Super Nintendo Entertainment System emulators

Super Nintendo Entertainment System / Super Famicom

Top: North American Super NES Bottom: Japanese Super Famicom
Developer	Nintendo R&D2
Manufacturer	Nintendo
Type	Home video game console
Generation	Fourth
Release date	JP: November 21, 1990 NA: August 23, 1991 UK/IRL: April 11, 1992 EU: June 1992 CHL: June 8, 1992 AUS: July 3, 1992 BR: August 30, 1993 RU: November 15, 1994
Discontinued	EU: 1998 NA: November 30, 1999 BR: 2003 KOR: April 1, 2003 JP: September 25, 2003
Predecessor	Nintendo Entertainment System
Successor	Nintendo 64
Emulated	✓

For emulators that run on Super Nintendo Entertainment System, see Emulators on Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) is a 16-bit, fourth-generation home video game console released by Nintendo originally released as the Super Famicom (SFC), in Japan, on November 21, 1990. The Super Famicom retailed for ¥25000. The console would release outside Japan as the SNES on August 23, 1991, in North America. The SNES retailed for $199.99 ($473 in 2026). It has a Ricoh 5A22 CPU at 3.58 MHz with 128 KB of RAM. While the Super Famicom did well in Japan, outselling the PC Engine, outside of Japan during that time the SNES had fierce competition with SEGA's Mega Drive (known world wide as the Mega Drive, in America as the Genesis).

Emulation for the Super Famicom/SNES is robust, with several high-quality emulators for various systems, some of which are cycle-accurate.

Before editing, review the getting involved and recommended pages. See system requirements page for performance demand of the emulators.
See tables for enhancements, hardware features & peripherals, and hardware variants.
For more details such as licensing, programming language, emulation method, visit each emulator’s dedicated page.

Name		Platform(s)	Active?	Latest version	License	Compatibility	Accuracy	CollapseRecommended? (overall)
PC
bsnes-based	bsnes		✓	nightly	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	?	Partial Cycle	✓
	bsnes-hd		✓	beta 10.6	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	?	Partial Cycle	✓
	bsnes-mt		~	1.3.4	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	?	Partial Cycle	~
	bsnes-classic forked bsnes Qt v073		✗	git	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	?	Partial Cycle	✗
	lsnes		~	rr2-β25 git	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	?	Partial Cycle	✗
Snes9x-based	Snes9x		✓	nightly 1.63	Non-commercial	5 known issues	High	✓
	Snes9x EX+		✓	1.5.46.02	Non-commercial	5 known issues	High	?
CATSFC			✗	git	Non-commercial GPLv2	?	Mid	✗
kindred (Super Sleuth PE)			✗	1.12 Preview Build 3	Non-commercial	?	?	✗
NO$SNS			✗	1.6	Proprietary	?	Low	✗
RetroCopy			✗	0.960 1.00 Beta 5	Proprietary	?	?	✗
Silhouette			✗	1.0	Proprietary (stolen Snes9x code)	?	Low	✗
SNESGT			✗	2.18 (2007)	Proprietary	?	Low	✗
ZSNES			✗	1.51	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	?	Low	✗
Mobile
Snes9x-based	Snes9x EX+		✓	1.63 git	?	5 known issues	High	✓
	Little John (Snes9x 1.39 based)		✗	1.1, 1.2	?	?	?	~
	Snes8x		✗	2.15.3	?	?	?	~
J2MESnes			✗		?	?	?	✗
SuperRetro16			~	2.2.1	Proprietary	?	?	✗
Browser
Snes9x			✓	nightly 1.63	Non-commercial	5 known issues	High	?

Emulator(s)	Core(s)	Platform(s)	Active?	Latest version	License	Compatibility	Accuracy	CollapseRecommended? (overall)
PC
ares	sfc		✓	v148 nightly	ISC (Permissive)	99.97% 3107 out of 3108 reported titles	Full Cycle	✓
MesenCE			✓	Dev builds	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		Cycle	✓
BizHawk	bsnes v087 (to be dropped in 2.11.1), v115+ (Snes9x, Mednafen, MAME)		✓	Dev builds 2.11.1	MIT GPL		? (Core-dependent)	~
jgenesis	?		✓	0.13.1	MIT (Permissive)		?	~
higan (火眼) byuu (謬/view)			✗	v110	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		Full Cycle	✗[note 1]
MAME	snes		✓	Git artifacts: CI-Windows CI-Linux CI-macOS 0.288	GPLv2 BSD-3-Clause		?	✗
Mednafen	bsnes v059 and SNES-Faust		?	1.32.1	GPLv2 (Copyleft)		Partial Cycle	✗
Mobile
Delta	?		✓	1.7.3s git	?		?	?
Folium	?		✓	App Store ($) 1.38 Latest IPA	?		?	?
Manic EMU	?		✓	1.9.2 git	AGPLv3 (Copyleft)		?	?
Provenance	?		✓	3.3.0 git	?		?	?
Browser
jgenesis	?		✓	0.13.1	MIT (Permissive)		?	?

