The Retro Gaming Thread

[PK Cronin]

I'm looking to get someone a retro console but the brand name ones are currently insanely expensive. There are a bunch of cheap options that claim to have thousands of games, is there any that anyone here would recommend?

 

[SwordsgoneWild]

About to dust off the PS3 and run through some of my old PS1 titles . Plan on doing Parasite Eve, Silent Hill 1 , Dino Crisis , and the OG Resident Evil Trilogy this month. Might fit MGS1 in there as well. Looking forward to it.

 

[Maninthebox87]

Really funny breakdown of how convoluted and ridiculous this game is. I still like it though.

I remember as a kid loving this game but replayed it as an adult and was like wtf was I thinking with all the collectibles and back tracking…. I guess when you’re a kid and basically only got a new game on your birthday and Christmas you just played whatever you had.

 

[Maninthebox87]

I'm looking to get someone a retro console but the brand name ones are currently insanely expensive. There are a bunch of cheap options that claim to have thousands of games, is there any that anyone here would recommend?

Which retro consoles are you looking to play? I got the SNES classic when it came out for $80 I think they go for about double that now on the second hand market but it’s super easy to “upgrade” it to play whatever games you want on it.

 

[PK Cronin]

Which retro consoles are you looking to play? I got the SNES classic when it came out for $80 I think they go for about double that now on the second hand market but it’s super easy to “upgrade” it to play whatever games you want on it.

Doesn't matter which but NES, SNES, Sega Genesis are the big ones.

 

[Zodiac]

Some of my old faves =

NES: Rygar, Castlevania, MegaMan, Contra, Pro Wrestling, WCW Wrestling, Super Mario Bros, Punchout, Gradius.

SNES: Super Castlevania IV, Actraiser, Gradius 3, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Contra 3, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, NHL 94.

Arcades: Karate Champ, Galaga, Super Mario Bros, Exciting Hour, Double Dragon, WWF Wrestlefest, Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Killer Instinct.

PS1: Final Fantasy 7, Resident Evil 2, Metal Gear Solid (and that's about it ...i didn't play the ps1 all that much).

N64: bought the console pretty much just to play the wrestling games that were exclusive to the system ...ie, WCW vs nWo: World Tour, WCW/nWo Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000, WWF: No Mercy. Didn't care about too much else.

my favorite games of all time are Diablo 2 and the Demon's Souls/Dark Souls/Elden Ring series. I haven't played Bloodborne, since I haven't owned a console since the PS3/Xbox360/Wii. ...so hopefully it'll come to the PC someday.

i completed 2 or 3 playthroughs of Demon's Souls, in 4k, on the Pc Ps3 emulator and it runs and looks great. very cool. hopefully the remake will come to Steam sometime.

 

[Zodiac]

I'm looking to get someone a retro console but the brand name ones are currently insanely expensive. There are a bunch of cheap options that claim to have thousands of games, is there any that anyone here would recommend?

An Amazon Fire stick 4k Max with RetroArch emulator?

I haven't tried it in a while, but it did work really well with an Xbox Bluetooth gamepad.

 

[Byron Bitz]

I remember as a kid loving this game but replayed it as an adult and was like wtf was I thinking with all the collectibles and back tracking…. I guess when you’re a kid and basically only got a new game on your birthday and Christmas you just played whatever you had.

It’s got some charm to it, Fungi Forest was a great level. I hated the part where you had to beat the old Donkey Kong twice, it’s fine to have that in the game but it shouldn’t have been mandatory to advance.

 

[Maninthebox87]

It’s got some charm to it, Fungi Forest was a great level. I hated the part where you had to beat the old Donkey Kong twice, it’s fine to have that in the game but it shouldn’t have been mandatory to advance.

That part of the game literally took me years I remember a golden banana too where you have to shoot a target in a metal fish with Diddy Kong and basically was no room for error.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

I will defend Donkey Kong 64 to my dying breath, but Fungi Forest has to be the worst level in the game bar none. I don't care at all about the backtracking that people complain about the most (tag barrels, infinite collectibles) but the backtracking in that level as a result of the day/night mechanic is rotten game design.

