Best method for getting into retro gaming

I grew up in the 90's and my first system was a SNES, and I've been wanting to get back into some SNES/NES and other games from the 8/16 bit era. One of the biggest series I have interest in playing through is the early Zelda stuff, but I'd be up for trying out just about anything from the era. Because of this I've looked into the NES classic lately, which seemed like it was shit on pretty bad by the guys when it came out. I've heard MAME brought up countless times on here, and have recently started seeing a lot of recent youtubers run videos on the MiSTer. A neighbor just dropped $150-200 on a "refurbished NES" and I can't believe that's my best option either.

I'd love to get a bit of direction on where to try first. I can afford most of the options out there, but still don't want to waste my money either.

THANKS!!!
Farmer

If you own a Nintendo Switch, I recommend you subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online so you can play NES and SNES games.

The easiest method is PC emulation, though you'll need to get a device for transferring ROMs if you don't want to get caught up in "legal gray areas" or outright piracy.

Easiest with a price tag is modding a SNES classic (really easy if you can get one) and putting your ROMs on it or buying a Super NT.

EDIT: And, of course, there's Nintendo's preferred method of buying a Switch and signing up for their service.

EDIT 2: Also, I somehow forgot about buying a Raspberry Pi and loading RetroPi on it, also pretty easy to do.

I can say outright that collecting original hardware will come later if you really care about it because it's by far the most expensive option. Otherwise it's split based on what hardware you already have to work with:

If you have a decent to great PC

The easiest way to get back into it is to use time tested emulators specific to each console. If you've got a decent PC, you can run most anything. The better CPU, the better it will run cycle accurate emulators like BSNES. I recommend this path regardless because it will be a good way to ease and compare different approaches later.

I would stay away initially from multi-emulators like MAME and emulator frontends like RetroArch, which are useful but overwhelming and unwieldy. If you start to feel hampered jumping from one emulator to another, then you might consider Retroarch. Alternatively if you're hankering for specific arcade games, MAME is still your best bet.

If your PC is crap or you want to play on a TV

Here's where you have to cough up some dough but you have a ton of options.

Raspberry Pi: An extension of the emulator approach for PC except it's under powered hardware and cuts a lot of corners (often way too many if you care about accuracy). Some people are perfectly happy with this and it's the cheapest option but you get what you pay for. Also right now Pi's are harder to come by thanks to global supply chain problems.

Paying for Official Emulation: This is often the most convenient route for people who just wanna scratch an itch or want the cute little box on their shelf. Here you can get the Switch Online service if you have a Switch and a bevy of mini consoles from Nintendo, Sony, and Sega.

MiSTer: I'm biased because I think the MiSTer kicks ass but it's the best solution of all with two caveats: it's not the cheapest option and it's a bit tinkery. But the benefits are huge and you're a part of the frontier of retro gaming preservation and excitement. Don't start with this first but if you catch the retro bug and want to go deeper, the MiSTer is a great choice. It's among the highest quality accuracy of any solution, compact, versatile, and because it's open source, it's growing all the time. Right now it's got an immense collection of consoles and home computers that it is hardware emulating incredibly well and is all in one place. It's a bit of a clunky interface but not too bad. As with any hardware solution, it's a bit constrained by global parts issues but it's bouncing back a bit.

(P.S. There is the Analogue family of consoles but you're only doing that if you have a cart collection already and still want the convenience of FPGA. It's technically cheaper but it's a per-console proposition which makes the MiSTer worth it in the long run).

I hope this helps. Feel free to elaborate on what sort of set up you're aiming for and I'd be happy to gab on.

