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Revision as of 06:55, 27 March 2013 by SolarStarSpire (talk | contribs) (Updated the first paragraph to make it more clear and consistent, and fixed some errors)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| higan icon | |
 The redesigned "Library" menu in higan 092 | |
| Original author(s) | byuu |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | byuu et al. |
| Initial release | May 2005; 19 years ago (2005-05) |
| Stable release | 092 / January 12, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-01-12) |
| Repository | |
| Written in | C++11 libco: C99 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows GNU/Linux |
| Platform | IA-32 x86-64 |
| Size | 1.2 MiB: Windows, x86 1.5 MiB: Windows, x86-64 772 KiB: Source code |
| Type | Video game console emulator |
| License | GPLv3 |
| Website | byuu |
higan, formerly known as bsnes, is a free Nintendo multi-system emulator for Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux which aims to emulate the original SNES hardware as accurately as possible. As such, higan is a low-level emulator. From version 087 onward, higan can run all SNES titles commercially released through the cycle-accurate emulation of their coprocessors (if applicable) with no known bugs. While higan was originally known as bsnes, the project was renamed to better reflect the more diverse pool of emulation it now offers in addition to the SNES.
Background
Development of higan began on October 14, 2004 as bsnes and the first version was released in May 2005 for Microsoft Windows. Since then, it has been ported to GNU/Linux. Richard Bannister unofficially ported bsnes 068 to OS X, while an official OS X port is currently being developed by byuu. The emulator has always been free software and is currently under GPLv3 licensure. It is still being actively developed.
higan was the first emulator to feature SPC7110 emulation, cycle-accurate SPC 700 emulation, cycle-accurate Super FX emulation, and Super Game Boy emulation. Newer versions of higan can also experimentally emulate the NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. An older version of higan, bsnes 091, had an experimental Nintendo DS emulation core called dasShiny, developed by Cydrak, but was removed in higan 092.
A fork of bsnes 082 (the last version with sole SNES support) was developed by LuigiBlood called bsnes-sx2. It adds peripherals such as the XBAND and Super Famicom Box, but mostly aims to correctly emulate certain aspects of the BS-X software - a feat which is not planned for main higan builds, as it goes against byuu's cycle-accurate programming philosophy.
Reception
British Internet magazine WebUser recommended bsnes for "some fun old-school gaming" in 2008.
Japanese game magazine GameLabo recommended bsnes for "those seeking a realistic playing experience" in 2009.
As of March 23, 2012, a fork called lsnes is the preferred emulator for creating Tool-assisted speedruns by tasvideos.org, due to its superior accuracy over previous emulators used.
See also
References
- new name - higan "byuu.org". Retrieved October 8, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - "OS X port". byuu's message board - View topic - higan for OS X - interest?. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- "The State of Emulation, Part III". byuu's homepage. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- "Downloaded". WebUser (191): 39. 2008.
- "SFC". GameLabo (September): ?. 2009.
- "tasvideos.org Preferred Emulators". tasvideos.org. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
External links
- Official website
- Official discussion forum
- Official downloads at Google Code
- higan source downloads at Gitorious
- Richard Bannister's unofficial OS X port
- Accuracy takes power: one man's 3GHz quest to build a perfect SNES emulator, an Ars Technica article on bsnes by byuu
- BS-X Project: Reviving with Emulation
| Emulators of Nintendo hardware | |||||||||||||||
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 List of Nintendo video game console emulators | |||||||||||||||