Snes9x

I was never a SNES fan but I've got plenty of friends that rave about the time when the console really rocked and they stayed glued at it for hours.

Obviously, that all ended - not because they grew up but because Playstations and XBoxes came along. Now however, you can re-live those halcyon days with Mario and his friends via this emulator which reproduces the console in all it's glory. From Mario to Zelda, you can play it all with Snes9x. The emulator supports the decompression of ZIP files so if your ROM files are zipped up, it's no problem. Like playing on an original Snes, you can save games to restart them later, customize game controls and best of all, even link up with other users over the internet for some truly original Snes action. Probably the piece de resistance however is the fact that this emulator can actually improve the graphics via the "Super Eagle" screen filter. This basically takes all those classic blocky images, re-composes them, and smooths them out to give your games a more modern feel and look. This looks particularly good with Super Mario World and if you have a 3D card, you can even give the characters increased depth and definition without losing the original charm.

For Snes addicts, this emulator is an essential for reliving those glory days of Mario and Zelda without being told off by your mum for playing too long.