More Systems
A realistic ranking for the ESP32-S3 (2 × 240 MHz, 8 MB PSRAM). All of these are estimates from the original hardware's CPU and ROM sizes; only a port and a measurement settle them.
| Tier | Systems | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 Should fit | Atari 7800, Atari 5200/800, WonderSwan / Color, Vectrex, Intellivision, Odyssey² / Videopac, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC | 1–4 MHz 8/16-bit CPUs, small ROMs, lighter than the NES/SMS cores that already run at 60 |
| 🟡 Possible with work | PC Engine CD | PCE CD reuses the PCE core (60 fps at 43% busy) plus CD audio streamed from the SD. The Commodore 64 and the Game Boy Advance, listed here before, now run: C64 at full speed (retro-home, 2026-10-07), GBA on its Xtensa dynarec at 59–60 on most games (3D games 40–56, 2026-10-14: Emulators) |
| 🔴 Out of reach on this chip | Sega CD, 32X, PlayStation, Saturn, N64 (as an emulator; Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 run as native ports) | Too many fast CPUs (32X: two SH-2 at 23 MHz; Sega CD: a second 68000). Sega CD is also not wanted (user, 2026-09-29: the games are too big), ROMs larger than the 8 MB PSRAM, or 3D hardware. The Virtual Boy was listed here too: it now runs at full speed in retro-extra (50 Hz). Neo Geo was listed here: it now runs at part speed with its ROMs paged from the SD card (see Arcade (MAME)) |
PlayStation. A MIPS R3000A at 33.9 MHz plus a geometry coprocessor, a GPU with 1 MB of VRAM and a sound chip. The emulators that run it on cheap handhelds depend on a dynarec that translates MIPS into the host's machine code; there is none for Xtensa, and an interpreter would be many times too slow. Not realistic on the ESP32-S3, and doubtful even on an ESP32-P4 without a RISC-V dynarec.
Sega family and MAME on the current console (v3)
What the ESP32-S3 board can add without new hardware. Starting point, all
measured on the board: the Mega Drive core (gwenesis) runs at 60 emulated
/ 30 drawn fps, with the 68000 at 5.5 ms, the Z80 at 3.1 ms and the video
chip at 11.3 ms per drawn frame on core 0, and the YM2612 at 6 ms per frame
on core 1. Flash is the constraint now: the image is 15.3 MB of the
16 MB (2026-09-29: 11 apps + the 4 MB mamerom partition), about 700 KB
free, so a new emulator app needs room made first (a smaller mamerom,
or trimming an app partition) and one USB flash for the new partition
table.
| System | Verdict on v3 | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mega Drive / Genesis | ✅ done | 60 emulated / 30 drawn. Drawing all 60 would need ~20 ms per frame against 16.7 ms, so 30–40 drawn is the ceiling without deeper VDP work |
| Sega Pico | 🟢 feasible | a Mega Drive without the Z80 and the YM2612, plus a simple ADPCM chip: lighter than what already runs. PicoDrive emulates it; the pen and page tablet map to the D-pad and buttons. A niche library of edutainment titles |
| Sega CD / Mega CD | ⛔ not planned (user, 2026-09-29: games too big) — 🟡 at the limit technically | adds a second 68000 at 12.5 MHz (~9 ms per frame by scaling the measured 5.5 ms), a PCM chip and CD audio. With the sub-CPU on core 1 next to the YM2612, core 1 reaches ~15–17 ms of its 16.7 ms, and the two 68000s must stay in step across cores. Expect heavy frameskip and slowdowns in demanding scenes. Needs a different emulator (gwenesis has no CD support: PicoDrive with its C 68000 core), the Sega CD BIOS supplied by the user, and bin/cue images (CHD decompression is too heavy) |
| 32X | 🔴 no | two SH-2 CPUs at 23 MHz on top of the Mega Drive: an interpreter needs several hundred MHz of CPU per SH-2, and PicoDrive's SH-2 dynarec has no Xtensa backend |
| Classic arcade (MAME) | 🟢 feasible | Z80 / 6502 / 8080 boards of 1978–85 (Pac-Man, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Frogger, 1942, Bomb Jack…). See Arcade (MAME) |
| Capcom CPS1 | ✅ runs (mame-go) | one 68000 at 10 MHz + Z80 + YM2151 (on core 1) and a heavy tile / sprite renderer at 384 × 224. In a fight (2026-10-14): Final Fight 60, Street Fighter II 52-53, Knights 52, with the frameskip; tiles streamed into a 4.25 MB flash cache. See Arcade (MAME) |
One emulator for three systems. PicoDrive covers Mega Drive, Pico, Sega CD and 32X (plus SMS / Game Gear). On v3 it would be added as a new app for Pico and Sega CD, keeping the tuned gwenesis for Mega Drive games.
Suggested order on v3
- Classic MAME: the highest value for the effort, and existing ESP32 projects already run a handful of these games.
- Sega Pico through PicoDrive: cheap once PicoDrive is ported.
Sega CD: not planned (user, 2026-09-29: the games are too big).- 32X: not on v3.