Best NES Emulators In Linux: Play Old NES Games in Linux [2025]
Playing old NES games is always entertaining, and playing them on Linux is much more so. It’s like traveling back in time when you play retro games. We will demonstrate some of the top NES emulators in this post so that you may play classic NES games on Linux.
Best NES Emulators In Linux In 2025
1. ZSNES
ZSNES is an emulator for the Super Nintendo. At the moment, it is compatible with DOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows. Also referred to as the Super Nintendo emulator or the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, ZSNES is an emulator for SNES games.
2. Higan
Higan is one of the most popular emulator to play old game in your Linux operating system.. Higan currently supports the following systems:
Nintendo Famicom
Nintendo Super Famicom
Nintendo Game Boy
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Nintendo Game Boy Advance
NEC PC Engine
NEC SuperGrafx
Bandai WonderSwan
BS-X Satellaview
Bandai WonderSwan Color
Ezoic
Super Game Boy
Sufami Turbo
Sega Master System
Sega Game Gear
Sega Mega Drive
VisualBoyAdvance is a Game Boy advance emulator that emulates GBA, GBC, SGB, and GBA ROMs for Linux
4. MEKA
MEKA is a graphical user interface based multi-machine emulator. It was originally started as a Sega Master System emulator. The following machines are supported by MEKA:
Sega Game 1000 (SG-1000)
Sega Computer 3000 (SC-3000)
Sega Super Control Station (SF-7000)
Sega Mark III (+ FM Unit)
Sega Master System (SMS)
Sega Game Gear (GG)
ColecoVision (COLECO)
Othello Multivision (OMV)
5. ZSNES
ZSNES is a Super Nintendo emulator that easily runs on Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, and DOS. ZSNES is a SNES games emulator that is also popularly known as the Super Nintendo emulator or Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
6. DOSBox
DOSBox is a DOS emulator that can be used to play any DOS game.
7. PCSX2
PCSX2 is a PlayStation 2 emulator and it is compatible with Some of the popular games like Final Fantasy X and Devil May Cry 3.
8. Mupen64Plus
Mupen64Plus is a cross-platform features loaded plugin-based N64 emulator. LIRC Infrared remote control support
- Dynamic recompilers for Intel (x86 and amd64) and ARM CPUs
- Two OpenGL video plugins, with Hi-resolution texture support
- Rumble Pak support
- Shared library interface for integration into other systems (front-ends)
- Command-line Front-end application
- Cheat system with GameShark code support
- Speed adjustment with smooth sound output
