Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is one of the most well-loved gaming platforms the world has ever seen, particularly for 90s kids. But, just because it has been discontinued doesn’t mean that you have to give up all hope of ever playing all of the old-school games that you once enjoyed. Thanks to Nintendo emulators that are designed to mimic the operation and functionality of the original, fans can play all of their old favorites to their heart’s content, whether it’s on your smartphone or your PC. Read on to find out what are some of the best Nintendo emulators to do this from:
| Name | Platform | Total Downloads | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fceux | Windows | 44634 | The FCEUX Nintendo emulator is similar to RetroArch in that it offers a seemingly endless array of customization options and great features that’ll take you to gaming land. This includes the ability to create speed runs, ROM-hacking, video recording, and debugging. |
| Jnes | Windows | 26451 | With the Jnes emulator, you don’t need to worry about installing it to your device. All you have to do is open a ROM and start playing your favorite game. Sure, it doesn’t have some of the features that you’d expect but it’s still a great option. |
| My Nes | Windows | 21000 | |
| MarioNES | Windows | 20280 | MarioNES 1.5 Emulator comes courtesy of developer Gary Boyes and it’s compatible with Windows devices, where it truly shines. To enjoy your favorite games on it, all you have to do is simply download it onto your device and if you want to run your games on multiple platforms then you can always use cross-platform Nintendo emulators. |
| VirtuaNES | Windows | 19730 | The VirtuaNES Nintendo emulator doesn’t offer any recent upgrades but it’s still one of the smoothest operating emulators available especially if you run it on Windows 10. |
| Nestopia | Mac OS X | 19470 | Nestopia is another great Nintendo emulator that you don’t have to install in order to enjoy. Just make sure to opt for the Undead Edition of this emulator because it’s the most effective on Windows 10 devices. |
| 80five | Windows | 17913 | |
| FakeNES | Windows | 12074 | |
| Nemulator | Windows | 11467 | |
| Nintendulator | Windows | 11147 | The Nintendulator emulator offers some of the best performance when it comes to its ability to offer realistic gameplay and it comes with great features since its written in C++. |
| Nestopia | Windows | 8829 | Nestopia is another great Nintendo emulator that you don’t have to install in order to enjoy. Just make sure to opt for the Undead Edition of this emulator because it’s the most effective on Windows 10 devices. |
| VirtuaNES (J) | Windows | 7605 | There are a lot of reasons to like the VirtuaNES emulator. For one thing, it runs smoothly despite not receiving any significant updates from its developers in years and it can play any NES based games without any additional support. |
| NESten | Windows | 7555 | |
| RockNES | Mac OS X | 6398 | The RockNES emulator is another amazing way to enjoy a straightforward playing experience thanks to its array of features. Sure, it’s not as fast as some of the other emulators on this list but it still packs a punch. |
| HalfNES | Windows | 5460 | |
| Nesticle | Windows | 3941 | |
| RockNES-i386 | Linux | 3915 | |
| HRetroCopy | Windows | 3148 | |
| FwNES | Windows | 2240 | |
| Olafnes | Windows | 1922 | |
| NesterJ | Windows | 1552 | |
| UberNES | Windows | 145 |