Colecovision emulator

Colecovision should run well in its standard windowed mode. But when you attempt to run it in either Double Size mode or Full Screen (click Emulation → Display to change modes), you might find that it runs too slowly; the music will skip and the animation will be choppy. If you don’t really care about the sound, you can usually speed things up by turning it off in the Emulation menu.Alternately, you can usually speed things up by adjusting the “Frame Skip” settings from the default. Raise the frameskip value to speed the game up. Conveniently, Virtual Colecovision lets you make separate adjustments to the frameskip option depending on whether you are in windowed or fullscreen mode. This is helpful since the speed your machine can crank out will often differ depending on your display mode.A Bit About blueMSXBefore I close, I’d like to point out that you do have one more option for emulating the Colecovision on PC. The emulator blueMSX ( which true to its name is primarily concerned with emulating the MSX personal computers, features Colecovision support. This is because the original MSX wasn’t that different a piece of hardware than the Colecovision; in fact, ColEm originally started as a scaled-down version of an MSX emulator.The upside to installing blueMSX is, of course, that you’ll be able to play all sorts of MSX games as well, if you can find the ROMs online. It never caught on in the US, but was huge in Japan. In fact, it was one of the main competitors to Nintendo’s Famicom (NES) hardware there, and a few games were released for both systems at first, including such Famicom mainstays as Castlevania and Final Fantasy.The downside is that the program is much larger than other Colecovision emulators and requires a fast machine to run properly (they recommend at least a Pentium III or equivalent). But it does have a very nice user interface—check it out running homebrew Coleco game Star Fortress in Figure 4-13.Windows users aren’t the only ones who can enjoy the Colecovision. Of course, you can run the DOS version of ColEmDOS on nearly any platform using an emulator [Hack #70] . However, there are Colecovision emulators for Linux and Mac OS X as well. For Linux and Unix, you can use ColEm. For Mac OS X, check out Mugrat ( or ColEm.Figure 4-13. blueMSX running the Colecovision game Star Fortress

Graphics and more levels.If you want to emulate the ADAM, then either try out ADAMEm or MESS, the Multi Emulator Super System [Hack #59] . ADAMEm might also be your emulator of choice if you are running an older computer under DOS—and in that case, you might want to also check out the discontinued ColEmDOS, available at Zophar’s Domain ( (ColEmDOS also includes the unique option of letting you log the sound from your game directly to a MIDI file; perfect for aspiring avant-garde musicians!)Virtual ColecovisionIf you’re running Windows 95, NT, 2000, XP, or something of that nature, you’ll almost definitely want to use Virtual Colecovision ( ). Last updated in 1997—and formerly known as ColEm97—it is generally considered to be the Windows emulator of choice for the console.When you visit the official web site’s Download page, be sure to download the first file in the list, which is the version for Windows 95 and above. Ports of the emulator for Java and Windows 3.1 are also available here, so be sure not to confuse the Windows versions. (If you’re running a DOS computer and using Windows 3.1, you’ll probably just want to get one of the DOS emulators, because the 3.1 port is in a permanently incomplete and discontinued state, lacking joystick and sound emulation).To install the program, simply unzip the files to a new directory. Run the VColeco.exe file and you’ll be up and running in no time flat. The first time you run the program, the first thing you’ll have to deal with is a window like the one in Figure 4-11.Figure 4-11. Virtual Colecovision’s automatic file association featureIf you click Yes in this window, all files ending with the extension .ROM will attempt to open in Virtual ColecoVision if you double-click on the filename in Windows Explorer. This could be extremely convenient or extremely annoying for you. Don’t do this if you’ve already assigned files with the ROM extension to open in a different emulator. (For example, games for the Atari 7800 console commonly use the same extension.)After you’re safely over that crucial life hurdle, you’ll be in Virtual ColecoVision. It couldn’t be easier to start up—just click File, then Run, then pick out a ROM. The freely distributed game Cosmo Fighter 2 (see Figure 4-12) is included in the zip file you downloaded, so start with that one! Web sites like feature other public domain and freeware ROM files that will run on Colecovision emulators; although the homebrew scene is not as lively as the one for the Atari 2600, there are some solid, playable titles out there.Figure 4-12. Virtual Colecovision running Cosmo Fighter 2If you have a reasonably fast computer, you’ll find that Virtual

