The MiSTer is a truly wonderful piece of kit if you're into your retro games. Using Field Programmable Gate Array technology, MiSTer is capable of replicating the performance of a whole host of consoles, computers and handhelds with amazing accuracy, thanks to the fact that it uses hardware rather than software emulation; in short, the MiSTer can configure itself to behave exactly like a classic gaming system.
However, unlike other emulation options, such as the surprisingly user-friendly Polymega and the rather more straightforward FPGA handheld Analogue Pocket, MiSTer isn't strictly a commercial product but one that is driven by the community around it. Therefore, it requires a little more effort to get up and running, and is constantly evolving and changing.
Cores can be installed one by one, so you can pick and choose the ones you want and ignore those you don't. You'll also need to make sure you have the relevant files for each system, as well as the ROMs. Outside of that, there are many other ways you can customise your MiSTer experience, right down to the controllers you use and the way it connects to the internet.
Also, because the MiSTer community is incredibly active and home to some seriously talented developers, new cores are coming out all of the time, while existing ones often get updates and new features. Simply keeping track of what's happening in the exciting world of MiSTer is a challenge in itself – so we've put together this handy guide which shows you at a glance what cores are available and will hopefully get you up to speed when it comes to making sure your MiSTer is always running the latest stuff.
theypsilon's 'Update All' Script
Keeping your MiSTer up to date is quite a complicated process, but thankfully, there's an auto-update tool which does it all for you with the minimum of fuss.
Simply download theypsilon's 'Update All' script from here and extract update_all.sh to the /Scripts folder on your MiSTer's primary SD card. Turn on the MiSTer and go to the Scripts menu. Find the Update All script and run it. The script will go online and check for all new MiSTer-related items, downloading them to the correct folders and so on. You'll want to run this fairly regularly as the MiSTer community moves at a fast pace.
Alternatively, you can use the MiSTer Downloader's PC Launcher to download all MiSTer files on your PC – which is handy if your MiSTer doesn't have the ability to connect to the internet. Using this method, you must use the same downloader.ini file you have in the root of your MiSTer's primary SD card. Pop it back into your MiSTer, and you're good to go.
Remember, you can tinker with Update All's settings to specify which databases you'd like to check when running an update, so if there are cores you're not interested in, you can remove them and prevent them from being downloaded or updated in the future.
Note: Some of the cores listed below are 'work in progress' and may not be included downloaded when you run the 'Update All' script. You will need to download these manually to your MiSTer. Also, some cores are still in beta and may require you to be an active Patreon supporter with the creator (such as jotego).
MiSTer FPGA Home Console Cores
