This guide will go over how to set up Forza Motorsport 2, Forza Motorsport 4 and Forza Horizon on Xenia Canary, the Xbox 360 emulator.
- Disc images of Forza Motorsport 2, Forza Motorsport 4 and/or Forza Horizon (.ISO)
- Build 50fce8b of Xenia Canary from October 5, 2022
- An Xbox 360 ISO extractor
- At least 30GB of free hard drive space
Let's begin by downloading Build 50fce8b of Xenia Canary. This version is the most compatible with each Forza title, yielding the best performance and least amount of graphical glitches. Note that it isn't perfect and you may still run into issues.
Next you want to download an ISO extraction tool. This is required for the installation of Mods later down the line which ensures a better experience.
Extract the emulator and its contents into a folder of your choice. Then create a folder named isoextract in your new emulator folder and paste the ISO extraction tool into it. You may also want to create a folder named games to add your games into.
Forza Motorsport 2 released in 2007 and is very comparable to Gran Turismo 3. It features a comparably smaller car and track roster, but has a very satisfying career mode and progression system. The handling is also a bit more arcadey than later Forza titles. It features some fun Tuner cars never seen in the franchise again and is certainly worth playing.
In addition to the game we will be adding the Project Forza Plus Mod made by GasAndBrakes. It fixes some common issues with the game, adds all DLC content to the game and allows the game to run at higher framerates among other things.
- Download an ISO of the game from here
- Once downloaded, paste it into
games - Run "XBOX360 ISO Extract" as administrator
- Select "choose ISO-Folder" and navigate to
games - Select "choose destination" and pick the folder you want the game files to be saved to
- Download the FM2 Project Plus Mod by GasAndGames here
- Open the folder that contains all of the files from your FM2 ISO that you extracted in the steps above
- Open "Project Forza Plus FM2.zip", navigate into
Main Changesand drag the "default.xex" file into that folder and replace the current one - Open the
Mediafolder in both your extracted game folder and the Project Forza Plus archive - Paste both the
AudioandGameTunableSettingsfolders from the Project Forza Plus archive into your game folder. - Open
DBin the Project Forza Plus archive. You will find two seperate folders. "Normal Mode" maintains the economy and progression of the original game. "Sandbox Mode" makes everything free and tops out your driver level after one race. Open the folder of your preferred mode and drag the included file intoDBwithin your game folder. - Open
physicsin the Project Forza Plus archive. You will find four seperate folders. Pick the desired framerate you want to play with and and drag the included file intophysicswithin your game folder - Go back to the root of the Project Forza Plus archive and navigate through
DLC Cars and Tracks, thenMedia. Drag all folders into your game folder. - Go back to the root of both your emulator folder and the Project Forza Plus archive. Drag the
xenia-canary-config.tomlfile into your emulator folder and replace.
Now simply run the Xenia emulator by launching "xenia_canary.exe". In order to launch the game, click on "File", "Open" and double-click on "default.xex" in your extracted FM2 game folder.
⚠ Important: The emulator will spit out an error when pressing A on the titlescreen. Click on "Continue without saving", then press B to go back to the title screen. Once there, press A again. Your progress will now be saved.
You can press F11 to enter fullscreen. You may also want to press F6 to open up the Post-processing menu. You will get the best results by leaving Anti-aliasing on "None" and enabling the third option, "FSR", under Resampling and Sharpening. I recommend setting the bars below to 0.200 stops and 1.000 additional sharpness.
Forza Motorsport 4 released in 2011 and is very comparable to Gran Turismo 4. It stands out with its incredibly large car and track roster, lengthy career mode and great graphics even by today's standards. It leans more into the simcade side with its handling model. The community considers this the greatest of the series.
In addition to the game we will be adding the Project Forza Plus Mod made by GasAndBrakes. It fixes some common issues with the game, adds all DLC content to the game and allows the game to run at higher framerates among other things.