Like others have said, PC is the easiest, especially if you're only interested in NES/SNES games. Most modern PCs can run those games with hardly any effort. Heck, even PCs a decade old can run those games with ease. Get yourself a decent controller that can easily be mapped and have fun. If you want the authentic experience, then you have to do some searching. You can get a modified NES/SNES with modern audio/video output features so you can play the system on modern LED/OLED televisions. Or you can buy a CRT television and hook a standard NES/SNES to that. Both these methods takes time, and yes more money, since a lot of people now see where authentic retro gaming is making a comeback in popularity like vinyl records and price these things high. I won't tell you where and how to find the emulators or roms. That is something you have to do for yourself at your own risk. But if you go the authentic route, you can just use the original carts, anyway. Of course, you can go the Wii Shop (if you have a Wii) or Switch route to play some of the classic games.

@bacongames: I've got a fairly high end pc, so that might be the definitive first step. I would like to get ahold of original controllers to play it though. I'm not sure if that becomes a problem with pc, or if it would be the easiest way to get them to work.

Considering the games I'm most interested in getting the nes classic for are all on Nintendo switch's subscription service, the switch seems to be the best black and white option. I was considering a switch for my kids lately, but I'm guessing the new oLED models are probably impossible to find atm.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on what makes the MiSTer the best way to play. In my mind, image quality and responsive controls are the most important. I get the sense that guys that are really into retro gaming want the "closest to original" experience rather than the "highest quality" experience.

...So I looked into Switches, and they seem to be readily available. Since I was already thinking about one of these for the kids, this seems to be the best answer. I'm surprised they've actually got a decent selection of classics... I knew asking questions here would make me spend money. I think I'll have an OLED ordered within the hour.

I'm not @bacongames but I can give a bit of an answer.

"Highest quality" experience here is subjective, but if you're talking about image quality and responsive controls, you have two options - original hardware plugged into a high quality, well taken care of CRT TV or some kind of FPGA solution - for the NES/SNES, that's going to be something made by Analogue (the NT/Super NT) or a Mister setup.

Software emulation is what your PC, Raspberry Pi, Nintendo Switch, hacked Xbox, or whatever else is going to be using. That's the most mature technology right now, but not the best way to do it because software emulation always introduces some kind of latency of graphical glitches or something that's not quite correct. Some very smart people have gotten some emulators and a lot of games down to damn near imperceptible input latency. For a lot of games, you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference between a Mister solution or a good PC running an emulator, but there's always going to be at least a little something off. FPGA boards can emulate the hardware, at least to an extent that makes most of those problems go away. It's (usually) a much more accurate representation of the original game.

All of that said, if you're only just gaining an interest in retro games, I don't think that buying a Mister is really the best way to start. Buying a Switch seems like a good way to go to start, and if you find yourself playing a lot of those retro games then start digging into emulators, RetroPi, Misters, Analogue's stuff, etc. I personally wouldn't suggest buying a Mister or getting into original hardware until you've spent some time playing games on emulators and such.

@farmer93 said:

Having a high end PC to start is great. It gives you a wide range to play around with emulators across multiple generations, including ones MiSTer can't do because of its FPGA chip size (PSX and Saturn cores are coming but right now people are unsure that N64 are possible and definitely not PS2 generation and newer). Plus, they are the most convenient in terms of features (save states, rollback, multiple formats, etc.) And even with a MiSTer or a Switch, it's a great way to fill in gaps.

As for original controllers, it depends on what your goal is. Is it the literal old controller, attempts at an exact a reproduction, or a modern reinvention that evokes a close feel? I'm not as versed in the state of converting old controller signals to USB so you might have to do your own diving there to find the right one that minimizes latency. Otherwise I would recommend you look over 8BitDo's catalog and pick a bluetooth one that speaks to you. They give you all the benefits of modern convenience, good low latency performance, and retro feel. And it works regardless of whether you use it on PC, Raspberry Pi, Switch, MiSTer, etc. Personally I use a DualShock4 for all my retro gaming needs but I get appeal.