Platform (e.g., Android, Windows, and Linux) and architecture support (e.g., x86, ARM, and consoles) mostly depends on the frontend software, not on the individual cores themselves. Collapse

Frontend(s)	Core(s)	Active?	License	Compatibility	Accuracy	Recommended? (overall)
	bsnes_hd_beta_libretro bsnes_accuracy bsnes_mercury_libretro	✓			Partial Cycle	✓
	Snes9x[note 2]	✓			High	✓
	beetle bsnes[note 3]	✓	GPLv2 (Copyleft)		Partial Cycle	~
	Mesen-S	✗	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		Cycle	~
	MAME	✓	GPLv2 BSD-3-Clause		?	✗
	Pocket SNES	✓	Non-commercial		?	✗
	Snes9x 2005 Plus[note 4]		Non-commercial GPLv2		?	✗

Name	Platform(s)	Active?	Latest version	License	Compatibility	Accuracy	CollapseRecommended? (overall)
Nintendo Classics (L-CLASSICS)		✓	5.0.0	Proprietary	Only for selected titles	Game-dependent	✓
Pocket SNES		✗	Beta git git	Non-commercial	?	?	✓
Snes9x for 3DS		✓	stable git	Non-commercial	?	?	✓
Snes9x GX		✓	Nightly Builds 5.0.0	Non-commercial	97%	High	✓
Virtual Console		✗	N/A	Proprietary	Only for selected titles	Game-dependent	✓
DreamSNES		✓	0.9.8	Non-commercial	?	?	~
DSTWO		~	N/A	Proprietary	?	?	~
Pocket SNES		✗	Beta git git	Non-commercial	?	?	~
pSnes		✓	6.6	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	?	?	~
SnemulDS		~	GitHub	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	44% 77 out of 175 reported titles	?	~
SNES Station		✗	0.2.6c	?	?	?	~
SNES360		✗	0.21 beta	?	?	?	~
Snes9x Saturn port		?	Saturn 06/07/29	Non-commercial	?	?	~
Snes9x X		✗	0.23	Non-commercial	?	High	~
Snes9xTYL Mod (Snes9x 1.39 based)		✗	git	Non-commercial	71.05% 27 out of 38 reported titles	?	~
SnesC0re		✓	git	?	?	?	~
sodium64		✓	git	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	?	?	~
blargSNES		✓	1.4 git	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	66.48% 474 out of 713 reported titles	?	✗
OpenSnes9x		✗	0.3beta	Non-commercial	?	High	✗

Core(s)	Type	Active?	License	Compatibility	Accuracy	CollapseRecommended? (overall)
SNES_MiSTer	MiSTer	✓	GPLv3 (Copyleft)		Cycle	✓

A Remaster-at-Runtime (RaR) Engine is a specialized sub-layer of an emulator that intercepts a game’s original internal data such as draw calls, tile indexes, or audio triggers and replaces them with high-fidelity assets in real-time. Unlike standard emulators that focus on hardware accuracy, RaR Engines prioritize aesthetic transformation, effectively "remastering" the game while it is being played without modifying the original ROM file. While asset replacement capable emulators (like bsnes-hd) allow for high-definition visuals, true Remaster-at-Runtime Engines are distinguished by their ability to do more such as procedurally transform the game's original logic (e.g., converting 2D tiles into 3D voxels or applying dynamic lighting to 16-bit environments). Recommended to see Game engine recreations and source ports page. Collapse

Name	Platform(s)	Active?	Latest version	License	Compatibility	Accuracy	Recommended? (overall)
SUPER ZSNES		✓	0.230 Google Play	Proprietary	?	Full Cycle	TBD

For more information about bsnes forks, see Bsnes#List of forks.

higan / ares / bsnes

• The codifier of emulation accuracy. It should play all commercially released games without trouble, assuming you have the power. Ares and higan are fully cycle-accurate emulators but bsnes is partially cycle-accurate.
• Incompatible with old ROM hacks made to take advantage of emulator quirks, much like real hardware.
• Has a superb LLE audio engine.
• For maximum authenticity, higan offers better ROM management, but newcomers who care more about playing the ROMs they have should stick with the bsnes release.

