Higan (emulator)


higan is a free emulator for multiple video game consoles, including the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Originally called bsnes, the emulator is notable for attempting to emulate the original hardware as accurately as possible through low-level, cycle-accurate emulation and for the associated historical preservation efforts of the SNES platform.
Supported systems include the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, SG-1000 and SC-3000, Sega Master System, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, TurboGrafx-16 and SuperGrafx, MSX and MSX2, ColecoVision, WonderSwan, and Neo Geo Pocket.

Overview

Development of the emulator began with the name bsnes, written by a programmer known only by the pseudonym byuu on October 14, 2004. The first version was released in May 2005 for Microsoft Windows. Since then, it has been ported to GNU/Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD. Initially developed under a custom license, later releases were licensed under various versions of the GNU General Public License, although, which helps fund further development.
The higan project has contributed significantly to the field of SNES emulation, with a number of original achievements in its emulation, and in reverse engineering developments such as the organization of funds, hardware, and expertise for decapping the SNES's enhancement chips.
higan is able to run every commercial SNES title ever released. It is the first emulator to have featured SPC7110 emulation, cycle-accurate SPC 700 emulation, cycle-accurate Super FX emulation, Super Game Boy emulation, and a dot-based instead of scanline-based renderer for Game Boy Advance. It is the first multi-emulator of this breadth to achieve cycle-based emulation for every single component of every system.
Forked versions of bsnes have provided emulation support for Nintendo DS, XBAND, Super Famicom Box, Satellaview BS-X software, and tool-assisted speedruns.

Reception

In 2008, British Internet magazine Webuser recommended bsnes for "some fun old-school gaming". In 2009, Japanese game magazine GameLabo recommended it for "those seeking a realistic playing experience".
In 2017, components of higan's source code were used to emulate the vintage text-to-speech computer used by physicist Stephen Hawking, after the original hardware began showing signs of wear. Hawking would continue using this emulator to converse with others until his death in 2018.