Although this online service through Zsnes has been offered for awhile now I just recently got into playing SNES games online with friends that dont live close to me anymore.  They took compatibility for what they called netplay out in the latest versions of the emulator due to instability mainly, but if you get the 1.42 version and set it up successfully you can still play one of many games over the internet with friends.  All you both need is the same emulator, rom (with the same file name), and a host (one of the two players, router configuration will probably be needed.)

Read on for more information, a step by step guide, and a list of all working games.

If you go to this website it gives a very detailed account of how to get everything working along with a list of working games.  I am going to try and simplify it a little bit, but if you need router configuration or have trouble I suggest going straight to the source above.  To find a certain game I suggest just googling the name of it with “rom” at the end.  I suggest you and the person you intend to play with use the same resource in getting the game so it will already have the same file name, and it will assure you got the same dump(copy) of the game.

The first thing you need to do is make sure both players have the same copy of Zsnes, you will need 1.42, you can get it here.  Afterwards, you need to decide who is going to host, and who is going to be connecting.  In order to connect you will need to contact your IP addresses to each other in some sort of chat, it will be displayed in the connection window.  Which is in the Zsnes program after you click on Internet and then Netplay.  Hopefully it should work meaning you wont need any router configuration.  At this point it will be all about opening the game and having fun.  If you had any trouble or think you do need to configure your router (host) I suggest just visiting the link above it would be silly for me to repeat a perfectly fine guide again.  If you missed the link here it is again (http://www.emualliance.com/zsnes/.)  I use a vent to talk to a friend while I play, but you could just as easily use AIM or MSN.

Compatible Games (copied from the above mentioned link):

• All SNES SPORTS game roms
• Aero Fighters
• Art of Fighting 1 & 2
• Battletoads in Battlemaniacs
• Battletoads vs DoubleDragon
• Brawl Brothers
• Brutal: Paws of Fury
• Captain Commando
• Clayfighters 1, 2 and Special Edition
• Contra 3
• Darius Twin
• Double Dragon 5
• Dragonball Z Super Butoden 1-3
• Dragonball Z Hyper Dimension
• Faceball
• Fatal Fury 1, 2, & Special
• Fighter’s History
• Final Fight 2 & 3
• Ghoul Patrol
• Goemon 2, 3, & 4
• Goof Troop
• Gundam Wing: Endless Duel
• Joe&Mac 1 & 2
• Jurassic Park 2 – The Chaos Continues
• Killer Instinct
• King of the Monsters 1 & 2
• Kirby’s Avalanche
• Kirby’s Dreamland 3
• Kirby Super Star
• Legend of the Mystical Ninja
• Lemmings 1
• Megaman 7 (Secret Code – password 1415/5585/7823/6251 and press L+R+Start)
• Metal Warriors
• Mortal Kombat 1 & 2
• Mortal Kombat 3 (some rom version don’t work on ZSNES)
• NP Mario Picross Series
• Peace Keapers
• Pirates of the Dark Water
• Pocky & Rocky 1 & 2
• Pop’n Twinbee
• Power Instinct
• Primal Rage
• Puzzle Bobble (Bust a Move)
• Raiden
• Rampart
• Ranma 1/2 II
• Rise of the Robots
• Rival Turf
• Run Saber
• Sailor Moon
• Sailor Moon R
• Sailor Moon S
• Sailor Moon Puzzle (R,S,Super S)
• Sailor Moon Fighting (S,Super S)
• Samurai Shodown
• Secret of Mana
• Seiken Densetsu 3
• Shaq fu
• Star Fox 2 Beta
• Star Trek Starfleet Academy
• Street Fighter 2 (and derivatives)
• Street Fighter 2 Turbo
• Street Fighter Alpha 2 (doesn’t work properly in ZSNES)
• Street Racer
• Stunt Race FX
• Sunset Riders
• Super Bomberman 1-5
• Super Mario All-Stars (SMB3 minigame)
• Super Mario Kart
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (Secret Code – at map, hold select, then press X,X,Y,B,A)
• Super Offroad
• Super Smash TV
• Super Street Fighter 2
• Suzuka 8 Hours
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4 – Turtles in Time
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 5 – Tournament Fighters
• Tetris & Dr.Mario
• Tetris 2
• Tetris 3
• Tetris Attack
• The Great Circus Mystery
• Top Gear 2
• Tuff e Nuff
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
• Uniracers (2P not working well in ZSNES)
• Wild Guns
• World Heroes 1 & 2
• Wrecking Crew 98
• Zombies Ate My Neighbors