Snes9x

• Compatible with most games, even many ROM hacks that make use of emulator quirks.
• Fast enough for pretty much any toaster (even Pentium 1 or 2 machines, though for a decent experience, you will want at least a late Pentium 3).
• Shares its LLE audio engine with bsnes.
• Older versions may have buggy graphics and shaders in standalone, though it is video card- and driver-dependent.
• Controller support is hit-and-miss, especially when it comes to XInput.

RetroArch

• There are official cores for bsnes and Snes9x you can obtain easily.
• Very customizable and programmable by nature.

• The viewport is scalable to any resolution.
• It makes good use of fullscreen with the right choice of interface.
• A highly robust and flexible shader chain system completely separate from the core.

• Dynamic rate control fixes most audio issues.
• Mirrored ROM and RAM maps, allowing ordinary ROM images to be played right away.
• The Snes9x Next (snes9x2010) core was forked from a commit somewhere between upstream version 1.52 and 1.53. It includes some extra speed hacks to run full speed on the Wii, as well as a SuperFX overclock option.
• bsnes-mercury restores things like HLE DSP and SGB emulation using Gambatte, as well as some optimizations that don't sacrifice accuracy. Things like the HLE DSP were removed in higan, and much like Snes9x Next, it can overclock SuperFX. The default options match bsnes, where HLE emulation is not enabled by default.
• Supports RetroAchievements.

BizHawk

• Multi-system emulator by TASVideos, designed for tool-assisted speedruns, but also doubles as an easy-to-use emulator.
• Its SNES core is based on bsnes v115.
• Primarily for Windows, but some Linux compatibility has been reported, likely through Wine.
• Has support for libretro cores.
• Supports RetroAchievements.

Mednafen

• Like BizHawk, it's multi-system and based on bsnes.
• Graphical shells exist (like Mednaffe) to help with the fact that it can only run from the command line.
• Its SNES core is based on bsnes v059, which is a pretty old release. It predates the performance/balanced/accuracy profiles as far back as 2010. However, this version is much faster than current higan versions. Mednafen has another core for SNES emulation (SNES-Faust).

• It is missing many of the improvements to the LLE audio engine that newer versions of Snes9x and higan have.
• It also lacks many of the updates to edge cases, such as A.S.P. Air Strike Patrol, one of two games notorious for manipulating the PPU mid-scanline. It also has problems rendering text, flickering lines near the bottom, and displaying shadows during flight.

• There are systems Mednafen emulates well and very accurately, but the SNES is not one of them. At that point, you would be better off using standalone bsnes.

Mesen / Mesen S / Mesen SX / MesenCE

• Mesen S is launched in April 2019 from the same author of the top-class NES/Famicom emulator Mesen 1. It was slated to have similar features as its famous forebearer. Mesen (with 2.0 version) is a multi-system emulator originally developed by Sour and now continued as the community project MesenCE.
• Users who increasingly tire of higan's and bsnes' limited user options and cumbersome ROM and save files management may gravitate towards Mesen sooner or later, which should run nicely in users' game systems alongside Snes9x or Mednafen (or similar peer).

Nintendo Classics

• SNES support was added to Nintendo Switch Online in September 2019 alongside NES games.
• Accuracy is not the greatest, and users are limited to the selection of games Nintendo chooses to make available on the service.
• Supports up to 2 players in both Local and Online modes, despite being titles with actual 4-player support included (e.g.: Super Puyo Puyo 2).
• Different games between regions (Japan and International).
• Despite its shortcomings, the emulator is lauded for its inclusion of rollback netplay.

• Netplay is generally hassle-free and doesn't require forwarding of any ports, with users able to simply invite anyone on their Switch friend lists (as long as they also have a valid subscription).

• This makes the emulator an ideal choice for the ease-of-use factor; otherwise, better options are available.

• Support for the Super NES Mouse was added in version 5.0.0, alongside the Nintendo Classics rebranding and Mario Paint.

ZSNES

• One of the most legendary and popular emulator back in the early emulation software era but nowadays, it's the least accurate among the active popular emulators, though it is still relevant for many reasons, including:

• Running full speed on even very old PCs such as an early Pentium 1.
• Forming the basis for many ROM hacks, which were often designed around (let alone possible, simply because of) its problems and would break on anything else.
• Having tons of bugs and not even emulating some of the original console's operations, which some fewer notable games needed.

