ZSNES
is an Open-Source SNES emulator released under the GNU
Public License, built to run on Windows, DOS, Linux and
FreeBSD Unix and coded by zsKnight, _Demo_, and pagefault.
This review will be focusing on the Windows version of
ZSNES.
ZSNES
is by far the best SNES emulator available. It excels
in virtually all aspects including compatibility, stability,
graphics, audio, and usability as well as extra features.
ZSNES started as a DOS-based emulator and was later ported
to both Windows and Linux flawlessly. Now, all three variations
of ZSNES are updated almost simultaneously.
The
first thing that most people will notice with ZSNES is
the GUI. ZSNES uses a proprietary GUI that is OS independent,
meaning that ZSNES will preserve its appearance on whatever
it’s used on, regardless of platform or visual settings
on the platform in question. The GUI is extremely clean
and to-the-point, keeping usability at a maximum. Aside
from the general appearance, ZSNES’s GUI is also
very customizable in appearance and functionality, such
as the ability to configure ZSNES to be entirely controlled
through a Gamepad, allowing you to switch games and change
settings without even needing to touch a keyboard or a
mouse.
With
the GUI out of the way, another aesthetic detail is the
general video performance. ZSNES supports a wide array
of graphical filters and video-enhancing features such
as Vsync to prevent video from splitting horizontally
and triple-buffering to smooth out frame transitions and
give the video a feel of “liquid smoothness”.
The availability of these features however is entirely
dependant on your system’s configuration; so it
would be wise to only use these settings on higher end
video cards.
Aesthetics
aside, the one thing that makes or breaks any emulator
is compatibility. In this department, ZSNES is the best,
hands down. Part of the problem developers have faced
in the past is the fact that the SNES used so many hardware-based
effects and on-cartridge technologies to squeeze extra
performance out of the system. ZSNES emulates virtually
all of those technologies used perfectly, the primary
one being the SuperFX chip. You’ll be hard pressed
to find a game that flat-out will not run on this emulator.
All of the titles we tested came out perfectly, even including
some very late and higher end games that hit the platform.
Audio
is another strong suit of ZSNES which has the most accurate
SNES sound emulation out of all of the emulators available.
Most of the emulators come quite close to excellent sound
emulation, but all of them miss just a few details here
and there. ZSNES covers those details completely. ZSNES
also uses various interpolation methods to boost quality
even higher. Full control of the sampling rate as well
as the option for sound buffering is also provided.
One
of the most overlooked features in most emulators is the
netplay function for those that include it. Netplay allows
you to play a two-player game of your choice with an opponent
over the internet. Most emulators that include this function
are almost unplayable over a netplay session due to poor
synchronization and compensation techniques. ZSNES is
the exception to this rule with one of the best netplay
systems amongst any emulator. Using just a mediocre residential
DSL connection, ZSNES’ netplay function was fully
playable and rarely skipped, even when playing fast-paced
games such as platformers.
If
simply the ability to use netplay reasonably weren’t
enough, there’s more. If you have trouble finding
an opponent to play against, there is even a ZSNES netplay
matching service called zBattle.net
which allows players to find other players in a fashion
similar to many online games. ZSNES also includes a chat
module in its netplay function which allows you and your
opponent to communicate before a game, after a game, or
even in the middle of the game with the text line appearing
in a subtle location at the bottom of the screen. If you
have a craving to relive the old X-Band days, then ZSNES
is coming to the rescue. The only difference is that unlike
with X-Band, it will actually work this time.
In
the end, ZSNES is by far the best choice for an SNES emulator.
In our testing, the only issue that was encountered was
a severe slowdown on systems without a video card capable
of hardware acceleration. To correct this, ZSNES’
preferences need to be changed to disable hardware accelerated
functions.
|
Authors: zsKnight, _Demo_
and Pagefault |
| Netplay Support: Yes |
| Players Supported: 5 |
| Homepage: Click
Here |
| Platform: Windows 9x/NT |
Version Reviewed: 1.36
Features Supported:
- Hardware Acceleration
- Save State
- Joystick Support
- Multiple Rendering Filters
- Full-Screen Mode
- Video Recording
- Netplay Support
- Cheat Device Support
- Audio Interpolation
- SuperFX Support
- Transperency Support
- Mode7 Support
|
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