emulator: MagicEngine
type: standalone
core_classification: other
source: "https://www.magicengine.com/"
upstream: closed-source
author: "David Michel, Cedric Michel"
profiled_date: "2026-10-20"
core_version: "1.1.3"
display_name: "NEC - PC Engine / CD-ROM / SuperGrafx (MagicEngine)"
cores:
  - magicengine
systems:
  - nec-pc-engine
  - nec-pc-engine-cd
  - nec-supergrafx
mode: standalone

notes: |
  PC Engine emulator by David and Cedric Michel, distributed as a closed
  Windows binary. The build read is pce.exe 1.1.3, dated 17 June 2008, sha1
  b58461eca2614326bd776d12b01c4ab2e7d0f579, the copy RetroBat installs as
  magicengine (version 0.08.06.17).

  RetroBat starts it as pce.exe "<rom>" with the emulator folder as working
  directory and runs it only for the pcengine and supergrafx HuCard systems.
  The generator writes pce.ini (paths for cheats, screenshots and
  saved_games, video, language) and the controller section, and sets no
  system ROM. A HuCard carries its whole program, so this route reads the
  game file, pce.ini and the games.idx index the program keeps in its own
  folder, nothing else.
  ref: emulatorlauncher Generators/MagicEngine.Generator.cs:20-83,
       retrobat system/templates/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg (pcengine,
       supergrafx)

  pce.exe is a loader. 0x426ec0, called from 0x401712, decrypts about
  1.2 MB held in .data at 0x4484c0 (0x2491e eight-byte blocks of a SAFER
  style cipher whose exp and log tables sit at 0x448220 and 0x448320),
  inflates it with 0x426b00 into a 0x1f8d50-byte buffer, applies the
  relocation list that follows and jumps to offset 0x1000. That routine was
  run under an x86 emulator to obtain the program image, and the addresses
  below are addresses in that image relocated to base 0x10000000. The pce.cfg RetroBat ships is the binary keyboard and
  gamepad layout (ME10CONFIG) and names no file.

  System cards are four paths of the [pce] section, system_card_1 to
  system_card_4, defaulting to syscard1.pce, syscard2.pce, syscard3.pce and
  ge.pce (0x100118a7-0x10011910, setter 0x100094e0, getter 0x10008b00).
  default_system_card picks the card a CD boots with: 0 automatic, 1 to 4
  one of the four files, 5 to 7 Magic System 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0, a system card
  BIOS built into the program. Automatic means the third path, syscard3.pce.
  The chosen file goes through the HuCard loader (0x10082630, 0x10082250)
  with no size or hash check, and when it cannot be opened the boot falls
  back to Magic System 3.0 (0x10007752-0x10007f79, 0x100826b0). A card
  named on the command line after -cd is loaded the same way without that
  fallback. The internal HuCard database names the dumps it recognises as
  system cards by CRC32: 3f9f95a4 (1.0), 52520bc6 (2.0), 283b74e0 (2.1),
  6d9a73ef and 2b5b75fe (3.0), 51a12d90 (Game Express), which drives the
  title shown and not the boot (0x10142e40-0x10143c20). arcade_card only
  turns the Arcade Card hardware on and loads no file. CD saves go to
  backup.dat and backup.idx, written by the program.
  RetroBat does not route pcenginecd to MagicEngine today, so these files
  only matter when it is run on a CD by hand.

files:
  - name: syscard3.pce
    system: nec-pc-engine-cd
    required: false
    hle_fallback: true
    description: "Super CD-ROM2 System Card 3.0"
    note: "system_card_3, the card an automatic CD boot loads. Opened by the relative name unless the ini sets a path, read through the HuCard loader without a size or hash check. When it cannot be opened the boot uses the built-in Magic System 3.0."
    source_ref: "pce.exe image 0x100118e7-0x100118f3 (default), 0x10007752-0x10007f65 (automatic choice and fallback), 0x10082630"

  - name: syscard2.pce
    system: nec-pc-engine-cd
    required: false
    hle_fallback: true
    description: "CD-ROM2 System Card 2.x"
    note: "system_card_2, loaded when default_system_card is 2 or the card is picked in the boot menu. Falls back to Magic System 3.0 when it cannot be opened."
    source_ref: "pce.exe image 0x100118b8-0x100118de (default), 0x10007f2c-0x10007f65"

  - name: syscard1.pce
    system: nec-pc-engine-cd
    required: false
    hle_fallback: true
    description: "CD-ROM2 System Card 1.0"
    note: "system_card_1, loaded when default_system_card is 1 or the card is picked in the boot menu. Falls back to Magic System 3.0 when it cannot be opened."
    source_ref: "pce.exe image 0x100118a7-0x100118c1 (default), 0x10007f2c-0x10007f65"

  - name: ge.pce
    aliases: [gexpress.pce]
    system: nec-pc-engine-cd
    required: false
    hle_fallback: true
    description: "Games Express System Card"
    note: "system_card_4, loaded when default_system_card is 4 or the card is picked in the boot menu. Falls back to Magic System 3.0 when it cannot be opened."
    source_ref: "pce.exe image 0x100118f8-0x10011910 (default), 0x10007f2c-0x10007f65"