• One of these bugs was an ACE vulnerability that, if discovered in the emulator's prime, would've allowed a maliciously designed ROM to run its own code on the host machine. No real-world case of it being exploited exists aside from some harmless proof of concept, but it is always good to verify your ROMs before opening them in ZSNES.

• Having surprisingly good netplay.
• Sporting an iconic DOS-centric GUI.

• While fans have since modded the binaries (including patching out the vulnerability), the project is basically dead.
• Older versions rely on external pre-decompressed graphical packs to emulate some games with elaborate chips, much like older versions of Snes9x, such as 1.43. Assuming you get (what're now rare and tough-to-find) graphical packs for the SPC7110—like from here—and Star Ocean and put them in folders you then set under "Paths" in ZSNES, they can be playable without missing graphics. With that being said, however, the newest version doesn't need them for SDD-1 titles, only for SPC7110 titles.
• Viable alternatives are bZSNES (for ZSNES-centric ROM hacks), ZMZ (for the UI), NO$SNS, or older versions of Snes9x (for speed boosts tailored to old systems). Otherwise, choose any of the others like bsnes/ares/higan, or Snes9x (for better compatibility).

SNESGT

• Was once a reasonable choice, as it was more accurate than Snes9x while running much faster than bsnes.
• In more recent years has fallen out of favor as it is closed-source and no longer updated.
• Faster computers also make accurate emulation more feasible, and more recent versions of Snes9x have largely closed the accuracy gap.

Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages. Collapse

Name		ares	bsnes	MesenCE	Snes9x
Audio	Alternative audio interpolation methods	?	✓	?	✓
	Higher sample rates	?	✓	?	✓
Graphics	High-resolution affine transformations	?	✓	?	?
	Remove sprite limit The SNES has hardware support for up to 128 sprites. – this limitation is indirectly responsible for some of the flickering seen in games at times and different strategies must be used to achieve certain game design elements. When this option is enabled, the limit is disabled, allowing more sprites to be drawn on the same line.	?	?	?	?
	Resizable internal resolution	For emulation of 2D systems, the resolution can only be upscaled, making the pixels more apparent.
	Sprite replacement	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Widescreen hacks	✓	✓	✓	✓
Input	Preemptive frames	?	~[note 5]	?	✓
	Run-ahead	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Turbo button	✓	✓	✓	✓
Overclock	Extra scanlines	?	✓	✓	?
	SA-1	?	✓	✓	?
	Super FX	?	✓	✓	✓
Post-processing	AI-powered filter compatible (Freestyle)	?	?	?	?
	Filters	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Inverse tone mapping compatible	?	?	?	?
	Shader chain	✓	~[note 5]	~[note 5]	~[note 5]
Quality of life	Automatic emulated controller connect/disconnect Automatically connects or disconnects emulated controllers when a new or current controller is connected or disconnected.	✗	✗	✗	✗
	Automatic updater	?	?	?	?
	Big Picture Mode	✓	~[note 5]	~[note 5]	~[note 5]
	Built-in cheat manager	✓	✓	?	✓
	Built-in custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes For using this on Windows, you need CRT Emudriver. Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility".	Exclusive to libretro cores and GroovyMAME at the moment. Also there is a project for achieving software emulators like libretro cores and GroovyMAME send the raw RGB data over a network to a core running on MiSTer, it basically turns the MiSTer into a GPU for the emulator allowing for easy setup and use with CRT TVs/Arcade monitors.
	Built-in mod editor and manager	?	?	?	?
	Built-in patch manager	?	?	?	?
	Command-line options	?	✓	?	?
	Pause/Resume emulation	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Per-game profiles	?	~[note 5]	?	?
	Portable and stealth Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary prerequisites and dependencies for your operating system if it is not statically linked.	?	✓	?	?
	Streamable compression format	?	✓	✓	✓
TAS features	Fast forward/Turbo speed	?	✓	✓	✓
	Frame step (forwards and backwards)	?	?	?	?
	Macros/Scripts/Lua	?	~ There is no Lua scripting support but there is a separate fork for AngelScript support.	?	~ Exclusive to standalone version, RetroArch has no support for Lua Scripting.
	Movie recording/playback	?	✓	?	?
	Rewind	?	✓	✓	✓
	Save states	?	✓	✓	✓
Misc.	Ambient sounds simulation Simulation of audio from original hardware and environments, such as mechanical hard drive, floppy diskette, and optical drive noises (e.g., head seeks, spin-up/down, tray loading, disc spinning, and clicking), variable CRT flyback transformer whine (the classic high-pitched "coil whine" that dynamically changes pitch based on screen brightness and content), arcade cabinet effects (e.g., fan hum or button rattles), and other background ambient noises.	✗	✗	✗	✗
	Audio filters and presets Simulation of characteristic playback limitations and coloration of vintage consumer audio hardware, such as CRT television speakers, arcade cabinets, handheld consoles, early PC sound outputs, and low-fidelity integrated speakers. These filters are not intended to be perfectly accurate recreations, but rather to evoke the tonal qualities, distortion, bandwidth limits, resonance, and compression associated with 8-bit and 16-bit era devices. Examples include mono or narrow stereo output, reduced frequency response, speaker cone distortion, mild saturation, aliasing, and preset lo-fi profiles inspired by classic TVs, portable game systems, radios, and retro multimedia hardware.	Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment.
	Debug features	✓	✓	✓	✓
	EmuVR support	Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment.
	MSU-1	✓	✓	✓	✓
	Netplay Should not be confused with BS-X or XBAND modem emulation, see peripherals section for more information.	✗	✓	✓	✓
	RetroAchievements	roadmap	~[note 5]	~[note 5]	~[note 5]
	Rich Presence (RPC) Allows the emulator to share real-time game session details (e.g., current game title, level, boss, playtime, or custom status) with external applications. This enables features such as displaying what you're playing on your profile, inviting friends to spectate, or triggering join-in-progress functionality where supported.	?	?	?	?
	Screen translator Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically.	You can use RetroArch's AI Service or the standalone offline bquenin's Interpreter.

