When it comes to retro video games, there are many ways in which to play them. There are the mini classic edition consoles that are based on the original systems such as the SNES classic edition to emulation on a PC, smartphone or just about any device that plays games. And of course, there’s playing your old games on original hardware on a CRT TV. With the various ways one can play a video game, most retro gamers are going to go with one of two options: emulation or original game carts or disks on original hardware. Like anything, there are pros and cons to both popular choices that I’ll be digging through in this article.
Playing on Original Hardware
I’ll begin with the one that more people are going to be more familiar with. Back in the 1980’s, playing a video game at home was as simple as popping in a game cartridge, pressing the power button and enjoying sheer bliss or sometimes sheer frustration for hours on end. You could also play games at your local arcade, a pocket full of quarters is all that’s required. Although sadly, local arcades have gone the way of the pay phone and vanished from existence.
The method of playing games is simple enough, although it can get pretty expensive if you wish to get into retro game collecting. More on that later. There are gamers particularly retro gamers who swear by playing on original hardware saying that it offers the most authentic experience. And why wouldn’t it. If a game like Sonic the Hedgehog was released on the Sega Genesis initially, it was created and intended to play on that system right. So, if you were to play the same game in one of the various Sega collections featuring many of its classic games on a more modern system like a PS4 would it play the same way?
Well for starters, if it’s on a PS4, then chances are that you’re going to be controlling the speedy blue hedgehog with a PS4 Dual-Shock 4 controller instead of the original three button or even six button Genesis controller. If you played the original, then this version with the PS4 controller button layout is going to feel different. Although for a game like the first Sonic, you really only need one button to jump, the d-pad to make Sonic move, and of course the all-important start button if you need stop playing for a pee break.
Another point to note is that while the original Sonic didn’t use save states to store your games progress, a more modern release whether it be a collection release or on something like Steam, you’re likely going to have on the fly save states. In other words, you can pause the game and save your game in the menu, something that you’ll see in games starting in the 32-bit era with the likes of the PS1, N64 and Saturn using this feature. Although being able to save your games progress started well before this.
On the NES, many games after 1987 utilized the save battery that was built into the game cartridge itself and not on the hardware. Games like The Legend of Zelda and Kirby’s Adventure used this feature, although surprisingly games like Super Mario Bros. 3 did not and that game was long enough where it could’ve really benefitted from having a save battery. At any rate, games that natively did not have save states but were added in later re-releases are because those games are emulations of the original software rom. Speaking of emulation, read further for the other popular way to play video games though the process of emulation.
Video Game Emulation
Video game emulation is defined as coded software that can emulate a video game console or a video game rom file and play it on an emulator. You can store all your physical game rom files or ones from emulation websites on your PC, flash drive, game console or even your smartphone or tablet. If you’re someone who wants all your games in one convenient place, then emulation is certainly one route you can take. But there is a steep learning curve if you’re not tech savvy and just want to play your games right away.
First off, you’ll need an above-mentioned device to play your games on. Second, you’ll need to find a place to acquire the rom files in order to start playing. People will tell you on popular places that discuss the topic of emulation such as YouTube that they can’t tell you where to get these rom files, but why can’t they tell me you ask. It’s because legally, no one is supposed to tell you where to get the roms as they are considered copyrighted works, only that they are available online like everything else through a Google search of something like “Where can I download video game roms?”. And lastly, the third step of the process requires a folder zip program such as WinRAR or 7-Zip. For this reason, emulation on a PC or Mac might be easier than through a game console unless you already have the roms unzipped and ready to go.
Downloading rom after rom can take a lot of time, especially when you’re talking about PlayStation 2 and later console generation games where each game taking up at least 1 Gigabyte and tens of Gigabytes in more current games. If your someone who is impatient and just wants a ton of emulated games ready to go, then places like Amazon sell many plug and play devices that can be played on a monitor or on your fancy new 70-inch TV. Regular box stores would never sell these devices because of legal grey areas that only a lawyer would have the answers to. However, one type of emulation device that has been sold in stores as well as online are the mini consoles or classic editions as advertised.
On November 11th, 2016, Nintendo released the NES Classic Edition, essentially a miniaturized version of its super popular Nintendo Entertainment System console from the mid 1980’s. It came preloaded with thirty games from Super Mario Bros. 1-3, Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Tecmo Bowl and more. This was done by emulation, but by Nintendo doing that part themselves instead of a third-party Amazon seller. You can’t play physical NES carts on it, but many gamers who wanted games like Contra and Battletoads, which weren’t included here, used a program called HakChi to add a bunch of games onto an SD card and play it on the NES Classic Edition.
As Nintendo released the SNES Mini after the massive success of the NES Classic Edition, Sega soon released their own model 1 and later model 2 mini console. The latter had games from the Sega Genisus, Sega CD and the Sega 32X all in one. Other companies like Sony PlayStation, and NEC would release their mini consoles as well. Although at this point in time, mini consoles aren’t really a thing, still cool though in my opinion. But since emulating games DIY style has become more prevalent, people with enough know how can make their own mini emulation console or mini-PC with thousands of games from Atari 2600 to Nintendo Switch and everything in between.
Some will argue that it is morally wrong to emulate video games, so I will express my opinion on that matter. Let’s say your going to a garage sale to find some old NES games that you grew up with as a kid. You find Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, a game that you never beat back in the day but are willing to give it another try. The owner is selling the cartridge, no box or manual for only $5, a steal right.
Now you get home and hear some news alert on your phone that says that you can emulate any game you want provided you have a device powerful enough to run the more demanding games. Then you think, wait, I have a PC, I just need to download an emulator and Mike Tyon’s Punch out and any other NES game that I want, and it costs me nothing? What’s more, since you bought the garage sale game as is, you get home, slid it into your original NES console and it doesn’t work. You read online that you can clean the pins of any cartridge with a cotton swob aka the common q-tip and isopropyl alcohol, both of which can be acquired at just about any store and for cheap. So, you proceed to clean the pins, pop the game in again with fingers crossed and… it still doesn’t work.
