▸ what it is
CRYPTCADE makes your computer or phone behave like an old games console, so you can play the games you own — wrapped in a haunted arcade. Over twenty systems, from the NES to the PlayStation, plus old Flash games.
Two ways to play: straight in your browser, with nothing to install, or with the Windows app, which works completely offline and adds a few extras. Both are free. You bring your own games.
▸ quick start
- Pick a console in the graveyard (I. choose your console).
- Load a game: drag a file onto the page, click INSERT CARTRIDGE, or tap the slot on mobile.
- It boots in the CRT screen. Hit EJECT to swap games.
- Disc-based consoles and BIOS: see the sections below.
CRYPTCADE supplies no games and no BIOS — you use your own, legally owned. See the legal notice.
▸ how it works
the flow
CRYPTCADE is console-first: pick the system, then the game. Opening a console shows its file (BIOS status and a way to load a game straight into it) and filters the rest of the page down to that system. You can also skip that step and just drop a game in — the file type tells CRYPTCADE which console it belongs to. Some file types are shared by several consoles, though; when that happens the console you picked decides. That's why choosing first is worth it.
the emulation
Every game runs in its own sealed compartment, wiped and rebuilt each time you launch — nothing carries over from the last one. It all happens on your own device, at full speed. Nothing is streamed, and there is no server running the game somewhere else.
where your files go
Nowhere. The game you drop in the browser is read straight from your machine and never uploaded, never stored online, never seen by anyone but you. In the app, everything stays on your disk. Saves, cheats and key mappings are kept locally too.
the features
- Cartridge Autopsy — cracks a game open and reads what's stamped inside it: internal title, game code, region, size. Done entirely on your device.
- Cheats — GameShark, Action Replay and Pro Action Replay codes, depending on the console. Saved locally, active from the next launch.
- Control presets — ZQSD (AZERTY) by default, plus arrows, WASD, or automatic. Fine remapping lives in the emulator's settings menu.
- Gamepads — detected automatically, hot-pluggable.
- BIOS handling — status per console, guided adding, in the browser or the app. A console won't start while a required BIOS is missing.
browser or app?
| Feature | Browser | Windows app |
|---|---|---|
| Consoles needing no BIOS (NES, SNES, GB/GBA, N64, Mega Drive…) | yes | yes |
| PlayStation / Sega CD / Saturn (BIOS required) | yes | yes |
| Adding a BIOS | yes | yes |
| Scanning a folder of your games | no | yes |
| Downloading homebrew in-app | no | yes |
| Discord Rich Presence | no | yes |
| Works with no internet | no | yes |
| Autopsy, cheats, gamepad, touch | yes | yes |
▸ consoles & file types
| Console | Code | File types | BIOS |
|---|
Disc images: give it the .cue (with its .bin next to it) or a .chd. Arcade: keep the .zip as-is, don't unzip it.
▸ BIOS / firmware
The PlayStation, Sega CD and Saturn won't start without the console's original BIOS — a small file that lived on a chip inside the real machine. CRYPTCADE ships none and downloads none. You add your own, copied from the console you own.
Adding a BIOS works both in the browser and in the app. In the browser, the file is stored locally on your device (not the app's, not a server's) — good for playing at a friend's place with nothing to install, though you'll each need your own copy since it doesn't follow you between devices or browsers. The Windows app keeps it on disk instead, so it's there every time.
adding a BIOS
- Scroll down to system files — or open the console itself, its file shows the same panel.
- Click + add file on that console's row.
- If several regions are accepted, type the number matching your file (e.g. 1 for Europe).
- Pick your file. It is stored under the name the console expects — the original filename doesn't matter.
- The tag flips to BIOS Ready ✓ and the console is playable.
In the app, open folder opens the BIOS folder on disk if you'd rather drop files in by hand — the name must match the list below exactly. One file per console is enough.
the status tags
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| No BIOS Needed | Playable as-is — nothing to do. |
| BIOS Ready | A valid file is in place. The console boots. |
| BIOS Missing | Nothing found — launching stays blocked until you add it. |
| Firmware Required | Same as Missing, for systems using firmware (Saturn). |
| Status unknown | Your browser doesn't support local file storage — try a different one, or use the app. |
accepted files per console
▸ keyboard
Default is ZQSD (AZERTY). Other presets on the emulator page: arrows + Z/X, WASD, or automatic. Full remapping lives in the settings menu and is remembered.
| Action | Key |
|---|---|
| Move | Z Q S D |
| A / B | L / K |
| Start / Select | Enter / Shift |
| L / R shoulders | U / O |
| Emulator menu | settings (corner of the screen) |
▸ gamepad
Detected automatically (Xbox, PlayStation or generic). Default mapping:
| Gamepad | Does |
|---|---|
| A / × | south button (B on SNES, × on PSX) |
| B / ○ | east button (A on SNES, ○ on PSX) |
| X / □ | west button (Y on SNES, □ on PSX) |
| Y / △ | north button (X on SNES, △ on PSX) |
| LB/RB · LT/RT | L/R · L2/R2 |
| D-pad · Start/Select | movement · Start/Select |
▸ phone & touch
On a phone or tablet, an on-screen gamepad appears by itself once a game starts — d-pad and buttons, right on the glass. Choosing a console and loading a game work by tap. Go fullscreen for more room, and turn the device sideways: landscape gives the controls far more space.
▸ the Windows app
The app works with no internet at all, plays the BIOS consoles, scans a whole folder of your games at once, shows what you're playing on Discord, and lets you add a BIOS in a couple of clicks. ⤓ Download the installer (~142 MB).
the dead consoles still breathe · ← back to the emulator