The MSU-1 (Media Streaming Unit) is a custom fan-made hardware specification for an additional chip that includes CD-ROM-quality audio and FMV cutscenes. It was eventually made available and working with real SNES hardware as the SD2SNES flashcard. It is the closest to the SNES-CD that you will ever get.

One inconvenience is that most emulators don't really support this specification. It is currently supported by the SD2SNES flashcard, bsnes (v075 and up), higan/ares (v094 and up), and Snes9x (1.55 and up). These hacks simply won't work at all in other emulators unless their developers implement an MSU-1 check to let the game run in these emulators without the MSU-1 enhancements (the MSU-1 specification has a specific feature to allow for compatibility testing).

To load the MSU-1 patched games with higan or bsnes:

1. Patch the original SNES ROM with the IPS patch
2. Make sure to copy manifest.bml and the PCM files (generated with create_pcm.bat, often found included with the sound pack) in the same directory as the ROM
   • Make sure it is %USERPROFILE%\Emulation\Super Famicom\ in the case of higan, and follow the readme included to know what names to use
3. Launch with higan/bsnes.

To load the MSU-1 patched games with Snes9x: (See this page for libretro core version)

1. Patch the original SNES ROM with the IPS patch
2. Copy the patched ROM file, any MSU image file, and the PCM files (generated with create_pcm.bat, often found included with the sound pack) in the same directory as the ROM.
   • Make sure the files all carry the same name prefix as the base ROM, with the MSU image having a .msu extension and all PCM files suffixed by track number.
3. Launch the base ROM with Snes9x.

Notable hacks for the MSU-1 include:

• BS Zelda no Densetsu (a restoration of how the streamed audio played in the Satellaview game!)
• BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban
• Chrono Trigger (includes a conversion of the FMV intro from the PlayStation version of the game)
• Donkey Kong Country 2
• Final Fantasy III / VI
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (with an optional patch adding FMVs)
• Mega Man X
• Mega Man X3 (with CD version audio)
• Rock n' Roll Racing
• Secret of Mana
• Super Mario World
• Super Road Blaster (port of the FMV arcade game)

Overclocking has been a thing in other SNES emulators previously, but as the bsnes dev explains it;

Existing SNES emulators sometimes allowed overclocking the SNES CPU by a fixed amount, but it was done in a way that would either increase the video and audio rate, or break games. bsnes and Mesen-S now feature a new way of overclocking that comes from the NES emulation scene: inserting additional scanlines into the CPU thread, without running the video and audio during this time. The result is a method of removing slowdown in just about any SNES game, without any framerate or pitch distortion, and without harming compatibility in 99% of games (even streaming audio games such as Tales of Phantasia work as expected.) The SA-1 and SuperFX can also be overclocked in this way. The other coprocessors (DSP-1, Cx4, etc.) support HLE which results in all of their operations occurring.^[1]

List of Super NES games with enhancement chips

The SNES had a graphical mode called "Mode 7" that allowed scaling the first background layer. The Super-FX2 added more advanced scaling options, but they're not covered by Mode 7 and, therefore, enhancements for it. The SNES Mode 7 background is limited to 128x128 pixels, and the output resolution is 256x240. As a result, there is heavy aliasing and a general loss of quality with some transformations. However, there have been emulator enhancements to make it look better:

• High resolution: The scaled backgrounds are rendered with subpixel precision at a higher resolution compared to the rest of the game's graphics. This may cause visual discrepancies between both.
• Supersampling: Acts like a sort of antialiasing for Mode 7. All graphics are rendered with the same pixel size, though scaled backgrounds are rendered in a higher resolution, then processed back to the same resolution as the rest of the image for a more uniform look. Used to be the only option in bsnes.
• Widescreen: Later added by bsnes-hd.