If you have trouble getting it working or dont understand something on this site or the guide linked above leave a comment with your issue and I can try and assist you.

Battletoads was a great game when I was a kid, and I can still have fun playing it with friends today.  For the most part Battletoads popularity was due to extremely difficult game play, exaggerated fighting moves (heads, fists, and feet would enlarge into gigantic versions while performing attacks), and also the variety of level styles they had.  Although after its release in 1991 many more versions and sequels followed, I will still favor the original Battletoads for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Continue on to see a brief overview, history, and where to find downloads.

Notice the similarities between the Battletoads and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Enlarged reptilian people must have been a popular genre.

Being named after bad skin conditions two of the Battletoads, Rash and Zitz, were on a mission to save a third, Pimple, along with Princess Angelica from the Dark Queen who rules Ragnarok with armies of Giant Rats and Pigs among other things.  Professor T Bird and his ship, The Vulture, assist the toads as they battle through 12 various levels including:

• 3D and 2D beat em’ up style levels.
• Racing (ground and air) through obstacles levels.
• Getting chased by a one hit kill enemy level.
• Climbing and jumping, as well as falling levels.
• An underwater level.
• And 2 tower scaling levels which included the last level when you climb the Dark Queen’s tower.

This game has always been considered a very infuriating game to play.  From friendly fire in 2 player mode to only having the very low amount of 3 lives.  No continue, save, or password options existed in Battletoads.  There were a few tricks for people who could find them though.  On the 2nd level a quick player could end up getting 10 or so lives to use through the rest of the game (I wont ruin the secret how.)  And also, throughout the game you could find warp points and if used efficiently could bypass half of the game without using a life.

Battletoads was considered to be one of the most graphically advanced games for the NES at a time when the gaming industry was breaking into the Sega Genesis system and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.  After the initial release and success of the first game a game with the same title was released for the Gameboy.  Although they had the same title the Gameboy game was completely different with a dissimilar story and levels.  Later after that another Gameboy game that was a copy of the NES version was released as Battletoads in Ragnarok’s World, with a small change making it only 1 player.  Between 1 and 2 years later Battletoads & Double Dragons was released for NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, and Gameboy.  In this game the Double DragonsLee brothers team up with the Battletoads as the Dark Queen and Shadow Boss make an alliance.  Soon after Battletoads in Battlemaniacs came out and had better graphics and bigger characters.  Most notably though in this game the characters each had their own set of attacks and a special that suited their personality.  Lastly, there was the arcade game Super Battletoads which differed from any console version a great deal.  The biggest differences included being a 3 player game, being mature rated (some people would consider this game violent, disgusting, explicit, or offensive – I call it fun.  The game adds blood, vomit, decapitation, piles of bones from the dead, crotch grabbing, gun use, toilets being used, nipples, and overall very gory scenes.)

You can find emulators for these systems everywhere, and roms for the games too.  Google!  If you want a much better experience and some multiplayer, I would recommend tracking down a copy of one of the games and the system it fits in.  On eBay they sell those generic double systems that play both Sega and Nintendo games for pretty cheap.  You do get what you pay for though, so if you have a legit Sega, NES, or SNES they would be much more enjoyable to play on.  Especially when it comes to controller quality.