Excellent standalone options for both desktop and Android devices that read CHDs directly.

Enter the format. Originally developed for the MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) project, CHD has become the gold standard for preserving and playing CD-based retro games. What is a CHD File?

Open the text document and paste the following command string:

Transitioning your collection to Sega Saturn CHD ROMs is a definitive upgrade for any retro gaming enthusiast. It respects the original architecture of the games through lossless compression while granting you the modern luxury of a clean, space-saving digital library. Whether you are building a definitive collection on a Steam Deck, a dedicated emulation PC, or a mobile device, CHD is the gold standard for Saturn preservation.

Contrary to old myths, CHD does not slow down emulation. Modern CPUs (even low-power ARM chips in the Anbernic or Retroid Pocket) decompress CHD hunks on-the-fly faster than a physical Saturn’s CD drive can spin. In fact, because CHD reduces the total data the emulator has to stream from storage (due to compression), it can actually reduce loading stutter on slow SD cards.

The Sega Saturn occupies a singular place in the history of video games: a sophisticated 1990s console with ambitious hardware, a complex architecture that challenged developers, and a library of games that blended arcade ports, niche Japanese imports, and experimental titles. In recent years, one aspect of the Saturn’s afterlife has drawn attention from preservationists and retro enthusiasts alike: CHD ROMs. CHD (Compressed Hunks of Data) is a disk-image format originally developed for the MAME project to compress and store optical and hard-disk images efficiently. For the Saturn—whose retail releases often shipped on CD-ROM and GD-ROM media—CHD images have become a practical container for archiving, distributing, and emulating the console’s disc-based software.

I can provide specific, step-by-step instructions to get your Saturn library running perfectly. Share public link

As of 2025, the Sega Saturn’s emulation scene has fully standardized on CHD. Major frontends like LaunchBox, Playnite, and Pegasus automatically scrape metadata for .chd files alongside .zip or .iso .

This is the gold standard for emulation, and it handles CHD files natively.

Copy chdman.exe and paste it directly into the folder where your Sega Saturn BIN/CUE games are stored.