 

[NinjaKick]

I'm looking to get someone a retro console but the brand name ones are currently insanely expensive. There are a bunch of cheap options that claim to have thousands of games, is there any that anyone here would recommend?

I use a nintendo wii. bought it at a thrift store for $15. took about an hour to mod. I bought adapters to use old school controllers like the sega/snes/nes etc. I have maybe 1000+ of installed nes/snes/sega/gamecube/n64/wii/etc games. very easy to do. I recommend anyone that has a wii to bust that thing out. games play perfectly and it's great for parties.

It's difficult to put a hard line on where I'd cut off "retro" games, but generally anything from about 2010 and earlier to be "Retro", which would be about halfway through the PS3/Xbox1 generation.

I was born in late 1991, so my earliest gaming memories are from the Sega Genesis. My mom being a very avid gamer, in addition to the Sega Channel service are what really built my love for gaming, but the Playstation 1 is really where I fell in love with gaming.

My favorite retro games:

Runescape (old school version)
Final Fantasy 7, Tactics, X, and 8.
Metal Gear Solid 3, 1, 2
The Sims (Original + Expansions)
GTA: Vice City, San Andreas
Castlevania: SotN
Dark Cloud
SOCOM 2: US Navy SEALs
NBA Street 2, 1, 3
Black & White
Pokemon Gold & Silver
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, 1, 3
Age of Mythology
Nuclear Strike
Twisted Metal Black, 2, 1
Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey

you should check out the nintendo ds castlevania games. all three are amazing games.

About to dust off the PS3 and run through some of my old PS1 titles . Plan on doing Parasite Eve, Silent Hill 1 , Dino Crisis , and the OG Resident Evil Trilogy this month. Might fit MGS1 in there as well. Looking forward to it.

amazing games. love love love the ps1 library

 

[PK Cronin]

I use a nintendo wii. bought it at a thrift store for $15. took about an hour to mod. I bought adapters to use old school controllers like the sega/snes/nes etc. I have a maybe 1000+ of installed nes/snes/sega/gamecube/n64/wii/etc games. very easy to do. I recommend anyone that has a wii to bust that thing out. games play perfectly and it's great for parties.

I'm very interested in this as I do have a wii and that's what started me on wanting to have a retro console. I tried playing the original Mario with my daughter but the lag was so bad using their controllers we had to stop. I know you can buy the older games, since I also have the original Zelda on there, but didn't know you could mod it for the others.

Do you have a link or any details on how to do what you did? How do the N64 games run? I've heard they're a pain in the ass when emulated generally so I'm curious how the Wii handles them.

 

[NinjaKick]

I'm very interested in this as I do have a wii and that's what started me on wanting to have a retro console. I tried playing the original Mario with my daughter but the lag was so bad using their controllers we had to stop. I know you can buy the older games, since I also have the original Zelda on there, but didn't know you could mod it for the others.

Do you have a link or any details on how to do what you did? How do the N64 games run? I've heard they're a pain in the ass when emulated generally so I'm curious how the Wii handles them.

Wii Guide

this is the guide I followed.

if you have an hdmi converter and are using it to connect to a modern tv, there will be lag. if you set the converter to 720p instead of 1080p, the lag is very minimal. if you use an old school bubble tv like me (av cable) there is no lag. As for the n64 games. I've played Mario Kart 64, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. run perfectly and no lag (bubble tv)

 

[dr robbie]

Anyone own any rare, valuable games? I have Conker’s Bad Fur Day which is worth around 200$

I collected for almost 20 years before kids/life took over . I sold off a good chunk, but do have quite a few still.

Rare: Some prototypes for the PS2 (naruto and one of the .hacks), cyberbike cib, gc pokemon big box sealed, f1 2009 sealed, MT Punch Out sealed, a few game sets/bundles for the PS2 that don't pop up often like the ESA bundle and the goosebumps w/ book.

Valuable: I haven't looked up prices in quite awhile, but still have some that I'm sure are still up there. Little samson, Powerblade 2, Gun Nac, sculptor's cut, Megaman X2/X3/7, Cubivore, MUSHA, Tron Bonne. I still have my PS2 set, so whatever good ones are in there like Rule of Rose and Kuon.

