A lot of people who read Blow The Cartridge have been into retrogaming as a hobby for quite a while now, but I wanted to write a quick guide for those new to it all. It’s by no means meant to be a comprehensive guide, but enough to start a conversation, and I definitely want to hear what works for you too!

So first things first, what is “retrogaming” anyway?

Basically it’s about playing, collecting and enjoying video games that came out a long time ago.

Exactly how old a game needs to be to be considered “retro” is a fluid topic, but I find there’s a nice sweet spot where games that came out 20 years are old enough to be appreciated with fresh eyes but still modern enough to look halfway decent even today. It’s not an exact science, but it’s a good enough ballpark.

Just like how music lovers tend to stick to the albums they grew up with, or movie buffs will gladly cite a certain era of film-making as their favourite, retrogamers are known to have a soft spot for the games or systems they played with the most when they were in their high school or college years, when they had the most amount of free time. For example I’ll always have a piece of my heart devoted to the Commodore 64, but long time readers would already know that 🙂

There’s also a serious side to retrogaming – the need to preserve gaming’s incredible history. As old floppy disks succumb to age and cartridge batteries fail over time, it’s important that we keep old games alive for a new generation to enjoy.

Thankfully, that’s exactly what’s happening! Digital preservation and emulation has come a long way over the past ten years, and it’s exciting to see a younger gamers trying out games that came out long before they were born. There’s nothing wrong with the games that are coming out today of course, but retrogaming takes us back to a time when games were just a bit weirder and wilder than they are now.

Hardware or emulation?

Look, I could go on a wild rant here about how emulation is basically software piracy, even though many of the games in questions are long out of print, but the reality is that downloading an emulator and a bunch of games is quick, easy and frankly good enough for most people.

And hell, I’ll admit that I enjoy using emulators, because they save me from having to dive into the unknown terror that is my games storage cupboards to find NBA Jam or whatever. Being able to browse through a library of all your games with an easy menu system, saving your progress at any moment, and enjoying foreign or rare games on the cheap is an alluring proposition!

In fact, there are dozens of great ways to get into retrogaming through perfectly legal emulation options. There are many great retro game compilation releases for modern consoles, Nintendo have a Virtual Console service on their Wii / Wii U and 3DS systems, PlayStation Network has a great range of PlayStation 1 titles you can play on your PS3 and Vita, the online service Good Old Games provides an incredibly convenient way of bringing classic PC games to life, and there’s a wide range of official hardware re-releases out there that include many of the titles that made the original system so popular. (I reviewed the Atari Flashback 3 last year) (Oh, and ask me about Microsoft’s Game Room project back in 2010 sometime. Bring beer)

But for a lot of people, emulation is just not as good as the real thing. There’s something just so satisfying about using real hardware. The thrill of finding a game you used to play in a second hand thrift store. The challenge of getting everything working. The big thick CLUNK of the Super Nintendo power switch. The hand cramps from using the bulky, ugly original Genesis controller – it’s as much of the experience as the game itself.

All that being said, as far as I’m concerned the main thing is that you have fun!

Where to start

If you’re old enough to have fond memories of old video games, I really recommend going back to where it all began for you. It’s funny how reconnecting with a game you sunk hours into way back when takes you back to a simpler time, and being able to share it with your friends and family today.

Plus, let’s be honest here, it’s just a great feeling to go “I’m a grown adult now, and if I want to drop $500 to buy a giant box of Nintendo 64 games I could never afford when I was a kid then nothing can stop me”. Well, maybe you could run it past your partner first if you have one, but the point still stands – retrogaming is a great way to finally get the games you always wanted, and usually much cheaper than they were back in the day.

If you’re new to the hobby and are young enough not to be clouded by nostalgia, then take a look at what games came out about 20 years and see what takes your fancy. Perhaps the modern franchises or developers you’re a fan of had their start back then and it would be a kick to go back and see what they were like on old hardware.

For example Final Fantasy is still a big thing now, but a lot of people say Final Fantasy 6 is the best game in the series. Platform aficionados will always cite Super Mario Bros. 3 as a “must play” 2D Mario game. There’ll always be twin stick shooter fans who think things never got better than Smash T.V. And with all the new hoopla about the new Doom, there’s never been a better reason to dig up the original and play with that chainsaw again.

