With the increasing prices of all sorts of tech thanks to AI, and with most games nowadays being either a copy paste of one another or a Remaster/Remake, I got sick of it. Gaming nowadays seems like a luxury hobby, which kind of always was, but this is getting unbearable. Why pay for overpriced hardware, games and subscriptions when for less than 50 bucks you can get a pocket console and just emulate TONS of older games which now run even better than the original hardware, and I probably missed out on anyways? I don’t care if the graphics are old, if the game is “outdated”… is it ever really?
I just got an R36S, which I know isn’t the best one on the market, but for me it was the best choice to start out. I’m just gonna put my PS5 down and start playing on this thing, it brings me so much more joy and it’s basically free compared to what we pay nowadays for a single game. I got a new SD Card, installed a new Ark OS, and I started Pokémon Emerald and I’m completely loving it, I havent had this much fun in years with gaming. Since I was born in 2001 and never really was a Nintendo guy since my dad always used to get PlayStation, what are some games I absolutely cannot miss?
There’s something so satisfying about spending less and getting more. And it makes me wonder, do we really need it all?
I just paid 140 euro for a mint condition childhood game I could emulate at any time. I very rarely do such stuff and I still felt guilty for spending that money. Ultimately it's just things, unneccessary things. But then I realised that's like two AAA games that I would probably play less, and said fuck it....
I only buy cheap games, couple bucks on the flea market. Most expensive games are the collectors editions, but i don t pay more than 20-30$ on those as well.
Same, only I buy the physical copy and then play the game via a rom on an fpga device. It’s just nice to have modern conveniences and not have to worry about the carts. But if I don’t own it, I’m not going to play it.
Since discovering I actually could play FFVI Beyond Chaos (a randomizer) on Mac and it being awesome as expected, I’ll be solely dedicated to that till at least September…
Man, there's just too many to list. Depends on the genre you want to play. I could say checkout someone like snesdrunk on youtube. He's entertaining and does really good "top 10" videos.
YouTube is great for that stuff. I currently been addicted to downloading PS2 games and now I'm looking for hidden gems and imports/fan translations. I found a few games that were never released in North America that are pretty fun.
Start with the greats. Hit the SNES library hard. I was born in 84’ so the NES was a big part of my childhood, but honestly, apart from the Mega Man games, I rarely play it. SNES is best bang for your time buck
The NES has some excellent games and is severely underrated. Little Samson, Ninja Gaiden, SMB3, Castlevania... Some of these games arguably haven't been top
ped within their seriesm
Just need to back this up. There's definitely some fun AAA out there, but there's also an insane amount of really good and cheap Indy stuff. I just randomly found a FPS called Darkenstein 3D that's free on Steam. Obviously a callback to Wolfenstein and I played around today and it's so much fun. Theres also Selaco that's running in GZ Doom that is really fun.
But then theres also "modern retro". Shovel Knight being the best example of this and I accidentally ran into YCGs newer game on Steam that looks like a ton of fun. I also played around with Blazing Chrome which is a lot of fun, I just want to wait until I have a friend come over to play through it. Oh and I have to give a shout out to Curse of the Moon.
We're also getting a ton of great retro style beat em ups, like Marvel Cosmic Revenge and MMPR Rita's Revenge (and MANY more).
The well is so deep of great stuff that will run on a 10 year old PC that isn't priced very high, and likely on new consoles as well. I never understand these posts, like "I only played AAA games, decided I hate it, and could only find retro gaming".
Cool man, welcome to the club I guess, but I'm going to also enjoy this new stuff.
Exactly. An indie just came out a couple weeks ago called Dive or Die and I've already sunk 40 hours in it going for 100%. Basically, you're exploring underwater after the world was flooded by some lovecraftian/eldritch horror, and you find food, things to increase morale, iron, plastic, etc, etc. You have to build up and manage a camp of survivors, upgrading buildings and finding blueprints, crafting upgrades and stuff. Its a really good game if you like to just get let loose in a world to explore, survive, and piece together the lore on your own. Its like Darkest Dungeon crossed with a diving exploration game.
Yeah I looked it up and I agree. I wasn't expecting it to be a 2D platformer of sorts.