 

[Mikeaveli]

I have spent the last few months writing a Game Boy emulator in my free time. After many trials and tribulations including rewriting the entire thing in a new language, Tetris is finally playable lol. My next step is to add support for more complex cartridges like Zelda and Super Mario Land.

 

[PK Cronin]

Wii Guide

this is the guide I followed.

if you have an hdmi converter and are using it to connect to a modern tv, there will be lag. if you set the converter to 720p instead of 1080p, the lag is very minimal. if you use an old school bubble tv like me (av cable) there is no lag. As for the n64 games. I've played Mario Kart 64, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. run perfectly and no lag (bubble tv)

Thank you so much, I have a newer television so I'll have to deal. The lag with the wii remote (wireless) to the game was unplayable. I'd hit the "jump" button for Mario and it'd delay about a second.

 

[Byron Bitz]

I collected for almost 20 years before kids/life took over . I sold off a good chunk, but do have quite a few still.

Rare: Some prototypes for the PS2 (naruto and one of the .hacks), cyberbike cib, gc pokemon big box sealed, f1 2009 sealed, MT Punch Out sealed, a few game sets/bundles for the PS2 that don't pop up often like the ESA bundle and the goosebumps w/ book.

Valuable: I haven't looked up prices in quite awhile, but still have some that I'm sure are still up there. Little samson, Powerblade 2, Gun Nac, sculptor's cut, Megaman X2/X3/7, Cubivore, MUSHA, Tron Bonne. I still have my PS2 set, so whatever good ones are in there like Rule of Rose and Kuon.

I know Sculptor’s Cut goes for around 1400$ these days, not sure about the others

 

[EpochLink]

I will defend Donkey Kong 64 to my dying breath, but Fungi Forest has to be the worst level in the game bar none. I don't care at all about the backtracking that people complain about the most (tag barrels, infinite collectibles) but the backtracking in that level as a result of the day/night mechanic is rotten game design.

I remember hyping up Donkey Kong 64 back in the day, I was a huge Donkey Kong Country fan and I thought it would blend well in the 3D world.

Woof, I mean it has its high points but man oh man. It was okay but not something I'll play again.

 

[NinjaKick]

Thank you so much, I have a newer television so I'll have to deal. The lag with the wii remote (wireless) to the game was unplayable. I'd hit the "jump" button for Mario and it'd delay about a second.

no problem. I also want to point out, if you buy a mini nes or mini snes, the games will lag using the hdmi setting/cable. if you use the av cables, it wont lag. so there is no difference from those systems compared to the wii. the wii is the way to go homie. post any problems you have and I'll try to help you out.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Demon's Crest on snes is legendary

 

[No Fun Shogun]

For record's sake, Mario Kart 64 holds up for young'ins. My almost six year-old son plays that almost as much as Mario Kart 8.

 

[GreytWun]

Been playing a lot of older Final Fantasy. Recently beat FF7 and just got to disc 4 in FF8. Started another FF9 game as well.

 

[PK Cronin]

For record's sake, Mario Kart 64 holds up for young'ins. My almost six year-old son plays that almost as much as Mario Kart 8.

The only issue with Mario Kart 64 is the advancement of the tv technology, the game looks way worse than if you're using an older television.

 

[snag]

The only issue with Mario Kart 64 is the advancement of the tv technology, the game looks way worse than if you're using an older television.

That's why you get a proper emulator and apply filters. Olds games graphics were designed around the screendoor. For my arcade cabinet, I even have phosphor glow for some of the old games so they are as close to I remember them as a kid as possible.

Now the N64 emulators have issues with tearing and stuff.....and that wonky controller. I have toyed with the idea of actually getting one of these bad boys when they come out: 3D. I mean, they aren't cheap but unless you got lucky neither were the official minis for the NES/SNES. Plus, it isn't actually emulation

 

[Mikeaveli]

Speaking of N64, Majora's Mask just received a PC port and it's awesome. By far the definitive way to play the game now, and the method used to create this port seems to be applicable to many N64 games so we may see more ports coming in the near future.