We’ve touched on ZSNES a little in other articles, but here I’d like to give you a full emulation walkthrough and make sure that you’re able to understand and enjoy SNES games on your PC.
Downloading ZSNES
ZSNES has not been updated (and doesn’t need to be) in over five years. I’d recommend the link above anyway, which will take you to the latest news post in the event that there is a random update.
Otherwise, here are hotlinks directly to the latest version (1.51) for each platform:
Configuring ZSNES
After you’ve downloaded and unzipped the archive, launch the application.
My immediate suggestion then is that you go to Misc and then GUI Opts and you set BG Effects to None. It just looks better (in my opinion) and lags a little less without snow.
Afterwards, I’d recommend going to Config then Video and setting up a better resolution. Pay attention to the legend scale, on the right hand side. Most of us, in 2012, use widescreen monitors, so I’d suggest you choose a windowed resolution that works well in widescreen. Widescreen didn’t even exist back then though, so you also want a resolution that preserves the 8:7 ratio.
Keep in mind, the higher your resolution, the more pixelated your games will be. Some mind that, some don’t.
Lastly, to Config then Input. I highly recommend customizing the controls here and beginning to memorize the keyboard-to-SNES controller comparisons. If you’re using a keyboard, I wouldn’t even worry about turbo and diagonal keys.
Getting ROMs
Please be advised that you are only legally allowed to download ROMs if you own a license for any and all that you download and you will not distribute or attempt to profit from the ROMs. I’m not going to spew any more legal mumbo-jumbo because the emulation sites themselves should have their own disclaimer. You should know what not to do.
Download and extract the ROMs into the same folder. It’ll get messy and confusing otherwise. SNES ROM files have the “.smc” extension.
Loading ROMs
After downloading the ROMs you’re interested in, go to Game then Load. Here, you’ll want to navigate to the folder where you’ve saved your ROMs.
After you’ve highlighted the game you want, you simply click Load. Your game should immediately come up, and you’re ready to play!
Saving States
Unlike you could on the SNES, the ZSNES emulator supports state saves, which basically means you’ve got a built-in memory card. To save your state, you simply press the ESC key while in game (which takes you to the start screen menu overlay) and select Game then Save State. To load your saved game, you’d simply load your game again and go to Game then Open State.
That’s it. Isn’t technology great? No more turning the TV off and leaving the console on while you go to school just so you don’t lose your progress. After this article, I’m feeling pretty nostalgic. I think it’s time to go play some Suikoden.
We’ve done a lot of other articles on emulation, too. Here’s 3 of them :
- 10 Retro Emulators To Play Early 80s Home Consoles On Your PC (1981-1986)
- 10+ Emulators To Play Old-School 16- And 32-bit Consoles On Your PC (1987-1993)
- 8 Great Emulators To Play Modern Home Consoles On Your PC (1994-2001)
If you guys need any help with getting your ZSNES and/or ROMs to work as I’ve described, let me know in the comments.
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