MESS is an old computers and video game console systems emulator.

Emulation consists of running software developed for a specific system in a different one. For example, we can emulate the Super Nintendo game console in a Play Station 3. This means that in the console Play Station 3, we will be able to play Super Nintendo video games.

MESS emulates multiple game consoles and computers, and because MESS runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac, we can run the software developed for old systems on any PC. This software can emulate more than 700 different systems as the sum of consoles and computers. Here is a small list of the most well-known emulated systems:

• NES (Nintendo Entertainment System)
• Master System
• Super Nintendo
• Genesis (MegaDrive)
• Amstrad CPC
• ZX Spectrum
• Macintosh PowerBook
• Commodore 64
• Game Boy

In some cases, there are several versions of the same system; for example, we can emulate the Japanese version of the Commodore 64 system or the NTSC version.

The program uses the command line, so it doesn't have a graphical interface that we can use to navigate through the systems or ROMs. While this is not the most comfortable way to use a program, the ability to emulate many systems and test old games or programs make learning how to use this program worthwhile. Even so, the most comfortable way to use the program is to use a FrontEnd. FrontEnds are programs that show a list of all the available systems to emulate, and we can easily add new ROMs. The FrontEnd is in charge of executing the commands necessary to use MESS.

There is a great community behind this project, and we will find many options to make more pleasant use of this software. For example, there are sites where you can download “cheats” for games of the systems emulated. These cheats add infinite lives to our character, making it faster, invincible, etc.

When we are in the emulation screen, we can press the tab key to access the system-emulated menu and configure different settings of the video and keyboard.

This is a good program for users who want to remember old times in front of the computer or video game console or for those curious to know what kind of video games and programs were used a few decades ago.

The program is open source and free of charge.