Mega-Pi
- Android app
- Not listed
- Free plan
- No
- Runs on
- Linux
Summary
Mega-Pi is a bare-metal Sega Mega Drive/Genesis emulator designed for Raspberry Pi 3 and 4. By running without an operating system such as Linux, the project aims for near-instant boot and very low input latency. It uses the Picodrive emulation core and Circle bare-metal C++ framework, distributing orchestration, video, audio, and input work across four Raspberry Pi ARM cores. It scans Genesis and Mega Drive .bin, .md, and .gen files, as well as Sega CD/Mega CD .cue and .chd files. Sega CD emulation covers the Sub-CPU, PCM and CD audio, and rotation/scaling graphics hardware. Video is upscaled to 640×480, with 44.1 kHz stereo audio through the Pi PWM sound engine. USB gamepads and keyboards are supported, and save states are stored on the SD card. Running it requires a FAT32 SD card with boot files and a kernel image, ROMs, and USB input devices; Sega CD play also requires a regional BIOS file in a BIOS folder. The repository provides a release archive.
Who it is for
It suits Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 users who want a dedicated Genesis/Mega Drive emulator, including Sega CD support, and can prepare an SD card and required files.
What is good
- Runs on Raspberry Pi 3 and 4.
- Supports Genesis and Mega Drive ROM formats.
- Sega CD support includes CD audio.
- Accepts USB gamepads and keyboards.
- Save states are stored on the SD card.
What to know first
- Requires a FAT32 SD card and kernel image.
- Sega CD games require regional BIOS files.
- Building requires the GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain and Circle framework.
Verdict
Mega-Pi targets Raspberry Pi users seeking bare-metal Genesis/Mega Drive emulation, with Sega CD support and USB controls. Setup depends on the required SD-card files, and Sega CD use additionally needs a correctly named BIOS.
Compared on Sega CD emulators
- Free plan
- Yesgithub.com
- Supported platforms
- Raspberry Pigithub.com
- BIOS requirement
- requiredgithub.com
- Save states
- Yesgithub.com
- CD audio support
- Yesgithub.com
Facts
- Purpose
- Mega-Pi is a bare-metal Sega Mega Drive/Genesis emulator designed to run on Raspberry Pi.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Boot and latency
- The project says bypassing an operating system such as Linux enables near-instant boot times and ultra-low input latency.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Emulation core
- Mega-Pi uses the Picodrive emulation core and the Circle bare-metal C++ framework.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Multicore design
- The README assigns orchestration, video, audio, and input work to four Raspberry Pi ARM cores.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Sega CD support
- It supports Sega CD/Mega CD games in .cue with .bin tracks and compressed .chd formats, and describes emulation of the Sub-CPU, PCM audio, CD audio, and rotation/scaling graphics hardware.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- ROM formats
- The emulator scans .bin, .md, and .gen Genesis/Mega Drive files, plus .cue and .chd Sega CD/Mega CD files.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Video and sound
- The README describes 2× integer nearest-neighbor upscaling to 640×480 and 44.1 kHz stereo audio through the Pi PWM sound engine.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Controls
- It supports USB gamepads and USB keyboards, with menu and gameplay shortcuts documented for each.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Favorites
- Users can persist game favorites in SD:/roms/favorites.txt.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Setup requirements
- Running it requires a FAT32 SD card, a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 kernel image, game files, and USB input devices; Sega CD games also require appropriately named BIOS files.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Build requirement
- Compiling the project requires the GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain, and the Circle framework must be configured and built first.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Distribution
- The repository page lists a mega-pi-release-v1.1.zip file and documents packaging a release archive.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- Credits
- The project credits R. Stange for Circle and notaz and community contributors for Picodrive.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
- BIOS setup
- Sega CD support requires regional BIOS files named `bios_CD_U.bin`, `bios_CD_E.bin`, or `bios_CD_J.bin` in a `bios` folder on the SD card.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Display and audio
- The video core performs 2× integer nearest-neighbor upscaling to 640×480, and audio is output as 44.1 kHz stereo through the Pi PWM sound engine.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Supported hardware
- The build instructions describe Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 4 targets.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Running it requires a FAT32 SD card containing the boot files, the compiled kernel image, a `roms` folder, and—when using Sega CD games—a `bios` folder.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
- Maker
- The GitHub profile identifies the repository owner as Alexsander Loula and lists Sao Paulo, Brazil.github.com · 3 Oct 2026
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Sources
- github.com/aloula/mega-pi· checked 2 Oct 2026
- github.com/aloula· checked 3 Oct 2026