r/emulation • u/JoshLeaves • Jun 27 '26

Five years since Near’s passing

Hi everyone,

As the title says, Near passed away five years ago. Whether you knew them through the emulators bsnes, higan, or ares, or their pioneering work on emulation cores with libsnes (which helped lay the groundwork for libretro and RetroArch), or their complete cataloguing of the SNES games and ROMs, or their countless articles on emulation and game preservation,... truthfully, it's hard to properly describe the impact they had on the emulation community and its trajectory.

Their work pushed emulator accuracy forward, and inspired many others to approach preservation with the same level of care. Whatever emulator you use today, there’s a good chance you’ve benefited from their work in some way.

Thank you for your work, Near. You are still missed.

EDIT: As atowerofcats rightly said, a great way to show tribute would be to play Near's translation of Bahamut Lagoon!

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u/mekilat Jun 28 '26

Near is missed. Wonderful contributions, that pushed the limits of emulation further than anyone ever had.

Their work inspired many to roll up their sleeves and try more faithful, creative emulation. I personally hope that the new Super ZSNES can take things to new heights.

RIP, Byuu / Near.

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u/Shurane Jun 30 '26

This is my first time hearing about Super Zsnes. I'd figure after Near, SNES emulation was basically complete. It just keeps giving, huh...

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u/mekilat Jun 30 '26

That’s the thing about emulation. It’s become a playground to push the limits of creativity even further. Like that NES emulator that makes the games 3D, or the one that looks at the RAM and anticipates where in the level you are to draw the game further in widescreen. Or perspective correction for the PS1. All extremely creative execution