Emulation I made a browser-based retro game player – FC/NES, SNES, PCE, GB/GBC/GBA

Osakana · Wednesday at 12:44 PM

Hi everyone!

I'm a retro game fan from Japan, and I've been working on a project called RetroGame Master.

The idea is very simple:

Turn your smartphone, tablet, or PC into a retro game machine using only a web browser.

No app installation is required.

Just open RetroGame Master in your browser, load your own ROM file, and start playing.

Supported Systems

Currently, RetroGame Master supports:

Famicom / NES
Super Famicom / SNES
PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Game Boy
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance

Features

I've also added several features to make retro games more comfortable to play on modern devices:

Save / Load states
Fast forward
Turbo buttons
Gamepad support
Smartphone and PC support
Browser-based, so no installation is required

I've tested it with several controllers, including GameSir Pocket Taco, 8BitDo Flip Pad, GameSir X5 Lite, Joy-Con, DualShock 4, and other mobile controllers.

Connecting a controller to a smartphone makes it feel surprisingly close to having a little retro handheld console.

Why did I make this?

I grew up playing the Famicom here in Japan.

Even after all these years, I still love discovering old games and going back to the games I played as a kid.

I wanted to make something that makes it easy to enjoy those games again using devices we already have today.

That's how RetroGame Master started.

I'm continuing to improve it and test it with different smartphones, browsers, controllers, and games.

I'd love to hear feedback from GBAtemp users

I'm especially interested in feedback from people who already know a lot about emulation and retro gaming.

If you try RetroGame Master, I'd love to know:

What device/browser did you use?
What controller did you use?
Did everything work correctly?
Is there anything you think I should add or improve?

Even bug reports are very welcome!

There is also a free FC/NES version, so you can try it before using the full version.
https://game.retrogamemedia.com/

I'll continue posting updates as I improve the project.

Try RetroGame Master here:
https://master.retrogamemedia.com/

If you try it, please let me know what device, browser, and controller you used!

Thanks for reading!

Greetings from Japan!

VmprHntrD · Friday at 3:14 PM

I can't give it a real test at the moment, but brave browser (windows) opened up Akumajou Densetsu (vRC6) and the audio channels seem to be all there, but don't have time to play to see if the visuals hold up as well but that's a nice start.

Osakana · 2026-08-22T08:05:40+0100

VmprHntrD said:
I can't give it a real test at the moment, but brave browser (windows) opened up Akumajou Densetsu (vRC6) and the audio channels seem to be all there, but don't have time to play to see if the visuals hold up as well but that's a nice start.

Thanks for getting in touch!

Please feel free to try out different games and see how they run.

It also works well on smartphones and tablets, so I’d love for you to give it a try on those devices too!

The full version of Retro Game Master is a paid version, but it supports a variety of retro game systems, so you can enjoy many different platforms in one place.

As the next step, I’m planning to add Google Drive integration so that you can continue your game seamlessly across your PC, smartphone, and tablet.

I’ll let you know once the feature is ready!

Thanks again for trying it out!

Exnor · 2026-08-22T17:48:09+0100

What do you mean whit "there is a free version?" . Is this a paid web based service?

Osakana · 2026-08-22T23:23:02+0100

Exnor said:
What do you mean whit "there is a free version?" . Is this a paid web based service?

Thanks for reaching out!

Sorry for the confusion.

The NES/Famicom-only web emulator is completely free to use.
https://game.retrogamemedia.com/

There is also a paid upgraded version called RetroGame Master, which supports more systems:
https://master.retrogamemedia.com/

NES / Famicom
SNES / Super Famicom
PC Engine
Game Boy / Game Boy Color / Game Boy Advance

So, the free version is for NES/Famicom only, while RetroGame Master is the paid full version with multi-system support.

I hope that clears things up!

lightwo · 2026-08-23T00:28:50+0100

First of all, posting a paid web-based frontend for RetroArch (loading actual RetroArch at that) at a place like this is bizarre. Does anyone else benefit from this? Being based in Japan, monetising this sounds like especially risky business, even if ROM files aren't distributed.

I was surprised that FDS didn't work, and the reason is the lack of FDS BIOS. I'm pretty sure there's no way to upload that at this point. What do you mean by FC (Famicom) support then?

Lastly, it isn't very confidence-inspiring seeing clearly AI-generated material (such as the large promo-looking banner) for something like this. I checked the JS, it didn't seem AI-generated, but it didn't seem particularly complex either. In fact, most of it looks like boilerplate.

I'm sure you had fun doing this, but being brutally honest, if the paid frontends follow the same route, developers maintaining free emulators distributed with/for RetroArch would be more deserving of the funds. Is anyone credited anywhere, anyway?

CMDreamer · 2026-08-23T01:46:55+0100

lightwo said:
First of all, posting a paid web-based frontend for RetroArch (loading actual RetroArch at that) at a place like this is bizarre. Does anyone else benefit from this? Being based in Japan, monetising this sounds like especially risky business, even if ROM files aren't distributed.

I was surprised that FDS didn't work, and the reason is the lack of FDS BIOS. I'm pretty sure there's no way to upload that at this point. What do you mean by FC (Famicom) support then?

Lastly, it isn't very confidence-inspiring seeing clearly AI-generated material (such as the large promo-looking banner) for something like this. I checked the JS, it didn't seem AI-generated, but it didn't seem particularly complex either. In fact, most of it looks like boilerplate.

I'm sure you had fun doing this, but being brutally honest, if the paid frontends follow the same route, developers maintaining free emulators distributed with/for RetroArch would be more deserving of the funds. Is anyone credited anywhere, anyway?

Precisely my feelings.

After checking a bit of its source code, we can see RetroArch references all over it.

Pretending to make profit from an OpenSource project, while not wrong (if its license allows it), but doing it without giving proper mention, is not a very honest move.

AI usage is here and there, as most of the source code for the NES emulator looks very generic.

I wouldn't pay for this kind of thing, I'd get ReatroArch installed on my device instead. Even though I really dislike the mess in RetroArch's GUI.

Btw, is the promotion (with an economical profit in mind) of our AI software permitted on GBATemp?

Osakana · 2026-08-23T10:27:37+0100

Thank you very much for pointing this out. I genuinely appreciate this kind of feedback.

This is my first time developing and releasing something like this, so there are still many things I am learning along the way, especially when it comes to open-source licenses, credits, and how everything should be presented properly.

The reason I decided to make part of the project paid was not simply to make money from an open-source emulator. My intention was to use the funds to continue development, add more features, improve the experience, and hopefully make the project into something more interesting and useful over time.

I have also spent time customizing the interface and controls so that people who may find RetroArch difficult or confusing can use it more easily, especially on smartphones and tablets. So in my mind, the small fee was closer to supporting the continued development and customization of the project.

That said, after reading the comments here, I realized that there are areas I need to review more carefully, particularly regarding proper credits and the licenses of the individual emulator cores being used.

I will take the feedback seriously and thoroughly review these points as I continue development.

I'm still learning, so I may make mistakes along the way, but I have no intention of disrespecting the developers who created and maintain these excellent open-source projects. Quite the opposite — without their work, this project would not exist.

So please bear with me while I improve things. Constructive feedback like this is genuinely helpful, and I appreciate everyone taking the time to point these things out.

Emulation I made a browser-based retro game player – FC/NES, SNES, PCE, GB/GBC/GBA

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