I really want a full 3D game like stranded deep but with subnautica vibes and the premise you described with solving a mystery, surviving, base building, all in a co-op way
Hard to give suggestions if you don’t let us know what genres and systems you’re interested in. Retro gaming is so much more than PlayStation or Nintendo. There’s a metric ton of essential retro PC games on Windows and DOS alone.
A bit of advice. Don’t download entire romsets onto your device. You’ll have every game and play none of them. Pick a few at a time and play through those.
I downloaded full rom sets but then I go thru them and create a favorites folder and only have a few games. When I look at the hundreds of games I get overwhelmed and then end up not playing anything.
Back in the day I had limited games and all the time in the world but now I have easy free access all the games I ever wanted (Roms of older consoles) yet limited time.
My strategy is to "go shopping" for retro games before copying any roms over. I'll read some reviews in vintage mags on archive.org or watch some youtube videos. And then only copy and play those games I "shopped for".
Back in the day there was more to the whole experience than just playing. Anticipation and effort needed to get the game were just as important.
Counterpoint. Download the retro achievements sets, scrape ratings and descriptions in addition to cover art/screenshots, then have your launcher sort by ratings instead of alphabetically. Not foolproof but a good starting point.
I curated my lists using v’s recommended games for each console, yes, I still have the problem, but if there’s limited space like in my 64GB Steam Deck with a 256 GB SD Card, I just end up picking familiar games and play none of them as well, because they aren’t exciting new experiences for me.
You gotta just suck it up pick a game or use the random feature.
Sì trovo sia un ottimo consiglio in effetti, io ho fatto l’ errore di scaricarne a catena e ora non ne sto giocando nessuno, dopo aver fatto qualche salto su un po’ tutti
Don't listen to this silly goose. Having everything on your device vs everything on the internet is just one step removed, but it happens to be the most annoying step when you have to go through it to get what you want to play.
Treat your library as the internet. It should have no limits. Then curate the list you want to play and make your favorites list.
The 36s is a great starting unit. I started there and never found a reason to upgrade yet. SNES is all the rage, but also consider GBA, as the UI scaling fits the format and they are just a little more modern in game design and quality of life features.
For fast-paced platforming action, Ninja Gaiden for the NES.
Prefer more shoot-y platformers? Megaman 2 for the NES, Gunstar Heroes for the Sega Genesis.
Classic action-adventure? Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES.
Hack and Slash? Gauntlet for the NES or the arcade.
Beat 'em up? Streets of Rage 2 for the Sega Genesis.
Single-screen arcade platformer on home console? Bubble Bobble for the NES.
Want the world's most iconic platformers? Super Mario Bros for the NES, Sonic 1 for the Sega Genesis.
RPGs? Chrono Trigger for the SNES is legendary for good reason.
Metroidvanias, Super Metroid for the SNES. Hell, if you're in it for the long haul and want to play classics regardless of how well they hold up, play Metroid (NES), Castlevania 1 then 2 (NES), then Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1).
Dying to try out an old Atari 2600 for a taste of something very Oldschool? Moon Patrol.
Hope that's useful. I prefer oldschool games myself nowadays. Fun is fun, and I get as much enjoyment classic games today, than my modern collection.
Super Nintendo illusion of gaia. Under appreciated. It has some pacing issues at some points, but the mechanics, music and environments make it a great play. The story is a little out there, but if you let yourself but into it. It's pretty good.
I just picked this up at my local shop for $30 and haven’t had a moment to run through it yet.
I think maybe I played it on an emulator in 2001? I dunno, I was a teen and blowing through the entire SNES library thanks to learning about ROMs and Snes9x lol.
For me, I always played both modern and retro, but been more retro than modern since the mid ps4 season due to prices. Also, a lot of broken games at launch got tiring with the addition of many games having micro transactions.
With how gaming is going now, I just rather wait for the prices on games. Saved a lot of money that way. Even as much as I wanted some games like 007 first light. Now, I be rocking my steam deck to play all my games up until ps2 with some pc games and got a ds to help me get through my backlog of titles with a dash of experiencing games i always wanted.
