Emulators used throughout the years
This topic is close to my brain, as in, it's my memories. Memories of using software to revisit the glory days of gaming and reliving the same experiences, over and over and over again.
If other mid-late millennials, or fans of the good ol games, can relate to this, I hope you enjoy the read.
The first encounter
One of the first games I remember playing on the family computer was Sonic & Knuckles.
I have a distinct memory of looking through the programs on our PC, seeing a very, VERY familiar application icon. I couldn't believe it. Sonic had transcended beyond TV-bound consoles. Not content with having S&K on Mega Drive, we also had it on PC. Being quite young at the time, I must have been jumping with joy to find out I could play Sonic in one room, head over to the lounge room with the PC, and begin playing again! If only I knew how portable things would become ...
DGen
This was amazing. All Sonic games playable on PC? Save states?! Game genie codes?!! This was my earliest emulator from memory and brought me so many hours of continued SEGA, I mean Sonic, entertainment. DGen had an insane amount of options and configurations. For the older folk, they could tweak and experience a Mega Drive game directly on their computer. For me, I didn't know too much much apart from:
- Load Game
- Save/Load States
- Input -> Controller -> Slot 1
That was all I needed. I even remember compressing & sending DGEN files to a school friend over email to show them what they're missing out on. What a wild & unsafe thing to do, especially on someone else's machine.
The last time I remember playing DGEN was about 14 years ago. I needed to kill time at a new job, not knowing what to do, I busted out my laptop to play a little S3&K. Tearing through Angel Island Zone for the 500th time was just what I needed. Until I looked up from my desk and saw a security camera directly above and my laptop was in perfect view ... Shite. Thankfully I left not too long after of my own accord.
Mostly played:
- Sonic 1, 2, 3, S&K, S3&K
ZSNES + Snes9X
Yet another early option for me, this time not really sure how I was introduced to ZSNES. We didn't have a Super Nintendo growing up, but somehow it appeared on our PC's Programs list. And like all kids did back then to kill time, I started exploring unknown installed software. Thankfully this was safe, and even better it introduced me to one of my favourite games, Chrono Trigger.
ZSNES was easy to use for young me, with simple UI navigation and a geeky console theme, it was all you needed back then. I also came across Snes9X and realised, oh wow, now there are TWO ways I can play Chrono?! Both got the job done, though Snes9x had that Windows dialog UI, so looking back now that's definitely -1 for style points.
I highly recommend watching this interview with the creator of ZSNES. They discuss the origins of the software, technical challenges and even the pronunciation. It's always "zee-snes" to me.
Mostly played:
- Chrono Tigger
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
- Donkey Kong Country
- Metal Warriors
- Secret of Mana
Project64
Now we're talking. This emulator served me well throughout my last couple of years at high school. I remember getting a new laptop and I needed to revisit my N64 days on the go. As a teenager, there was nothing better to do late at night. Lights off, lie down, unzip and ... enjoy racing through DKR with Conker collecting silver coins or blasting away droids with Dash Rendar, using the most complicated keyboard configuration yet.
Mostly played:
- Mario Kart 64
- Conkers Bad Fur Day
- Super Smash Bros
- Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
- Diddy Kong Racing
VisualBoyAdvance
GBA emulation came around the late 00s for me. Given that the console was not even 10yrs old, I was still enjoying the actual portable hardware at the time (GBA, DS, PSP). Though given this was during the golden era of gaming (to me), with so many consoles & franchises pushing out high quality products, I could be forgiven for being a little late this time around. I mean, who else was going to beat Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine?!
This was my first time playing Pokemon Fire Red and with the help of 2x speed, I could blaze my way through grinding XP and evolve into Charizard by the time I could battle Misty. I didn't play too many games here from memory, and it took me another attempt ~15 years later to finally beat Mario & Luigi: SS on a smartphone emulator.
Weirdly enough, I didn't play any Sonic games on VBA. This is odd for me as it's always my go-to game.
Double weirdly enough: I am STILL discovering more GBA emulators to this day. These include https://github.com/skylersaleh/SkyEmu, https://github.com/mgba-emu and many more.
Mostly played:
- Pokemon Fire Red
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Wii virtual consoles
You though the Wii was cool? How about paying money for a Wii -> using money for Wii games -> choosing not to play those games, instead purchasing Wii Store money -> buying 15 year old games and playing those instead? That was what we did ... The Wii was great, but the allure of playing retro games was too strong.
A special shoutout to the Wii supporting GameCube backwards compatibility. In doing so, I was able to play Sonic Mega Collection (GC) on the Wii itself, allowing me to once AGAIN play all the top Sonic games.
It was also during this time, specifically 2010, I was exposed to the world of speed-running. In particular Sonic speed runs. I have a photo somewhere of my first sub 20s Emerald Hill zone act 1. I'll have to dig it up one day.
I'm planning to also boot up my Wii again and see what stories, history and files I could pull out of it. Very curious and evenly cautious.
Mostly played:
- Mario Kart 64
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1/2/3)
- Super Mario 64
- Columns (no idea but this game was one of our choices ... )
Smartphone era
Oh lord, too many to count. Honestly, I've used many Android phones used since 2011 and taken advantage of booting up games I never got around to fully completing, or needed a quick retro fix.
- I recall playing FF4 (or was it 3 ... I can't keep up with the early FF numbers) back on the train to work, using my 40min transit time wisely.
- Purchasing the legit Sonic 1 remake from Christian Whitehead, now with the ability to play Sonic 1 as Tails & Knuckles
- Replaying Pokemon Silver daily during the 8 minute walk from station to office, this time with cheats, to finally start with whichever Pokemon I so desired (it was Espeon)
- Squishing my GBA layout controls on screen to play through Metroid Fusion, unable to consistently shoot up+right whilst moving
- Waiting in the queue for my COVID jabs and pushing myself to beat FFV, grinding enough levels to beat Omega Weapon & Shinryu
And in recent years, my Raspberry Pi 4b. What an amazing creation of mechanical beauty fitted into a small but powerful (enough) box. Surely this is the time to get into homelabs and self-hosting ...
Nope, first had I to play Sonic 2 again. And Pokemon Stadium 2 ... And Crash Bandicoot 2. And Tekken 2. Honestly they were the first games by chance I played and they were all sequels. Luck of the Irish I suppose.
