If like me you are nostalgic for those days spent playing on your old computer games as a kid then this guide is for you. I will go through how to play your old retro games with options ranging from easy to not quite as easy but definitely still doable. This article contains affiliate links where if you decide to make a purchase on the site linked to we will receive a small commission on the sale. This does not cost you anything additional and helps to support the site.
Console you already own
The easiest way to get started with retro gaming is to use what you already have. If you still have it of course. If not you can find a lot of reconditioned old consoles on eBay that have been cleaned up ready for a new lease of life. Maybe you still have an old console up in the loft that is gathering dust but is still perfectly useable? If so, then you will probably find this the easiest way to get into retro gaming and it will be the most authentic way to relive those old memories. The trouble is you will likely find that this old console will not work with your modern TV. However there is usually a cheap and easy solution to this in the form of an adapter to convert the video output from your old console to HDMI which your modern TV will support. Let’s take the Sega Genesis/Megadrive console for example. The output from this system will only work with a TV which supports analogue signals but you can purchase this adapter from amazon to convert the signal to HDMI and it will even upscale the quality to 720p to provide HD quality. It also supports Sega Master System and Sega CD if you have any those lying around too. Maybe you are looking to play a different console such as a SNES (equivalent adapter here). You should be able to find an adapter for most consoles easily on amazon by searching for “console name to HDMI” this should return results relevant to your old console. Now get playing those old games!
On newer consoles such as PS4 and Switch
Maybe you are still gaming on newer consoles but yearn for the old simpler days where games weren’t like epic movies or maybe you now have kids and they have a console or two. You’re in luck as there are many re-releases of your favourite games often with some cool additional content or new features too. This is one of the easiest ways to enjoy your old favourites. Here is a taste of what’s available.
Of course the issue with this is that you may not be able to find games from certain consoles for example I was unable to find a SNES equivalent for modern consoles apart from on Switch and this is likely due to the licensing practises of the relevant companies. Which brings me on to my next section which is dedicated official emulation consoles.
Official emulation consoles
Another very easy way to relive those classics is to look for official retro consoles released to get in on the boom in retro gaming nostalgia. All the major players have gotten in on this and here is a handy list of the various available consoles.
- Super Nintendo Classic Mini
- NES Classic Edition
- Sega Genesis Mini (Mini 2)
- PlayStation Classic
- Atari Flashback
There are too many of these to list really so if you don’t see your favourite here then head over to amazon and search for your old console there and you’re sure to find an equivalent for your old console.
One of the problems with these official console re-releases is that they are usually limited to a set number of games which can’t be expanded, well at least not officially. There are ways to load custom software on to several of these consoles in order to improve the offering of games which brings me onto the next section of this guide and that is unofficial consoles.
Unofficial emulation consoles
These are consoles which can emulate your old favourites but are legally questionable. Some of these come preloaded with the original games which are not officially licensed. This can be a grey area as if you do own the original game then you are entitled to have a backup and play them on these unofficial consoles. We don’t condone playing games which you do not own of course. Depending on the system being emulated these consoles can come loaded with practically every game ever released for that console. Not only that but unlike the official consoles they usually can emulate more than one system so Master System, Genesis, NES and SNES for example all in one console perhaps along with PlayStation too. That is a pretty compelling reason why these consoles have become so popular.
Here is a taste of what is available and you can find more listed in our consoles section where we have a compatibility rating for the systems you are looking to emulate.
There are a lot of variations of these consoles and some will come with more or less games depending on the SD card size and one or more controllers. Some will resemble different original consoles or have varying designs but a lot of them will be the same hardware underneath. Generally the thing to look out for in these are the chip being used and whether the performance of that chip will work well with the system you wish to emulate. Common chips are the S905X and the S922X. Either of these will be fine with the 16 bit consoles and below (Genesis, SNES etc.) but the S905X will struggle with later consoles such as the Saturn or N64. The S922X is the best option but at a higher price point.