As for the MiSTer there are a lotofgreatvideos out there reviewing the project and helping with set up but you're basically spot on with image quality and responsiveness. Regardless of method (FPGA or software), everyone is aiming towards the goal of perfect reproduction with the lowest latency possible. The only real split is whether accuracy matters to you in terms of a clean crisp image on an HD display or an analogue signal sent out to a CRT. The advantage with the MiSTer is that it can do both. I use my MiSTer on an HD display exclusively but you can output analog video at the same time using a daughter board to a CRT. It's partly why it's hot shit because even the crunchy CRT types are into it too. But even without a CRT or caring about it, the MiSTer puts out perfect or near perfect accurate emulation with a lot of options to scaling the image, applying scanlines, filters, rendering modes, etc. And it does it with zero lag at the rendering level (the best software emulators get close to 0 but can't get as good as FPGA solutions).

In terms converting old game image to modern HD display, the MiSTer is as good as directly RBG modding consoles and passing through analog signals to the best polyphase scalers out now (e.g. Retrotink 5X). Personally, whenever a core is released I trust it to be as good as the original hardware would be (sans the occasional tweaking/bugfix), and it comes out natively upscaled with zero lag. Quite the box I think. Oh and one last thing. I think what I loved about MiSTer is that, because it's all there once you set it up, it's a fantastic vehicle for discovering retro games. I would never have sought out PC-Engine or Master System games on their own but by wandering around, I've found some new personal favorites.

(P.S. Justin's post does a good job laying it out as well).

I own a RetroTink 5x and if you like throwing money in a hole and having original hardware look good on a HDTV that is a good way to do it.

FPGAs aren't inherently more accurate than software emulators, it depends on the core. Just like the accuracy of software emulators depends on the specific emulator. They use less power than a high end PC and have a little less latency but there are ways of reducing that on software emulators usually.

All this talk of high-end PCs really isn't relevant for NES/SNES and I would say anything earlier than maybe Playstation 2 or Dreamcast. I emulated SNES games already in the early 00s so any computer nowadays that turns on it will run those games without any issues. There are some emulators that require needlessly high horse power to do advanced things with the emulation but that is for enthusiasts really, you most likely won't notice the difference if you just want to play a game. Of course if you have the power you might as well emulate those games in native 4K for a marginally better image, but it isn't necessary.

If you still own the games, then are within the legal grey-area with any method you use. If you don't own the games anymore, in that case the Switch is the 'somewhat easy' and 'unquestionably legal' way.

BUTTTT, if you have a Valve Steam account and a PC they just buy the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters. You can buy the bundle of the first six games for $80.

• FINAL FANTASY
• FINAL FANTASY II
• FINAL FANTASY III
• FINAL FANTASY IV
• FINAL FANTASY V
• FINAL FANTASY VI
• Some sound tracks
• Some other shit

I invested in a raspberry pi last year and do not regret it. I used to just use my PC for emulation but setting several emulators aside onto the TV just feels right.

Yes, you can do the emulation station stuff on your PC. If you've got the PC power to do it, then I say go right ahead.

However, I'd do just a bit of research, watch a few Youtube videos, and dive into a raspberry pi if I were you.

@farmer93: Yeah, if you want to keep things legal and relatively inexpensive, Switch is your best bet. There's the online, but on top of that a ton of games from multiple systems of that era have been released as well, which are often on sale. Hamster's arcade archives alone has an extensive selection at $8 a pop.

I find a modded SNES Mini to be a perfect way into my beginner emulation needs. It has everything I need: Ease of use, a retro form factor, good controller, and very customisable. Plus it looks like a SNES - which is a personal thing, but makes a big difference to me.

If you already have a PC I would suggest starting there. You could also buy a real system and then something like an Everdrive or other flash cart if you prefer a more authentic experience.

I find that PC gives the best results, but I am also emulating a ton on the Steam Deck lately.

Also, if achievements are something you enjoy, you can get achievements in retro games. The website to sign up is retroachievements.org. With them you can either use their emulators, or use Retroarch which has achievement support.

There's a convenience to PC emulation I will always like. Y'know, save states, speed hacks and all that lovely quality of life business.

Authenticity is for nerds.