Some people call the FCEUX the best emulator for the NES because it has so many advanced features. But is that praise deserved? What has the FCEUX done to attract so much attention? Should you download and install the program? It depends on what you want.
What is FCEUX?
FCEUX is a fork of FCE Ultra. FCE Ultra came out of the Family Computer Emulator (FCE). It did not last. The final version of the program came out in 2004.
Once development on the emulator fizzled out, people realized that it was well and truly dead when the emulator’s home page and forums disappeared.

This paved the way for numerous forks of the emulator to emerge, including FCEU-MM, FCEU Recording, and FCEUXD SP. FCE Ultra made a surprising return in 2006.
However, it was quickly overshadowed by a new project designed to combine all the forks. The result was FCEUX, an application that was birthed from the combined efforts of Zeromus, Sebastian Porst, mz, qFox, Andres Delikat, and Sabota, to mention but a few.
The final product was received well by the emulator community which appreciated the advanced features, including Rom hacking and debugging. But if you don’t have any use for those advanced features, you can use the emulator to play NES and Super Famicom games.
The program allows gamers to play with one another over the internet (or locally). If you want other people to see your progress, you can record the video and audio. But you cannot appreciate the emulator to the fullest unless you experiment with FCEUX’s sophisticated functions, including a pulse modifier.
How To Install FCEUX?
- This is a standalone program. It doesn’t have an installer. More importantly, you don’t need one
- Download a version of FCEUX that suit your system
- You can find the emulator in a zip file. Extract the file
- Locate the extracted executable FCEUX file and run it
Download FCEUX Emulator
Source Code: Download
How to Use FCEUX?
- Double-clicking the executable file will launch the emulator
- To configure the keyboard, go to ‘Config’ and then ‘Input’. Click the ‘Configure’ button in the window that will open. Another window will open. Use it to change the controls
- If you want to load games in the FCEUX emulator, go to ‘File’ and ‘Open ROM’. Go to the folder with your ROMs. Select the appropriate ROM file.
- Pressing ‘Alt’ and ‘Enter’ at the same time will launch full-screen mode
- To alter the graphics, go to ‘Config’ and ‘Video’. You can use the window that opens to manipulate the screen filters.
- Save states are found in ‘File’ and then ‘Save State’. You have ten slots
- Holding ‘Tab’ will fast forward the game
- Use F12 to capture a screenshot
FCEUX Emulator for Android?
The emulator is not released for Android devices it can be worked on Windows, Ubuntu, and macOS platform so it’s not going to install on any other operating system.
Conclusion
Unlike a significant number of emulators on the internet, this is a relatively modern emulator. It was released more than a decade ago but it is still active. Development on FCEUX has not stopped.
It has all the relevant features modern emulators bring to the table, including the ability to save your progress, record your gameplay, and fast-forward a game.