Emulate the Colecovision Get back in touch with a surprisingly powerful classic system.I’ll admit to being not the biggest fan of retro systems older than myself. It’s not as if I don’t see the fun in the Atari 2600 or Intellivision, and it’s certainly not as if I haven’t spent quite a bit of time playing both systems. But I have this theory that we can only truly go back and enjoy the retro games that we played when they were new.That said, I never had a Colecovision console when it was new. And I don’t predate it by that many years—I was born in 1980; it was born in 1982. But for someone who came of age during the Nintendo era, the Colecovision experience hits close to home. The graphic quality is close to the early days of the NES, and it even shares some of the same games.If you will permit me the comparison, the Colecovision was the Sega Dreamcast of its time. It featured graphic power above and beyond anything else on the market. It was the only system that could faithfully recreate the graphics and gameplay of the games that were hot in arcades. It had a smallish but high-quality library of software that garnered it diehard fans. And it was doomed to an early grave (though for different reasons).In this hack, I’ll explain how to emulate the Colecovision hardware using software available for your DOS/Windows PC. If all this talk has gotten you interested in buying the classic Colecovision hardware, it is entirely possible for you to do so [Hack #4] .Children of ColEmRead the documentation for most Colecovision emulators and you’ll find that many of them are ports or updates of Marat Fayzullin’s ColEm, which he wrote for the Unix platform in the early nineties. Fayzullin’s original web page ( is still up, but many of the links are broken. The download of the Unix version should still work, however.Ican still remember running the DOS port of ColEm way back in the day (I think I discovered it just as the Nintendo 64 was coming out, so it would have been the summer of 1996). Soon enough after that, Colecovision emulation was pretty much perfected, and development of most of the emulators slowed to a halt.The newest dedicated Colecovision emulator is ADAMEm ( which was last updated in 1999. As its name implies, it emulates not only the Colecovision but the ADAM computer as well. The ADAM was Coleco’s attempt at breaking into the growing personal computer market. It was built around the Colecovision hardware and was a colossal failure. But it did feature souped-up versions of Colecovision hits like Donkey Kong, with better

ColEm is a ColecoVision emulator. It runs Coleco games on your Android phone or tablet. Play Coleco games with Bluetooth gamepads, USB joysticks, hardware buttons or virtual gamepad. Save game play at any time and restart once you get killed. Record ColecoVision music to MIDI files and use them as ringtones. Play with friends over WiFi or Internet, using NetPlay.* Optimized for Android devices using assembler and 3D hardware, and running Coleco games at the fastest possible speed.* Full screen portrait or landscape mode emulation, with options for simulating TV scanlines and fuzzy TV display.* Emulates joystick using touch screen, Bluetooth gamepads, Xperia gaming buttons, Moga gamepad, iCade joystick, physical keyboard, or accelerometer.This is a free, limited version of ColEm that may show ads and nag you to buy the full version. For the latest, full, ad-free version, with better joystick, network play, and the ability to share your saved game play with other users, get ColEm Deluxe.ColEm package itself does not contain any games. You should place your own game files onto the SD card before running ColEm.Please, do not run any software you do not own with ColEm. The author cannot and will not tell you where to find free Coleco games.Report any encountered problems here:

