Free online HES to MP3 converter

PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 game music is often stored as HES data, which many everyday audio players and editors cannot open. Converting it to MP3 gives you a file that can be played on common devices or shared as recorded audio.

What the HES format is

HES is a chiptune music format associated with Hudson’s PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 games. A HES file contains music data for sound-chip emulation rather than a conventional recorded waveform, so playback software generates the audio while playing it. You typically encounter HES files in game-music collections or game-audio rips, not as exports from standard recording software.

What the MP3 format is

MP3 is a compressed audio format supported by most phones, computers, media players, and audio-editing programs. It stores rendered sound rather than game music instructions, making it more convenient for playback and sharing; its lossy compression can reduce audio detail.

How to convert HES to MP3

Online on 101convert.com

1. Upload the HES file on the 101convert.com converter page.
2. Before converting, set the bitrate, sample rate, and channel count if you need specific output settings.
3. Start the conversion, then download the MP3. The page supports batch conversion and displays its per-file size limit.

The page’s converter uses FFmpeg on its server.

Offline with desktop software

On Windows, use foobar2000 with the Game Emu Player component (foo_gep), which supports HES playback through Game_Music_Emu. Install the component, open the HES file in foobar2000, and set the desired playback length in the component’s settings; HES music files may not specify a track duration. Select the track, choose File → Convert → …, select MP3 as the output format, and provide a LAME MP3 encoder if foobar2000 requests one.

Quality and compatibility

Because HES playback is synthesized, the MP3 records the sound produced by the emulator, not an original studio recording. The selected playback length determines how much of the track is rendered; check the result for a clean ending before sharing it.