Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Two developers behind one of the first SNES emulators have released a sequel.
- Super ZSNES is a GPU-driven SNES emulator that offers higher resolution visuals, uncompressed audio for some games, and more.
- The app is available for Windows, Mac, and Android.
ZSNES was a trailblazing program in the 1990s, as it was one of the first major Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulators. We’ve seen a variety of SNES emulators since then, but two of the developers behind ZSNES have just released Super ZSNES.
Super ZSNES is an all-new GPU-powered SNES emulator from the two developers behind ZSNES. The GPU-focused approach enables high-resolution Mode 7 visuals and a variety of custom, per-game visual enhancements via a so-called Super Enhancement Engine.
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The Super Enhancement Engine currently supports seven games and offers a ton of improvements. These tweaks include higher resolution visuals via an “internal drawing program,” texture and normal maps, overclocking for select games with major slowdown, wide screen support, the replacement of highly compressed audio in select games with uncompressed audio, and 3D height-mapped data for Mode 7 in select games.
For what it’s worth, the Super Enhancement Engine currently supports F-Zero, Gradius 3, Mega Man X, Super Castlevania 4, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Super Mario World, and Super Metroid.
The Super ZSNES team also promises that this isn’t a vibe-coded emulator, while adding that the app supports classic features like fast-forward/rewind and save states. You should also expect cheat codes, save bookmarks, and the classic ZSNES menu with falling snow. As for future additions to the app, the team promises that it will implement bug fixes, more types of enhancements, netplay, and emulation of special chips like the SuperFX and DSP1. Sure enough, SuperFX games like Star Fox and Stunt Race FX don’t work when I tried the Android version.
In any event, Super ZSNES is available for free on Windows and Mac, while the Android version is available on the Play Store for $4. The Android version looks and runs very polished at this point, although I would’ve liked to see larger buttons and other touch-focused improvements. Then again, we can’t have everything in one go.
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