Retro games and emulation - Discuss retro shit in case you're stuck in the past or a hipster

[Pepe Cortisona]

Wouldn't a fat ps2 do a good job playing ps1 games? It has ps1 hardware in it if I remember correctly.

Yes, and it's a tiny fraction of PS1 games that have problems running on a PS2. The ideal model to get would be any 5XXXX for a quieter and cooler performance, but any fat 3XXXX and onwards are fine. Get an HDD adaptor and you're set

If you go this route, soft mod your console to get extra features, like to make it recognize PS3/PS4 controllers and even use a Bluetooth dongle to use them wirelessly

 

[Paul Ryan]

Does anyone have an effort post handy to explain all the different brands of GBA and GBA SP hardware mods? I don't know what most of them do, and understand why the brands are important.

 

[CallmeCicada]

Yes, and it's a tiny fraction of PS1 games that have problems running on a PS2. The ideal model to get would be any 5XXXX for a quieter and cooler performance, but any fat 3XXXX and onwards are fine. Get an HDD adaptor and you're set

If you go this route, soft mod your console to get extra features, like to make it recognize PS3/PS4 controllers and even use a Bluetooth dongle to use them wirelessly

Found a slim PS2 and PS3 fat recently. How is PS3 emulation, and what would be my best options for the two consoles.

 

[Finder of Games]

Does anyone have an effort post handy to explain all the different brands of GBA and GBA SP hardware mods? I don't know what most of them do, and understand why the brands are important.

You're gonna have to be a bit more specific, you can mod the everloving fuck out of a GBA. But, yeah, here, use the gameboy wiki. I use it myself to keep up with any new modkits (mostly for the GB pocket/color nowadays), it's got pretty detailed descriptions of what various mods are, the companies that offer them and how they're useful over one another (plus youtube videos if that's your bag). A lot of popular mods lately have turned towards the 3D printing scene so you might see weird names for unique cases I guess, I never fucked around with that sort of stuff too much.

Found a slim PS2 and PS3 fat recently. How is PS3 emulation, and what would be my best options for the two consoles.

Spoiler: ps3 sperging

In terms of retro-at-the-time (like gen 4 and earlier) PS3 is fine I guess. You'll have issues with N64/dreamcast just because PS3 was never a super popular general emulation station device and most interest in developing for it sorta went out the window when the PS4 got announced. Even nowadays most new projects starting up are totally homebrew or releases of old PoC stuff. So you're stuck with retroarch, snes9x, gambatte/vba, nestopia. Most people would mod them to play PS3 games, and use the built in emulation solutions for ps1/ps2/psp, which all work pretty good. To actually mod it, it's not crazy complicated. As with most modern systems you get it on the right firmware (4.90 in this case) and it's open season via exploit. If you've ever hacked a PSP or vita, the concepts behind the two main hacks should be pretty familiar. Permanent patching of firmware, CFW, and a temporary rewrite that flushes on reboot (Homebrew ENabler [HEN]). Not all PS3s support permanent mods, but all do support HEN. To hack it you're basically just installing a slightly tweaked official firmware update, and then plugging in a USB to flash the cfw/HEN software. CFW gives you some extra capability but honestly it's not going to break your experience either way unless you're trying to really milk the ps3 for all it's worth.

Spoiler: ps2 sperging

PS2 you literally just pop in a FMCB memory card (or make one yourself) and you're good to go. Slim PS2 has it's ethernet port, but no HDD, so you can, if you are so inclined, run line to the PS2 and play from network storage, or if you have a 700xx model you've got the guts inside to hook up an IDE hdd (or convert it to sata if you really want to try), and can play from that. USB and the flash-2-mem solutions have compatibility issues and speed issues for full sized games but do work as well for some stuff. And of course you can always just burn DVDs but then you have the issue of the lasers dying on you, plus lots of problems with dual layer DVD reading on common rewritables (though I think just about every popular game got a split hack/patchjob at some point, it was how I first played xenosaga 1). In terms of emulators there's a bit more in the way of developed-for-system emulators, some familiar names, GPS2(kai), FCEultra (shoutouts konami!),Picodrive, snes9x/snesticle, and yes, there's retroarch for ps2, it's on fucking everything.

 

[Pepe Cortisona]

Found a slim PS2 and PS3 fat recently. How is PS3 emulation, and what would be my best options for the two consoles.

Was about to reply but @Finder of Games summed it up perfectly.

I would also add that you should check the thermals on both systems and replace them if necessary. Early fat PS3 are also notoriously unreliable if they have NEC-Tokin caps and start to overheat, so if you get a YLOD it could be cap related and not the RSX chip, some repair shops do the job of replacing them with more reliable ones. This was fixed gradually on the fat models from 2008 all the way to the launch of the slimline

 

[Baraka Obama]

I could spreg really hard on PS2 but I will concur that 50k units are the best. The disc drives are the most reliable, the PSU uses less power when idle, the fans are quiet, and it has the most options for modding.

