The Super Nintendo Entertainment System came out in 1990. The 16-bit console was an incredible gaming achievement. But it was discontinued in 2003. People that wanted to play SNES games were forced to turn to emulators, of which there are quite a few.
SNES emulators are still popular today because a significant number of the games that studios developed for the SNES never came to the West. Quite a few were never translated into English.
Many SNES fans are just starting to discover those titles today, which is why the demand for SNES emulators is still strong. Some people are hesitant to download emulators because they do not know whether or not the programs are legal.
For the most part, emulators exist in a grey area. In many countries, even though emulators are permitted, it is illegal to download games you do not own for the purpose of playing them on an emulator.
Related: 3 Best Nintendo Switch Emulator for PC (2021)
This is why Nintendo attacks platforms that host SNES games for download even though it has largely ignored the people that offer emulator downloads. The legal complications have done little to dissuade people from using SNES emulators. Of all the options on the market, the SNES9x emulator is one of the best.
What Is SNES9x Emulator?
The SNES9x emulator was developed by Gary Henderson and Jerremy Koot. Gary and Koot are very important names in the SNES emulator arena. The pair worked on the SNES96 and 97. These programs marked the first successful attempts to play SNES games on a computer.
After attaining success separately, the developers decided to combine their resources in 1997 to produce a single emulator. It was from their collaborative efforts that the SNES9x emulator was born.
It took Gary and Koot three years to create the emulator. They were particularly proud of the fact that it could play SNES and Super Famicon games that only came out in Japan. However, it is worth noting that the team that created the SNES9x emulator abandoned the project.
A new team came on board to develop and refine the emulator. But anyone that has visited the website or used the emulator will tell you that the new team hasn’t made much progress. The SNES9x emulator is still one of the best in the business, appealing to gamers because of its high compatibility rate.
That being said, some would argue that it loses out to Higan. It cannot offer the same accuracy. Though, Higan requires higher-end hardware. This is where SNES9x shines. It is a lighter application with lower system requirements.
SNES9x is an appealing emulator for people that have tried and failed to run Higan at full speed. Many people have started jumping to Mesen S. But the support for SNES9x is strong. The emulator has an active community of users.
SNES9x Features
- You can use it on Android, Nintendo 3DS, PSP, and iOS phones (Jailbroken)
- Also compatible with Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows
- Written in C++
- Highly portable
- Good Emulation Speed
- High Compatibility Rate
The emulator has various versions. For instance, you can download the SNES9x EX for mobile devices. The SNEX9x Next comes with speed hacks and a RetroArch libretro core. You can play games at a higher FPS by overclocking the SuperFX chip. SNES9x TYL is a PSP port.
Don’t just download any random SNES9x emulator you encounter. Make sure you acquire the right version for the system you want to use.
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How To Use SNES9x?
1). Start by finding a version of the emulator to download. Do your research before you settle on a particular version. Make sure the version you want to acquire works for your device.
2). Once you locate a suitable version, download the files. Don’t forget to create a new folder that will hold all your SNES files. Keep the downloaded emulator in this folder. You are encouraged to create separate sub-folders for the emulator and your ROMs. This isn’t necessary to install and use the emulator but it will keep your files and folders organized.
3). If you check on the emulator you just downloaded, you will notice that it is located in a zip file. Extract the zip file.
4). Open the folder with the emulator and select the SNES9x program. You don’t have to extract the contents of the zip file for this to work. You can also launch the emulator directly from the zip file.
5). As you probably noticed, you don’t have to install the emulator. You can launch it as soon as the download is done. But if you get an error message telling you that your PC is missing a file, you can solve the problem by downloading Directx9.
This tends to happen on computers with newer operating systems. Install Directx9 and launch the emulator. It will work. At this point, you can start playing your SNES games.
6). Once the emulator is launched, go to ‘File’ and select ‘Load Game’. Locate the folder that has your ROMs and select the game you want to play. The next time you need to load a game, the emulator will lead you back to this same folder. This is perfect for people that keep all their ROMs in one place.
7). If you want to configure your controls, start by clicking ‘Input’ and looking for ‘Input Configuration’ in the drop-down menu. You can use the window that opens to customize your controls. The emulator supports external gaming controllers like the PS4 DualShock controller.
8). With your controls customized, you can start playing your game. Pressing ‘Alt’ and ‘Enter’ will activate the full-screen mode. The same button combination will exit full-screen mode.
Conclusion
SNEX9x is one of the best SNES emulators around. it is a lighter program that doesn’t have the same hardware demands as Higan. Installing the emulator and configuring your controls won’t take long.
But you have to find the right version. The SNES9x emulator works on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, PSP, and Nintendo 3DS, to mention but a few. You have to download the right version for your device to get the most out of the emulator.
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