| System | Manufacturer | Release Year | Developer | Download Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari VCS / 2600 / Atari 7800 ProSystem | Atari | 1977 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Atari 5200 SuperSystem / Atari 800 | Atari | 1982 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Jaguar | Atari | 1993 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| NES | Nintendo | 1983 (Japan), 1985 (North America) | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| SNES | Nintendo | 1990 (Japan) | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Master System | Sega | 1986 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Mega Drive / Genesis | Sega | 1988 (Japan) | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Sega CD | Sega | 1991 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| 32X | Sega | 1994 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Saturn | Sega | 1994 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Neo Geo | SNK | 1990 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| PC Engine / TG-16 / SuperGrafx | NEC | 1987 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| PlayStation | Sony | 1994 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Fairchild Channel F | Fairchild Camera and Instrument | 1976 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| ColecoVision / Sega SG-1000 | Coleco / Sega | 1982 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Mattel Intellivision | Mattel | 1979 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Magnavox Odyssey 2 / Philips Odyssey 2 / Philips Videopac G7000 | Magnavox | 1978 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Interton VC4000 / Acetronic MPU-1000 / Occitane OC2000 | Interton | 1978 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Vectrex | General Consumer Electronics / Milton Bradley |
1982 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Bally Astrocade | Bally Manufacturing | 1978 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Emerson Arcadia 2001 | Emerson Radio | 1982 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Entex Adventure Vision | Entex Industries | 1982 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| "Pong-on-a-chip" | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
MiSTer FPGA Handheld Cores
| System | Manufacturer | Release Year | Developer | Download Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game & Watch | Nintendo | 1980 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Game Boy / Game Boy Color | Nintendo | 1989 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Game Boy Advance | Nintendo | 2001 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Pokémon Mini | Nintendo | 2001 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Atari Lynx | Atari | 1989 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Gamate | BitCorp | 1990 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| WonderSwan / WonderSwan Color | Bandai | 1999 | MiSTer_Devel | GitHub |
| Tamagotchi | Bandai | 1996 | agg23 | GitHub |
MiSTer FPGA Home Computer Cores
| System | Manufacturer | Release Year | Developer | Download Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari 800 / 800XL / 65XE / 130XE | Atari | 1979 | GitHub | |
| Atari ST / STe | Atari | 1985 | GitHub | |
| Apple I | Apple | 1976 | GitHub | |
| Apple IIe | Apple | 1983 | GitHub | |
| Macintosh Plus | Apple | 1986 | GitHub | |
| Amstrad PCW | Amstrad | 1985 | GitHub | |
| Amstrad CPC 6128 | Amstrad | 1985 | GitHub | |
| Acorn Archimedes | Acorn Computers | 1987 | GitHub | |
| Acorn Atom | Arcon Computers | 1980 | GitHub | |
| Commodore PET 2001 | Commodore | 1982 | GitHub | |
| Commodore VIC-20 | Commodore | 1980 | GitHub | |
| Commodore C16 / Plus/4 | Commodore | 1984 | GitHub | |
| Commodore 64 / Games System / 128 | Commodore | 1982 | GitHub | |
| Commodore Amiga 500 / 600 / 1200 / 4000 / CD32 | Commodore | 1987 | GitHub | |
