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It's come to my attention that, despite not having been updated since 2006, Zsnes remains to be the most popular emulator among gamers, the reasons for this are widely varied. First and foremost, the GUI, it's old-school, second, it's a very very fast emulator and can run on anything that Windows 95 had as long as the processor was 200 MHz or so. Another reason, is people are comfortable with which they are used to and if they don't see a reason to change or upgrade, they likely won't, such is with the case of Zsnes. Without looking at it closely, most games appear to behave normally, but comparing it to a more accurate emulator, like Snes9x and
Higan, many games do not behave normally at all. Zsnes focuses purely on speed, accuracy is dead last, as it was written in pure ASM (assembly) to make it run as fast as possible on weaker machines, but this comes at a cost, many games have quirks that affect the experience.
First issue: Games with co-processors, such as the Super FX/SuperFX-2, S-DD1, Cx4, DSP-1, SA-1, etc all have their sets of issues, listed here, http://emulation-general.wikia.com/wiki/ZSNES#Review
all chips are clocked weirdly and some games run faster than they should, Star Fox, Star Ocean, to name a couple.
Second issue: Transparency, some games used pseudo hi-res mode 7, such as the forest levels in Kirby's Dream Land 3, in Zsnes 1.51, you have to use the old graphics engine by pressing 8, otherwise, trees and underwater levels are opaque and not translucent. Example here http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net...-forest.gif/revision/latest?cb=20130407030521
Third issue: Some games will lockup randomly after a long time of playing, for example Der Langrisser, Super Mario RPG will lock up after two or so hours for no reason at all, Snes9x, Bsnes/Higan do not exhibit this issue.
Fourth issue: Sound, this one's a real killer and hard to notice by many users. Given the fact I have very sensitive hearing, I can pick out bad sound when it's emulated poorly. Most games on Zsnes sound horrible, music not so much, but sound effects stick out like a sore thumb. Some games used a form of audio streaming from the S-SMP (part of the SPC700 processor), Earthworm Jim 2 being one of those games. Zsnes has music, but most of the sound effects, including Jim's voice, are missing.
A video showing the issues in Zsnes, skip to 1:41 to listen to how bad it sounds, games should not have missing sound effects. Both Higan and Snes9x have cycle-accurate S-SMP emulation, meaning compared to a real Snes, it should sound pretty bloody close to the real thing, so close, that one can't tell a difference. This here, is the main reason I don't like Zsnes that much is the fact the sound if so off, and that people don't hear the difference, and is something that I at least wish to address to people who read this thread
Another killer? The Lavos scream from Chrono Trigger, only two emulators get it right http://filetrip.net/view?Ak8TbwrRqs
Now, some people may argue, “But wait, if Zsnes works so well for me, why should I change to Snes9x or Higan when I'm so comfortable with Zsnes?” There's a solution for those who want better emulation, but want to keep the Zsnes GUI, there's actually a mod of Snes9x that uses the old GUI, called ZMZ http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=5681 It uses the libretro core of Snes9x (same cores RetroArch uses), so the best of both worlds.
OH! And for those who want to truly test between the two, listen to this
Snes9x Super Mario World warp pipe - http://filetrip.net/view?ltjVDgEufF
Zsnes Super Mario World warp pipe - http://filetrip.net/view?cW1oCDe4vh
Pros and cons of each emulator:
Zsnes:
+ User friendly
+ Easy to find and add in-game cheat codes
+ Fast forward, rewind, water/flame effects in GUI
+ Runs on practically all machines with at least 200 MHz and 32 MB RAM
- Poor sound emulation
- Many games behave strangely and some run too fast
- Hasn't been updated since 2007 or so
- GUI is quite dated
- Compatibility lowest of all Snes emulators
(Sound sample: http://filetrip.net/view?cW1oCDe4vh This is not how the warp pipe should sound)
Snes9x:
+ Cycle-accurate sound thanks to Blargg's S-SMP core (passed all hardware tests)
+ Games that require special timing and audio streaming work
+ Sleek GUI
+ High compatibility (only 2nd behind Higan)
+ Games with co-processors run at the correct clock speed
+ Games don't lock up at random
- Not as accurate as Higan, to be blunt only a few games use dot-rendering as opposed to scanline rendering, Higan is the only emulator that does this (or whatever he calls it)
- GUI not as easy to navigate as the one in Zsnes.
