okay, so you wanna play 3d sonic games on pc...
a "guide" by a crazed sonic fan (william wisp)
INTRODUCTION
recently, i've been going through a
journey of playing every mainline
3d sonic game. unfortunately for
me, i don't own every console that
some of these games are available
on... so, i turned to emulation!
(specifically on pc, that is...)
it turned out that there was a lot
of different ways to play them... but
what one was the best? that's what
i'm here to answer today!
IMPORTANT: BEFORE YOU EMULATE...
whatever game you want to play
will depend heavily on how good
your pc is! older titles will be, in
most cases, easier to emulate on
older/less-capable pc's in when
compared to recent titles. this also
depends on the emulator you are
using!
eg: any sonic game that came out
on the wii or gamecube have a
high likelihood of emulating well, as
dolphin is a very reliable emulator
for those two consoles!
now, onto the real stuff....
WHAT YOU'LL NEED...
this depends on what game you
wanna play, so here's a list of
every game i'm aware that can
be emulated (as of writing) &
what consoles they released on!
but first, emulators!
EMULATORS
make sure to check each site
for what the requirements to run
these are!
DREAMCAST - redream
PLAYSTATION
— PS2 - pcsx2
— PS3 - rpcs3
NOTE: the playstation 2 versions of
heroes & ShTH are NOTORIOUSLY
worse than the other versions.
ps2 has lower framerate at 30 fps,
more glitches & is generally laggy.
XBOX
— XBOX - xemu... exists?
NOTE: i've literally Never seen someone use this in my life. you're better off emulating any sonic game that ISN'T an xbox release.
— XBOX 360 - xenia*
NOTE: currently using to run
unleashed on my gaming pc!
can be somewhat finicky if not
set up correctly. check any tutorial
you can find if you have issues
running a game on it!
NINTENDO
— WII/GAMECUBE - dolphin
— WII U - cemu
— SWITCH - ryujinx & yuzu*
NOTE: yuzu was shut down in a
lawsuit by nintendo earlier this
year, so you can only download
it via mirror sites!
I FEEL LIKE THIS IS OBVIOUS, BUT:
THERE ARE NO PS4 OR XBOX ONE EMULATORS. IF YOU FIND ANY THAT CLAIM TO BE, THEY ARE SCAMS. WATCH OUT!
MAINLINE 3D GAMES
all consoles that are bolded
mean that they're preferable to
emulate for good results from
my experience & (for the ones
i haven't played) what i'm able
to gather! enjoy, i guess.
SIXTH GEN GAMES
SONIC ADVENTURE - dreamcast
— SONIC ADVENTURE: DX - gamecube, xbox 360, ps3 & windows
SONIC ADVENTURE 2 - dreamcast
— SONIC ADVENTURE 2: BATTLE - gamecube, xbox 360, ps3 & windows
SONIC HEROES - gamecube, ps2, xbox & windows
SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG - gamecube, ps2 & xbox
SEVENTH GEN GAMES
this is where you're going to need
an actually decent pc to emulate
these guys well! [unless they're
the wii games Lol...]
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG [2006] - xbox 360 & ps3
SONIC & THE SECRET RINGS - wii exclusive
SONIC UNLEASHED - ps2, ps3, wii & xbox 360
— NOTE: the wii/ps2 versions of
the game are completely different
to the ps3/xbox versions!
ps3/xbox runs high-def, has full
levels & open-world segments.
ps2/wii has completely different
level design & open-world parts
are now point & click segments.
you can find more differences
on the top answer of this gamefaqs
thread, if you're interested!
check out snapcube's ps2 letsplay
if you wanna see it in action!
SONIC & THE BLACK KNIGHT - wii exclusive
SONIC COLORS - nintendo wii
SONIC GENERATIONS - ps3, xbox 360 & windows
EIGHTH GEN GAMES
i'm not well-versed enough in
emulating games from this gen
in particular but there are some
emulators available for consoles
from this era so... good luck?
SONIC LOST WORLD - wii u & windows
SONIC BOOM: RISE OF LYRIC - wii u exclusive
SONIC FORCES - nintendo switch, ps4, windows & xbox one
WHERE DO I GET MY GAMES?
a lot of the older titles have roms
available for download on the
internet archive software collection.
i usually get them from here as
these roms are usually safe to
download & are free from viruses!
just search the game you want &
check if it's available.
if any item comes up with
"log in to view this item" like
the image above, just make
an account! it's very easy.
you can find more roms off of
the r/roms megathread.
SO I GOT MY EMULATOR AND ROM... NOW WHAT?
this is where you're on your
own, buddy...
only kidding! i'm not good at
explaining how to emulate
specific games, but you can find
tutorials on youtube for whatever
game you wanna emulate & how
your emulators work! just search
up whatever & watch a video.
that's how i got this far!
i hope this guide was able to
help you out! i'll come back to
edit this with new information
or whatever i can find :] !!