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How to Play Retro Games – AskMen


Get your Game on With These Retro Video Games

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The appeal of retro video games is nothing new. While revisiting the classics previously meant hunting down the right emulator, today’s mini-consoles, such as Nintendo’s enormously popular NES Classic Edition, make playing go-to games from the ‘80s and ‘90s an incredibly simple plug-and-play process.

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The unexpected demand for Nintendo’s miniature NES and its successor, the SNES Classic Edition, has helped fuel a growing category within the gaming world, one that’s more interested in bringing back pixels than boasting polygon counts. Sony, Sega, and Atari all too have retro consoles, while disc and digital collections let you play your old favorites on new-generation hardware. Even coin-operated arcade games are being produced with the mainstream consumer in mind, ensuring everyone and their game-addicted grandma can have a replica “Pac-Man” machine in their living room.

Coin-Operated Arcade Machines

Speaking of the medium’s most famous pellet-chomping mascot, a game of “Pac-Man” in the arcade would only cost you about a quarter back in the ‘80s, but you’d probably have sunk an entire paycheck into the popular coin-op before beating that coveted high score.

However, thanks to affordable, consumer-facing collectibles such as New Wave Toys’ RepliCade X line of miniature cabinets and Arcade 1Up’s 1/4th scale coin-operated machines, those quarter-munching days are over. Featuring fan-favorites and cult-classics from the ‘80s and ‘90s, such as “Street Fighter II” and “Space Invaders,” these retro replicas bring the arcade experience into the home without any of the inconvenience or financial setbacks you’d typically face when attempting to break your “Galaga” record.

As IGN stated, upon the reveal of RepliCade X’s cabinets, these coin-operated arcade machines don’t just play the classics, but also serve as authenticity-ratcheting collector’s items: “Unlike other tiny arcade cabinets in the past, the RepliCade line is aimed squarely at collectors and enthusiasts, using the original licensed ROMs and high quality arcade cabinet art to recreate each game with impressive attention to detail.”

Coin-Operated Machines

Collectible Consoles

Since its 1985 North American release, the original Nintendo Entertainment System has sold over 60 million units. And the popularity of the 8-bit blockbuster apparently hasn’t waned.

As evidenced by the 10-plus million mini NES and SNES Classic Editions sold since the former’s November 2016 release, fans always return to the classics. But as PCMag notes, the popularity of the platform isn’t just about the limitless appeal of conquering King Bowser: “Just plug them into your TV and the low resolution sprites are rendered in crisp HD, with useful features like the ability to save your progress any time you want,” says PCMag Senior Analyst Will Greenwald.

This sort of feature-packed convenience, as well as the tiny systems’ collectibility, has not only seen fans flock to Nintendo’s mini systems, but also seek out the many copycat machines that have come since.

If Mario didn’t see you spending your youth tethered to an NES, maybe it was Sega or Sony that introduced you to your favorite pastime. Thankfully, the PlayStation Classic, packed with 20 pre-loaded titles, and the Sega Genesis Classic Game Console, bundled with 80 16-bit favorites, have got your back. While these don’t offer the full console experience of their original releases, they do provide a nice nostalgic kick for a fraction of the price; a Genesis in 1989 would have run you about $189.99 , while picking up a PlayStation during its 1995 launch year would have set you back about $299.99). That’s about $367 and $472, respectively, today with inflation.

If those old-school offerings aren’t classic enough for you, there’s also the Atari Flashback 8 Gold Deluxe and the C64 Mini, both of which should bring back fond memories of playing video games in your parent’s wood-paneled basement. These bargain-priced bundles become even more appealing when you consider an original 2600 sold for $199 in 1977 (about $790 today with inflation), while the C64 went for a whopping $595 in ‘82 (around $1,400 today with inflation).

Retro Games

Classic Collections

As PCMag notes, there’s a much easier, and economical, way to replay the games you grew up with, especially if you don’t care about filling your game space with mini-consoles and replica coin-operated machines: “You can also find compilations of classic games, either as retail releases or digital downloads,” says Greenwald. The recently released Atari Flashback Classics – Volume 3, for example, features 50 titles, spanning from Atari’s coin-operated classics to favorites from their 2600 and 5200 consoles. For about half the price of what you would have paid for a “Yar’s Revenge” cartridge in 1982, you can enjoy dozens of Atari faves on your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

Similarly, Sega Genesis Classics includes over 50 titles from the 16-bit era for a fraction of what a copy of “Phantasy Star II” (arguably the biggest console video game of its day) would run you in 1990. Best of all, many of these content-packed collections are available on the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo’s home console/portable hybrid, meaning you can enjoy most of your nostalgia-stinging favorites wherever you take the system.

Classic collections

If you love retro games but just can’t look past their dated presentations and lack of polish, you’ll want to consider remastered or remade versions of your old-school faves.

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“You can find some downright breathtaking remasters that breathe new life into a game,” says Greenwald. If you’re looking for an old favorite with a fresh coat of paint, Activision’s “Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy” and “Spyro Reignited Trilogy” are a good place to start. Both retain the appeal and charm of their original releases, while also bringing their graphics and gameplay up to current standards. They essentially feature the best of both worlds, embracing all the personality-packed gameplay you fell in love with in the ’80s and ‘90s, minus the jagged visuals and frustrating controls.

Retro games

Whether you’re a nostalgia nerd who’s always dreamed of owning an arcade cabinet or a game geek looking to revisit the classics, you needn’t jump into a time-traveling DeLorian to enjoy the pixelated favorites of your past. Reimagined retro consoles, consumer coin-operated arcade machines, classics-packed collections, and even remastered versions of old favorites are accessible, affordable, and ready to assist you in finally beating that “Pac-Man” high score.

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