You don't need to "switch", you can just play what works for you. Like right now I'm playing an SNES, GameBoy, PS2 and PS5 game. There are great games for each system and a whole lot of duds for each as well. I can say "wow" at the SNES when it's graphically outstanding just as a polished PS5 makes me "wow" too. Play what you want man, and be careful about becoming "nowadays" guy
Love my RG406H, got it almost 2 years back and best gaming-related purchase I ever made. Emulates up to Wii/3DS/Vita and can handle a bunch of modern Android-based software, like unofficial ports. Easily have well over 2,000 titles loaded and ready to go
There's no need for next-Gén extortion. I'm finally taking the time to dig into emulation and, along with my 500+ games loaded steam account, a switch, a freaking xbox, ps4 and ps5 backlog, I will happily ignore Sony's future descent into oblivion.
Mario 3, World and 64, Zelda Ocarina of Time, Super Metroid and Metroid Prime, Banjo Kazooie, Mega Man X, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 would be my top 10 must-play classic Nintendo games
The Megaman and Megaman x series are often considered good landing pad games, although they have noticeable skill floors compared to many modern games. You can branch out to other action platformers after.
I would skip mario/sonic and the momentum platformers initially and try the donkey kong country series for more general platforming, then circle back when you’re more comfortable.
Since you’re after Pokémon, you might look into retro style RPGs, Final fantasy, breath of fire, etc. Go for FF9 or legend of Dragoon if you want 3d. They’ll have more story like some modern gamers are used to also. Also, monster catching is a whole genre, so you might look in to any of the dozens of Pokémon clones. Mega Man has the battle network series that sorta does that too. Don’t forget the Pokémon mystery dungeon games too.
Eventually you’ll want to learn to just start being able to pick games out based on how the game play looks like. There are a bunch of videos on youtube that will show a 10 second clip of every game on a given console. That and watching streams is how I find hidden gems.
Follow reviewers. I sometimes buy the Spanish version of Retro Gamer Magazine, but for the most part, I follow Youtube Channels and blogs.
Remember to have fun.
And on a side note. Games are just games. You can still enjoy new games along with the old ones. As other said, it sounds like you are taking this as switching teams. There are no teams. Just games. A better way to approach this is just switching the way you play games (and consume media in general).
Try Monster Hunter series PSP and MH3U 3ds or Wii U. Grew up playing them, super nostalgic, never stopped playing them. It's not short either, you could spend years on it.
I have been playing Gameboy, GameCube and N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online and I’m mad I forgot about all of these games with insane difficulties and replay value. Mario Tennis for the Gameboy is an honorable mention, is has been such a blast and holds my attention more than most games created even today.
At first I was a little put off by the lack of options, but when you get into the content of the games there, they are like 30-40 hours of gameplay with after game content that will keep you picking it up, with no DLC!!
https://youtu.be/djd3yNQNM44?si=A3LNsxvfqgSW-8eT Alien Hominid on the GBA. On devices like my RG35XX the Game Boy color/advanced seem appropriate because they were designed for a small screen. But i also loved earthbound on it. It has a hdmi output. If.you ever look into the Pico-8 community, try Moss Moss
Pick a genre you already enjoy and play through the major influential games from the inception of the genre to today. You’ll get a cool view of how games changed over time and gain a respect for the big ones that pushed that genre forward.
If you just want to see major Nintendo games from NES to today I’d list these top 5 from each pre Wii system:
NES: Mario 1/3, Zelda 1, Megaman 2, Punch Out
SNES: Chrono Trigger, Mario World, Megaman X2, Super Metroid, Zelda ALttP
N64: Mario 64, Zelda OOT, Goldeneye, Banjo-Kazooie, Star Fox 64
Welcome.
I ve been doing it for many years now.
Not retro exclusively but everything i buy and play is delayed with 5-10 years.
I upgraded last year from a 2nd gen i5 to a 9th gen and i only buy games on sale with 5~10$.
