Opening title screen of Final Fantasy VI for Super Nintendo

Final Fantasy VI opening title screen on Super Nintendo, used to illustrate one system ares emulates. Image credited to Square Co. via Wikimedia Commons (public-domain text logo); not an ares capture.

ares

MULTI-SYSTEM EMULATOR

ares

ares is a cross-platform, open-source, multi-system emulator that originated as a fork of higan and focuses on accuracy and software preservation while expanding to support additional systems (including SNES / Super Famicom). It provides a desktop UI, multiple system cores, and active releases hosted on its official website and GitHub repository.

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SNES / Super FamicomPRIMARY SYSTEM

History documentedPROJECT BEGAN

Open sourcePROJECT MODEL

WHY IT MATTERS

Why ares?

ares aims to balance cycle-accurate, preservation-focused emulation with an expanding set of supported systems and practical features (desktop UI, modern graphics backends, save/resume, debug traces). It began as a continuation/fork of higan development and has since developed multiple cores maintained in a shared project repository.

BEST FOR

Best for

People who want a preservation-minded, multi-system emulator with an active upstream project, accurate SNES support, and a single unified GUI for many retro systems.

Gameplay from Super Mario World on SNES.

The people behind ares

Project history (concise)

ares is a multi-system emulator derived from the lineage of higan development. The project is hosted publicly on GitHub and publishes releases on its official website and the GitHub releases page. Development is active with periodic numbered releases (examples of v132, v134, and later releases are present in the project news and release history). Over time ares added support and accuracy improvements for many systems that were historically part of higan, and it has incorporated additional cores (for example N64, CD-based systems, and various consoles/handhelds) and features such as CHD support for discs, improved graphics/backends, and debugging features documented on the project wiki and release notes.

What ares supports

Windows (official builds available)
macOS (official builds available)
Linux (distribution packages and builds supported)
Multi-system: SNES / Super Famicom core (plus many others maintained in the repo)

Download and availability

OFFICIAL DOWNLOADS

Get ares

Official downloads and release archives are published on the project's website and the GitHub releases page. Users should only obtain binaries from the official ares website or the ares GitHub releases to avoid untrusted builds.

Get ares ↗

DOCUMENTATION

Official documentation

Read the official configuration, compatibility, and troubleshooting material before changing advanced options.

Read official documentation ↗

Broken or missing download? Emulator projects move and official links sometimes change. Please contact Retro Replay so the source can be verified and updated.

ares setup guide

Setup note: The following setup guide is specific to the official ares project (desktop UI). It assumes you will download official builds or build from the project's source. It does not include or provide commercial game ROMs, console firmware, BIOS files, or other copyrighted material — those must be supplied by you and used in accordance with applicable law.

1) Verify official sources and download: Open the official ares website and the project's GitHub repository to locate the latest official release. Prefer the ares website download page or the GitHub releases page for binaries. Do not download builds from untrusted third-party sites. (Official pages consulted: project's website and GitHub releases.)
2) Choose a build for your platform: On the download page and/or GitHub releases, select the build matching your OS (Windows, macOS, or Linux). Some releases provide zipped portable builds for Windows, .dmg or signed macOS builds, and tarballs for Linux. If your distribution packages ares (e.g., FreeBSD Ports are noted by the project), prefer repository packages only if you trust the packager and the package version matches an official release.
3) Verify checksums or signatures (if provided): If the project publishes checksums or signatures with a release, verify the downloaded archive against those values before running. The project recommends using official download sources; verifying integrity reduces risk of tampered binaries.
4) Extract and run the desktop UI: Unpack the downloaded archive to a folder of your choice. The project provides a desktop UI front-end; run the provided executable for your platform. On Linux you may need to mark the binary executable (chmod +x) or install any listed runtime dependencies described in the project wiki/build instructions.
5) Reading the documentation and build instructions: Consult the project's wiki and build instructions for platform-specific dependencies (compilers, libraries, optional backends). The GitHub wiki includes install/build pages and a build-instructions guide that documents required libraries and steps for building from source if you prefer a self-built binary.
6) Adding game files and content: ares does not include commercial game ROMs or console firmware. Place legally obtained ROMs/images in a folder you choose. The desktop UI can scan directories or you can open images manually. For some CD-based systems, compressed CHD images are supported by the emulator per releases notes; consult the release notes/wiki for exact supported image formats.
7) Configure cores and drivers: Open Configuration / Drivers in the desktop UI to select video (OpenGL, other backends as available), audio, and input backends. The available driver options can vary by platform and by the build. Some advanced cores (e.g., N64) may expose backend-specific features that require configuring video drivers (Vulkan, Parallel-RDP integration, etc.) — consult the release notes or issues for platform-specific guidance.
8) Save states, memory cards, and debug: ares supports save/resume and core-specific save mechanisms. It also includes simple debug features such as trace logging to aid development; the wiki and desktop UI document how to enable logging and where saved state files are stored. Do not expect the emulator to provide commercial game save files with the download.

Software reminder: If building from source, follow the project's build instructions on the GitHub wiki for required toolchains and libraries. Official documentation and release notes detail platform dependencies and optional features.