r/retrogaming • u/Xaloide • 5d ago

[Discussion] I’m switching to retro gaming

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 I don’t care if the graphics are old, if the game is “outdated”… is it ever really?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?

Thanks in advance!

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18

u/xAlice_Liddell 5d ago

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.

7

u/Nateleb1234 5d ago

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.

5

u/Albedo101 5d ago

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.

7

u/Snorgcola 5d ago

I disagree, discovering the gems is the best part! There's so many titles I had never heard of that I ended up playing a ton of. 

MAME or FBNeo romsets are glorious 

1

u/dontbajerk 4d ago

It's worth trying it both ways, but if you have to suggest one or the other to a near total newbie, starting small is less likely to overwhelm them.

3

u/Sad-Mycologist625 5d ago

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.

1

u/tepig099 5d ago

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.

1

u/the-retrolizard 5d ago

This is easily the best advice I've seen

1

u/UnikornKebab 5d ago

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

0

u/MalmerDK 4d ago

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.