4 ways to level up your retro gaming setup

There’s nothing better than a hit of nostalgia, especially when it comes to our favorite games from childhood. Retro gaming looks different for many; some opt for pure emulation, while others won’t settle for anything other than original hardware. No matter which side of that fence you find yourself on, there are always enhancements that can be made to the experience, and here are 4 great ways to do just that.

4

Upscale your output

The RetroTINK is a must-have

One of the hardest parts of playing retro games on their native consoles is getting the visuals to look right. Modern displays just can’t display the input of a retro console correctly in many cases, whether it’s down to the display technology used or the console itself. Enter the RetroTINK, a hardware upscaler that allows you to output at varied levels of fidelity, depending on the model. There’s a ton of customization under the hood, such as CRT simulation, scaling settings, color correction, and so much more. It’s a must-have for any retro gaming enthusiast. It’s created by an incredibly small, talented team as well.

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3

Simplify outputs with the Scalable Video Switch

Connect any console you can think of

A RetroTINK can give you a great output, but it has a limited number of inputs. Instead of messing around behind the TV every time you want to switch which console you’re playing on, what if you could switch at the press of a button?

The Scalable Video Switch does just that, and allows one to connect any number of consoles together. You can scale it to as many or as few inputs as you need, and can connect to something like a RetroTINK-4K for processing. If you have a collection of consoles and would like the ability to play them with relative ease, this is essentially the silver bullet. Getting one might be a bit tough, since the team behind it is also a small operation, and stock is limited.

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I miss the simplicity of retro consoles

I’ve been spending a lot of my time recently playing Tetris on the ModRetro Chromatic, and it’s made me realize something about current portable devices. I think I prefer using one dedicated device that does a task well, whether that’s playing games or MP3s, than having a do-everything-with-an-app device. I’m easily distracted at the best of times, and that even happens while I’m deep in my current favorite game, detracting from the experience. There’s something to be said about the simplicity of cartridge-based consoles, and that’s likely a big part of why Nintendo has been wildly successful even while making choices that went against the trajectory of the other home consoles. 

2

Grab some flash carts

An easy way to store an expansive library

Flash carts are a way to play ROMs loaded from flash storage natively on consoles like the SNES or N64. For example, the EverDrive-64 and SummerCart64 both do exactly this for the Nintendo 64. In addition to running backups, it also enables all kinds of fun capability by offering USB connection straight to a computer, making interfacing with the console using custom code a breeze. The EverDrive is a more proprietary solution that can only be purchased, while the SummerCart64 can be made by anyone with the proper electrical knowhow. There are options like these available for consoles of all kinds.

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1

Use a Raspberry Pi as an emulation machine

A swiss army knife for emulation

An SBC makes for the perfect retro gaming machine because of the computing horsepower they contain in such a small package. A plain jane Raspberry Pi can do the trick nicely, but there are other, more powerful SBCs available if you’re looking to emulate some more intensive games. Run your choice of OS (preferably RetroPie), load up an external drive with your choice of emulators, and away you go. It’s a really simple way to experience retro gaming at a relatively low price.

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Sometimes, all you need are the classics

Modern day titles are great, but sometimes nothing scratches that itch quite like a classic title played on a console that released decades ago. Original hardware is probably my preferred way to play. Keeping things as true to the original experience is important to me, but I don’t mind some tweaks here and there to make things a little bit more palatable. Emulation isn’t off limits either, as some consoles and the accessories that come with them are rare, and hard to come by.