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ares - RetroBIOS
Type standalone
Source https://github.com/ares-emulator/ares
Version v147
Profiled 2026-03-26
Cores ares
Systems arcade, atari-2600, colecovision, myvision, famicom, famicom-disk-system, game-boy, game-boy-color, game-boy-advance, master-system, game-gear, sg-1000, sc-3000, mega-drive, sega-32x, mega-cd, mega-cd-32x, mega-ld, laseractive, msx, msx2, neo-geo, neo-geo-pocket, neo-geo-pocket-color, nintendo-64, nintendo-64dd, pc-engine, pc-engine-cd, pc-engine-ld, supergrafx, supergrafx-cd, sony-playstation, saturn, super-famicom, wonderswan, wonderswan-color, pocket-challenge-v2, zx-spectrum, zx-spectrum-128
Technical notes

Multi-system emulator by Near (byuu), successor to higan/bsnes. Focuses on accuracy and preservation. 38 systems emulated.

Firmware identification uses SHA256 hashes. Filenames are user-defined; ares scans a configured directory and matches by hash. EmuDeck installs ares as Flatpak (dev.ares.ares), configures biosPath in settings.bml. ref: desktop-ui/settings/firmware.cpp:116-136

Firmware path resolution: settings.paths.firmware (user override) or {userData}/ares/Firmware/ (default). Per-system firmware assigned in Settings > Firmware dialog or via scan-by-hash. ref: desktop-ui/settings/settings.hpp:85-97, desktop-ui/desktop-ui.cpp:68-75

Systems with fully embedded firmware (no user files needed): Game Boy (boot.rom), Game Boy Color (boot.rom), Mega Drive (TMSS), Sega 32X (TMSS + vector + SH2 boot M/S), Nintendo 64 (PIF NTSC/PAL/SM5 + CIC 6101/6102/6105/7101), Super Famicom (IPL + all coprocessor firmware: DSP1-4, CX4, ST010, ST011, ST018, SGB1/2 boot ROMs), WonderSwan (boot.rom), WonderSwan Color (boot.rom), Pocket Challenge V2 (boot.rom), ZX Spectrum (BIOS), ZX Spectrum 128 (BIOS + sub ROM). ref: mia/resource/resource.bml, mia/Firmware/

SFC coprocessor firmware auto-injected if missing from ROM image. ref: mia/medium/super-famicom.cpp:42-62

Neo Geo BIOS: accepts ZIP archive (neogeo.zip) or direct binary. AES looks for "neo-epo.bin" inside ZIP, MVS looks for "sp-45.sp1". Both apply byte-swap after loading. ref: mia/system/neo-geo-aes.cpp:12-30, mia/system/neo-geo-mvs.cpp:12-30

SFC subsystem ROMs (SuFami Turbo, Satellaview, Super Game Boy): loaded as game cartridges via CLI args, not through the firmware system. EmuDeck creates launcher shortcuts that pass these alongside game ROMs. ref: emuDeckares.sh (EmuDeck repo)

Systems with no firmware: Arcade, Atari 2600, Famicom, MyVision, PC Engine, SuperGrafx, SG-1000, SC-3000.

39 files | 31 required, 8 optional | 34 in repo, 5 missing Categories: 35 BIOS, 4 game data

colecovision.rom required in repo standalone
ColecoVision BIOS

disksys.rom required in repo standalone
Famicom Disk System BIOS

gba_bios.bin required in repo standalone
GBA BIOS

bios.gg optional in repo standalone
Game Gear BIOS

bios_U.sms optional in repo standalone north-america
Master System BIOS (US)

bios_J.sms optional in repo standalone japan
Master System BIOS (Japan)

bios_E.sms optional in repo standalone europe
Master System BIOS (Europe), same binary as US

bios_CD_U.bin required in repo standalone north-america
Mega CD / Sega CD BIOS (US)

bios_CD_J.bin required in repo standalone japan
Mega CD BIOS (Japan)

bios_CD_E.bin required in repo standalone europe
Mega CD BIOS (Europe)

mega_ld_bios_U.bin required in repo standalone north-america
LaserActive SEGA PAC BIOS (US), v1.04

mega_ld_bios_J.bin required in repo standalone japan
LaserActive SEGA PAC BIOS (Japan), v1.02

MSX.ROM required in repo standalone
MSX BIOS ROM (Japan)

MSX2.ROM required in repo standalone
MSX2 main BIOS ROM (Japan)

MSX2EXT.ROM required in repo standalone
MSX2 sub ROM (Japan)

neo-epo.bin required in repo standalone
Neo Geo AES BIOS. Accepts neogeo.zip (extracts neo-epo.bin) or direct file. Byte-swapped on load.

sp-45.sp1 required in repo standalone
Neo Geo MVS BIOS. Accepts neogeo.zip (extracts sp-45.sp1) or direct file. Byte-swapped on load.

ngp_bios.rom required in repo standalone
Neo Geo Pocket BIOS

ngpc_bios.rom required missing standalone
Neo Geo Pocket Color BIOS

64dd_ipl_J.bin required in repo standalone japan
Nintendo 64DD IPL ROM (Japan retail)

64dd_ipl_U.bin required in repo standalone north-america
Nintendo 64DD IPL ROM (US dev kit)

64dd_ipl_DEV.bin required in repo standalone
Nintendo 64DD IPL ROM (development)

syscard1.pce required in repo standalone
PC Engine CD-ROM2 System Card v1.0 (Japan). Also used by PC Engine LD.

syscard3.pce required in repo standalone
Super CD-ROM2 System Card v3.0 (Japan). Also used by SuperGrafx CD as Arcade Card.

syscard3u.pce required in repo standalone
TurboGrafx-CD Super System Card v3.0 (US)

games_express.pce required missing standalone
Games Express CD Card (Japan). Also used by PC Engine LD.

pac-n10.pce required missing standalone
NEC PAC-N10 LaserActive module (US)

pac-n1.pce required missing standalone
NEC PAC-N1 LaserActive module (Japan)

pce-lp1.pce required missing standalone
NEC PCE-LP1 LaserActive module (Japan)

scph5501.bin required in repo standalone
PlayStation BIOS (US)

scph5500.bin required in repo standalone
PlayStation BIOS (Japan)

scph5502.bin required in repo standalone
PlayStation BIOS (Europe)

saturn_bios_U.bin required in repo standalone north-america
Sega Saturn BIOS (US)

saturn_bios_J.bin required in repo standalone japan
Sega Saturn BIOS (Japan)

saturn_bios_E.bin required in repo standalone europe
Sega Saturn BIOS (Europe)

SGB1.sfc optional in repo standalone game_data
Super Game Boy cartridge ROM. Loaded via CLI as SFC cartridge alongside GB game.

SGB2.sfc optional in repo standalone game_data
Super Game Boy 2 cartridge ROM. Loaded via CLI as SFC cartridge alongside GB game.

STBIOS.bin optional in repo standalone game_data
SuFami Turbo adapter BIOS. Loaded via CLI as SFC cartridge alongside SuFami games.

BS-X.bin optional in repo standalone game_data
Satellaview BS-X Town cartridge ROM. Loaded via CLI as SFC cartridge for BS games.

Generated on 2026-08-23T16:12:06Z