High-level emulation (HLE) is an approach for construction of emulators, specifically of video game console systems. In HLE, instead of trying to accurately recreate the hardware, to create a platform on which the native code can be run, the effort focuses on recreating the appropriate functionality provided by the system emulated. Thus, the emphasis is shifted from emulating the method of reaching certain goals to getting the same (or comparable) results as if the native platform was used. By contrast, the traditional way of emulating is termed Low-level emulation, or LLE.
The term HLE originates from UltraHLE, the first emulator for the Nintendo 64 console that ran commercial games. Initial discussion about HLE occurred to give context for the reasons behind some video games not functioning properly with the emulator.
