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3. Emulation of NES and SNES

Euchale

Crazy German Guy
Next we have the old NES and SNES consoles.
The Emulators:
NES: http://nestopia.sourceforge.net/
SNES: http://www.zsnes.com/

Setup:
If you want an original NES controller you could get this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-USB-NES-Controller-PC/dp/B002YVD3KM?tag=teksynd-20
I haven´t tried it, but they should work just fine. I would hold off on buying one though, because we are going to get a very handy adapter later in this series, which allows you to connect XBox and PS2 and GC controllers. So you could just get one of those. Alternatively a PS3/4 or Xbox360 controller will work too.
The same applies to the SNES controller:
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-USB-Super-Nintendo-Controller-PC/dp/B002JAU20W?tag=teksynd-20

For the setup you go into options and select input. If you have any kind of USB-controller connected it will autodetect it and all you need to do is map it the way you want. Now for Nestopia you have various settings you can do on your right side in the joystick subcategory. Also important for some of the newer controllers is setting a dead-zone. Mine is good at 70, so my character doesn´t move around from simply looking at my control stick.
For both you get the setting for autofire, which is autofireing the button.

Running a game:
For games you will need a rom. The best way to get one is to google for "Game name rom". After a rom you usually get something like J,US,EU,G,F and so on. This is the region code. So a game that has G,E,F after it´s name is in German, English and French.
Eu is for Europe which usually includes German, English, French, Spanish and Italian.
US would be the ´murica version and J is for Japan.
If it mentions something like "hacked by XXX" it means that somebody altered the game. This could mean that the person added cheats, but some games don´t work directly from the rom so they get hacked to fix them.
Once you got it, put it in a place where you can find it and select File->load (or Game->load for zsnes) and navigate to the rom. The game should start automatically.

Advanced options:
There is the possibility to save gamestates in both emulators, so take use of them. They are in File/Game.

Notable games:
Oh god there are so many. Just check these 2:
http://www.ign.com/top-100-nes-games/
http://www.ign.com/top/snes-games

Feel free to post your suggestions below.
 
I used to like SNES9x over ZSNES in the earlier days. ZSNES would have a lot of joypad input issues that never seemed to work.
 
I updated the post.

I used to like SNES9x over ZSNES in the earlier days. ZSNES would have a lot of joypad input issues that never seemed to work.

This is probably fixed in the new version. Ive successfully configured my PS3 controller, my Gamecube Controller and my Hotas in it
 
Any recommendations for a catch all (works with any emulator and game) PC game controller?
Heard an X-Box one works, anyone use them?
 
Any recommendations for a catch all (works with any emulator and game) PC game controller?
Heard an X-Box one works, anyone use them?
Xbox360 controller is the best one. I suppose a Xbone Controller should also work. Get the one that is cheaper.
 
I used Nesticle back in the day. I got a new NES emulater earlier, but it ran really sluggish. Lots of lag. So weird having 8-bit lag.
 
I like ZSNES when I used it back in the day. Pretty sure I last used it to play FFVI for the umpteenth time.
 
ZNES is also the one I recommend.

Update: I´ve used Snes9x and here are a few pointers:
-It´s a little bit more difficult to use GUI wise (just found out it can be fixed by: http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=5681)
-It has better soundeffects (music is about the same)
-A few glitches in some games are fixed.

Fazit: Snes9x is a good replacement for the zsnes.
 
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