PC-98 Emulation

[SkyeWelse]

As PC-98 hardware evolved, it started to lose compatibility for older software titles which is why it's usually suggested for PC-98 hardware enthusiasts to first come to a decision of what PC-98 games they would most be interested in playing so that they can determine which hardware to seek out. Fortunately, in the world of PC-98 emulation, a PC-98 enthusiast named Kobushi, has released many helpful tools and emulation packs out there to better help newcomers (and old) get into the PC-98 hobby. Kobushi is not the author of the emulators, but he has spent some time tweaking these emulators to offer the most compatibility and make them as close to certain PC-98 hardware models as possible.

Kobushi's PC-98 Emulator Cat Pack -Information
Cat Pack Download Link + Other Helpful PC-98 Tools

Kobushi's Neo Kobe Japanese Pasokon (Personal Computer) Emulation Pack

My personal favorite setup that seems to be the most compatible for the games I'm most interested in playing (which is also included in the above Neo Kobe pack):

np21ntx11

The Cat Pack has a very nice FAQ that explains a lot about how to troubleshoot the emulator or get certain games to work correctly, so it's very well worth taking a look if you run into any trouble. One such example is when a game requires the GDC clock setting in the bios to be 2.5 Mhz instead of 2.5 Mhz (which I've found to be much more commonly supported by older to mid-generation PC-98 software) you can do so by entering the PC-98 bios by pressing and holding down the END key on the keyboard when booting / resetting the machine.

There is also the np2fmgen which is a recommended emulator that has three sets:

1) np2.exe/np2nt.exe - emulates a PC-9801 with 286 CPU (16-bit)
2) np2sx.exe/np2sxnt.exe - same as the above, but emulates a 386SX CPU (32-bit with 16-bit bus)
3) np21.exe/np21nt.exe - emulates a PC-9821 with an IA-32 CPU (32-bit)

Hope this helps!

-Thomas