Software Alternatives & Reviews

Mednafen VS RetroArch

Compare Mednafen VS RetroArch and see what are their differences

Mednafen logo Mednafen

Mednafen is a portable, utilizing OpenGL and SDL, argument(command-line)-driven multi-system...

RetroArch logo RetroArch

RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.
  • Mednafen Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-05
  • RetroArch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-22

Mednafen videos

Ps1 emulation with Mednafen. It's great.

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How To Run Sega Saturn Games With Mednafen - Best Saturn Emulator
  • Tutorial - The Best PlayStation 1 Emulator - How To Setup Mednafen

RetroArch videos

RetroArch - Getting Started! Your Ultimate Retro Gaming PC! [Setup and Demonstration]

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Mednafen and RetroArch)
Gaming
13 13%
87% 87
Emulators
13 13%
87% 87
Gaming Tools
16 16%
84% 84
Gaming Software
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Mednafen and RetroArch

Mednafen Reviews

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RetroArch Reviews

Best DS Emulator: Are These Emulators Safe And Legal To Use?
RetroArch also supports a wide range of controller types, making it a great choice for gamers who want to use their favorite controller.
Source: appletoo.us
5 Best Nintendo DS Emulators for PC
It has highlights like RetroArch are shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, run ahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and much more.
Best emulators for Android in 2023
RetroArch is a popular open-source front-end for emulators. If you’re into playing retro games, RetroArch is your one-stop shop for all your emulating needs. It's not an emulator by itself but instead allows you to add "cores" that act as the backend to emulate several legacy consoles. While most of its most popular emulators are already covered here by dedicated apps, it...
5 of the Best GameBoy Advance (GBA) Emulators for Android
RetroArch is a poster child worldwide of emulation, specifically due to the fact that it’s not precisely an emulator. The retroArch is best refer to as a solitary, unified application where you can communicate with other emulators.
4 Free Open Source Game Emulators For Windows PC, Linux, and macOS
In addition to this, you are able to run original game discs (CDs) from RetroArch. RetroArch has advanced features like shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, runahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and more! What systems does it play?

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, RetroArch should be more popular than Mednafen. It has been mentiond 20 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Mednafen mentions (12)

  • I don't know what devil magic was used to accomplish this but Goldeneye32x managed to make a PC port of Rondo of Blood. And yes, it is fully functional, i played it. The link to the game is in the description of the video
    I mean, the game's program icon gives it away. It's a custom wrapper using an older version of Mednafen. Source: 12 months ago
  • Resources that will help you out with replaying old games.
    Mednafen with a frontend like Mednaffe are a great option for the NES, SNES, and a bunch of other 80s & early-90s systems (Genesis, Playstation 1, Saturn, etc.). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Some questions about Playstation 1 emulator
    Duckstation and Mednafen. Mednafen is the closest to 100% game accuracy; Duckstation is Mednafen but with added graphical enhancements and quality of life features. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • To prep for March 4, I got in some practice laps on the original
    Both use "cores" to emulate various platforms, and in this case, they both use Mednafen for their PS1 core, which can also work as a standalone emulator if you are comfortable with the command line. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Sega Saturn core plays runs better when the RetroArch menu is pulled up, but unplayable when playing normally. Can somebody help me?
    I switched directly to Mednafen (https://mednafen.github.io/) using the Mednaffe GUI (https://github.com/AmatCoder/mednaffe) and it's been smoothing sailing ever since. Source: over 2 years ago
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RetroArch mentions (20)

  • RetroArch cannot be found on the PlayStore, the first result is a copycat. It is just me?
    No, isn't just you. Every 64-bit phone haves the Play Store Retroarch available, the 32-bits no. But you can still download the 32-bit version on the Retroarch website. Source: 11 months ago
  • Cause of the intrusion has been found and isolated. Sites are operational again.
    It was only the download links on retroarch.com on the Platforms page that got (briefly) redirected for a few hours. That should all be safe now. Source: 11 months ago
  • Malicious download links?
    Yes, only the retroarch.com and libretro.com websites were affected. Source: 11 months ago
  • Recent update from supposed hackers
    I went to retroarch.com and it said "discord.gg/evaderz is big haxors" its unrespectable. Source: 11 months ago
  • Latest RetroArch on Xiaomi Mi box
    I've got installed RetroArch Plus from Google Play on my Xiaomi Mi box 4k and I want to update it to the latest version. I downloaded apk from retroarch.com but when I use apk installer to update it say is not compatible. I removed version from Google Play but fresh install 1.15.0 is not compatible too. I tried 32 and 64 version. What I'm doing wrong? Is any other AndroidTV version? Source: 11 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Mednafen and RetroArch, you can also consider the following products

ePSXe - ePSXe (enhanced PSX emulator) is an emulator of the PlayStation video game console for x86-based PC...

OpenEmu - Console and Arcade video game emulator for macOS.

LaunchBox - LaunchBox is a portable, box-art-based games database and launcher for DOSBox, emulators, arcade cabinets, and PC Games. Download it free!

VisualBoyAdvance - VisualBoyAdvance (VBA) is a free software (GNU GPL) emulator targeted for the Game Boy, Super Game...

BSNES - bsnes is a Super Nintendo (SNES) emulator focused on performance, features, and ease of use.

Snes9x - Snes9x is a portable, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulator.