There is no installer for Mesen-S – run the Mesen-S.exe application and a first-run configuration wizard will be shown.
Data Storage Location: This section of the wizard allows you to select where you prefer to keep the emulator’s files.
Input Mappings: Select which input types you want to use to play games. There are built-in presets for:
You can select multiple presets at once, but only a single keyboard layout.
Create a shortcut on my desktop: Check this option if you want to add a Mesen-S shortcut to your desktop.
The default configuration should work out of the box and allow you to get right into playing games.
To load a game, use the File→Open command and select any supported file (or drag and drop a file):
.sfc
: SNES games.gb
/ .gbc
: Game Boy and Game Boy Color games.bs
: BS-X / Satellaview games.spc
: SPC sound tracksAdditionally, .zip
and .7z
archives containing ROMs can be loaded directly.
Once a game is loaded, you can pause, reset or stop the game via the Game
menu.
Some games require a firmware file (sometimes called a BIOS). Whenever a game that requires a firmware file is loaded, the emulator will automatically prompt you for the file. All firmware files are saved in the Firmware
folder.
The following firmware files are used:
BS-X.bin
.dsp1.data.rom
and dsp1.program.rom
.
dsp1.rom
: DSP-1dsp1b.rom
: DSP-1bdsp2.rom
: DSP-2dsp3.rom
: DSP-3dsp4.rom
: DSP-4st010.rom
: ST010st011.rom
: ST011dmg_boot.bin
(256 bytes): Game Boy Boot ROMcgb_boot.bin
(2304 bytes): Game Boy Color Boot ROMSGB1.sfc
(256 kb): Super Game BoySGB2.sfc
(512 kb): Super Game Boy 2sgb_boot.bin
(256 bytes): Super Game Boy CPU Boot ROM (optional)sgb2_boot.bin
(256 bytes): Super Game Boy 2 CPU Boot ROM (optional)Alongside Super Game Boy support, Mesen-S can also emulate regular Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, without running them through the Super Game Boy.
To control which Game Boy model is used when loading .gb
and .gbc
files, use the Model
dropdown in the Game Boy options.
All debugging tools also support Game Boy and Game Boy Color games.
SPC files are used to store music from SNES games. These can be loaded like any other type of ROM.
When loading SPC files, the UI will display information about the track, artist, etc. while the track is playing.
The game selection screen is shown when no game is currently loaded – it will display the last games you’ve played, along with a screenshot of the game at the point where you left off playing. The number of games shown depends on the window’s size.
You can use this screen via the key bindings for player 1 - e.g press the d-pad to change selection, and the A
button to start the game. You can also navigate the screen with your mouse – use the arrows on each side of the screen to change game, and click on the game’s screenshot to start playing.
Mesen-S has a number of shortcut keys that you may find useful. All shortcut keys can be customized in the preferences.
If you load a state, reset or power cycle by mistake, you can use the rewind feature to undo the action.