Original ZSNES developers reunite, emulator gets a revival as Super ZSNES with a swath of new features
If you've emulated a SNES game, you've probably heard of ZSNES. Originally released way back in 1997 and seeing active development for the ten years that followed, it was to many their first glimpse of console emulation on the PC. Though nowadays BSNES and Snes9x are the more popular options, it's hard to deny the impact ZSNES had. After almost 20 years since its last release the emulator's two original developers, zsKnight and _Demo_, are back with a new and completely re-written emulator.
At its core, Super ZSNES is a direct upgrade from where the original ZSNES project left off. It's more accurate in its CPU and audio cores, features fast-forward, rewind, save states, and a whole heap of modern emulation features, and most interestly, makes use of a brand new "Super Enhancement Engine". This new engine allows the developers to enhance games individually, providing tailored upgrades in genuinely meaningful ways. For its initial release seven popular games are supported, with the enhancements including high resolution internal drawing, texture and normal mapping, overclocking where games struggled on original hardware, wide-screen where the games internally support it, uncompressed audio replacement, and 3D rendering on perspective-style Mode 7 games.
The games currently supporting enhancement are:
- F-Zero
- Gradius 3
- Mega Man X
- Super Castlevania 4
- Super Ghosts & Ghouls
- Super Mario World
- Super Metroid
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