Which emulator to run console games?

[mufarooq]

hi, I want to play console games on pc but I don't know how to configure emulator. Which emulator should I choose and how can i configure it with my pc.

 

[ogasnor]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Sony-Emulator-Desktop-PC-Console-Games,20874.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Nintendo-Games-PC-Emulator-Run,20697.html

A little jumping off point.

 

[mufarooq]

Thanks for the help friend!

 

[casualcolors]

Genesis-Kega Fusion
SEGA CD-Kega Fusion
32X-Kega Fusion
SNES-snes9x
PS1-ePSXe
PS2-PCSX2
Dreamcast-NullDC -or- Demul (if you care about opengl shaders)
Gamecube-Dolphin
Wii-Dolphin
Arcade-MAME

Those are the best emulators for each respective platform. Remember that Tomshardware does not advocate piracy and just because you are using an emulator does not mean that you can't or shouldn't seek out a retail copy of a game that is not abandonware.

I won't waste your time by recommending an N64 or Saturn emulator. The available emulators for both platforms are still nowhere near 100% accurate and do not consistently work with every game.

 

[gamerk316]

You have a lot of different options for older systems. In general:

NES: FCEUX (Primary), Nestopia (Backup)

FCEUX is constantly updated and has SVN builds every few days. Nestopia is considered the most "accurate" NES emulator, so it lacks a few high end options FCEUX offers.

Sega Master System/Game Gear: GensGS (Primary), Kega Fusion (Secondary)

I personally prefer GensGS, for reasons about to be stated below.

Sage Genesis/Sega 32x/Sega CD: GensGS (Primary), Kega Fusion (Secondary)

The reason I prefer GensGS here is because it supports Sega CD Savestates, even if it isn't implemented 100% correct yet. Kega Fusion lacks Sega CD Savestates as of the last time I used it. That being said, the Gens-derived emulators (Gens, Gens32, GensGS, etc) all have issues with optical drives, due to the emulator being based on Win9x code.

SNES: snes9x (Primary), ZSNES (Secondary)

I prefered ZSNES for years over snes9x, as it has some very nice features (including settings that eliminated internal SNES slowdown). But its DOS based root are showing its age; custom GUIs aren't that good an idea anymore. Both are solid choices, but snes9x has aged better.

PSX: PCSX-Reloaded (Primary), ePSXe (Secondary)

PCSX-Reloaded passed ePSXe during its long stay at version 1.7. Extra options (native Gameshark support, BIOS emulation, for instance) eventually made their way into ePSXe 1.8, but I still prefer PCSX-Reloaded. In both cases, I recommend Petes OGL2 GPU Plugin and the Eternal SPU Plugin.

Note some games are REALLY picky with the CD-ROM plugin (CAPCOM, I'm talking to you here), as most don't read audio tracks properly in some games (Resident Evil/Dino Crisis being the two most known offenders). I'll post the CD-ROM plugin I use when I get home (I *think* its Moodys, but I forget offhand...)

N64: Project64 (Primary), 1964 (Primary)

Emulator/Plugin choice is VERY game dependent. Some games WILL NOT RUN or WILL NOT RUN WELL.

PS2: PCSX2

Only choice. Just remember the GSDX > ZeroGX in all cases, and you'll be fine.

Gamecube/Wii: Dolphin

Only choice again. Some games WILL NOT RUN. Dolphin also has noticeable speed issues, and the HLE audio engine is crap.

Arcade: MAME (Primary)

Barring a non-MAME supported game (anything in 3d mostly), use MAME. Other games are a case-by-case basis on which emulator (if any) to use.

 

[casualcolors]

Sega Master System/Game Gear: GensGS (Primary), Kega Fusion (Secondary)

I personally prefer GensGS, for reasons about to be stated below.

Sage Genesis/Sega 32x/Sega CD: GensGS (Primary), Kega Fusion (Secondary)

The reason I prefer GensGS here is because it supports Sega CD Savestates, even if it isn't implemented 100% correct yet. Kega Fusion lacks Sega CD Savestates as of the last time I used it. That being said, the Gens-derived emulators (Gens, Gens32, GensGS, etc) all have issues with optical drives, due to the emulator being based on Win9x code.

The one reason I like Kega Fusion over the other emulators is the DDT3x filter that someone contributed relatively recently. It's the best filter available for the Genesis emulators imo. Does a great job of cleaning up full-screened images without lazy blur-filtering or even worse hq3x smudging.

I like to play around with filters and make custom filters when I can since the raw image fullscreened doesn't look remotely period-appropriate, and I don't play my emulators on a lower resolution CRT anymore sadly.