A fork of bsnes, bsnes-hd, offers active development of these features. Most of those were ported back to higan.

With certain settings, there is heavy aliasing that we can reduce by increasing the sampling rate.

No emulator support this at the moment, but a Feature request for bsnes-hd: Add custom sprite/texture dumping/injection support exist.

A widescreen hack is an emulator feature that make older games playable on 16:9 aspect ratio. Some emulators like bsnes-hd provide a widescreen hack option to make these games run at 16:9 properly (with the traditional pixel stretch for 4:3 CRT pixel or 1:1 raw pixel instead of black bars on each side or stretched to fill the screen).

retrogamecorps: Widescreen SNES guide

Some older versions of SNES9X offered bilinear filtering for Mode 7 backgrounds, making them smoother/blurrier instead of pixelated as they're scaled instead of just applying the bilinear filter on the video output itself. (Confirmation?)

Most SNES emulators, since at least ZSNES 1.3.x, support audio interpolation methods beyond the traditional SNES Gaussian interpolation, such as Linear, Cubic, Sinc, or even no interpolation, should someone prefer that.

Likewise, the sample rate can also be set to higher than 32 kHz, even in ZSNES 0.150. Though in some versions of ZSNES in the early 2000s, it did cause some artifacts. Nowadays, emulators support sample rates all the way up to 96 kHz.

Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.
There weren't as many accessories that were released for the Super Nintendo compared to the NES, but there are still quite a few to go over. Collapse

Name				ares	bsnes	MesenCE	Snes9x
Hardware features	Cartridge enhancement chips	Official cartridge enhancement chips		?	?	?	?
		MSU-1 enhancement chip		?	?	?	?
	On-cartridge save batteries			?	?	?	?
Peripherals	ASCII Turbo File	Turbo File II mode		✗	?	?	?
		Turbo File Twin's Super mode		✗	?	?	?
	Barcode Battler			✗	?	?	?
	BS-X Satellaview			✓	✓[note 6]	✓	✓
	Controllers	asciiPad		✗	✗	✗	✗
		BatterUp baseball bat		✗	?	?	?
		Bike controller The 3500X is for home use and 9XS is for gyms. The home bike uses the expansion port (the only peripheral to do so other than the Satellaview and the unreleased SNES-CD), has 2 controllers instead of 4, but also compatible with Cannondale Cup unlike the gym bike.	Life Cycle 3500X	✗	?	?	?
			Life Cycle 9XS	✗	?	?	?
		Golf club	Lasabirdie Golf Controller	✗	?	?	?
			TeeVGolf	✗	?	?	?
		Light gun	Konami Justifier	✓	? Supported, but not tested yet.	✗	✓
			M.A.C.S. Rifle	✗	?	?	✓
			Super Scope	✓	✓	✓	✓
		Miracle Piano		✗	?	?	?
		Mouse		✓	✓	✓	✓
		NordicQuest ski-exerciser		✗	?	?	?
		NTT Data Keypad		✓	?	?	?
		Pachinko		✗	?	?	?
		SNES-CD controller		✗	✗	✗	✗
		Super Joy Card		?	?	?	?
		Twin Tap		✓	?	?	?
		XBAND keyboard		✗	?	?	?
	Data Pack (Satellaview)			✗	✓[note 6]	?	✓
	Modem	JRA PAT/NTT modem		✗	✗	✗	✗
		Teleplay modem This modem was going to support cross-play between Sega Genesis, NES and SNES.		✗	✗	✗	✗
	SNES CD			✗	✗	✗	✗
	Special cartridges	SuFami Turbo (incl. ST Link)		✓	✓	?	✓ standalone build guide, libretro build guide.
		Super Game Boy (2)		✓	✓	✓	✗
		XBAND modem		✗	?	?	?
	StuntMaster			✗	?	?	?
	Super Multitap			✗ Just the accessory, but additional players are not supported.	✓	✓	✓
	Voice-kun			✗	✗	✗	✗
Misc.	BS-X Satellaview SoundLink audio broadcast streaming/playback			✗	?	?	?
	Cartridge hot swapping It was sometimes possible to apply cheats (such as a player having infinite lives) and other temporary software alterations to games by hot swapping cartridges, even though the cartridges were not designed to be hot swappable.			✗	?	?	?
	Cartridge tilting Cartridge tilting is an action performed on cartridge-based systems to create otherwise impossible glitches. Cartridge tilting is not a glitch, but rather the process which creates glitches.			There is no emulator currently includes built-in cartridge tilting simulation. As a workaround, you can try the external Real-Time Corruptor (RTCV) tool. It is a real-time memory/data corruption tool for inducing glitches during emulation, which might mimic some effects of cartridge tilting (e.g., visual/audio artifacts or crashes). However, it is not a true "cartridge tilting" simulator, as it works on live memory rather than simulating cartridge read errors.
	Real-time clock			✓	?	?	?
	Rumble controller			✓	?	✓	?
	Switch between board revisions			?	?	?	?

