[Closed] Retro gaming and emulation

I'm awaiting streets of rage 4 to come out. Takes me back to renegade on the zx spectrum.

Got a ps2 emulator but it's a bit pants (screen not full size etc.)
Big original doom fan though modding plenty of maps etc with my kids.

I've got a SNES Mini - which is hackable to play any SNES game. Love Bomberman.

Also just ordered one of these as recommended by B3ta newsletter -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07LBG2D5Y/b3ta-21?th=1

looks like fun...

I have about 16 consoles permanently linked up so yes, I like a bit of retro gaming...

SNES

Parodius!

Mr Heli on PC Engine is worth a few 10p coins too.

edit- and New Zealand Story on Megadrive.

I built a table top control box with arcade joysticks and buttons to play old arcade games. It was a proof of concept project really but unfortunatly I haven't got round to building the full arcade cabinet yet.

I have a Raspberry Pi set up as an emulator. It's fun, but I'd forgotten how bloody hard 16 bit games were.

I also have Shenmue 1 and 2 on PC that I picked up for 70p or something that I'll almost certainly never play.

I like the old DOS games - used to have DOSBox with Commander Keen, Crystal Caves etc. Must set that up again...

Bomberman games are great too, fond/hilarious memories of 3 of us playing the insane Atomic Bomberman, all using the same keyboard.

And of course Dink Smallwood

https://www.retrogames.cc/

I bought my daughter a SNES mini for her birthday a few weeks ago. I have to admit I was quite excited about it but hugely disappointed when I got to play it. Did Mariokart really look that bad back in the day? I remember it being much smoother and more detailed.

Not really anymore but used to collect them, got lots of consoles & 8 bit computers (mainly boxed!) in the attic!! Love the Dreamcast, wish I had the maracas but they go for crazy money now!

I built a table top control box with arcade joysticks and buttons to play old arcade games. It was a proof of concept project really but unfortunatly I haven’t got round to building the full arcade cabinet yet.

Did Mariokart really look that bad back in the day?

trailwagger

Member
I have to admit I was quite excited about it but hugely disappointed when I got to play it.

Aye, same experience, retro gaming is alright, for about 10 minutes.

I have a ZX Spectrum Next on it's way to me hopefully in the next couple of months...

https://www.specnext.com/about/

Not perfect emulation plus old games look terrible on modern TV's, need to be played on an old CRT although the Mini can't be used on one without converters which can introduce their own issues with lag etc if you buy cheap

Between me and my brother we've owned most of the old consoles e.g. Commodore 64, NES, Master System, Atari Lynx, Game Boy, Mega Drive, Playstation 1 / 2, Dreamcast, Xbox and Gamecube. I stopped buying games after the Gamecube as that was around the time I started getting into mountain biking and met my future wife who isn't in to games at all.

I sold all my original consoles and games around 2012 and got a small fortune for some of the stuff. I wish I had hung on a few more years though as there is such a big retro gaming revival now I could have sold them for even more. I'd love to buy one of those full size multi-game arcade cabinets some day. So many happy memories of playing on the arcades in the 80s.

Aye, same experience, retro gaming is alright, for about 10 minutes.

The thing I like most about retro gaming is you can pick up a game and learn how to play it in about 5 seconds, plus they actually need real skill whereas modern games require the investment of a huge number of hours and are more about grinding your way through a storyline.

I found my original 1997 Playstation,  a 2000-ish PS2  and my PS3 over the weekend.

Spent a couple of hours last night playing Driver on PS1 and Batman Arkham Origins on PS3.

It was nice.

The thing I like most about retro gaming is you can pick up a game and learn how to play it in about 5 seconds, plus they actually need real skill whereas modern games require the investment of a huge number of hours and are more about grinding your way through a storyline.

This! And also balls to DLC, big fat hairy ones.

If I want a story I'll watch a film or read a book, if I want to play a game I want instant gratification and my arse handed to me on a plate by the first boss.

Still have my Dreamcast and N64. Also have one of the modern SNES mini's.

Goldeneye remains the one game to rule them all (or Mario Kart).

Shenmue on Dreamcast is still a beautiful thing.

Retropie user here. Spent many hours installing/getting games to work, ArcadePunks helped reduce that down ;-). Playing anything from ZX Spectrum to PS1/PC Quake/Doom/DOS games. It comes out a couple of times a year for an evening or two, TNMNT MAME version is still the go to game, along with THPS1/2 on the PS1.

A little. I've got Mame running on a laptop, but went a bit further last year and built a bar top arcade machine, using an i5 computer. Dropped in a front end for Mame.

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I saw a few 'professional' bar top machines at a retro gaming event, but the prices were incredible, so I pondered about it, and decided last Christmas to build one up. I already had the mini PC (about £100 from re-cycling company), so set about getting the biggest 4:3 screen I could find within reason, which is 20" - and cost about £25 delivered. Buttons were around £50, then wood and vinyl wrap. Took quite a number of weekends, without rushing as this was supposed to be fun. Speakers are some stand alone Logitechs mounted in the top, custom cut perspex with the 'Arcade' sign back lit with USB powered colour changing LEDs.

The main emulator is Mame, but also have a Spectrum, Megadrive and a SNES emulator.

kayla1

This! And also balls to DLC, big fat hairy ones.