Sound in Snes9x, this is how the warp pipe SHOULD sound http://filetrip.net/view?ltjVDgEufF
Comments, feedback, what do you guys think? I want to prove to the Temp that not only can I discuss something like this civilly, but also, to help me become better at debating topics, to help develop an appreciation for discussions in general I look forward to hearing your replies This isn't to force people to change sides, but to help make aware the issues that plague Zsnes and to bring them to others' attention Please keep this civil as well, I don't want any flaming or arguing, that's all I ask for those who participate :3
Higan, many games do not behave normally at all. Zsnes focuses purely on speed, accuracy is dead last, as it was written in pure ASM (assembly) to make it run as fast as possible on weaker machines, but this comes at a cost, many games have quirks that affect the experience.
First issue: Games with co-processors, such as the Super FX/SuperFX-2, S-DD1, Cx4, DSP-1, SA-1, etc all have their sets of issues, listed here, http://emulation-general.wikia.com/wiki/ZSNES#Review
all chips are clocked weirdly and some games run faster than they should, Star Fox, Star Ocean, to name a couple.
Second issue: Transparency, some games used pseudo hi-res mode 7, such as the forest levels in Kirby's Dream Land 3, in Zsnes 1.51, you have to use the old graphics engine by pressing 8, otherwise, trees and underwater levels are opaque and not translucent. Example here http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net...-forest.gif/revision/latest?cb=20130407030521
Third issue: Some games will lockup randomly after a long time of playing, for example Der Langrisser, Super Mario RPG will lock up after two or so hours for no reason at all, Snes9x, Bsnes/Higan do not exhibit this issue.
Fourth issue: Sound, this one's a real killer and hard to notice by many users. Given the fact I have very sensitive hearing, I can pick out bad sound when it's emulated poorly. Most games on Zsnes sound horrible, music not so much, but sound effects stick out like a sore thumb. Some games used a form of audio streaming from the S-SMP (part of the SPC700 processor), Earthworm Jim 2 being one of those games. Zsnes has music, but most of the sound effects, including Jim's voice, are missing.
A video showing the issues in Zsnes, skip to 1:41 to listen to how bad it sounds, games should not have missing sound effects. Both Higan and Snes9x have cycle-accurate S-SMP emulation, meaning compared to a real Snes, it should sound pretty bloody close to the real thing, so close, that one can't tell a difference. This here, is the main reason I don't like Zsnes that much is the fact the sound if so off, and that people don't hear the difference, and is something that I at least wish to address to people who read this thread
Another killer? The Lavos scream from Chrono Trigger, only two emulators get it right http://filetrip.net/view?Ak8TbwrRqsNow, some people may argue, “But wait, if Zsnes works so well for me, why should I change to Snes9x or Higan when I'm so comfortable with Zsnes?” There's a solution for those who want better emulation, but want to keep the Zsnes GUI, there's actually a mod of Snes9x that uses the old GUI, called ZMZ http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=5681 It uses the libretro core of Snes9x (same cores RetroArch uses), so the best of both worlds.
OH! And for those who want to truly test between the two, listen to this
Snes9x Super Mario World warp pipe - http://filetrip.net/view?ltjVDgEufF
Zsnes Super Mario World warp pipe - http://filetrip.net/view?cW1oCDe4vh
Pros and cons of each emulator:
Zsnes:
+ User friendly
+ Easy to find and add in-game cheat codes
+ Fast forward, rewind, water/flame effects in GUI
+ Runs on practically all machines with at least 200 MHz and 32 MB RAM
- Poor sound emulation
- Many games behave strangely and some run too fast
- Hasn't been updated since 2007 or so
- GUI is quite dated
- Compatibility lowest of all Snes emulators
(Sound sample: http://filetrip.net/view?cW1oCDe4vh This is not how the warp pipe should sound)
Snes9x:
+ Cycle-accurate sound thanks to Blargg's S-SMP core (passed all hardware tests)
+ Games that require special timing and audio streaming work
+ Sleek GUI
+ High compatibility (only 2nd behind Higan)
+ Games with co-processors run at the correct clock speed
+ Games don't lock up at random
- Not as accurate as Higan, to be blunt only a few games use dot-rendering as opposed to scanline rendering, Higan is the only emulator that does this (or whatever he calls it)
- GUI not as easy to navigate as the one in Zsnes.
Sound in Snes9x, this is how the warp pipe SHOULD sound http://filetrip.net/view?ltjVDgEufF
Comments, feedback, what do you guys think?
I want to prove to the Temp that not only can I discuss something like this civilly, but also, to help me become better at debating topics, to help develop an appreciation for discussions in general I look forward to hearing your replies This isn't to force people to change sides, but to help make aware the issues that plague Zsnes and to bring them to others' attention Please keep this civil as well, I don't want any flaming or arguing, that's all I ask for those who participate :3