Getting the games

OK, so we’re assuming that you want to go after physical objects, and that means you’re going to have to do some shopping.

But wait! First off, ask around your friends and family to see if they have an old Genesis or whatever collecting dust in their basement. I talk so much about old games that my friends just kind of assume I want their retrogaming systems when they find them around their house. They’ll probably be happy to get rid of them, even for a slab of beer. By the way, get used to paying for things with slabs of beer, it’s kind of the unofficial retrogaming currency.

Second hand shops in your area should be your next port of call. The good news is that more and more second hand stores are stocking old video games. The bad news is that they’re all too aware of how much people are willing to pay for that copy of Alex The Kid or whatever. Prices have gone through the roof in the past few years, which is a damn shame.

It’s the same kind of situation with online auctions. Collectors have driven prices up to sometimes stupid levels, and driven the baseline price for even the most mediocre games to the point where getting into the hobby gets a bit pricey.

Try looking at your local area’s garage sales – it’s like the bit above where people are happy to clear out their unwanted “junk” but instead of friends it’s complete strangers and instead of beer you’re having to give them actual cash money. Still, they’re at least usually unaware that that old Amiga of theirs is worth anything.

Making them work

Be aware that you’re part of the challenge in retro gaming is just getting everything working right. Don’t worry, it’s not that hard – you just need to remember a few things that modern gamers don’t have to worry about so much.

Dust: Contrary to popular belief, blowing the cartridge actually hurts your games, not helps. You’re basically spitting on your games! Dirty cartridge contacts are best cleaned with a Q-tip, some rubbing alcohol and a bit of elbow grease. Get a can of compressed air to blow out the cobwebs in that long-neglected Atari ST. Grime on your controllers can be easily fixed with a (very) slightly damp washcloth and a couple of minutes spent rubbing it off.

Power supplies: It might sound like overkill, but take the time to get your newly purchased yet decades-old gaming systems checked out by an electrical safety service. I mean, you wouldn’t just plug a 30 year old toaster into your wall socket, would you? Power cords have a nasty habit of fraying over time and who knows what safety regulations we have no that we didn’t have when these machines originally came out. Safety switches! Fire blankets! You don’t want to lose the house just because you were ironically in a hurry to play Burning Rangers.

Operating systems: We fondly remember playing Mechwarrior 2 on the PC, but chances are we’ve gladly forgotten what a pain in the patukus bashing CONFIG.SYS into shape was or having to deal with getting the Soundblaster IRQ settings right was. Even with the remarkable DOSBox software it can still be a tricky process. Thankfully we have Google. Google is your friend. Pretty much every problem we have getting old PC games working has already been figured out by someone smarter than you. Likewise, the arcane logic behind the Commodore loading process is documented online. Here’s a handy hint: chances are you just want to type in LOAD”*”,8,1;RUN anyway.

Faulty Hardware: Sometimes you’re going to have to get the soldering gun out and replace faulty chips. Sometimes you’re going to have to take an old joystick apart and trawl through boxes of spares to find the right replacement part. Personally this is the part where I fully admit I have no real world skills and can’t even operate a screwdriver properly, and leave this to smarter friends. Be prepared for it!

Televisions: Did you know that old fashioned light gun games like Time Crisis and Operation Wolf don’t work on modern LCD televisions? And that old Odyssey-2 system rudely doesn’t have HDMI out as standard? It’s true and it’s annoying enough that perhaps you should look into finding an old Sony Trinitron television to connect your old systems to. Not only are they designed to handle the old fashioned RF connectors, they use beams of light that light guns just love and they also give blocky games free anti aliasing!

Have fun!

This is the most important step! Video games are fun, no matter when they came out, and I hope you get to discover some classics along the way.

More than that though, the real pleasure in retrogaming is making new friends and sharing stories, tips and experiences over a common (and fun) interest. It’s part of what is so great about making Blow The Cartridge, too. Thanks for reading!