Hey guys,

I was hoping someone could point me in the direction of a good emulator for the Super Nintendo and N64 (and any other system if such emulators exist). I would search myself, but I've been having horrible luck with getting my computer infected with viruses, which is one nasty battle after another. Consequently, I'm mortally afraid of conducting the search on my own. I'm hoping any links I get from you guys will be trustworthy. Please share with me such links when you get the chance.

Thanks very much,

Pud

ZSNES is the best for SNES, never tried anything for N64.

Google is best for this stuff, and use an online virus scan to check any files you've downloaded (use google to find online virus scans, there are lots.)

ROMNation.net is virus free, as is rom-world.com. The latter is slightly less annoying to use. If they have the emulators themselves (they might, I don't know) you can be sure of safe downloads.

ZSNES is the best for SNES, yeah.
Project64 is the best for N64.
ePSXe is the best for PSX, but I'm not sure how dedicated you are in getting the BIOS to run it.
PCSX2 is the best for PS2, but is a hassle because of the BIOS once again and you need a pretty decent computer to play most games.
Dolphin is the best for Gamecube/Wii, but blah blah BIOS, blah blah decent computer, and it can't really play all that many yet (although it is getting there pretty quick).

Thanks guys. This helps a lot.

Chewey - I'm not terribly computer literate. What are BIOS and how does one get them? I would be very interested in playing PS2 and gamecube games (even if there are only a few). And my computer can play games such as FarCry 2 without much of a hitch, so my guess is it'll be able to handle these no problem.

A BIOS is basically, in layman's terms, the first thing a computer system runs when starting up, or such is my understanding of it (I am no expert on this stuff.) Basically the PlayStation and systems from its level and beyond have one, and emulating them requires an image of it.

But I've really never actually emulated any system more advanced than SNES so I only have a basic understanding of this. Again, I recommend using google to try to find tutorials on it. They are definitely out there.

Thanks again =)

By the way, does anyone know of a place where I can find a ROM for Final Fantasy VI? I've been wanting to play it again so I can brush up on my limited knowledge of the game, and I can't find that ROM at either of the major sites (rom nation and rom world).

Try a torrent. Many have loads of games with the emulator.

romulation and emuparadise (.net and .org respectively) are my favorites. The first I prefer, has a bigger selection, better interface, less annoying ads/procedures to get a rom. You do have to register, though, and if you want a PSX iso or something, you'll need to get "points" to download. But points are awarded in a healthy amount every 24 hours and I really can't imagine you being desperate for points.


When you sign up at RomUlation, 500 points are credited to your account to get you started. Files under 50MB in size do not cost any points, they're free to download! However, files over 50MB in size cost 1 point per MB. For example, an 80MB file will cost 80 points. If you run out of points, there are a variety of ways to earn more:

� Regular members receive 50 points credited to their account every 24 hours.

you can also buy points, but I think that would be overkill. Or you can become a premium member and get faster download speeds + more points.

As far as BIOS' go for PSX, you can usually find a link to them right on the site that's offering the emulator (try looking at Zophar or The Zophar or something). I haven't tried a PS2 emulator yet cos I haven't found a BIOS but torrenting one as mentioned above might be the route to go for that, since emulating PS2 games isn't quite to the point where it's practical for everyone or all that common.

If you come across a good one, let me know. :ashine:

By the way, does anyone know of a place where I can find a ROM for Final Fantasy VI? I've been wanting to play it again so I can brush up on my limited knowledge of the game, and I can't find that ROM at either of the major sites (rom nation and rom world).

I got the copy I have now from a collection of 295 SNES roms. It comes with an SNES emulator too. If you're interested, I got it here (http://www.snesorama.us/board/showthread.php?t=1229).

If that's too much for you, I can just upload the individual rom.

But that's illegal!

Masked Ndi - I should be able to find it just fine via torrents. I didn't think of that avenue. I'll let you know if I'm unable to find it that way. Thank you.

http://www.coolrom.com/roms/snes/1033/Final_Fantasy_III.php

first thing that comes up when you type "Final Fantasy VI rom" into google.

I don't wanna sound like a broken record here or anything but... dude. Google.

Google can be scary with things such as downloading free music, games, torrents, etc. My computer recently got a virus from me downloading free music (FF7 music, ironically), and I was forced to completely reinstall the operating system. That is why I'm now very cautious with using google to accomplish things such as this, particularly when I've next to no experience with downloading roms and could very easily download yet another virus.

dude, seriously.
anti virus.
nod32 is awesome.
then, do what TK did.

Google can be scary with things such as downloading free music, games, torrents, etc. My computer recently got a virus from me downloading free music (FF7 music, ironically), and I was forced to completely reinstall the operating system. That is why I'm now very cautious with using google to accomplish things such as this, particularly when I've next to no experience with downloading roms and could very easily download yet another virus.

Use google to find an online virus scan.

You should be cautious about this when downloading ANYTHING. Always scan your downloads. It doesn't matter if you found it with google or not.

Most web sites that offer ROM downloads are virus free. You're more likely to get hit with adware if anything, but usually they just have a bunch of ads. But it's still good to check.

ZSNES is the best for SNES, yeah.
Project64 is the best for N64.
ePSXe is the best for PSX, but I'm not sure how dedicated you are in getting the BIOS to run it.
PCSX2 is the best for PS2, but is a hassle because of the BIOS once again and you need a pretty decent computer to play most games.
Dolphin is the best for Gamecube/Wii, but blah blah BIOS, blah blah decent computer, and it can't really play all that many yet (although it is getting there pretty quick).



ill take your word for it on the 64 emulator.
now please, would you tell me what could fit in "decent" computer to play ps2 games? my pc can play doom 3 on medium quality with slight lag.
im interested in playing some euro/jap exclusive games, like demolition girl.

CATASTROPHE - I can attest to the validity of that n64 emulator (Project 64). I've used it before and it is very good and you can generally find a buttload of working n64 games out there. That is what I'll be doing once I finish playing through all the snes RPGs, which will take a while.

As for the PS2 emulator, I am also very curious as to what constitutes a "good" computer for running it. Also, are there a lot of games/ROMs available for it? Any pointers as to where we can acquire said emulator/bios/roms?

I've tried a PS2 emulator on Merl's computer. He has a pretty great pc over all but needs a better video card.

Some games (anything 2d heavy) ran fine, another stuff had too low a fps rate to be worth it. From what I understand anything really graphics heavy isn't going to work unless you have a great video card.

I used PCSX2 (http://pcsx2.net/downloads.php) as an emulator, and I got isos from the SnesOrama forums.

ill take your word for it on the 64 emulator.
now please, would you tell me what could fit in "decent" computer to play ps2 games? my pc can play doom 3 on medium quality with slight lag.
im interested in playing some euro/jap exclusive games, like demolition girl.

as a rule of thumb in order to emulate a console your system needs to be something like 3 times as powerful as the console you're emulating. and that's if the emulation software is pretty good. [citation needed, i don't remember where i read this so i could be full of shit]*

i'm going to guess since you run a game from 2004 at medium settings and still get lag, you probably don't want to enter the world of ps2 emulation.


*i do know that the power difference has to be pretty significant though. this is one reason emulation of old consoles on handhelds is so far from perfect. they don't have nearly enough power so alot of shortcuts have to be taken. **

** for example bsnes (http://byuu.org/bsnes/) is an snes emulator for pc that aims for perfect emulation of the snes over all else. they recommend a dual core processor to run it, which is obviously ludicrous for an snes emulator. even things like ZSNES have alot of shortcuts built in. i don't know why i'm typing all this.