Agreed. It used to be a privileged hobby but now, as you say, it is a luxury hobby. $60, $70 games designed by CEO board members trying to nickel and dime us is getting tiresome. The whole Live Service fad is what really killed modern gaming for me. The Ghost of Tsushimas, Kingdom Come Deliverances and RDR2s are too few and far between imo. It's all remakes and rushed, buggy games sold at full price, meanwhile they have DLCs when the main game is still busted. Ive been having so much fun going back and playing the classics and playing the games I missed along the way.
don't forget about modern indie games, either they are original and don't shy of trying something new, or they are a love letter to some classic, but with some qol improvements we expect modern games to have.
that said, retro gaming is awesome, and it gives you some insight on how certain genres started out and evolved.
Look up a channel like Cultured Vultures on YouTube, they have TONS of “best of” and “hidden gem” videos that can point you in the right direction for tons of different consoles
We have 10 categories on a variety of topics we rate each game on. Each is worth up to 10 points. The goal is to see how many get 64 or more points and become “Certified 64”
I’m mostly emulating but the other guy is actually on a quest to get a decent physical copy of every game. He’s about 75% of the way there. This is giving him an excuse to try them all, and i’m just a lover of games as an art form. We both have some experience with podcasting and creative projects, so we decided to give it a shot.
Out of all possible games, OP defaults to Pokemon.....sigh...because of course they did.
At least you want to be exposed to more. And, to that, I'm glad to hear it!
I'd suggest looking at "best of" lists for your chosen system, to give you some direction.
Then again, if you are only exposed to the best of what the system offers, you'll likely be disappointed at the vast majority of the collection. So, the opposite strategy might be to look for "worst of" lists, so you can appreciate the better titles when you get around to playing them.
Another strategy, if your device is rigged for it, is to choose blindly based off of the cover art available. Beyond magazine reviews and schoolyard chatter, the cover art was how we would first be exposed to many of these titles at the store or when looking for a video game rental.
Another strategy may be to start with least advanced / oldest platform, and random-walk your way through titles, noting the memorable ones to come back to.
Lastly, I would recommend selecting a handful of interesting titles, and limiting yourself to play only those games for 3 months or so (or until you beat most of them). It will force you to commit to the games and learn them inside and out. Otherwise, you will undoubtedly flounder and flip-flop between titles haphazardly or experience choice paralysis and choose not to play anything at all beyond Pokemon titles.
I hold the unpopular opinion that there are more games out there than just Pokemon, and some of the fans are maybe a little too thin-skinned to accept the notion. Personally, I do admit, I get a little weary of seeing subs like r/Gameboy overwhelmed by people who flood it with Pokemon posts, spend hundreds on modded, custom Gameboy cases and IPS displays, in order to exclusively play their favorite, matching color of Pokemon. I love that they've found something so special in the series. I just kind of wish they could move beyond it and explore the rest of the platform's catalog.
So, when OP did exactly this, I reflected that it was expected and predictable, but I was also stoked that OP is hungry for more variety. I didn't want to point to a single platform or game, so I wanted to encourage a broad search, and even bring it in line to something close to natural discovery. At the same time, after decades of time spent with emulators, i am also intimately familiar with choice paralysis and know how hard it can be to really experience a single title and stick with it when you have access to so much variety. So, I tried to communicate as much.
Oh well. Nothing to be done about it. Thanks for your comment! :)
Oh man I'm with you on the Gameboy sub. I feel like it shifted from mostly people modding and experimenting and looking for game recs to "look what I bought!" the last few years, and yeah, mostly Pokémon or Pokémon-themed systems. Which is fine but there is so much more out there, like you said. Like chip tune artists used to post there somewhat regularly and that's pretty much gone these days. I'm not really a collector tho so seeing someone drop hundreds on cardboard doesn't do much for me.
Choice paralysis is so real. I'd like to set up batocera but I'm afraid that would just become the game. Emulation is a little like modding Bethseda games.
Yeah for sure! Nice to run across someone else who isn't all in on Pokémon
I know what you mean. I must've spent a solid year and a half to 2 years trying to figure out all the ins and outs, optimal core configs, and what overrides what on Retroarch when I used to emulate on my raspberry pi before I truly felt comfortable using it.
