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SSF
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==Review==
'''SSF''' was once renowned as being the best Saturn emulator from its inception in the early 2000s till around mid-2010s when a slate of newer and open-source Saturn emulation software was first launched. These included the [[Mednafen]] versions from the late 2010s and onwards with much improved Saturn compatibility, and two WIP derivatives of the old [[Yabause]] base called Kronos and [[Yaba Sanshiro]]. SSF is superior to [[Yabause]] and was initially superior to [[Mednafen]] with its early Saturn core versions for compatibility, but is Windows only and closed source. It no longer requires mounting ISO files in a virtual drive to run them (see below). The source code was uploaded to GitHub just once in late January 2021, and a couple of release packs with various builds were uploaded there, but there are no commits since then. A large number of Saturn games require manual and persnickety editing in the emulator's configuration options to run properly, which makes SSF less easier to use in comparison to other Saturn emulators, and more recently, [https://github.com/shimazzz/SEGASaturnEmulator-SSF/issues/15#issuecomment-1038281021 trojan detections in recent versions] caused this emulator to become a risk for some computers. Despite this, SSF remains largely clean and it is recommended for users with older PCs.
The author Shima was, for a time, probably the longest-time active developer on any emulator from the emulator's public launch (Labelled 'SSF 001') in 1999 till 20 years later in late November 2019. It is unknown when the first ever version was released publicly, however, the next version of 'SSF 002' was released on 5th December 1999.<ref name="20Years_reddit">{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/e3u9wz/ssf_saturn_emulator_has_been_actively_developed/ |title=Thread: 'SSF (Saturn emulator) has been actively developed by the same single author for 20 years now.' |author='ZarkonD' |publisher=Reddit |date=30 November 2019}}</ref>
A major update to 0.12 improved compatibility for certain games and broke others. It added support for some of the games such as Astal (needs "Enable SH2 Cache"). Keep both versions, pre- and post-0.12 just in case. To raise compatibility, you can try with "No Bios" enabled or disabled, and you'll want to start with the MaxCompatibility (slow) option, then try with the faster options (that do not always work).
For long time, SSF requires either an external virtual drive or a specific loader to read disc images. Close and restart the emulator (as it says in the Japanese dialogue popup appearing) whenever you modify the options for them to take effect. Though in more recent updates SSF no longer requires mounting ISO files in a virtual drive to run them.
Even though it has a "No Bios" option, you'll sometimes need the BIOS files, of course specifying the correct region in the options.
