ZSNES
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 20 emulators by recommenders
Free SNES emulator many recall from childhood, fast on old hardware, with save states and video filters. Critics say the Super ZSNES relaunch is not finished yet.
Free SNES emulator many recall from childhood, fast on old hardware, with save states and video filters. Critics say the Super ZSNES relaunch is not finished yet.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 79%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Nostalgia for childhood emulator memories
“I'll never forget the snowy menu of ZSNES, it was so beautiful for me”
Comment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” “sweet memories playing at less than 10fps using zsnes”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “RTX 5090 and Raspberry Pi: Can It Game?” “these guys rocked early on when I was younger”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” - Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator”
Video filters and widescreen mode
“video filters that could improve the experience on a modern screen quite a bit”
Comment from 31 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: NES Contra (1987) port (ASM –> C and then C –> WebAssembly)” “its upscaler is nicer than the Switch and the mini SNES”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Show HN: NES Contra (1987) port (ASM –> C and then C –> WebAssembly)” “The widescreen mode is surprisingly functional”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” Fast, runs on old hardware
“the code doesn't seem all that impressive”
Comment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” “No problems on a Pentium 60 MHz.”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
New UI loses original look
“the transition from the original ZSNES User Interface from my childhood to the UI of Super ZSNES was jarring to say the least”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” “Not at least slapping a pixel font on there is an odd choice given the purposeful nostalgia goal.”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” Super ZSNES not finished yet
“I don't see anything worthwhile in this Super ZSNES project yet.”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” “I understand Super ZSNES is not there yet.”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” Enhancements unclear and accuracy claims doubted
“I'm concerned with all there 'super enhancements' while claiming far more accurate processing.”
Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” “The enhancement engine sounds great, but it'd be nice to know which games it's for”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator” Assembly codebase hard to maintain
“ZSNES is written almost entirely in assembly so it was always kinda asking for trouble.”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “Dolphin Progress Release 2603” “the code doesn't seem all that impressive”
Comment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Super ZSNES – GPU Powered SNES Emulator”
Other emulators people recommend
The four most recommended other emulators, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 20 emulators, rankedWhat people said
32 of the 33 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“its upscaler is nicer than the Switch and the mini SNES”
“video filters that could improve the experience on a modern screen quite a bit”
“I find it improves the game when I don't have to spend a bunch of time leveling up”
“you're right that it was catching the rat on ZSNES”
“I'm concerned with all there 'super enhancements' while claiming far more accurate processing.”
“I don't see anything worthwhile in this Super ZSNES project yet.”
“It does seem like Super ZSNES in ways picked up these ideas (and torch) and went with them! Rather neat actually!”
“Congrats @zsknight_dev on this amazing relaunch of my favorite emu!”
“he has proven he can deliver good stuff if properly funded”
“It was very fast and came at just the right time”
“the code doesn't seem all that impressive”
“It's weird. We have the tools to do some really cool things with GPUs, but they chose this.”
“I'll never forget the snowy menu of ZSNES, it was so beautiful for me”
“I had this exact problem with zsnes”
“GPU powered seems odd at first but actually makes a lot of sense.”
“I understand Super ZSNES is not there yet.”
“these guys rocked early on when I was younger”
“Not at least slapping a pixel font on there is an odd choice given the purposeful nostalgia goal.”
“its exciting to see further development of it”
“The original is timeless and way more beautiful in my opinion.”
“the transition from the original ZSNES User Interface from my childhood to the UI of Super ZSNES was jarring to say the least”
“The widescreen mode is surprisingly functional”
“The enhancement engine sounds great, but it'd be nice to know which games it's for”
“being able to slow down or speed up the game at will, or quick save/reload at any second, thanks to zsnes”
“The per-game enhancement approach sounds way more interesting than generic HD filters”
“No problems on a Pentium 60 MHz.”
“Very cool, especially the accuracy improvements.”
“Their home page is underselling how cool this is”
“MVG did a great overview of it”
“ZSNES was a core part of my childhood.”
“ZSNES is written almost entirely in assembly so it was always kinda asking for trouble.”
“sweet memories playing at less than 10fps using zsnes”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.