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

I've been thinking about getting a Dreamcast for quite some time. As a console, I find it really fascinating since it was the most powerful device on the market when it came out; most of the games look like they could have come from the sixth generation. Compared to the PS1 and N64, the Dreamcast outpaced either of them technologically speaking. It really is a shame the system died the way it did, though the reasons why are just as intriguing (basically Sega making boneheaded business decisions after the success of the Genesis).

In terms of library I've already got my eye on the obvious ones (both Sonic Adventures, Shenmue, SoulCalibur, I hear the fishing games are great), and the ports it got are basically the definitive way to play (Spider-Man, Rayman 2, etc.). Are there any other hidden gems to look out for? Considering the cult status the system has gotten over the years, I'm guessing there has to be some games that slipped under the radar as well.
Jet Set Radio is pretty good once you get used to the controls, not having a second analog stick can be really rage inducing. The Power Stone games were pretty dope arena fighters if thats your thing.

Dreamcast was (along with the PS2) one of the the first consoles with a decent online player base but I doubt stuff like Phantasy Star, UT and Quake still work (unless some autists figured out how to support net play these days).

As far as I'm aware emulation on PC is pretty good and will run on most systems so I would suggest trying out some games on an emu before you commit to paying absurd amounts of money for hardware and games.

edit: have a look here too https://videogamecritic.com/dc.htm?e=75449
Its some guy's website who has been slowly playing every game in existence since the 90s and writing little reviews. Won't cover everything but I tend to read through it when I try a new system to see what games are on it.
 
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I've been thinking about getting a Dreamcast for quite some time. As a console, I find it really fascinating since it was the most powerful device on the market when it came out; most of the games look like they could have come from the sixth generation. Compared to the PS1 and N64, the Dreamcast outpaced either of them technologically speaking. It really is a shame the system died the way it did, though the reasons why are just as intriguing (basically Sega making boneheaded business decisions after the success of the Genesis).
One of those boneheaded decisions was Shenmue. I know from very, very, very reliable sources that had a personal connection with people at Sega Japan way back then, and it's off the record, that it cost so much more than Sega will ever admit to. They diverted the costs apparently, Shenmue going from the Saturn to the unanounced Dreamcast meant that some of the development costs of this huge, important and expensive game became part of developing the SDK and other things.
 
I've been thinking about getting a Dreamcast for quite some time. It really is a shame the system died the way it did, though the reasons why are just as intriguing
Most of their loyal developers got burned by the Saturn. Electronic Arts did what they could to punish Sega.

Nintendo had their library of first-party games to get them through the lean times. Sega had Sonic. And bunch of arcade ports. PSO wasn't enough to sustain it.
 
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Did anyone else dislike Shenmue back when you played it? I really liked the story and atmosphere but the gameplay was so boring to get though.
I've been thinking about getting a Dreamcast for quite some time. As a console, I find it really fascinating since it was the most powerful device on the market when it came out; most of the games look like they could have come from the sixth generation. Compared to the PS1 and N64, the Dreamcast outpaced either of them technologically speaking. It really is a shame the system died the way it did, though the reasons why are just as intriguing (basically Sega making boneheaded business decisions after the success of the Genesis).

In terms of library I've already got my eye on the obvious ones (both Sonic Adventures, Shenmue, SoulCalibur, I hear the fishing games are great), and the ports it got are basically the definitive way to play (Spider-Man, Rayman 2, etc.). Are there any other hidden gems to look out for? Considering the cult status the system has gotten over the years, I'm guessing there has to be some games that slipped under the radar as well.
IllBleed is a pretty good horror game look for that.
 
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I've been thinking about getting a Dreamcast for quite some time. As a console, I find it really fascinating since it was the most powerful device on the market when it came out; most of the games look like they could have come from the sixth generation. Compared to the PS1 and N64, the Dreamcast outpaced either of them technologically speaking. It really is a shame the system died the way it did, though the reasons why are just as intriguing (basically Sega making boneheaded business decisions after the success of the Genesis).

In terms of library I've already got my eye on the obvious ones (both Sonic Adventures, Shenmue, SoulCalibur, I hear the fishing games are great), and the ports it got are basically the definitive way to play (Spider-Man, Rayman 2, etc.). Are there any other hidden gems to look out for? Considering the cult status the system has gotten over the years, I'm guessing there has to be some games that slipped under the radar as well.
I had one when it was new. It was great for CPS2 when that wasn't emulated, and there's some nice stuff but I dunno how much it's worth having at this point
on the plus side if you get a vga box and the disc to force everybody to vga mode (iirc) you can hook it up to an hd tv
Did anyone else dislike Shenmue back when you played it? I really liked the story and atmosphere but the gameplay was so boring to get though.
yeah Shenmue is a great example for me of games that I respect the idea of, but am bored to death immediately into playing it
 
There's a variety of Dreamcast HDMI cables that run about $30 that are supposed to work pretty well too. No more adapting VGA out for modern screens, but not every Dreamcast games runs right at 480p. Some games have framerate issues and other weird glitches when forced to progressive mode. It's not like the Gamecube where the 480p mode was arbitrarily disabled in some games.
 
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And bunch of lousy arcade ports. PSO wasn't enough to sustain it.
Well they're arcade-perfect or better. Soul Calibur and Ikaruga were treated like the second coming. Most of the Dreamcast's headliners have been ported to something else by now, often with improvements, but it's still got the definitive Chu Chu Rocket, probably.
 