Here is a handy table to give you an idea of performance.
| Console/Chip | Compatibility |
|---|---|
Super Console X – S905X |
8 bit & 16 bit (Master System, NES, SNES, Genesis)
A – Will run perfectly PlayStation A – Will run very well N64 C – Its a bit hit or miss. Some games will run and harder to emulate ones will be unplayable. Tweaking settings may help a bit. Saturn D – Some games will run at half speed but not worth getting for Saturn gaming. Dreamcast D – Will run some games but at a lower framerate. There are better options for dreamcast really. NDS B – Will run well for games that don’t require a touch screen. There are some options to mitigate this a bit though. PSP C – A bit hit or miss. Some games will run, mostly the 2D games and the 3D games will really struggle. |
| Super Console X Pro – S905X (Upgraded)
|
8 bit & 16 bit (Master System, NES, SNES, Genesis)
A – Will run perfectly PlayStation A – Will run very well N64 A – Its a bit hit or miss. Some games will run and harder to emulate ones will be unplayable. A bit better than the performance of the Super Console X. Saturn D – Some games will run at half speed but not worth getting for Saturn gaming. Dreamcast C – A bit better performance on this updated console. Games will run at lower framerate but more playable than original Super Console X. NDS B – Will run well for games that don’t require a touch screen. There are some options to mitigate this a bit though. PSP C – A bit hit or miss. Some games will run, mostly the 2D games and the 3D games will really struggle. |
| Super Console X King – S922X
|
8 bit & 16 bit (Master System, NES, SNES, Genesis)
A – Will run perfectly PlayStation A – Will run very well N64 A – Will run very well with some frame rate dips but very playable Saturn A – A lot of games will play very well even at 2x resolution. Dreamcast A – A lot of games will play very well with slight frame rate dips. NDS B – Will run well for games that don’t require a touch screen. There are some options to mitigate this a bit though. PSP B – Will run very well even at 2x resolution. You will need to change the default emulator to PPSSPP standalone to get best performance. |
There are also other variations of the Super Console X which use the S905 X2, S905 X3, S905 X4 and the S912X chips which will place them between the original Super Console X and the Super Console X King which uses the S922X. You can even look to buy a cheaper Android TV box using one the same chips as the Super Console X and install EmuELEC yourself to save some money.
PC versions of Super Console X
There is another category of emulation console and this is based on mini PCs that usually come with an Intel Celeron J4125 or N100 processor and have beefier specs than the Super Console X Android boxes but essentially run a similar UI to EmuELEC in the form of Batocera and can emulate more consoles such as Gamecube and Wii with possibly some PS2 games running too. They usually come pre-installed with Windows 10 or 11 too so can also be used as an actual PC.
| Console/Chip | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| Super Console X PC – J4125 | 8 bit & 16 bit (Master System, NES, SNES, Genesis)
A – Will run perfectly PlayStation A – Will run perfectly N64 A – Will run perfectly even upscaled to 4x resolution Saturn A – Will run very well but you should change the emulator to Yabasanshiro. Dreamcast A – Will run well at native resolution and some games will upscale to 960p too. NDS B – Will run well for games that don’t require a touch screen. There are some options to mitigate this a bit though. PSP A – Will run very well even at 4x resolution. Gamecube/Wii A – Gamecube runs very well on most games. Some games will have a slight slow down. Wii games will play mostly ok but there will be some slow downs on Mario Kart for example. |
| Super Console X PC Lite – J4125 | 8 bit & 16 bit (Master System, NES, SNES, Genesis)
A – Will run perfectly PlayStation A – Will run perfectly N64 A – Will run perfectly even upscaled to 4x resolution Saturn A – Will run very well but you should change the emulator to Yabasanshiro. Dreamcast A – Will run well at native resolution and some games will upscale to 960p too. NDS B – Will run well for games that don’t require a touch screen. There are some options to mitigate this a bit though. PSP A – Will run very well even at 4x resolution. Gamecube/Wii A – Gamecube runs very well on most games. Some games will have a slight slow down. Wii games will play mostly ok but there will be some slow downs on Mario Kart for example. |
| Super Console X PC Mini – N100 | 8 bit & 16 bit (Master System, NES, SNES, Genesis)
A – Will run perfectly PlayStation A – Will run perfectly N64 A – Will run perfectly even upscaled to 4x resolution Saturn A – Will run very well but you should change the emulator to Yabasanshiro. Dreamcast A – Will run well at upscaled resolutions. NDS B – Will run well for games that don’t require a touch screen. There are some options to mitigate this a bit though. PSP A – Will run very well even at higher resolutions. Gamecube/Wii A – Gamecube and Wii runs very well on most games. Some games will have a slight slow down. |
Preloaded Hard Drives
This class is a bit different as they are just hard drives preloaded with Batocera and games that require you to use an existing PC that you own to run them. You will also likely need to supply your own controller. This is a good option if you are happy to dual boot with your existing PC or you can pick up a cheap old mini PC off eBay to run them on. I would recommend a mini PC such as a Dell Optiplex 3050 with an i5-7500T but you can find many PCs which will have similar specs.
Hopefully this guide will be useful to you for beginning your retro gaming adventure.