01-19-2016, 06:32 PM
You can. But there are a few problems, and I'm also a purist.
Emulators I've noticed are sometimes buggy, or don't emulate correctly. e.g. slowdown of the PPU chip when there are too many sprites on the screen.
I've also noticed the replica controllers are not the same as the originals, and some of the ones with integrated emulators are actually very laggy when connecting to modern devices (at 1080p). We're talking laggy enough that you can't beat the first level of Super mario Brothers 2!
When I first plugged Zelda 1 in on the hi-def NES, it was like I was taken back 25 years. It's really a treat to plug a game in, sit with an actual controller 5-7ft away from the TV. It makes you appreciate the game more that's for sure, when I ROM'd out dreamcast I didn't play any of the games. It's just a different feeling, and you know you're not cheating in any way when beating Megaman 2 or Ninja Gaiden now - it was as intended.
Lag is the biggest beast, basically NES, SNES, N64, etc. retro consoles had no idea about modern day TVs that introduced 50-150ms lag with all of their visual processing. ALl of the consoles that are 240p need upscaling done and modern TVs are more about making the picture look good vs. input lag. Most TVs have a "game mode" nowadays that alleviates that, but they are still very slow at upscaling 240p. That's where the retro console mods come into play.
It's not for everyone, but there is a large community. Most play on their oldschool CRT sets, or professional video monitors (PVM) that old news stations got rid of.
It's a different experience to plug a cartridge in, power the console on, and play. Nowadays it's actually kind of annoying all of the menus/setup we do to start a game!
Once you fall intno the purist mindset you can't get out. I thought like you too, let me just get a low powered machine and a 3rd party controller. Once I started talking to people on Anandtech about the controllers vs. OEM controllers, it led me down the light (or dark) side.
New OEM controllers per console:
NES - $50, games are affordable ($10-20 depending)
SNES - $100, games are a little more expensive ($10-35). Some rare games are way more, Chrono Trigger is $110, Final Fantasies are $60. These are without manual/box!
N64 - $150, games are also reasonable.
PS1 - $40
PS2 - $30
New controllers are required, it's disgusting playing with sanitized old controllers, most of them are loose to the point they've lost their affect, lol.
Emulators I've noticed are sometimes buggy, or don't emulate correctly. e.g. slowdown of the PPU chip when there are too many sprites on the screen.
I've also noticed the replica controllers are not the same as the originals, and some of the ones with integrated emulators are actually very laggy when connecting to modern devices (at 1080p). We're talking laggy enough that you can't beat the first level of Super mario Brothers 2!
When I first plugged Zelda 1 in on the hi-def NES, it was like I was taken back 25 years. It's really a treat to plug a game in, sit with an actual controller 5-7ft away from the TV. It makes you appreciate the game more that's for sure, when I ROM'd out dreamcast I didn't play any of the games. It's just a different feeling, and you know you're not cheating in any way when beating Megaman 2 or Ninja Gaiden now - it was as intended.
Lag is the biggest beast, basically NES, SNES, N64, etc. retro consoles had no idea about modern day TVs that introduced 50-150ms lag with all of their visual processing. ALl of the consoles that are 240p need upscaling done and modern TVs are more about making the picture look good vs. input lag. Most TVs have a "game mode" nowadays that alleviates that, but they are still very slow at upscaling 240p. That's where the retro console mods come into play.
It's not for everyone, but there is a large community. Most play on their oldschool CRT sets, or professional video monitors (PVM) that old news stations got rid of.
It's a different experience to plug a cartridge in, power the console on, and play. Nowadays it's actually kind of annoying all of the menus/setup we do to start a game!
Once you fall intno the purist mindset you can't get out. I thought like you too, let me just get a low powered machine and a 3rd party controller. Once I started talking to people on Anandtech about the controllers vs. OEM controllers, it led me down the light (or dark) side.
New OEM controllers per console:
NES - $50, games are affordable ($10-20 depending)
SNES - $100, games are a little more expensive ($10-35). Some rare games are way more, Chrono Trigger is $110, Final Fantasies are $60. These are without manual/box!
N64 - $150, games are also reasonable.
PS1 - $40
PS2 - $30
New controllers are required, it's disgusting playing with sanitized old controllers, most of them are loose to the point they've lost their affect, lol.
![[Image: 43325991030_4d39723a8f.jpg]](https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1947/43325991030_4d39723a8f.jpg)