If you're not interested in using a hard drive, and like personally I really prefer just burning discs or buying discs, the later slim PS2s are really nice paired with a MechaPwn mod to have region free + burned disc PS1 & PS2 game playback. Just get one in good condition.

 

[Haftag]

most demanding games like TvC

More demanding compared to others? Totally possible, but most demanding? Highly doubt it.

Yo does anybody know if Sudachi is better than Ryujinx

Depends on the game, and your definition of better (speed vs compatibility).

 

[Never Scored]

Is a jailbroken ps3 hooked up to a CRT a good way to play games up to PS1? Or should I get a raspberry pi with RetroPi for 240p output?

If you're going to spend money to buy stuff, you may as well just get a PS1 because they aren't expensive nowadays. Use the disc swap method with a unirom boot disk to install FreePSXBoot on a memory card. Pick up a spindle of 50 CD-Rs and burn the games you want. There are hardware mods that eliminate discs altogether, but those are pricey.

Does anyone have an effort post handy to explain all the different brands of GBA and GBA SP hardware mods? I don't know what most of them do, and understand why the brands are important.

I'm not an expert on the different mods and brands, but I can tell you I bought a retro pixel IPS screen for my original model GBA, along with a new case and the USB-C battery mod from funny playing and it's a very nice to use now. I found the soldering a bit of a pain in the dick because for some reason solder didn't want to seem to stick to the GBA board even when I slathered it with flux, but you only have to do it once.

 

[Mike Matei's Penis]

How important is drive speed in emulation for most consoles (as in, the ROM file location)? Switch, PS2, and PS3 roms seem to have less stutter on emulators when on an NVME SSD instead of a HDD. But it doesn't seem to matter at all for emulators that just load the whole thing at once like old NES or Genesis emulators.

Post 1000 BTW wew

 

[TrinityReformed]

Switch, PS2, and PS3 roms seem to have less stutter on emulators when on an NVME SSD instead of a HDD.

I'm not sure how important it is, but I know some games have little gimmicks for loading screens that you'll miss when loading times are instantly. Like dbz budokai 3, it has you spawning saibamen in the loading screen depending on how fast you're rotating the analog sticks.

 

[Computer Guardian]

How important is drive speed in emulation for most consoles (as in, the ROM file location)? Switch, PS2, and PS3 roms seem to have less stutter on emulators when on an NVME SSD instead of a HDD. But it doesn't seem to matter at all for emulators that just load the whole thing at once like old NES or Genesis emulators.

as far as load screens are concerned, most emulators tend to act accurately as if the console actually was reading off the disc, though some emulators have a way to speed the load times up, like Duckstation having a disc speed controller, Dolphin's emulated CPU overclocking, PCSX2 letting you load the ROM into RAM, ect.

 

[Samuel Fuller]

as far as load screens are concerned, most emulators tend to act accurately as if the console actually was reading off the disc, though some emulators have a way to speed the load times up, like Duckstation having a disc speed controller, Dolphin's emulated CPU overclocking, PCSX2 letting you load the ROM into RAM, ect.

It's ETC, not ect, genius.

 

[soup peddler]

Does anyone have Wii/ Gamecube recs? I was a young kid when they were modern and going back and playing all my old favorite games, I am realizing they are massively unfun. Like I loved My Sims and playing it now, it's just total trash.

Are there any people here who were teens/adults during that era who know some games that actually hold up? So far I've liked Pikmin 2, Endless Ocean, and Viewtiful Joe

 

[TrinityReformed]

Does anyone have Wii/ Gamecube recs? I was a young kid when they were modern and going back and playing all my old favorite games, I am realizing they are massively unfun. Like I loved My Sims and playing it now, it's just total trash.

Are there any people here who were teens/adults during that era who know some games that actually hold up? So far I've liked Pikmin 2, Endless Ocean, and Viewtiful Joe

https://vsrecommendedgames.miraheze.org/wiki/Gamecube

List seems to check out.

 

[Finder of Games]

Does anyone have Wii/ Gamecube recs? I was a young kid when they were modern and going back and playing all my old favorite games, I am realizing they are massively unfun. Like I loved My Sims and playing it now, it's just total trash.

