Sega · Home console · 1988 Experimental

Sega Genesis / Mega Drive emulator for PC

Mega Drive / Genesis games run on Genesis Plus GX, the same core Nostyra uses for the Master System, Game Gear and SG-1000.

Written by vivusk, Nostyra maintainer Last reviewed 29 October 2026 Based on the Nostyra README and release notes

Game files

.md (No-Intro), .gen, .smd (copier dumps) and .bin.
.md and .bin files need the SEGA header at 0x100, which every licensed cartridge has. A README.md in your ROM folder is therefore never listed as a game.
.smd files are de-interleaved before hashing, so they match the No-Intro entry of the raw dump and share its saves.

Controls and saves

6-button games get X / Y / Z / Mode automatically from the cartridge header; others use a 3-button pad.
Rows read A (Y), B (B), C (A), X (L), Y (X), Z (R), Mode (Select), Start.
Battery RAM / EEPROM goes to save.srm; the file can be only a few bytes for some games.

Known limits

Not yet: Sega CD, 32X (listed but does not run), Pico, light guns, mouse, multitap, core options (region, overscan, FM chip).
Patches are made for raw dumps: patching an .smd breaks the game.
Genesis Plus GX has a non-commercial licence and is never bundled.

Sega Mega Drive / Genesis at a glance
Emulator core	Genesis Plus GX (Non-commercial)
Status	Experimental
File types	`.md`, `.gen`, `.smd`, `.bin`
BIOS	Not needed
RetroAchievements	Yes (softcore; not for copier `.smd` dumps)
Graphics	DirectX 12 or Vulkan (any recent GPU)
Platform	Windows 10 / 11, 64-bit

Core project: Genesis Plus GX. The core is downloaded from the libretro buildbot on first play and is never bundled with Nostyra.

Same core also plays: SG-1000 , Master System , Game Gear .

Before you start

Nostyra does not include, download or link to Mega Drive / Genesis games or BIOS files. Use games you own, dumped from your own cartridges or discs. See the disclaimer.

Features for Mega Drive / Genesis games

Save states A save state stores the whole emulated machine at one moment, so you can continue from any point, not only where the game lets you save. Rewind Rewind keeps a short history of the game in memory. Holding the rewind key plays it backwards at 2× speed. CRT and LCD shaders Shaders change how the picture is drawn, for example to imitate the scanlines of a CRT TV or the pixel grid of a handheld screen. Soft patching Translations, bug fixes and hacks are often shared as patch files. Nostyra applies them in memory when the game starts; the ROM file is never changed. RetroAchievements RetroAchievements is a community service that adds achievements to classic games. Nostyra supports it on 14 systems using rcheevos, the same library RetroArch uses. PS4, PS5 and Xbox controllers Nostyra reads gamepads through SDL3. Gamepads work out of the box, and the Controls editor shows Xbox or PlayStation button labels to match your pad. The DualSense (PS5) has been tested by the maintainer.

Play Mega Drive / Genesis games with Nostyra

Free and open source. Portable zip, no installer, no account.

Download for Windows

macOS (planned) Linux (planned) iOS (planned) Android (planned)

Version 0.1.0 · 25.9 MB zip · Windows 10 / 11, 64-bit

Hosted on GitHub Releases. First time? Read the install guide.