This shouldn't be confused with GB/GBC backwards compatibility emulation/GBA mode or Game Boy (Color) emulation.

The Super Game Boy was a peripheral designed to play Game Boy and black Game Boy Color cartridges on the Super Nintendo through the cartridge slot, just like a typical SNES game. The Super Game Boy uses a special version of the Game Boy hardware to allow for Super Game Boy enhanced Game Boy games to operate its otherwise hidden features, such as colorization, special effects or upgrades such as extra multiplayer functionality, custom frame borders or color palettes, or even new control schemes and improved sound (enhanced music, voice clips) by way of the SNES's more sophisticated sound hardware.

Although many Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators and Game Boy Advance emulators^[2] can somewhat replicate the SGB's added features using certain tricks, a true recreation of the SGB can only be done by a multisys that supports emulating a SNES and a Game Boy simultaneously. higan, and by extension ares, were the first emulators to add proper SGB support, though it's understandably hardware-intensive even by their usual reckoning. As of April 2023, Mesen is the only other multi-system emulator that can properly replicate the SGB. Versions of bsnes at and before v073 used the Gambatte core for its Super Game Boy functionality, nowadays, it is using Sameboy for Super Game Boy emulation. byuu eventually made his own Game Boy core for higan, which ended up having pretty good accuracy. Ares has its own GB/GBC core and uses that for Super Game Boy emulation.

There are a few hiccups with emulating the Super Game Boy, however. higan's Game Boy core isn't up to snuff. One notable example is Pokémon Yellow and the special border supposed to display. higan displays the standard Game Boy border, while the real hardware displays a special green Pikachu border. On the other hand, Pokémon Gold and Silver, designed for the Game Boy Color, can operate on a Game Boy, and operates as intended when played on a Super Game Boy. Also, if one attempts to run the Game Boy Camera in higan in Super Game Boy mode, the emulator crashes.

Another thing to note is that there is a redesigned model, only released in Japan, called the Super Game Boy 2. Compared to the original, the main feature the SGB2 adds is a link cable connection, allowing for connectivity with normal Game Boys or even with other SGB2s. It also uses its own oscillator to be able to run games at normal speed, fixing a slight overclocking issue that stemmed from the original SGB's reliance on the clock signal from the SNES. higan and ares can run in Super Game Boy 2 mode, but link cable connections aren't possible yet, not even with other Game Boy emulators that can emulate a link cable.

The asciiPad is a controller by asciiWare that has similar features to the NES Advantage. Unlike the standard SNES controller, it has seven small switches that extend the way buttons are pressed. All the switches can be set to one of three modes for the standard buttons they individually represent, except for the seventh labeled "Slow" which changes the frequency of the additional modes. The switch can be set to off, turbo, and auto. The turbo setting holds the button, and the auto setting control presses them automatically. higan is the first and only emulator known to support this specific controller's switches. Other emulators have a completely different implementation of turbo presses in their GUI, which can work for some, but not to this extent.

The Super Scope is a bazooka-looking light gun that is a bit more complex than the Zapper for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Super Scope 6, Yoshi's Safari, Battle Clash, and Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge used it. Some emulators including Snes9x and bsnes/higan support the Super Scope, emulated with the mouse.

Similar to the NES Zapper, but differs from the Super Scope. It is another light gun, but requiring calibration this time around. It looks like a real gun and was intended to simulate the shooter arcade experience. Only one game is compatible, and that is Lethal Enforcers. Snes9x and higan support this gun.

