The BEST SNES emulator - which, and why?

[Scream And Fly]

Okay, what do you think is the best SNES emulator? If so, what makes it the best? Cons?

[roushimsx]

I guess it depends on what you're looking for.

For technical accuracy, bsnes is far and away the best.

For cross platform use and AVI output, SNES9x is the winner. Hell, if you're on a Mac then you really haven't got much choice

For video filters, nothing tops ZSNES.

But really, SNES9x and ZSNES both will run 99% of what 99% of the users out there will want to play without a hitch.

[Scream And Fly]

GREAT post, thank you!

[keiblerfan69]

Yeah I use those 2. ZSNES is great for playing against friends over the net.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yes, there's really no competition to ZSNES or SNES9x.

SNES9x has some annoying flaws, such as the *long* load time when trying to view your ROM directory ingame, and the inability to instantly scroll alphabetically by typing in the first letter. They need to make with the updating already.

However, I really don't like fullscreen emulators, as I switch all the time. I've downloaded it since, but I haven't actually used the emulator at all since 2001 or so when I checked out a wierd Tenchi Muyo RPG :P

bsnes is one I haven't tried yet. Will do so.

[Scream And Fly]

I'm going to try bsnes too. I take my laptop with me on the road when I cover events and races, so I NEED my classic games with me!

[roushimsx]

However, I really don't like fullscreen emulators, as I switch all the time. I've downloaded it since, but I haven't actually used the emulator at all since 2001 or so when I checked out a wierd Tenchi Muyo RPG :P

bsnes is one I haven't tried yet. Will do so.

ZSNES works dandy in a window ever since it got rewritten for Win32

bsnes' main problem right now is that it doesn't support a wide enough range of custom chips, so it's likely that you'll eventually run into games that won't work yet.

Another SNES emulator you may want to check out is SNEeSe. I personally don't really bother with it, but people with much more educated opinions than me say it's more accurate than SNES9x or ZSNES but not nearly as accurate as bsnes.

[Ed Oscuro]

ZSNES works dandy in a window ever since it got rewritten for Win32

I'd heard that, never tried it out.

I'll check out all the emulators listed

[Steven]

GET THE REAL THING BRO

BE A MAN

[Scream And Fly]

GET THE REAL THING BRO

BE A MAN

I already have an SNES with all the games I like. It's just that I can't take it with me on the road. When I'm home, I use my SNES.

[Retsudo]

I always like Zsnes the best. I never was good at configuring the control pad in snes9x.
Zsnes always worked perfectly with the games I liked.

[roushimsx]

GET THE REAL THING BRO

BE A MAN

But the real thing doesn't emulate itself, so that's not really a valid answer now, is it?

[badinsults]

I use zsnes, for it is the best emulator on Linux x86. I hear that bsnes is quite swell as well on Windows. Using bsnes on linux is quite painful.

[Nirvana]

ZSNES is excellent. I never had problems with it.

[Poofta!]

i havent played a snes rom in probably 7 years, but i used zsnes back when i did =P

[X SMF X]

I have and use ZSNES here and have no major complaints. Runs pretty much every rom I throw at it with no major flaws.

[Ed Oscuro]

GET THE REAL THING BRO

BE A MAN

Yeah, that's really helpful when I want to check out some obscure Japanese import to see if it's good, or just another RPG/bomberman clone...

I do need to pony up for a real Super Famicom, though.

[Zing]

There honestly is no decision to be made here. ZSNES is the only choice. It is has, by far, the most accurate and complete emulation along with the most features. The sound is ever so slightly inaccurate due to legacy sound code that was too difficult to fix, but the sound code is currently being rewritten.

[johno590]

I've always used SNES9x whenever I've wanted to play roms, but I just downloaded ZSNES, and I will have to give that a try. Some roms (like Aero Fighters) require ZSNES so now I can actually play that.

[roushimsx]

here's a mildly dated comparison if anyone is bored and wants to read up a bit. It's from the middle of last year, but it has some pretty good discussion from various SNES emulator authors.

I just found out about SNES9x Improvementv9, so I'm really looking forward to playing around with it. (save state support for DSP-1 games, Chrono Trigger AVI output, updated JMA support, option to remove the ol' "black bars", etc)