This deserves to be made so you guys can be happier! I'll tell you about how to configure the PC-98 emulators for Touhou. If you have any problems with configuring them, let me know and I'll help you out with them as best as I can. Also please post here about this stuff so I can update this post to make things better!
Before you do anything, be sure to download EditDisk, because it's very helpful for English Patches and stuff inside the .hdi files.
http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA013937/editdisk/editd165e2.zip
T98-Next English:This is by far the best emulator for running these games, but it comes with a drawback, it lags like crazy and takes up a lot of RAM space, so make sure you don't have too many things running when you're using this. Luckily, unlike Anex86, this emulator comes with the font built in so you don't have to worry about that!
To work out the lag, there's just a few things to configure. It won't eliminate the lag but it will make it much better since I can't find a way to make it any faster.
Go to this link to download it if you don't have it already (it is the English version):
http://www.mediafire.com/?myjyjyett2dWhen you open it up, it looks kinda confusing. The top button on the left is the power button for the game, on or off. The second button is some pause thing but doesn't do anything for me. The third restarts the game, the fourth collapses the configuring screen you see, the ? is for help which still doesn't do anything for me, and the last closes Next.
Now to fix it up:
First, go to Mother Board Setting at the top. Under CPU, Type, it should be i486DX. (This is a later CPU type so it was more recent and better) Set Clock to Auto. Frame Rate should be at 1.00 and Memory Size at the max: 64 MB. All the Rom stuff should be unchecked I guess.
Under Device Manager, choose *GDC.nhw and click Setting. Set Frame Skip to AUTO. At the bottom I also have it display as 32bit and Display at Center. Mess with the Resolution if you want to.
The rest should be fine but there are a few things to can do if you want to, so they're optional:
Choose @Disk.nhw. This can be used to open up EditDisk through Next so under the EDIT Button, click browse and choose the EditDisk.exe application. Now in the Main, Disk, HD Drive where the game is, you can click Edit and open EditDisk that way.
EDIT #2: What you should have running, for what works for me at the moment, in the device manager is everything but *SCSI4CD.NHW and *SCSI4CDN.NHW.
Also, open up @RS232C.NHW and where it has checked Port Setting fixed, un-check that. I have Use Port set to COM1 but I don't know what that is but it's working at the moment.Just disable @RS232C.NHW altogether. It's working way better that way. It only lags when there is a MASSIVE cluster of bullets, and Mima's final attack if you haven't continued, lags a bit. But she's easy anyway so does it matter?
EDIT #1: Enable MPU98.NHW I just figured out that this is the option that lets you change the style of music like in Touhou 2. Yay me! Intelligent Mode should be checked, enable Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth in the MIDI Device thing (or whatever yours may say), Sample Rate at 44KHz and Use DirectMusic to Play should be checked. Don't check Swap to MT32. It takes out the MIDI version.
EDIT #3: Under Sound86.nhw, there is something to be changed that was apparently a glitch in Next. The Sound Configuration window should have High Quality checked, Sound Buffer at 100 (this may change depending on your computer and could cause less CPU usage, so move it around and see what makes yours faster), and everything should be at 20 EXCEPT for SSG,
which should be around 5 (after testing this, it may need to be lower). I have I/O Board address at 188 (but I have no idea what it does yet) and Config Level at INT 5 (don't know what this is either).
Thanks to Master Bigode for this tip!
I also compared these to Hoot (now that I figured out what's going on) so this is about right, but I may change this later.EDIT #4: SSG should be at 8. If you want to know how I tested this, check the beginning of page 2 (or post 31)
To load up a game, go back to Main, then DISK if it doesn't put you there automatically. Under
HD DRIVE, double click the slot by the red box. Locate the Touhou game .hdi file and open it. Run the game by clicking on the first button on the left, described earlier. And there you go! (Mine says No Information above the game when selected so ignore it)
To full screen the game, start up the game (or have that full screen option check to do it for you) press F12 (which brings up this blue menu-like thing, then press F10. The same can be used to un-full screen it.
Anex86This emulator is great with performance, usually. It doesn't require much RAM space at all, but the sound is not as good. It also has trouble with graphics often, like Sariel on Touhou 1, her bullets flash a lot.
