MAME
MAME ROCKS!!! It is the emulator of emulators!! Others came before it, and others came out after it debuted, but nothing else has emulated so much so well as MAME.

Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator does what it says, it emulates arcade games, and it does it very well. It's also what got me into emulation.

Beware, though. This is not a click-n-play program. Many a regular at the MAME message board will attest to the fact that they have gotten headaches from reading post after post of questions that can be answered just by doing your homework. It's actually an easy program to use AS LONG AS YOU READ ALL OF THE DOCUMENTATION. When you download it, it comes with very helpful TXT files to get the thing running, and there is an extensive FAQ at the main site. Please read the FAQ. There is also a helpful site called Easy EMU. In the future, I will also have an easy-to-read guide here; sort of an "Idiots's Guide to MAME." Stay tuned.

Mr. Do! Space Harrier Afterburner II

LINKS

MAMEDev Homepage
The official site of the MAME development team

MAME UI Homepage
GUI version of MAME for Windows

Easy EMU
Extremely helpful site for the MAME beginner here

MAME FAQ
All you ever wanted to know about MAME