| ZX Spectrum | Sinclair | 1982 | GitHub | |
| Sinclair QL | Sinclair | 1984 | GitHub | |
| Sinclair ZX80 / ZX81 | Sinclair | 1980 | GitHub | |
| ZX Spectrum Next | Sinclair | 2017 | GitHub | |
| Tandy Color Computer 2 / Dragon 32 | Tandy | 1983 | GitHub | |
| Tandy Color Computer 3 | Tandy | 1986 | GitHub | |
| Sharp MZ | Sharp | 1978 | GitHub | |
| Sharp X68000 | Sharp | 1987 | GitHub | |
| Tesla PMD 85 | Tesla Piešťany / Tesla Bratislava | 1985 | GitHub | |
| Tesla Ondra SPO-186 | Tesla Piešťany / Tesla Bratislava | 1985 | GitHub | |
| CHIP-8 | Joseph Weisbecker | 1978 | GitHub | |
| Galaksija | Voja Antonić | 1983 | GitHub | |
| MultiComp | Grant Searle | GitHub | ||
| Mattel Aquarius | Mattel | 1983 | GitHub | |
| Matra Alice | Matra and Hachette | 1983 | GitHub | |
| Interact Home Computer | Interact Electronics | 1978 | GitHub | |
| Jupiter Ace | Jupiter Cantab | 1982 | GitHub | |
| Texas Instruments TI-99/4A | Texas Instruments | 1979 | GitHub | |
| Radio Shack / Tandy TRS-80 Micro Computer System / Model I | Radio Shack / Tandy | 1977 | GitHub | |
| Altair 8800 | MITS | 1974 | GitHub | |
| EDSAC | Maurice Wilkes / University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory | 1948 | GitHub | |
| 486DX33 (No FPU) compatible | Intel | 1990 | GitHub | |
| TSConf (ZX-Evolution Improvement) | GitHub | |||
| Elektronika BK (BK-0011M CPU) | Elektronika | 1985 | GitHub | |
| Compukit UK101 | Compukit | 1979 | GitHub | |
| Apogee BK-01 / Radio-86RK | 1988 | GitHub | ||
| Microsoft MSX / MSX2 / Plus / MSX3 / TurboR | Microsoft | 1983 | GitHub | |
| BBC Micro B / Master 128K | GitHub | |||
| Vtech Laser 310 | Vtech | GitHub | ||
| NEC PC8801 MKII SR | NEC | GitHub | ||
| Bandai RX-78 | Bandai | GitHub | ||
| PDP-1 | Digital Equipment Corporation | 1959 | GitHub | |
| Tangerine Oric / Oric-1 | GitHub | |||
| Sord M5 | GitHub | |||
| PEL Varaždin Orao / Eagle | GitHub | |||
| SAM Coupé | Miles Gordon Technology | GitHub | ||
| Spectravideo SV-328 | Spectravideo | GitHub | ||
| Vector-06C | GitHub | |||
| Tomy Tutor / Pyuta / Pyuta Jr. | Tomy | GitHub | ||
| Camputers Lynx 48, 96 | GitHub | |||
| Tatung Einstein | Tatung | GitHub | ||
| PCXT | GitHub |
MiSTer FPGA Arcade Cores
Alpha Denshi
- Crush Roller
- Gang Wars
- Gold Medalist
- Sky Adventure
- Sky Soldiers
- Super Champion Baseball
- Time Soldiers
Atari
- Asteroids
- Asteroids Deluxe
- Atari Tetris
- Berzerk
- Black Widow
- Breakout
- Canyon Bomber
- Centipede
- Crystal Castles
- Gauntlet
- Joust
- Joust II
- Lunar Lander
- Missile Command
- Pong
- Sprint 1
- Sprint 2
- Super Breakout
Bally / Midway
- Amazing Maze
- Crater Raider
- Datsun 280 ZZZAP / Midnight Racer
- Defender
- Demolition Derby
- Discs of Tron
- Domino Man
- Extra Bases
- Gorf
- Journey
- Kozmik Krooz'r
- Max RPM
- Power Drive
- Rampage
- Satan's Hollow
- Sea Wolf
- Sea Wolf II
- Space Zap
- Spy Hunter
- The Adventures of Robby Roto!
- Tron
- Two Tigers
- Wizard of Wor
Capcom
- 1941 Counter Attack
- 1942
- 1943
- 1943 Kai Midway Kaisen / Battle of Midway
- 1944 The Loop Master
- 19XX The War Against Destiny
- Action Fighter
- Adventure Quiz Capcom World
- Alien Vs Predator
- Armored Warriors
- Battle Circuit
- Bionic Commando
- Black Tiger
- Cadillacs & Dinosaurs
- Capcom Sports Club
- Capcom World
- Captain Commando
- Carrier Air Wing
- Commando
- Cyberbots
- Darkstalkers
- Dimahoo
- Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow of Mysteria
- Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom
- Dynasty Warriors
- Eco Fighters
- Exed Exes
- F1-Dream
- Final Fight
- Forgotten Worlds
