It’s always good to look back at the classics and re-experience their legacy from time to time. While they may have aged, the core designs behind their gaming philosophy never do. Thankfully, there's no better time than now to revisit and enjoy retro gaming.

Image courtesy of Freepik

But what’s the best way to play these retro games in 2024? Is it picking up a retro console of your own? Or are there other alternatives to explore?

Classic consoles on the market

Believe it or not, the retro market is still going strong. Old consoles might not be produced by their companies anymore, but there's still a market if you know where to look.

Part of it is because there’s a demand for these retro consoles. An article on CBC highlights part of the reason why these are still popular.  Video game preservation is important, and a notable part of the community has taken it upon themselves to keep these physical media intact. It helps preserve these items as a part of video game history and guarantees that they won't be forgotten.

Image courtesy of Raffi Asdourian via Flickr

However, not everyone who participates in it does it for history. There are some people who simply find the nostalgia and simplicity of older games to be preferable. These retro enthusiasts are the main lifeblood of the retro market, and plenty of them become long-time collectors and retro game enthusiasts, causing there to still be a sizable demand for these retro consoles.

Be warned that buying a legitimate console may cost a lot, especially if the consoles are rare and the video games are hard to find.

Emulation

If you're not able to cough up the cash to play these classics on a legitimate console, you can always go for the next best thing. Emulating these old consoles tends to be easy, and there's a wide variety of reliable emulators to pick from.

Popular examples are the accessible Dolphin emulator for Gamecube and Wii games, Kega for Sega Genesis, and Retroarch for a variety of games from the NES to the PSX.

Image courtesy of RetroArch via Steam

These emulators tend to be lightweight on your PC usage as well, so even more portable devices like Laptops and Steam Decks can run these emulators without a problem.

Be warned that while emulation is legal, finding the games for your emulators can be a problem. What’s more, companies like Nintendo and Sony tend to have a negative opinion of these free emulators, with plenty of articles detailing the bad blood that these.

Never fear, though, for if you want to buy directly from the game developers themselves, some company-sanctioned emulators are often repackaged as their own consoles. Companies like Nintendo have finally realized just how lucrative the retro market is and are putting out their own emulators and retro games for sale, packaged and shipped off on accessible little shells for the avid collector

Image courtesy of Nintendo

Rereleases on Steam

If neither of these options seems interesting, you can always go direct for the remasters and rereleases. Instead of playing the games through original hardware or through emulation, why not go on Steam or GOG and play the remasters instead? Companies like Capcom and Square Enix understand that there's still a market for these retro games and have made some of their classics available for purchase. Remasters of Final Fantasy, Castlevania, and other similar titles are easily accessible on Steam if you take a moment to browse.

Image courtesy of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster via Steam

Classics like Golden Axe and Phantasy Star are incredibly easy to boot up and play, and rereleases of titles like Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara are a great way to relive the classic games of yore with all the conveniences of modern gaming.

Retro-inspired games

If these still haven’t sated your fill for retro-gaming, one can always play retro-inspired games as well! Airdorf’s retro-inspired horror game Faith is sure to creep you out despite its art style, mimicking the old classic Sierra adventure horror games with its dark atmosphere and unnerving story. If you fancy something far more active, New Blood’s Ultrakill takes clear inspiration from the boomer shooters of olde, asking you to dodge, duck, dive, and die as needed.

Image courtesy of Airdorf’s FAITH: The Unholy Trinity via Steam

Similarly, Space Pants Games’ Rocket Panda channels the classic gameplay of old-time platformers. Complete with all the charm and frustration the genre brings, it’s a throwback to a simpler time, asking its audience to evoke fond memories of games like Sonic and Super Mario. With plenty of levels to experience and different challenges to overcome, Rocket Panda might be the video game you need.

Rocket Panda

A lot of these retro-style games tend to be found on Kickstarter. These smaller indie devs cater directly to their audience, with rewards of cartridges, artbooks, and all sorts of prizes given to fans generous enough to support them in their campaign. Any retro fans who love these retro games should consider supporting these Kickstarters, especially if they’re fans of the physical media. It’s the best way to ensure that more games of this nature come out.

These are the best ways to play with the classics once again. There’s no wrong answer to it either. Whether you’re emulating a classic on the go or playing a throwback game on a console, these games prove the timelessness of the genre’s quality. You just can’t beat the tried-and-tested.

Want to experience more retro games? Join us at our Discord or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Retro games are our passion, and there’s nothing more we love doing than getting others to love the same games we love.

This article was written by Alexander Cuaycong