eFCKNSPORTS’ TAKE ON: WIRED’S LIST OF ‘BEST WAYS TO PLAY RETRO VIDEO GAMES’
-What’s the BEST way to do retro gaming? A recent article by online Wired magazine featured a list of their selection of top alternatives.
-A eFCKNSports Writer agrees, but also disagrees with Wired’s opinions on retrogaming options. Find out more in our article below.
What’s the BEST way to play retro video games?
Many have pondered this very same question, and more recently, the gamers at Wired.com gave it a shot, and published their own list of ‘best – and worst’ – ways to play older games.
From the lovely Nintendo & Sega Genesis Mini consoles, to virtual consoles, including the novel Xbox Series X and the PS5’s retro-gaming capabilities, to official PC ports, the always-amazing emulators, and even to the slanky mobile game versions, each and EVERY available system offers its own set of advantages, disadvantages, and even sometimes, right-down sh*it… – Had to be said – and while Wired covered most of it, there’s a couple of things we think they bypassed in their review.
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BEST & WORST WAYS OF PLAYING RETRO GAMES
Credit to whom credit is due: Wired published some days ago a brief listing of the existing ways to play old-school games, and we enjoyed it quite a bit ourselves.
It mentioned just about every available mechanism, both in for-pay format and free of charge, and while we agreed with nearly every view expressed, in regards to their pros & cons, we felt they left their list a little too much on the PC-side of things. So, we decided to come up with a small little review of our own. 😛
Next, you will find our TOP 5 of ‘ways’ to play retro video games, alongside our honest opinion about their general worth, usefulness and gameplay experience.
#1 – Emulators
If the question comes down to a simple: What device can more accurately portray the classic feel of the older consoles? Then, the obvious answer for us would be PC emulators. TRUE, they’re a PAIN to install, and you need to watch out for tons of sh*tty spyware that often comes attached to the rom file downloads, but they portray the more close-to-heart emulation experience known to man. Some well known options available on the web include SNES9X for SNES games, Dolphin for Wii and Gamecube and MAME for arcade games.
Needless to say, they’re all ilegal… No respecting copyright here of any kind. So enjoy at your peril.
#2 – Mini ‘Classic’ Systems
Nintendo’s Mini Classic NES, Super Nintendo, and Sega’s own Mini Genesis were all clear hits with the public, especially so for those who lived the 80s/90s gaming craze in the flesh.
The tiny-yet-perfect replicas of three of the world’s most successful console formats come at slightly high price tags, and we’ve known there to be stock size problems with the Nintendo’s Mini consoles in the past, and there’s also the downside of the limited game collections that come with cute hardware. Because let’s admit it: – It’s nice having tons of licensed games to play, but it often makes you feel like you ended up purchasing one of those ‘100-Games-in-ONE’ scam cartridges, from back in the day, replete with crap titles nobody liked.
#3 – Virtual Consoles & ‘Backwards Compatibility’ Features
Being Retro is a thing a Now… or so it seems.
Though Nintendo started – and continues with – the trend of using a ‘virtual’ online shop for the distribution of classic NES action (including some Nintendo 64 titles) via their online shop destined for Wii U, and the 3DS systems, Sony & Microsoft wasted no time and quickly took on the retro wave head on, with the release of their new PS5 and Xbox Series X sets respectively.
Problems? Some have complained about input lags and some other emulation issues, but overall, the available digital stores offer a wide variety of old gaming options.
4-PC Ports
Sometimes you can’t even really trust the ‘original’ game designers to get it right, and many PC ports of some classic games are a clear show of this particular problem.
As the folks at Wired made sure to point out in their review, the release of the long expected Megaman X port left lots of fans unhappy. However, on the other hand, the return of everyone’s favorite hedgehog in the rehashed versions of the classic original Sonic game, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD put a big smile on the faces of veteran players.
Our recommendation? Read all the game reviews available at the ‘Steam’ shop, or wherever it is you choose for your source of patented PC ports, prior to purchasing your copy.
5-Mobile Ports
The absolute worst. We don’t even feel like going into the ‘disaster’ that is the phenomenon of ‘mobile’ retro gaming. Yes, there’s super successful PUBG thing in China, but our very honest opinion is that, #1 PUBG ISN’T retro to begin with, and #2, Mobile doesn’t lend itself well to old-style gaming.
When you consider the clumsy ‘touch’ controls, and the limited gameplay experience posed by portable devices, you might end up agreeing with us on the notion that “Mobile gaming should be relegated to kids with very low attention spans.” – Nuff’ said!
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