pc
here i’m just going to list what the best emulators for each system are, and where to get them. if you need help setting these things up (and most of them are pretty self-explanatory), then checkout the guides at easyEmu and EmuGuide.co.uk. there are also huge lists of emulators at Zophar’s Domain
nes (nintendo entertainment system)
one of the most influential consoles ever, over 60 million were sold
- best windows emulators: jnes, fce ultra
- best linux emulators: fce ultra + gfce ultra frontend (get 0.5.2 or later)
- best games: 1942, castlevania, elite, super mario brothers, tetris
snes (super nintendo entertainment system)
successor to the nes, considered by many to be the best console of all time
- best windows emulators: snes9x, zsnes
- best linux emulators: zsnes, snes9x + snes9express frontend
- best games: castlevania – dracula x, killer instinct, mario kart, shadowrun
sega genesis (aka: megadrive)
this console cemented sonic the hedgehog into popular culture, and is still being manufactured and sold in brazil!
- best windows emulator: kega fusion
- best linux emulators: gens/gs
- best games: blackthorne (32x), castlevania – bloodlines, desert strike, outrun, snatcher (sega cd), starflight
gameboy & gameboy color
this awesome little handheld had a huge life, in several incarnations, and made portable gaming a serious market
- best windows emulator: bgb, visualboy (now visualboy advance)
- best games: chase hq, kirby’s star stacker, mario & yoshi, pokemon
gameboy advance
the next incarnation of nintendo’s handheld offering is surprisingly powerful, yet still showing sprite-based games can be popular in an age of 3D graphics
- best windows emulator: visualboy advance, no$gba
- best linux emulator: visualboyadvance-gtk
- best games: dynasty warriors, lego star wars ii, pokemon
sega master system
this thing has been out for so goddamn long, and i still haven’t finished alex kidd
- best windows emulator: kega fusion
nintendo 64
this console blew everyone away with its immersive 3d graphics and gameplay, but was limited by its’ obsolete and expensive cartridge game format
- best windows emulator: project64 (unofficial 2.0, or official 1.7)
- best games: goldeneye 007, killer instinct gold, perfect dark
sony playstation (psx)
the first widely-used cd-based console, this was originally designed to be an expansion to the snes. also introduced the archetype of all dual analog controllers to come
- best windows emulator: ePSXe
- best games: gran turismo 2, tekken 3
turbografx-16 / pc-engine
an underrated console that never came to australia, and barely to europe, has seen something of a revival due to popularity of emulation
- best windows emulator: magic engine
- best games: castlevania – rondo of blood, splatterhouse
neo geo & cps 1/2 (capcom play system 1 and 2)
hugely popular systems, both famous for their stand-up arcade fighters and beat-em-ups
- best windows emulator: winkawaks
- best games: aliens vs predator, street fighter ii, super puzzle fighter