I think dlc is great.

Looks awesome 😀

after Discworld/sam and max/monkey islands on android but dont know where to look, any suggestions?

We have a NES Mini, SNES Mini, and a Megadrive Mini that we all use regularly.  We also have a RetroPie and MacBook that both run emulation and a variety of ROMS.

We have a few original consoles too - that we use to run the original discs/cartridges.  Master System, Megadrive/32x and Dreamcast from Sega.  NES, SNES, N64 and GameCube from Nintendo. We also have more modern 21st Century stuff like Wii and XBOX 360, on top of the current consoles - Switch and PS4.

I’m probably a bit odd that I prefer the retro stuff to the modern games. Easy to play for short periods, not too expansive in size, really ingenious secrets etc. All served up with a huge order of nostalgia too!  I don’t believe there have been games that surpass the brilliance of Super Mario 3, Ocarina of Time, Wonderboy 3 etc.

I wouldn’t have half of them without my boys loving them though!

I think dlc is great.

Well, yeah, some of it can be I suppose, like a whole new level or whatever, but when it's just a car or something or you have to buy a track to finish a section (I'm looking at you, Dirt 3) it's a bit bobbins.

DLC (amongst other things) has removed the artistry from games. It's all about maximising revenue, keeping people salivating like dogs waiting to be tossed scraps of new - yet not original or innovative - content.

edit- and New Zealand Story on Megadrive

How would I get to play NZS (Amiga version of possible).

I have a spare A500 I can sell you 😃

Depends on yer view point, and I guess the games, likes of battlefield v only sell you the cosmetic stuff, meh to that, but some point like it, the maps they've been releasing are free, and awesome, plenty of creativity in there, gt sport new tracks are free, need to buy some cars mind you if you aren't building up enough points. cod mw is the same just selling you the cosmetic stuff.

dirt 2.0, want ye to buy the seasons, but they are very good, and just wait 6 months to a year and you get everything for buttons. cost me £25 for dirt 2 + s1-4.

I guess it's more of a pain if you need to buy stuff when it immediately comes out mind you, but you really don't need to wait long for prices to drop.

I like the idea of just charging you for the cosemtic stuff..But overall my experience of dlc is great, keeps the games fresh, imo.

Canny agree with the idea that the games industry is lacking originality, artistry or innovation, I've no long just bought a ps4, last year, barely played anything since the ps3 days around 2012/13, the jump since then is awesome.

after Discworld/sam and max/monkey islands on android but dont know where to look, any suggestions?

ScummVM. https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php/Android/Guide

Also, take a look at Thimbleweed Park - it's a modern game done in 16-bit arcade-adventure style. Oh, and Kathy Rain, I completed that recently and enjoyed it a lot.

How would I get to play NZS (Amiga version of possible).

WinUAE.

WinUAE

Sweet.

I have a spare A500 I can sell you

I *did* always want an A500! Coincided with getting a Raleigh Lizard for my birthday, though...

I'm a big fan of retro gaming. I've tried various little projects over the years my favourite one was probably converting a PSP into a portable SNES emulator.

I've got a mini SNES (hacked) hooked up in the living room and a lot of the new games I play have a retro feel, the recent trend of "metroidvania" games has been great, Dead Cells and Hollow Knight are both fantastic and really feel like they could have been SNES games.

But I still enjoy new games. Retro games are different, not better. What matters is whether they are any good or not, not how old they are. There was lots of absolutely unplayable dross back in the day. I'd even argue that the good to bad ratio is a lot better these days.

But I still enjoy new games. Retro games are different, not better. What matters is whether they are any good or not, not how old they are. There was lots of absolutely unplayable dross back in the day. I’d even argue that the good to bad ratio is a lot better these days.

There’s a lot in that. Seeing retro as ‘better’ is clouding the fact that great games are great games. The thing is that you cherry pick games you knew you loved and that you will still enjoy.

I have to also agree that a return of ’Metroidvania’ games is brilliant. I have found several of them in the Switch store - and they can be superb.

There are a whole load of crap games on my Mame bar top, but I just downloaded a huge repository as it didn't take much space. I just use a front end for my favourites.

They are just easy to pick up for 30 minutes or so.

Found a decent Speccy Elite clone for Android (cunningly titled Alite) that I'm really enjoying - if I can find similar for Stunt Car Racer, I may never leave home again. 🙂

Got one of these for the family at Christmas. Amazingly well done and loving it. Full size working keyboard and basic mode so you can properly program it, just like back in 1984. Part of my childhood, but now with all the games and instant loading.

https://retrogames.biz/thec64

Also got a retro arcade compendium for the Xbox 360 with gauntlet, joust and defender, etc. Perfect arcade clones and great games.

Ready Player One.

if I can find similar for Stunt Car Racer, I may never leave home again.

Oh, I loved Stunt Car Racer. More usually known by its Spoonerism in my circles though.

Ready Player One

If anyone enjoying this thread hasn't read 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline, you really should 🙂

Chris Brookmyre's "Bedlam" is in a similar vein too, I enjoyed that.

I've spent a lot of time on the internet recently..

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/ep9efw/the_original_voice_of_ea_sports_classic_intro/