The point is that if you buy a video game secondhand, then it’s been previously purchased at some point by at least one person. So, what’s the harm if you emulate an older retro game that has been bought and sold time and time again? Now I will say, that emulating a current generation game just because you can is definitely not cool. (unless you buy the game then rip the rom file then that’s ok) Especially if GameStop, Walmart or digitally on your console has it readily available, even though games aren’t cheap nowadays, ($60-$70 on the regular) but even so, I would personally only stick with emulating games that are at least a generation or two old. The current systems are generally going to be the hardest ones to emulate anyway.
So, still can’t decide on which method of video gaming goodness you should be doing? Then read on for the following bullet point list weighing the pros and cons of gaming on original hardware vs emulation.
Original Hardware
Pros:
. Playing on original hardware means you’ll get each game in its purest form and on the console or handheld that it was intended to play on, even if a game gets ported to another system.
. True plug and play. You can just plug in your new or old system, pop a game in and play. No roms to download or folder management.
. You actually own the game. Perhaps the most important advantage is actually holding the game in your hands and doing what you want with it. Whether it be playing, trading or using it as a doorstep. I’m looking at you Superman 64.
Cons:
. Much like people, video game systems and games don’t last forever. Disks can get scratched; cartridges and consoles get clogged with dust and require thorough cleaning. Systems can have capacitors fail, disk drives etc.
. Having too many systems can take up a lot of space. Especially if you love multiple systems that you can’t do without. Your game room will likely look like a jungle of cords that can be hard to manage.
. New and even older games that are rarer can be quite expensive. If you have been clamoring to get Earthbound for the SNES, then you might want to check your account balance and see if you want to eat today before jumping to a decision you might regret.
Emulation
Pros:
. Having every game you could want all in one place. If convenience and space is a concern for you, then emulation checks that box and then some. Just the fact that you can everything from let’s say the Atari 2600 all the way to PS5 means no cluttered cords from multiple systems on multiple TV’s.
. Easy enough to acquire roms. There are many emulation websites to be found with a simple Google search. Although I would caution that not all of these sites are safe. In that case, you can do another Google search to find the safest sites for game emulation.
. You can play on just about any device, even your phone. With open-source software like Retroarch, you can download it on PC, Mac, Android, and many newer video game devices. You can also load a bunch of roms onto an SD or micro-SD card and pop it into something like a Retron 5 or on a flash cart.
Cons:
. The legal grey area. There are certain legalities regarding emulation and copyright that are worth Googling. But really, as long as you don’t openly share your downloaded game roms with others or even worse try to sell said roms then you should be fine.
. Some roms may not work. In this case, it’s a bad rom that can be remedied by visiting another website and downloading their rom.
. Emulation is a steep learning curve if you’re not very tech savvy. Even though I would fall into the techie category, it was fairly easy downloading and playing games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras like Genesis for instance. But getting into PS1, Saturn and PS2 was a nightmare because of the need for a Bios file, and where to put it. File systems were never my thing, but through the internet, I eventually figured it out, just not in record time.
End Credits:
Playing video games using either original hardware, emulated hardware or software are two very different options. Before choosing, please read the following questions to see which one sounds the most like you.
Do I just want to play the games and don’t care about collecting them?
The answer to this question would be to go with emulation because it doesn’t cost a dime unless you buy one of the classic mini consoles preloaded with games from that platform. Or if you buy one of the many Made in China emulation consoles that play tens of thousands of games, but not all will perform well or at all.
I want to collect the games that I grew up with or never got a chance to play but do I really want to spend hundreds on a single game?
Although the price of each retro game can vary widely, yes, some of those games can be in the hundreds and even thousands of dollars just for a loose copy without a case or manual. But there is another option here, actually two. The first is buying the Japanese copy of a game instead of the US version. The Japanese cartridges or disks can be significantly cheaper than a North American copy but yes, the language will be in Japanese. This won’t be an issue in certain genres of games like run ‘n guns, shoot ‘em ups or platformers. The one genre that would be an issue would a story heavy RPG.
One that note, you can always purchase a reproduction copy which runs cheap, maybe $20 depending on the game and where you get it. All you need would be an add on cartridge such as an Action Replay or similar device that can be used as a workaround to play both import and repro games. A good example would be the Pseudo Saturn Kai, a RAM cart that you can buy for Sega Saturn that allows more RAM for certain more demanding games that required it and also the ability to play Saturn games from any region as well as play fully translated reproduction games like Sakura Wars and other such games that were never released stateside.
You can also play games that were released in the US but are so expensive that you probably can’t afford it. Games like Sinning Force III or Panzer Dragoon Saga, both being games with much dialogue of which you can get repro copies that have been fully translated into English. People often refer to these as bootleg copies of the original game, but there is nothing wrong with buying one from a reputable source if you just do some Google research first.
I have disposable income and can afford any game that I want. The question is, should I buy just because I can afford it?
This one is really up to you. If you have the money and space and would like to start growing your video game collection, then why not. On the other hand, if you’re buying the games only as collector’s items that you will never even open and experience, they where’s the fun in that. I suppose you can buy the digital version on something like Steam, or one of the digital storefronts from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo and still at least play the games that you are collecting. Because as it is currently, digital games are becoming more and more prevalent and eventually the physical game will be phased out. The collector’s editions of current games going for $150 to over $250 seem to be purely for collectors who plan to keep these games either locked up for decades or in a display case.
Nevertheless, video games are meant to be played. I hope that this article helped you on the many options you have nowadays to do just that.
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