Here's how to make it better.
Download it here:
http://www.zophar.net/pc98/anex86.htmlDownload both files (there should be two listed on the site, one for the emulator, and the other for a font because anex needs a font pic thing to read text for whatever reason)
When you got both, make sure you put the ANEX86.bmp image somewhere where you can find it, I suggest the same folder anex is in. Open up ANEX86 and you get something more simple looking than T98-Next and legible.
To configure it, click Config. You should get a new window with LOTS of tabs for stuff. I'll start this at Window, so click it. Under Window Fix aspect ratio doesn't need to be checked by default, unless you stretched the emulation window then maybe that would help I would think.
NEVER have Use palette animation checked. Under Window (DirectX required) DirectX should be checked. For Mode, Full screen can be checked to full screen the game when you start it up. (un-full screening the game causes this to uncheck for whatever reason). Use 32 bit color should be checked, Use 640 x 400 doesn't need to be checked since the games are already in that size. Re-initalize on switch didn't do anything for me so leave it unchecked.
For Draw, have all of them checked if you can. Older computers may have trouble with the fast parts checked so experiment for the right speed.
For Palette, again
NEVER have it checked. Why it's in two places, I don't know.
EDIT: This just happened to me. If you're having trouble with fullscreen where it does something freaky, a good fix for this is to deselect use 640 x 400. This worked for me.
Go to Video tab. Update strategy should be set to Sync and the number set to 1. (I believe this is the frame rate). For misc.,
NEVER have GDC clock 5MHz checked. I forget what this does and the palette animation does but just don't use them. Real time palette doesn't need to be checked either.
Display mode (text): Force text mode doesn't need to be checked along with Display mode (graph): Force graph mode. Disable lo-res should be checked but I don't notice anything but it's good to have that checked anyway.
Am I done yapping yet? Nope, not quite. Next is the Font, so go there.
For file name, click the ... and find the anex86.bmp font and choose it. Done. It's that easy. Leave the rest as is.
Important Note: There is a better font for the translated English version of Touhou 2 here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ek0otznmwn2Under Timing, just leave those two unchecked and the GDC should both be at one, but I don't think it's using them so whatever.
Ignore MEM SW and DIP SW.
RTC: I have Refresh checked to keep real time for the emulator.
Fdd/Hdd: I have 1M under FDD interface checked but we're using HDD so you can leave it too.
Sound: This one is important so don't skip it. Under type, set it to -86 and check real. For the enable part: just check all of them because it makes the music a bit more decent and adds some more instruments.
Wave: Set Rate/Buffer to the max, 55KHz and set buffer to 16. You may have to move that number around (lower for me makes the music almost not play at all, just bits of it, but see what your computer can handle) What this fixes is Anex's terrible sound delay. Also, have Use wave out checked. The scrollers should all be in the middle, which is fine for me.
Under Manager, I don't have anything checked so ignore it.
System: Under Machine, check Ext-RAM and it should be at 1,024. The Processor should be normal and so should be Emulator Priority. I used to have the Speed min checked at 100,000 but I don't need it now (it helps speed it up if the game is running slow)
NEVER have Speed max checked under any setting because for some random reason, it drastically makes the game run slow.
Keyboard: I have Use Windows's layout and Use DirectX and convert scan code checked. Everything else is unchecked.
Mouse: Check Use DirectX. The Capture for Full screen and Windowed make the mouse disappear when in that mode. (when windowed, it only disappears when it's over the game) The Speed for me is at the middle since you don't use the mouse for these games to my knowledge.
JoyStick: use if you've got a joystick, obviously. It's self explanatory but if you've got problems with it, try asking here and someone may be able to help you.
That should be it. Now to run the game, click the ... button by HDD1 back on the small screen you started with and choose your .hdi file, then click Start. Also, don't have either of the check boxes here checked. To full screen, hold Alt, then press Enter. Same can be used to un-full screen.
So there ya go! Again, comment about how it works for you here and what problems you have.
There is one more emulator if I recall but I never had any luck with it before so I'll post it in here later if you're actually using it.It was Neko Project II. I'm not going to, as you can read below, because Touhou doesn't run on it.
Have fun!