MiSTer's physical CD fork just hit version 2.0 with SNES MSU-1 support

Anime0t4ku has released version 2.0.0 of the MiSTer Physical CD Support project, bringing SNES MSU-1 physical disc compatibility and PC Engine CD audio fixes to the FPGA platform. The update is available now through the MiSTer Companion app or the standard Update_All script.

We just wrote about this custom fork a few days ago when it added audio CD support, and now 2.0 is already out. The pace of development here is ridiculous.

A custom fork, not mainline

This project is a custom fork of MiSTer rather than an official mainline update. For years, the official MiSTer documentation explicitly stated that USB optical drive support would never happen. The developers cited unpredictable latency, drive buffer variations, and hardware constraints as permanent roadblocks. If you wanted to play Sega CD or PlayStation games, you had to rip your discs to an SD card.

Anime0t4ku bypassed those limitations. The fork allows users to plug a standard USB CD or DVD drive directly into a MiSTer setup and play real game discs through the hardware simulation cores. The 1.x releases established per-game save file detection and expanded compatibility across the 3DO, Neo Geo CD, and Sega Saturn.

CD audio on a 16-bit console

The biggest addition in version 2.0.0 is physical disc integration for the SNES MSU-1. The late emulation pioneer Near created the Media Storage Unit 1 specification in 2012. It acts as a custom enhancement chip that gives the Super Nintendo access to 4GB of data, enabling full-motion video and CD-quality digital audio on 16-bit hardware.

The MSU-1 essentially turns the SNES into a CD-based console, similar to what the Sega CD did for the Genesis, but without the bulky hardware add-on. Modders have spent the last decade creating high-quality audio packs for dozens of classic games. Fans have used the MSU-1 to patch titles like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario World with orchestrated soundtracks or voice acting. With this new update, MiSTer users can utilize physical audio CDs to drive those MSU-1 enhancements directly.

PC Engine and CD-i fixes

The 2.0.0 release also improves general disc-reading stability across the board. PC Engine CD games get specific audio fixes. NEC and Hudson Soft released the PC Engine CD-ROM add-on in 1988, making it the first commercial console to use optical media. Accurate audio streaming is mandatory for games like Ys I & II and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, which relied heavily on Red Book audio.

The Philips CD-i core also receives much better support when using the stable version of the core. The 1991 multimedia player failed as a traditional gaming console and is mostly remembered today for a handful of poorly received Nintendo licensed games like Hotel Mario and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Having stable support for its physical discs is a nice bonus for anyone who actually owns them.

You can find the full release details on Anime0t4ku's feed. The update installs right over existing setups if you use the standard automation scripts.