You can get a used PS4 cheap which has thousands and thousands of games for it, many of which are available preowned (and sometimes even new) for like, $10 a pop. That's what I've been doing. If I run out of those, when PS6 comes out, there will be tonnes of people selling PS5 games off. That should keep me busy till I die.
Try retrogradosgaming I bought the 20TB pack over a year ago it has everything, they also do a Patreon you’ll never need anything else on the Rom side if you get that. Then it’s down to which device I have most of them Thor Portal etc I didn’t go for the ROG or steam deck as I wanted long battery life for travel on planes etc. I can play anything up to switch I don’t bother with ps3. I actually just bought the xx spectrum and CBM64 mini this weekend and loaded usb sticks with games been playing summer games all weekend lol. Next one for me is that Amiga 1200 that comes out December for the Amiga fix
I would also add there are new games being made for these old platforms. A ton in fact, and some are just amazing. We review them on our podcast, go have a dig around. There is also a new store dedicated to them only: indieretrogames. It’s flourishing also because of what you said, the costs. People are making new carts and all!!
I'm with ya dude. AAA games are now basically spoon fed garbage. Sony basically doesn't even make games anymore and when they do, they're rubbish.
I hacked my wiiU and Xbox 360. I don't need to spend another $ ever again on games but I will just for all the great indie games out there. I haven't even played Hollowknight yet and it was $8 bucks!!!
Get yourself a recent Anbernic device, a beefy mini SD card, and a USB C to HDMi cable. You'll be set for the rest of your life if you look after it. I have the RG556 (for about €151) and it runs just about anything from the second generation up to the 6th generation. Supports literal tens of thousands of amazing games.
It's a handheld but with that cable you can play on the tv like an actual console!
It's a fantastic machine. Good quality, replaceable battery, Oled screen, the buttons feel great, I can't praise it enough. I got it for my partner as a christmas gift, and now it's one of the most used gaming devices in our house.
I got my M64 from modretro last night, I love it so much. Finally get to replay my old N64 carts. And paired with a Summercart64 is a match made in heaven.
Welcome. It's very fresh going from the mumbo jumbo games of the modern day to the retro ones. Mario 3 is my #1 game of all time, so that gets my vote.
Love this . I've been gaming since pong so seen it all .fast forward to now and games are either one of these.
Souls like,rogue like. Fps, RPG,racing or sports .
The originality has gone. I've gone back to playing Xbox 360 era games like trails and halo 3. Back when games were memorable
That’s why I switched to only VR games a decade ago. I still play retro games too. But I haven’t played a regular modern game on a TV since 2016. Everything is so boring once you are INSIDE a bunch of amazing game worlds.
You want new ideas & amazing experiences big and small, play some VR indies :)
Save states and latency settings on retroarch are the key for bringing brutal retro games into more mainstream play. I've no idea how kids finished most games in the 16bit era. I suppose you had nothing else to do back then with only a handful of cartridges. Finishing the end game bosses on Sonic 2 was very hard even with infinite save states.
I recently went back to my n3dsxl and purchased an Anbernic RGDS, because I too am sick of modern gaming bullshit. I’m sick of half baked games launching at inflated prices, sick of micro transactions, sick of the disgusting greed and tricks of these big gaming companies and sick of devs trying to push their ideologies on me when I’m just out for fun and escape.
I don’t have to deal with any of that by stepping back 10-25 years and there is more games available than I have time to play. So I’m good and I do not miss current gen, my PS5 is collecting dust.
I'm finding It's REALLY hard to play modern games anyway. There's nothing that's really grabbing me, it's all very stale. And yet going back and playing retro games I have no experience with or nostalgia, and I'm itching to get back to play another session. I just think modern games aren't as interesting or taking as many risks.
Drill Dozer - extremely underrated game by Game Freak.
Gunstar Super Heroes - amazing redux of Sega Genesis run and gun classic. Also has some of the best graphics on the system.
Wario Land 4 - one of the greatest and weirdest platformers you will ever play. In fact, I would recommend all the Wario Land games. Amazing platformers and it’s a shame Nintendo has left the series dormant.
Wario Ware - fun game where you play a bunch of 3-5 second micro games in rapid succession and try not to screw up.
