Ask API. GET https://whichemulator.wtf/ask answers questions from the same data as this page, and it is the only place the setup steps are published. It takes the question as q and, optionally, this page's path as page, and returns JSON with answer, sources and follow_ups, or Markdown with Accept: text/markdown. No key needed.

curl -G 'https://whichemulator.wtf/ask' --data-urlencode 'q=Which PC Engine emulator should I use on a Mac?' --data-urlencode 'page=/pcengine/'

Questions it answers:

Guide: /skill.md. This page as Markdown: /pcengine.md

Best PC Engine emulator: Mesen, the Gold Cartridge pick

NEC PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16, NEC, 1987. TurboGrafx-16 in North America.

Recommended: Mesen

whichemulator.wtf calls its recommendation for each system the Gold Cartridge pick. For the PC Engine, the Gold Cartridge pick is Mesen.

Mesen handles HuCards, CD-ROM², Super CD-ROM², SuperGrafx and the Arcade Card in one tidy app, with accuracy that sits right up there with Mednafen and ares. It is far friendlier than Mednafen's command line, and the debugger is the best you'll find for this machine. Grab the Community Edition builds, which is where development now happens.

Runs on Windows · Mac · Linux. Open source. Download: https://www.mesen.ca

System Card needed for CD games: HuCard games run with nothing extra, but CD-ROM² and Super CD-ROM² discs need a System Card BIOS image, usually syscard3.pce. Dump it from your own System Card.

Alternatives

Mednafen (Windows · Mac · Linux, open source): The long-standing accuracy benchmark for PC Engine and CD, and the code behind the RetroArch cores. No proper GUI, so you'll be living in config files and the command line. Official builds are Windows-only; Linux and macOS users get it from their package manager or Homebrew.
ares (Windows · Mac · Linux, open source): Very accurate on HuCards and SuperGrafx, and worth having if you already use it for other systems. CD support is still marked experimental.

RetroArch cores

Beetle PCE FAST: Mednafen's speed-tuned core. The one to use on most devices.
Beetle PCE: Full-accuracy Mednafen core, also covers SuperGrafx.
Mesen: The MesenCE core, handles PCE, CD and SuperGrafx.

All three want syscard3.pce in the system folder for CD games.

Hardware

Colours: 482 on screen / 512
Resolution: 256×239 (up to 565×242)
Sound: 6-channel wavetable PSG
Media: HuCard, CD-ROM²
Library: ~680 games

Notes

Why Mesen

For years the honest answer for PC Engine was Mednafen, which is accurate but unpleasant to set up. Mesen added the PC Engine and its CD hardware in version 2, and it is now just as good while being a normal app with menus, a game list and sensible defaults.

In 2026 the original Mesen repository was archived and work moved to Mesen Community Edition, still with the original author involved. The download links on mesen.ca point there, so nothing changes for you.

CD games

Rip discs to BIN/CUE or CHD. Most CD games run on the Super CD-ROM² System Card 3.0, and Arcade Card titles need that card’s support turned on, which Mesen and Mednafen both handle.

Support the developers

Reference: WEM-PCENGINE-QCGE