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SNES resembles Super Nintendo Entertainment System which is a 16-bit video console. It is developed by Nintendo and was released in different years in different states of the world. In 1990 it was released in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe, and 1993 in Brazil and South America. All the versions released were the same. SNES is a famous home video console with advanced graphics and the best sound capabilities. SNES has always been a global success in all parts of the world. SNES emulators were designed so that they can be used with much different software. There are no software copies available to drive Emulator SE publically. In this article, we will explain the best SNES Emulator for Windows pc.

What is Emulation?

Emulation is defined as the procedure of copying a hardware/software on another platform. It makes a possibility of running programs on the systems which are not actually designed for running them.

Emulators play a very important role in the Android world. Emulators were the software that made the gamers play their favorite retro titles on mobile. Nowadays, a number of SNES emulators are available to replay the classics such as – Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Chrono Trigger.

Top most popular SNES Emulators

We will be discussing the best-suited SNES emulators for Android and window pc. Make sure you pair them up with Bluetooth controllers as well. Following are the most popular SNES emulators:

1. Matsu SNES Emulator

Matsu: It is known to be the youngest and an all-in-one sort of SNES emulator. The software supported by Matsu are PSX, GBA, Genesis, SNES, NES, GBC, and a few more. The developers are also working on the PSP, Nintendo DS, and N64 support.

Although the emulator works exceptionally well and the developers did not face a problem playing the test games. The main features of Matsa are – fast forward, cheat codes, save and load states, etc.

2. SNES9x Emulator

SNES9x: SNES9x is an emulator build specially for MAC operating system and lets you do all the things such as customized controls, create freeze states, export movies of gameplay, enter game genie codes and cheat codes into the game, and an external gamepad is also used in it.

If you find bsnes too slow, Snes9x would be the best choice for you.

3. Snes9x EX+ Emulator

Snes9x EX+: Since its release, it is considered to be the best SNES emulator. It has all the basic features you will come across in any other SNES emulator.

The main features are on-screen controls, save/load states, support for gamepads, support for .sfc, .smc, and zip files, etc. It is an open source and looks just like a tiny old school.

It has no in-app purchases and is completely free, which makes it a gem and makes us realize how well the developer has created these emulators.

4. SuperRetro16 SNES Emulator

SuperRetro16: Known as the most popular SNES emulator, it was given many names. The features include support for multiple types of controllers, save/load states, cloud storage support, and fast forward.

There have been many visual enhancements as well to make the game look smoother. There is no other emulator having the features as this one has. It is pretty cheap as well.

5. VSWC Emulator

VSWC: It is a very old emulator and has not been integrated into SNES97 emulator. The download of this emulator is not recommended.

6. Mesen 0.9.3 SNES emulator

Mesen 0.9.3: The latest version of SNES emulator Mesen has been released recently. It was released on 9 September 2017 by GHDpro. The main changes that took place in version 0.9.3 are:

  1. UI: Multi-key shortcuts are being provided in the new user interface. A new document has been added for people’s reference in the Help menu.
  2. Bug Fixes: Some minor bugs in the debugger section have been fixed. The sprite recording feature in HD Pack Builder has been fixed, which earlier used to crash when HD packs were loaded.

If you are already using Mesen, launch it and the self-updating feature will update it or you can download the new version of Mesen as well.

Also check: Wii U Emulator,  Android Emulator

What are the benefits of SNES Emulators?

SNES is the redesigned version of Super Famicom. SNES and Super Famicom released many successful games in the market like Super Mario World and F-Zero.

Nintendo and another rival named Sega fights in the market for video games are the most known wars in the video game industry. Sega focused on the old audience and Nintendo focused on early public relationships.

More than 20 million SNES products were sold according to Nintendo. The original North American version of SNES is grey in color with a curved surface so that no food and drink can be placed on the console to avoid any damage.

The Japanese and European version is rounded with a dark grey color. The European and American versions of the SNES controllers have long cables. The original version of SNES has 28-pin extension port.

Which SNES emulator is best suited for Windows pc?

Being 25 years old, SNES features some best video games of all times. If you are using SNES on your windows system, Retroarch will be the best emulator for you, which also has a bsnes core.

An overview of Retroarch

It supports a wide network of systems and is again an all-in-one emulator out of which SNES is one of them. Retroarch aims at a high compatibility, boast on-screen controls and support tons of systems.

It is also considered as an open source, which has no advertisements and is free to use.

Few important features of Retroarch are:

  • You can rewind the game in real time.
  • You are free to save or load your state anywhere in the game.
  • You have the liberty to play the game online with your friends using Netplay.
  • It allows you to play games in the form of ROMs using Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
  • You can customize the button layout and also play games with any USB gamepad.

Where does Retroarch excel?

The major advantage of Retroarch is its sheer number of settings. As snes core is used up in Retroarch, it is proved to be the most accurate SNES emulator, which has no glitches or bugs in any game.

All you need is perfect resources to run it, and it will come out to be perfect.

Where Retroarch falls short?

The installation of core settings of Retroarch is quite complicated. Although you will be going through the guides explaining the features and installation procedure, still you will require a lot of googling to figure all the detailed procedures.

Also, if you are working with a weak machine, you may not be able to run bsnes on it. In this scenario, you have to rely on Snes9x.

How can you play SNES on an iPad?

SNES is the greatest control ever. From the old school people to the people until now, it has been everyone’s favorite. Playing SNES is really cool on iPad and there are many different ways to play over it. Below are some points:

The very first method is using SNES HD, an iPad port called SNES9x because you donot have to spend anything to play with it as it is totally free, and uses iPhone as a remote control.

SNES HD can be found on Cydia Store. It is free of cost and can be downloaded for free. The only thing needed would be a jailbreak iPad.

The second method is playing SNES using a Wiimote (a SNES controller) as the controller. However, there are few things needed to make this method work: Mac/Windows/Linux PC, Wiimote, Jailbroken iPad.

All of this including an app from Cydia store (SNES4 iPhone) and a synchronization with Wiimote controller will make everything work. IPad jailbreak will always be needed to play SNES on iPad.

Disadvantages of Emulation Technology

  • Few emulators and ROMs if not programmed correctly on time can crash on some occasions as they are known to be glitchy.
  • If you are using a Dreamcast emulator or an N64 emulator, they can be laggy at certain times. Also, the type of PC you are using to play them is more important.
  • If you intend to play the game with a keyboard instead of a USB controller, it would be difficult for you to get used to the controls of the game. However, in case of console emulation, the controls can be adjusted as per your choice.

How can you save games on SNES from anywhere?

Follow the below-mentioned steps to save the games on SNES:

  1. Click on Reset button displayed on the SNES classic console.
  2. When you reach the main SNES menu, press the Down button displayed on the controller direction pad.
  3. When the suspend points list becomes visible, click on the Y icon in order to save the progress of your current game.
  4. Remember each game allows only up to four suspend points to save per game.

Saving the games is actually a difficult job, but if you follow the step-by-step procedure, you will definitely be able to make it up.