- Download an ISO of the game from here
- Once downloaded, paste it into
games - Run "XBOX360 ISO Extract" as administrator
- Select "choose ISO-Folder" and navigate to
games - Select "choose destination" and pick the folder you want the game files to be saved to
- Download the FM4 Project Plus Mod by GasAndGames here
- Open the folder that contains all of the files from your FM4 ISO that you extracted in the steps above
- Open "Project Forza Plus V5.zip", navigate into
Individual Changesand drag the "default.xex" file into that folder and replace the current one - Open the
Mediafolder in both your extracted game folder and the Project Forza Plus archive - Paste every folder except for
physicsfrom the Project Forza Plus archive into your game folder. - Open
physicsin the Project Forza Plus archive. You will find four seperate folders. Pick the desired framerate you want to play with and and drag the included file as well as "PI.xml" intophysicswithin your game folder - Go back to the root of the Project Forza Plus archive and go into
Track Texture Fixes. Drag all folders intotrackswithin your game folder. - Go back to the root of both your emulator folder and the Project Forza Plus archive. Drag the
xenia-canary-config.tomlfile into your emulator folder and replace.
For this next step you can choose a game mode of your choice.
Normal Mode - Vanilla style career mode, for when you want to just play FM4 with the Project Forza Plus changes. Recommended if this is your first time playing Forza Motorsport 4.
Grind Mode - Made for more focus on the Event List. Recommended if you want a more challenging and extensive experience.
- Get your driver level up to unlock the higher class races. You'll unlock a new class every 5 levels.
- The 100% parts discount from affinity levels isn't awarded until level 20. You'll get an additional 20% every 4 levels.
- No more driver level reward cars.
- The "World Championship" events are now endurance races and are located next to the Regional and World Tour events in the event list.
- All Event List races' lap counts have been increased.
Sandbox Mode - All cars and upgrades cost 1cr. Enjoy the freedom to build whatever you want. Recommended for returning players to FM4 who want to skip to the action.
Download your desired game mode and proceed.
- Open the
dbfolder in your game archive and replace the "gamedb.slt" file with the version from whichever mode you chose to download.
Now simply run the Xenia emulator by launching "xenia_canary.exe". In order to launch the game, click on "File", "Open" and double-click on "default.xex" in your extracted FM4 game folder. If you want to install the DLC, complete the intro race and pick your first car, then close Xenia.
- Open the
contentfolder in your Xenia Canary directory, then go into4D530910 - Put the
00000002folder from your game mode archive in there
You are now set to play Forza Motorsport 4 with all its content installed. You can press F11 to enter fullscreen. You may also want to press F6 to open up the Post-processing menu. You will get the best results by leaving Anti-aliasing on "None" and enabling the third option, "FSR", under Resampling and Sharpening. I recommend setting the bars below to 0.200 stops and 1.000 additional sharpness.
Forza Horizon released in 2012 and is an open world spin-off based off Forza Motorsport 4. Compared to the more modern titles it focuses more on delivering a music festival atmosphere, has light story elements and a more structured career mode. It holds up exceptionally well and stands out among the other Horizon games.
This time there are no major mods to be installed, which makes the setup process a little easier. The only deviation from the base game will be a change in Xenia's config to achieve 60FPS.
- Download an ISO of the game from here
- Once downloaded, paste it into
games - Open "xenia-canary.config.toml" in your Xenia Canary folder
- Set "vsync = false" and "vsync_interval = 16"
- Create a new folder named
patchesin your Xenia Canary root folder - Download and paste this file into the
patchesfolder
You are now set to play Forza Horizon with all its content installed. You can press F11 to enter fullscreen. You may also want to press F6 to open up the Post-processing menu. You will get the best results by leaving Anti-aliasing on "None" and enabling the third option, "FSR", under Resampling and Sharpening. I recommend setting the bars below to 0.200 stops and 1.000 additional sharpness.
⚠ DLC install instructions will be added later.
Where is Forza Motorsport 3?
FM3 runs the worst on Xenia, has no Plus Mod and is generally not work playing if you have access to Forza Motorsport 4. Bar for a few tracks and cars, FM3 is built on the same physics and handling model and has a less engaging career mode.
Where is Forza Horizon 2?
The Xbox 360 version of FH2 is a horrible way to experience the game. It's full of bugs, bad collision, worse physics and looks very dated. It's also not a very faithful port with the career structure being changed entirely. If you want to play Forza Horizon 2 either invest in a used Xbox One or wait until we get an emulator in... 10 years or so.
My game doesn't work, help?
If you run into issues with your installation, you didn't follow the instructions correctly.
It's lagging!
Xbox 360 emulation is not easy to run on old hardware. If your games are lagging you are simply not able to run the emulator on your system.