Currently there are a number of Emulators available for the DC, here is an overview of them all:Atari 400/800/800XL:Atari800DCAtari 2600:StellaColecovision:[D]ColemCommodore 64:DC64NeoGeo - Pocket:NeoPocottNintendo - 8bit NES:DarcDCGleam!NESterDCFrNESTuxNES-DCNintendo - SNES:DreamSNESNgineSintendoNintendo - GameBoy:Boob!boyDCGNUboyMame:MameDCMSX: DreamMSXfMSX DCPC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16:DarcDC Phoenix/Pleiads:DCPhoenixSega SG-1000:Dream-O-RamaSega Master System:DarcDCDreamSMSSmegSMS PlusSega Game Gear:DarcDCSega Genesis/MegaDrive:DCGeneratorSony PlayStation:PcsxDCZX-Spectrum 48k:DreamSpecZX-ISHPECTRUMZZT:DreamZZTMisc:DreamEmuDreamerDCSIDreamPacFreeSCIFrotzDCOdd-DCSarienDCDarcDC is port of DarcNES, an emulator that will allow you to play PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16, NES, Sega Master System, Sega SG-1000/3000 & Sega GameGear games.FileGameSize AuthorDarcDC [05-04-2002] - Source [Kallisti]608KBJim Ursetto[Site]DreamEmu is a Dreamcast emulator for the windows platform.FileGameSize AuthorDreamEmu v0.03 [03-08-2001]247KBLord Cheese[Site]Dreamer is a Dreamcast emulator for the windows platform.FileGameSize AuthorDreamer v0.02b [08-01-2001]196KB[Site]DreamSMS is a Sega MasterSystem/GameGear emulator for the Dreamcast.FileGameSize AuthorDreamSMS v0.140KBJ. KwantenDreamZZT is a ZZT emulator for the Sega Dreamcast.The ZZT was Epic Megagames' (then Potomac Computer Systems) first game engine, written by Tim Sweeny in 1990. Check out zzt.org for more information about the original ZZT.Use WinACE 2.0x to extract the archives!FileGameSize AuthorDreamZZT v2.0 RC5 [17-01-2001] - DiscJuggler4.3MBSam Steele[Site]DreamZZT v2.0 RC5 [17-01-2001] - Nero16.7MB[D]Colem is a Colecovision, Adam Emulator.FileGameSize Author[D]Colem Beta 1 [03-11-2000]1.8MBSoHo[E-Mail]fMSX DC is a MSX emulator for the Dreamcast.FileGameSize AuthorfMSX DC Beta 1 [20-02-2002]147KBA. CardosoNgine is a SNES emulator. It is a port of SNES9X.FileGameSize AuthorNgine "snes9x edition" v0.40 [22-03-2001]945KBTubooboo[Site]PcsxDC is a Sony PlayStation emulator. It is a port of PCSX.FileGameSize AuthorPcsxDC v1.3 Alpha [02-08-2002]651KB[Site]Stella is a Atari 2600 VCS emulator for the Dreamcast.FileGameSize AuthorStella v0.2e [14-12-2002]869KBSvOlli[Site]ZX-ISHPECTRUM is a ZX-Spectrum 48k Emulator.FileGameSize AuthorZX-ISHPECTRUM v1.0 [15-12-2001]123KBIshmair

Higan is a multi-system emulator designed to provide the highest possible fidelity during emulation. The program can perfectly emulate the following consoles: NES, Famicom Disk System, Super Nintendo, Super Game Boy, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Player, SG-1000, SC-3000, Master System, Game Gear, Mega Drive, Mega CD, PC Engine, SuperGrafx, MSX, MSX2, ColecoVision, Neo Geo Pocket, Neo Geo Pocket Color, WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color, SwanCrystal, and Pocket Challenge V2.In total, Higan can emulate video games for more than a dozen different consoles. Unlike other emulators, you'll need to download the BIOS for each system you want to emulate, otherwise you won't be able to load ROMs. In addition, it's important to keep in mind that one of the objectives of the emulator is to offer an experience just like the original, so you won't find many extra features.Advertisement Remove ads and more with TurboAlthough it may lack certain features in some areas, Higan does include savestates. The emulator lets you save up to five quick-save games, which you can access again with a single click. This feature was not included in any of the original consoles, but it's incredibly useful, and no modern emulator can do without it. Something similar happens with resolution scaling. In the 90s, video games were not prepared for such high resolutions, but 30 years later, it's a must. Higan is an excellent multi-system emulator for playing thousands and thousands of games from more than a dozen different platforms on your Mac with ease. Higan's source code also produced two other excellent emulators: BSNES and ARES, both with different features and also available on Mac.