS you add as a server.
Which controllers work?
Most USB and Bluetooth controllers work as soon as they are connected, with 3-button and 6-button pads, two players, and buttons you can change. The Master System uses its own two-button layout. On the phone there are on-screen touch controls.
Is it really free?
Yes. EmilDrive is free software under the GNU General Public License, version 3 or later: you can use it, study it, change it and share it. The source code is on Launchpad.
Why does my computer warn me about it?
EmilDrive is not yet signed with the paid certificates Apple and Microsoft use. The warnings are about that, not about what the program does. Compare the SHA-256 checksum from the releases page if you want to be sure the file is the one that was published.
Does it run on my older computer?
Very likely. Mega Drive, Mega CD and Master System games run several times faster than real time on a computer from 2012, and the 32X games tested reach full speed there too.