Are there any people here who were teens/adults during that era who know some games that actually hold up? So far I've liked Pikmin 2, Endless Ocean, and Viewtiful Joe

For GC:
Doshin the Giant (More as a proof of concept, unless you feel like setting up an N64DD emulator with pt2, which wasn't ported, still a solid god game)
Cubivore (N64DD game pushed to gamecube instead of back to base N64, it's an evolution simulator that ends up like a puzzle for the first portion of the game because most of the levels have a pretty direct path forward)
Billy Hatcher
Custom Robo (JP N64 game gets a better GC port, not an unusual story for GC games, highly recommend)
Chibi Robo (The original, very charming)
Odama
Baten Kaitos (The remasters are pretty garbage, if you like JRPGs, Baten Kaitos is a solid mid tier pick. Think Jade Cocoon or Thousand Arms, not chrono trigger or FF6)
Eternal Darkness (Far from a hidden gem, it's an amazing horror experience, a lot, and I mean a LOT is lost in modern day, but if you're capable of putting yourself in the timeframe it was released, I promise you'll have some good fun and solid spooks)
Skies of Arcadia Legends (Masterclass in JRPG, port from the dreamcast version of the game with retooled DLC baked in)

Wii:
Oopona (ArtePiazza classic)
Zack and Wiki (Solid point and click)
Madworld
Trauma Team
Pandora's Tower
Red Steel (Moreso 2 than 1, but 1 is worth a play)
A boy and his Blob
Boom Blox (ITS MADE BY STEVEN SPIELBERG and was advertised so heavily I think most people blocked it out)
Muramasa (Inferior to vita version however)
Elebits.

Wii has a lot more fun games that are just ways to test out the motion control stuff, but they don't hold up over long periods.

 

[Samuel Fuller]

Does anyone have Wii/ Gamecube recs? I was a young kid when they were modern and going back and playing all my old favorite games, I am realizing they are massively unfun. Like I loved My Sims and playing it now, it's just total trash.

Are there any people here who were teens/adults during that era who know some games that actually hold up? So far I've liked Pikmin 2, Endless Ocean, and Viewtiful Joe

The GC had the best version of The Simpsons: Hit and Run and the Ultimate Muscle game for it was a lot of fun.

 

[Two Dollars]

Does anyone have Wii/ Gamecube recs? I was a young kid when they were modern and going back and playing all my old favorite games, I am realizing they are massively unfun. Like I loved My Sims and playing it now, it's just total trash.

Are there any people here who were teens/adults during that era who know some games that actually hold up? So far I've liked Pikmin 2, Endless Ocean, and Viewtiful Joe

The GameCube is one of the best-aging systems of all time IMO. It was the point where 3D graphics didn’t look quite so primitive, and most first party games ran at a steady 60 FPS. I could give a giant list of my favorites, but I’ll just second the site @TrinityReformed posted. It has lists for a bunch of systems. As for Wii, I’ll throw in a few of my more obscure favorites:

Spoiler: Obscure-ish Wii games

Excite Truck: A must-play launch title, and one of the most essential motion control games on par with Wii Sports, yet no one talks about it. A racing game where the main gimmick is that the winner is determined not by who wins the race (though that helps), but each player’s score, determined by things like air/drift time, driving right next to trees without crashing (think Crazy Taxi), launching off a ramp into rings, etc. The turbo is also very satisfying. As the name implies, it’s technically a sequel to Excitebike.

Fortune Street: Basically “Monopoly but with a stock market and Mario/Dragon Quest characters”. A series that’s been around since the Famicom, but this is the only localized console release. Be warned, the AI infamously cheats.

Geometry Wars: Galaxies: You know Geometry Wars Retro Evolved on 360? It got a lesser-known expansion on Wii and DS which also includes a port of the original Retro Evolved.

Pokemon Rumble: A very simple button masher beat-em-up. Your attack options are very limited, but the appeal comes from constantly unlocking new Pokemon and switching between them as needed. Look up some gameplay and you’ll immediately know whether or not it’s for you.

Retro City Rampage DX+ and Shakedown Hawaii: Top-down GTA 1+2 inspired games. You should play the modern console/PC versions instead (especially since Shakedown Hawaii got a major update that the Wii version didn’t), but these are noteworthy for being the final official Wii games, released in 2020.

 

[Friendly Primarina]

Does anyone have Wii/ Gamecube recs? I was a young kid when they were modern and going back and playing all my old favorite games, I am realizing they are massively unfun. Like I loved My Sims and playing it now, it's just total trash.

Are there any people here who were teens/adults during that era who know some games that actually hold up? So far I've liked Pikmin 2, Endless Ocean, and Viewtiful Joe

F Zero GX is hard, but has a sense of speed that is unrivaled.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour is easy to pick up and quite addictive.

 

[Haftag]

The GC had the best version of The Simpsons: Hit and Run.

Why? And is that still true with all the mods the PC version is getting?

 

[Cloaca Rimjob]

Does anyone have Wii/ Gamecube recs? I was a young kid when they were modern and going back and playing all my old favorite games, I am realizing they are massively unfun. Like I loved My Sims and playing it now, it's just total trash.

Are there any people here who were teens/adults during that era who know some games that actually hold up? So far I've liked Pikmin 2, Endless Ocean, and Viewtiful Joe

Someone released a romhack of mario kart double dash with an insane number of new tracks added, you can't do some new courses at 50cc though because it screws up jumping over ramps at points.

https://cdromance.org/gamecube/mario-kart-double-dash-plus-hack/

Geist is a decent first party game. Interesting premise. You possess people and objects.