For some reason, the GTA2 port has extra content from the PC version. It's not a whole lot (elevated trains and a new island), but it's something.
I've heard the radio stations don't work properly in that version. Apparently every time you enter a car the radio track plays from the beginning.
 
I've heard the radio stations don't work properly in that version. Apparently every time you enter a car the radio track plays from the beginning.
Whoever told you that was probably playing it on an emulator.

I had the same experience with Redream. fwiw the PS1 version has the same problem.
 
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Hmm. Whoever told you that was probably playing it on an emulator.

I had the same experience with Redream. fwiw the PS1 games have the same problem.
I just tried it on Flycast an it happens there too. Hard disagree on the PSX version. I just loaded it on DuckStation and the radio works fine. I can totally believe epsxe doing that, though.

Edit: Speaking of FlyCast, does anyone know if Sonic Adventure is playable on it? I seem to remember getting to Windy Valley in other emulators and the physics engine would shit itself.
 
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What’s the best portable emulator/retro gaming device?

There seems to be loads and I am a bit lost.
Depends on the era of what you want. I've always been partial to modded systems because they tend to be higher quality physically and end up cheaper because they're ubiquitous.
  • 3DS can do anything up to 16-bit, plus GBA, DS, and 3DS. Can also do PSX if you get one of the upgraded "New" models. Don't let Nintendo fool you, SNES games work mostly fine on the "old" model, and the DS and 3DS had quite a few N64 ports of varying qualities.
  • PSP can do anything 2D plus PSX and its originals. Some SNES and GBA games don't run at quite full speed, but are mostly playable. Also had more obscure emulators that never got ported to 3DS like Neo Geo Pocket Color.
  • Vita can do it's originals, plus PSP and PSX. Everyone ended up using Retroarch, so that's your main choice for most systems unless you load up PSP emulators.
The choice between PSP/Vita and 3DS comes down to form factor preference and originals, they have similar emulator capabilities and are dirt easy to mod. All three can be hacked pretty easily and either take micro SD cards or can be adapted to take Micro SDs. I'd skip on a Vita unless you really want better SNES/GBA or it's originals, which are mostly indie and anime games. PSPs are cheaper and 99% as good for emulation.
 
The vast majority of emulated games i ever played were old SNES games, using some version of ZSNES. Just thinking about it gives me that fuzzy nostalgic feeling. I'll have to redownload a lot of that old stuff tomorrow...

I did some PSX emulation as well, just to play Final Fantasy 7, 8 and 12, but ZSNES is where it's at ❤️
 
What’s the best portable emulator/retro gaming device?

There seems to be loads and I am a bit lost.
It all depends on how much you are willing to spend and what you want to emu.

Of the ones not seen brought up
Portable PC's such as the upcoming Steam Deck will be the best, get all the native pc games on steam but should be able to run most emus, Emu for that should go up to ps3 or switch without many issues.
Switch itself can run many consoles with emu even Gamecube and PSP however not all of them can be hacked.
Old phones, all you really need is a controller adapter so is the cheapest option but what you can run depends on the specs of your phone. Most standalone emu devices are just android phones without being able to make calls.
 
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What’s the best portable emulator/retro gaming device?

There seems to be loads and I am a bit lost.
GPD win max is what I have and I love it. Can play it on the go or hook it up to the TV.

have a MASSIVE backlog of games I want to play on it that I've barely even scratched. Had it well over a year now,
 
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The choice between PSP/Vita and 3DS comes down to form factor preference and originals, t
How easy is it to mod a 3DS. I’d like to replay Pokemon Games without having to lose my saves.
It all depends on how much you are willing to spend and what you want to emu.
Money is not really an issue. I just want to buy one thing that can emulate as much as possible while being portable.
Of the ones not seen brought up
Portable PC's such as the upcoming Steam Deck will be the best, get all the native pc games on steam but should be able to run most emus, Emu for that should go up to ps3 or switch
I was just thinking of getting a Steamdexk just to have a portable PC.
 
How easy is it to mod a 3DS. I’d like to replay Pokemon Games without having to lose my saves.
https://3ds.hacks.guide - Should even install a homebrew called Checkpoint that'll let you back up and restore an unlimited amount of saves for any game.

There's also a homebrew called PKSM that will let you run a local Pokemon "Bank" and dump you Pokes for backup on your own terms. I will warn you that Nintendo has banned systems for softmods and modded Pokemon before, but it's been a while since ban waves happened. Something to consider if you have the same account on a Switch.

Steamdeck does look cool as a portable emu machine, but they're sold out until late 2Q 2022 IIRC.
 
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The #1 thing I'm curious about regarding the Steam Deck (and handheld PCs in general) is how well it'll run RPCS3.

And speaking of which, since I have a nice new high-end CPU, but I'm stuck on a 7 year old video card, I've been playing around with RPCS3 lately. It's so damn good now. I'm usually a person who likes playing newer games on their original hardware, but damn man, I've been giving Persona 5 a shot and it's so easy to forget I'm emulating it. I'm so, so glad we're long past the days of ePSXe needing a plugin for absolutely everything, only for it to run everything like total anus.

But you know what else is great? The UI isn't a clusterfuck like Retroarch! For a console as complex as the PS3 is, the emulator is remarkably simple to set up. Man, I can't wait for handheld PCs to become a serious thing, where I can just start running emulators designed for desktops and never need to touch Retroarch again.
 
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