Made by Hudson Soft and licensed by Nintendo, this functions similarly to the NES Four Score. Instead of using both controller ports, it just used one, allowing up to 5 players at once. Bomberman games used this accessory. Some emulators, including Snes9x and bsnes/higan, support five players.

This is a rather obscure Super Famicom game with compatible accessories. JRA PAT is a horse race gambling game that allowed you to use real money. The service is dead. No emulator appears to support the special controller and modem that plugs into the player 1 and player 2 slots.

A few games by Koei shipped with an Audio CD that typically contained voice acting and supported the Voice-kun accessory, which would command a CD player with IR signals. Typically used by remote controllers so that audio plays at specific points in the game. These games are still playable in most emulators but without Voice-kun support. byuu intended to make either MSU-1 hacks or proper Voice-kun emulation for these games in future higan versions, which would make it the first emulator to emulate this feature, but died of suicide.

ultimatepopculture fandom - Nintendo Super System

Arcade system used to preview Super NES games in the United States.*Emulation is possible with MAME and BizHawk's MAME core. MAME 0.288version compatibility status for Nintendo Super System.

The Super Famicom was originally going to get a CD add-on called the SNES-CD, developed by Sony, who had already helped with the sound chip for the SNES. However, Nintendo was unhappy with Sony's clause in the contract that would give them the rights to any software developed on the device. In retaliation, Nintendo announced that they would be partnering with Phillips instead. Talks between Sony and Nintendo continued afterward as late as 1993, but the project couldn't be salvaged. Nintendo lost interest in the CD peripheral, seeing how the Sega CD failed in the US, and the PC-Engine CD only enjoyed modest success. They canceled the Phillips collaboration on yet another SNES-CD prototype, but in return, they allowed them to use some of their properties for their Phillips CD-i console. Later, they collaborated with the St. Giga radio service to create the Japan-exclusive Satellaview add-on for the Super Famicom, which played broadcasts of SFC games using streamed audio. As for Sony, they took the hardware and experience from their collaboration with Nintendo to create the first PlayStation. Nintendo would continue to support the cartridge format for its next console, the Nintendo 64. A shy attempt at rewritable disk media was attempted with the 64DD, but the add-on failed due to its 64 MB maximum storage limit, which would be obsolete by later, bigger N64 cartridges, as well as the lack of support from third parties - many of whom had opted to support the PS1 instead.

Some prototype units of the Sony SNES-CD were made. While games were in development for the add-on, some were eventually reworked as regular SNES cartridge games with lots of content gutted (e.g., Nintendo R&D's Marvelous, Square's Secret of Mana, and Romancing Saga 2). Other games, like Hook, were ported to other systems instead (Hook to the Sega CD and Rayman to the Atari Jaguar, among others), while the rest were outright canceled. These games were to have much bigger worlds, streamed music, cutscenes, and even FMVs, according to various interviews. That never happened, however, and most of what was developed for these consoles, including their various manuals and specifications, were lost.

Recently, an actual Sony SNES-CD prototype was uncovered and repaired. See here and here. It had various weird hardware restrictions (number of saves, CD size limit, no coprocessors), with much of it likely having to do with its unfinished nature. For example, it had planned Audio CD support, though it doesn't work, which means the MSU-1 is a much more attractive alternative for hacks aiming to reflect what the SNES-CD could have been.

No$SNS 1.6 supports the Sony SNES-CD add-on. This was made possible after some reverse-engineering and analysis of the leaked BIOS file. Get the leaked Super Disc BIOS, circulating on the net as "SDBR_v0.95.sfc." Under the same directory as the no$sns executable, make a "BIOS" folder, put the BIOS file there, and rename it to "SFX-100.bin."

The only SNES-CD games available online currently are the BIOS for one of the discovered prototypes and two homebrew games. These games, Magic Floor and Super Boss Gaiden (both of which have alternate versions as regular SNES ROMs), come as BIN/CUE files. NO$SNS 1.6 supports only one CD mode, so it only reads the BIN, not the CUE. Both were tested on real hardware and had severe visual glitches due to the SNES-CD adding more undocumented interrupts, which aren't accurately emulated anywhere. This means it is safe to say that while SNES-CD emulation exists nowadays, it would have low compatibility with any real unreleased SNES-CD game prototypes.

• It is possible to emulate this variant with NO$SNS.
• See Unreleased consoles page for more information about other unreleased consoles.

• SNES Development Wiki – SNES Development Wiki for you know, SNES Development.
• SNES Accuracy Tests (TASVideos) – Test results on various emulators using test ROMs
• SuperRT - Realtime raytracing on the SNES