- Ghosts'n Goblins
- Giga Wing
- Gun Smoke
- Higemaru
- Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition
- Knights of the Round
- Legendary Wings
- Magic Sword
- Mars Matrix
- Marvel Super Heroes
- Marvel Super Heroes Vs Street Fighter
- Marvel Vs Capcom
- Mega Man The Power Battle
- Mega Man 2 The Power Fighters
- Mega Twins
- Mercs
- Mighty! Pang
- Muscle Bomber Duo Ultimate Team Battle
- Night Warriors Darkstalkers' Revenge
- Pang
- Pang! 3
- Progear
- Puzz Loop 2
- Quiz & Dragons Capcom Quiz Game
- Ring of Destruction - Slam Masters II
- Saturday Night Slam Masters
- SectionZ
- Side Arms
- Street Fighter
- Street Fighter Alpha / Zero
- Street Fighter Alpha / Zero 2
- Street Fighter Alpha / Zero 3
- Street Fighter II The World Warrior
- Street Fighter II Champion Edition
- Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting
- Strider
- Super Pang
- Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
- Super Street Fighter II The New Challengers
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo
- The King of Dragons
- The Punisher
- The Speed Rumbler
- Three Wonders
- Tiger Road
- Trojan
- UN Squadron
- Vampire Hunter 2
- Vampire Savior
- Varth Operation Thunderstorm
- Vulgus
- Warriors of Fate
- Willow
- X-Men: Children of the Atom
- X-Men Vs Street Fighter
Cave (Cave 68000 hardware)
Data East
- Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja
- Bandit
- Birdie Try
- Boulder Dash
- Burger Time
- Burning Rubber
- Chelnov / Atomic Runner
- Express Raider
- Midnight Resistance
- Hippodrome / Fighting Fantasy
- Heavy Barrel
- Karate Champ
- Kid Niki - Radical Ninja
- Robocop
- Sly Spy
- Wonder Planet
Falcon
- Crazy Kong
- Crazy Kong Part II
Irem
- Air Duel
- Blade Master / Cross Blades
- Dragon Breed
- Dream Soccer 94
- Gallop - Armed Police Unit
- Gunforce
- Gunforce 2 / Geostorm
- Hammerin' Harry / Daiku no Gensan
- Hook
- Image Fight
- In The Hunt / Kaitei Daisensou
- Kung-Fu Master
- Legend of Hero Tonma
- Lethal Thunder / Thunder Blaster
- Lode Runner
- Lode Runner II
- Lode Runner III
- Lode Runner IV
- Major Title 2 / The Irem Skins Game
- Moon Patrol
- Mr Heli
- Mystic Riders / Gun Hohki
- Ninja Baseball Batman / Yakyuu Kakutou League-Man
- Ninja Spirit
- Perfect Soldiers / Superior Soldiers
- Traverse USA
- Tropical Angel
- R-Type
- R-Type II
- R-Type Leo
- Undercover Cops
- Vigilante
- X-Multiply
- Youjyuden
Jaleco
Konami
- Amidar
- Contra
- Frogger (Konami Version)
- Gyruss
- Hyper Sports
- Iron Horse
- Jackal
- Jailbreak / Manhattan 24 Bunsyo
- Konami's Ping-Pong
- Mikie
- Mr Goemon
- Pooyan
- Road Fighter
- Rush 'n Attack / Green Beret
- Scooter Shooter
- Scramble
- Super Contra
- Time Pilot 84
- Time Pilot
- Track & Field
- Yie Ar Kung-Fu
Namco
- Bosconian
- Dig Dug
- Dig Dug II
- Galaga
- Galaxian
- Gaplus
- Mappy
- New Rally-X
- Pac & Pal
- Pac-Man & Chomp Chomp
- Pac-Man Club
- Pac-Man Plus
- Pac-Man Miner
- Pac-Man
- Rally-X
- Super Pac-Man
- Tower of Druaga
- Xevious
Nichibutsu
- Chouji Meikyuu Legion
- Crazy Climber
- Kid no Hore Hore Daisakusen
- Kozure Ookami / Lone Wolf & Cub
- Moon Cresta
- Sei Senshi Amatelass
- Terra Cresta
- Terra Force
Nintendo
Raizing
Sega
- 4-D Warriors
- Ali Baba and 40 Thieves
- Altered Beast
- Alex Kidd and The Lost Stars
- Alien Syndrome
- Astro Flash
- Bank Panic
- Bay Route
- Block Gal
- Body Slam / Dump Matsumoto
- Bullfight
- Congo Bongo
- Dunk Shot
- Dynamite Dux
- E-SWAT
- Fantasy Zone
- Fantasy Zone II - The Tears of Opa-Opa
- Fantasy Zone II - The Tears of Opa-Opa (System 16C)
- Flicky
- Frogger (Sega Version)
- Golden Axe
- Hang On Jr.