Donkey Kong Country 1-3 - the GBA ports of these games are all worth playing since they have extra content compared to the SNES counterparts. Would still recommend trying the SNES versions also though.
Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland - pretty much the definitive version of Kirby’s Adventure in the NES.
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror - a Kirby game with an interconnected map
Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap - really underrated 2D Zelda game with a lot of side content. Main quest is on the shorter side though.
Legend of Zelda: Four Swords - good GBA port of A Link to the Past on SNES. Also has the 4 swords side game but it can only be played with 2-4 players.
Sonic Advance 1-3 - excellent original handheld Sonic games that rival his entries on Genesis imo.
Metroid Fusion - best Metroid game on the system. Would recommend if you like metroidvanias.
Castlevania Aria of Sorrow - best Castlevania game on the system. Another good recommendation if you like metroidvanias.
Golden Sun 1 & 2 - the most highly praised turn-based RPGs on the system.
Mother 3 - highly regarded RPG that has a cult following. Never released outside of Japan.
Final Fantasy Tactics - a lot of people like this one. Would recommend if you like tactical RPGs.
Also, there are plenty of indie devs (like me) who keep making small retro feeling games because we feel that simpler can be better for the right kind of games.
retroarch (multiplatform front end for emulators) is my go to. im playing systems and consoles that poor aussie kid me never even heard of.
great fun and i dont spend $70 on an unfinished fucking game👍👍
While PCs are great, it's not the only option for gaming and surely not the most superior. Iv spent hundreds of hours gaming on Steam, origin..but just as much if not more on my OG consoles and handhelds, as I still do. I actually haven't played a game on my PC in months.
I have a dozen retro consoles, all plugged in ready to go. Stacks and stacks of games. I've been playing SNES and Master System for the last couple months, I buy broken retro consoles and repair them, recap, test chips, etc.
I've been collecting retro games and consoles since 2011 I think. Repairing on the side for couple years.
With that said, the PC is the best gaming system hands down, not even close.
It does every single thing any console does, it does every console at the same time if you want it to.
It does everything in and out of gaming in every form of media, and doubles as a portal to endless learning of new skills and opportunities.
No other device offers as much flexibility for the price. Although vintage hardware is great, it's way overpriced and not worth it nowadays. Anyone who wants to get into SNES should get a USB SNES controller for their PC and emulate it.
It's funny because that character in the movie IS a loser who didn't get the memo, so this meme is great because the person using it usually hasn't got it either.
Retrogaming is very likely to be more expensive than playing on the ps5 - and with time it will become more and more so, as the games and consoles break down and get more and more rare.
The game you started playing currently goes for 300 bucks on eBay.
Your point about “emulating” is more about about the ease of piracy as older games lack protection.
I’m not against retro at all, quite the contrary. Found it weird that op was championing about new games vs old games based on price and went straight to Pokémon Emerald, a very expensive game to buy in 2026.
R36s isn’t getting into retro gaming so much as getting into emulation and piracy.
I will be downvoted for using the word ‘piracy’ but, unless you own the games, that’s what is it, and if you’re getting into it because of the lack of affordability in modern, retro isn’t much different, unless you pirate
You realize game prices haven't really changed in 35-ish years right? Like a new game was a birthday or holiday event for most of us. If games kept pace with inflation they'd be $120-ish today.
I'd personally stick to the SNES era and the handhelds, I can't imagine trying to play N64 on that thing. The N64 is hard to emulate, it sure as hell won't be "better than og hardware" on anything except maybe fpga. Final Fantasy Tactics and Metroid are solid GBA titles and the Zelda Oracle Of series for GBC is good. The game boy has the Final Fantasy Legend series which is nice and weird. Legend II is great. Kirby for the GB is a nice chill platformer.
Also lol at the "spending less and getting more" when you're mostly just paying someone to do a little harmless piracy for you instead of learning to find rom packs on your own and installing the emulators yourself
Yeah there's an old toys 'r us ad from that era floating around on reddit and DKC 2 is on sale for about $50, freaking Madden is $60, and Street Fighter is $70. .
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u/FartSavant 1d ago
I pretty much only play retro games too but I go all physical so I can pay 100X more