Today Tech Time is looking back at the overlooked hobby of console emulation. We all grew up with the Atari, the Nintendo, Sega, etc. Some of us are lucky enough to still have our old consoles and cartridges lying around but most don't. As technology evolved these machines became too cumbersome and obsolete to justify keeping. Because of this most of us haven't actually had the pleasure of playing Contra in many, many years.
I HATE you you stupid dog!!!!
Thanks to the same alien-sponsored technological advances that brought us the Sony Walkman and aerosol cheese in a can we can now relive all our favorite old games right on our PC. Look, emulation is nothing new but on the off chance you either aren't aware of it or have never actually tried it I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't make this info available.
Emulation is exactly what it sounds like: software that runs on your PC to replicate the architecture of various console systems to the point where your computer believes it is whatever console you emulate. The hard working folks who create this emulation software have advanced it to the point where with a gamepad and a video out connection to your TV you can literally play every console game ever made just like if the real system were hooked up. That is one of the advantages of emulation: if you do try hooking up many of the actual old consoles you'll find the cables aren't compatible with modern HiDef tvs. With an emulator this is not an issue.
To begin your setup you need an emulator. This is the main software that will run your games. In the emulation world the games aren't called games, they're called ROMs. A ROM is literally the original game cartridge that has been scanned into a single computer file that can be read by your emulator. In most cases, all you need to get up and running is the emulator and a ROM file to play.
At this point I need to address one thing. Just as with MP3 and other downloads there are certain legal restrictions that apply. That said, I'm gonna be completely candid for the rest of this paragraph. You are only allowed to "legally" download ROMs for games that you own the original cartridge for. ROMs are not meant to be free games but rather another format of a game you have already paid for. To that I say Fooey!
Every ROM you could ever want is available for free download. Unlike modern piracy of the newest movies and software that take profits from the artists, no one is sitting at home anymore collecting royalty checks from Bubble Bobble on the NES. These games fall under the category of Abandonware, software that has outlived its profitability and has been effectively disowned by its creators. Yes, it's technically illegal to download games you don't own, if that bothers you then go find a more conservative blog. If it doesn't bother you, keep reading and let me hook you up.
In a moment I will set you up with all the links you need to get up and running but first I want to cover a few more things. First, the advantages of emulation. This is really simple. Imagine having every console game ever made in your own personal library. For free. Imagine getting to play them on your big screen TV and show off your collection to all your friends. See, an average ROM file for say a NES game is smaller than a ten page text file. That's right. Super Mario Brothers will only take up about 60kb of space for the entire game. Because of that, you can do what I did and create a single DVD disk that contains the entire library of every console system ever made. Pretty friggin sweet.
Get ready to eat it, Glass Joe!
For systems like the NES, emulation brings additional advantages. Remember your old NES? Remember how it would start blinking and crash if someone three blocks away set their coffee cup down on the table. Remember how you were the only one who knew just the right way to blow out the cartridge and slam it back in to get it to work? You don't have to worry about that anymore. With a ROM file there is no physical media involved to fail so you can dare to play Mario to level 5-2 without worrying about losing all your progress. For the other systems you get the advantage of not having to get up and dig out another game when you feel like it, you just drop down a menu and select a new game file.
Generally speaking you will need a separate emulator for each console you want to emulate. There are a few that bundle multiple systems in one program but they tend to be inferior in both features as well as execution. You can also setup multiple emulators and access them all from one program called a Front-End, but in my experience your best bet is to simply use Windows native file structure to organize your emulators. I personally create a folder in my C: called Emulation. In the Emulattion folder is a new folder for each system being emulated. In that folder are two more: Emulator and Roms. It sounds complicated but it isn't. Look at the screenshot and notice the logic of the file structure.
The two folders, Emulator and Roms, are self explainatory. Populate each folder with the appropriate files. I would suggest that in the Roms folder you give each ROM file its own folder as that will allow you to assign an individual cover art picture to make navigation easier later. Finally I create a "New Toolbar" button on my Windows Taskbar. This allows for quick access to any specific game you decide to play. You just select any game from any system and the emulator will engage automatically. To create a new Toolbar folder right click on your Taskbar, highlight "Toolbars" and select "New Toolbar..." From there just point the window at the folder you wish to use. Viola! No more digging thru the start menu. It's all nice and neat in your toolbar.
Inside the Emulation Folder
Help yourself out and setup a Toolbar for quick access
Systems using cartridges work as is with the emulator and don't require any additional system files. However if you choose to emulate a Disc-based system i.e. Playstation 1 or 2, Dreamcast, Saturn, etc. you will require additional bios files. This goes beyond the scope of this column but know that Disc-based emulation is possible but you will have to seek out help elsewhere. It's not hard to find. For the rest of the systems, the individual emulators do a great job of walking you thru their configuration so you shouldn't have any trouble there. A gamepad is not necessary as a standard keyboard can be configured just fine but a gamepad does go along way toward replicating the console feel.
To close things up, Emulation is an awesome thing. There are some legal issues if you are particularly sensitive but this stuff is abandonware, no one is making money from it anymore. If you miss the good old console days when controllers only had four buttons and the audio only had one channel, go setup an emulation station. Downloading and configuring everything can take a little while but it is a good way to kill a weekend afternoon and once it is all setup you are good to go from then on. The next time you have a buddy over and the conversation drifts to The Legend of Zelda you can flip on the TV and show off The Legend of Zelda in all its HiDef, big-screen Nerd glory.
Where's all the games Fool!?!
Now that I have laid down the basics of what emulation is it is time to get down to the good stuff. Where do you get all this sweet software? As emulation walks along a fine legal line many sites containing the software tend to come and go. A few are rock solid standbys however. Below are a handful of links to everything you need to get started. Remember you need an emulator for each system and a ROM file to play on it. There are more advanced things you can do with emulation and I encourage everyone to seek out more info elsewhere to help you setup the ultimate Nerd Retro System!
Emulators:
ROMs:
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