- I'm Sorry
- Megumi Rescue
- Mister Viking
- My Hero
- Out Run
- Passing Shot
- Pengo
- Pitfall II
- Riot City
- Sega Ninja
- Shinobi
- Sonic Boom
- Spatter
- Star Jacker
- Super Hang-On
- Super Zaxxon
- Teddy Boy Blues
- Tough Turf
- Turbo Out Run
- Up'n Down
- Water Match
- Wonder Boy
- Wonder Boy III - Monster Lair
- Wrestle War
- Zaxxon
SNK
- Athena
- Ikari Warriors
- Ikari III: The Rescue
- Fighting Golf / Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf
- P.O.W.: Prisoners of War
- Prehistoric Isle
- SAR: Search and Rescue
- Street Smart
- T.A.N.K. / TNK III
Stern Electronics
- Armored Car
Taito
- Arkanoid
- Bagman
- Bubble Bobble
- Crazy Balloon
- Exerion
- Kageki
- Phoenix
- Rastan
- Space Invaders
- Space Invaders Part II
- ZigZag
Technos Japan
- Double Dragon II
- Xain'd Sleena
Tecmo
- Bomb Jack
- Karnov
- Rygar
- Silkworm
- Solomon's Key
Toaplan
- Hellfire
- Out Zone
- Otenki Paradise: Snow Bros. 2
- Slap Fight
- Tatsujin / Truxton
- Tatsujin II
- Tiger Heli (Bootleg)
- Whoopee!!
- Zero Wing
Universal
- Cosmic Alien
- Devil Zone
- Ladybug
- Magical Spot
- Mr Do Nightmare
- Mr Do
- No Man's Land
Williams
- Alien Arena
- Robotron
- Sinistar
Other
- Anteater
- Attack Force
- Azurian Attack
- Battle of Atlantis
- Beastie Feastie
- Big Kong
- Billiard
- Birdiy
- Black Hole
- Blue Shark
- Boot Hill
- Botanic
- Bubbles
- Calipso
- Catacomb
- Cave
- Clowns
- Colony 7
- Computer Space
- Cosmic Avenger
- Cotton
- Dark Planet
- Devil Fish
- Dominos
- Dottori Kun
- Dream Shopper
- Druaga
- Eeek!
- Eggor
- Eyes
- Finalizer
- Frenzy
- Future Spy
- Galaxy Wars
- Galivan
- Gemini Wing
- Gorkans
- Gorodki
- Grobda
- Gun Fight
- Horizon
- Inferno
- Insector X
- Jin
- Kick
- Kick-Man
- King And Balloon
- Konek Gorbunok
- Kot-Rybolov
- Laguna Racer
- Lizard Wizard
- Lost Tomb
- Lucky Today
- Lunar Battle
- Lunar Rescue
- Lupin III
- Mars
- Mayday
- Mighty Monkey
- Moon War
- Motos
- Mr TNT
- Ninja Kun
- Omega
- Opa Opa
- Orbitron
- Pest Place
- Pickin'
- Pieces
- Playball
- Pleiads
- PolyPlay
- Q*Bert
- Rafflesia
- Regulus
- Riddle of Pythagoras
- River Patrol
- S.O.S.
- Sarge
- Shot Rider
- Shuffleboard
- Silver Land
- Slap Shooter
- Snap Jack
- Solar Fox
- Space Encounters
- Space Panic
- Space Race
- Speed Coin
- Spelunker
- Spelunker II
- Squash
- Star Guards
- Stargate
- Strategy X
- Subs
- Super Bagman
- Super Glob
- Soviet/Ukrainian Arcade TIA-MC1
- Swat
- Tapper
- Tazz-Mania
- Tetris
- The Battle-Road
- The End
- The Glob
- Timber
- Tokushu Butai Jackal
- Top Gunner
- Transformer
- Turbo Tag
- Turkey Shoot
- Turtles
- Ultratank
- Van-Van Car
- VBall
- Victory
- Vindicators Part II
- Vortex
- Wacko
- War of the Bugs
- Woodpecker
Other MiSTer FPGA Cores
This guide is a work in progress; if you spot an error or omission, please leave a comment below.
Comments 3
Don't forget the Saturn core...
https://github.com/srg320/Saturn_MiSTer#test-builds
FYI, the Jaguar one stopped being compatible with Main some time ago, so you need a really old main.rbf if you want to run it.
Such a cool product. Sadly though I am not tech savvy enough to build one of these.
These ongoing summary posts are great. I don't have a MiSTer (yet), but the Analogue Pocket page is also excellent and I use it all the time. Thanks!
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