As the years slip away, video games companies continuously give us new games to look forward to. But what if we want to play an older game? The sad truth is that consoles do not last forever. With each year that passes, we lose the ability to play the nostalgic games that we bought with our parents’ hard-earned cash. No amount of blowing or alcohol cotton-swabbing can get some of these games to play, so what do you do? There is a solution…

What are Emulators?

Emulators are light-weight programs that act as functional substitutions for gaming consoles. They not only let you to play existing video games, but also allow you to play hacked (modified) games that contain new levels and challenges (or a complete overhaul of the entire game). Emulators are mostly used for older consoles, like the NES or the SEGA Genesis, but there are also emulators for the newer consoles (though they are generally much more resource intensive). A Super Nintendo emulator can easily run on your old PC and mimic the original games fairly flawlessly.

How do Emulators Work?

Basically all you need to know (unless you want to make your own emulator) is that the emulator program is able to open files known as ROMs or ISOs. ROMs are images of games that originally shipped on cartridges (SNES, N64, etc.), and ISOs are images of games that were originally on discs (PS, Dreamcast, etc.). However, one emulator cannot play all ROMs or ISOs. To play a SNES ROM, you need an emulator that acts as a SNES. To play a PS ISO, you need a PS Emulator. Make sense? Good.

What are the Benefits to Using an Emulator?

Emulators allow you to enjoy an absolutely enormous library of games free-of-charge on your own computer. They take up a very insignificant amount of space on your hard drive (unless you’re using an emulator for a new console), and most of them let you save your game whenever want. Chris and Zack are a part of the NES generation. However, I imagine many of you guys grew up with an N64 or perhaps even a later console, completely missing out on some legendary games. Once a console has lived out its lifespan the only other alternative is to buy it again to play on another console (which will again be replaced in about 3-5 years). What are you supposed to do? Emulators offer the only practical solution for gamers who just want to relive the classics they grew up with and don’t have to worry about working with fragile hardware.

So They’re Perfect, Right?

Well, nothing is perfect. The ESA has made it illegal (and often times impossible) to download some ROMs, making it pretty difficult to find the game you’re looking for in some cases. The most recent crackdown on emulators is due to the new market created by Nintendo’s Virtual Console (Wii) and Microsoft’s market for these older games. These are designed to let you relive your childhood by selling you yesterday’s technology at today’s prices. We believe that while the idea of a classic games marketplace is a good thing, the high prices and ridiculous constraints that lock these purchases to the console fail to solve the overall problem that caused people to turn to emulators in the first place. Oftentimes the companies that made these original games are no longer in existence and are definitely not making any money from sales of the game itself. So, buy the game on Virtual Console if you wish, but we prefer the guaranteed longevity of emulators on our computers. Also, if you don’t want to get frustrated or have your hands burst in flames, we recommend you purchase a USB controller. They are around $10-$15 new but are definitely worth it if you plan on playing any fighting games (see Street Fighter).
So Which Emulators Should I Download?
We recommend the following emulators:

• RockNESX – NES emu
• ZNES – SNES emu
• Visual Boy – Advance, GB, GBC, and GBA emu
• Project64 – N64 emu
• epsxe – PSX emu

Check back soon for our article on the best sites for ROMs.