Still based on DOS, it required almost the same as its predecessor but something else to enable its high-quality sound mode and 16- bit video mode with effects and shadows. KGen98 was a new rewritten version of KGen, with better compatibility, more features, and better stereo sound quality. KGen-X was an aborted rewrite of KGen that was never released to the public. This was a DOS-based emulator and ran on 486 or better hardware, but required at least a Pentium to run at full speed. Another emulator called Genecyst was released around the same time by Bloodlust Software and a healthy rivalry began. This was the first time that the YM2612 chip was successfully emulated, contrary to other efforts that tried to approximate the sound and music of Genesis using the then popular OP元 chips on compatible Adlib and Sound Blaster cards. KGen was Steve Snake's first attempt at creating a Mega Drive emulator, written because at the time the only emulator available, Genem, was slow and had poor sound quality.

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