New to Retro Gaming

[Wombatula]

Hey all. I'm 32 and started gaming with the Odyssey and played every Nintendo system up to the N64, and a little of the Genesis, but only ever had a few games on each system. Life got in the way and I never got into the PS1, and only played the PS2, XBox, and GC sparingly. I got the Wii for my 8 yr old daughter and my wife got me the 360 and PS3 for Christmas year before last, but still, I have only just gotten back into gaming. I have fallen in love with the Mass Effect series as well as the Ratchet and Clank series, and my daughters and I play the Lego games religously. Naturally, I'm interested in playing the older games for these systems, but for some reason, I really want to go back and play all the great games I missed from the NES to the current generation.

I'm really excited about getting into the retro scene, I even picked up a Dreamcast and my kids and wife and I stayed up all night playing Bomberman Online, Chu Chu Rocket, Looney Tunes Space Race, San Fran Rush 2049, Typing of the Dead, and Tennis 2K2. My daughters have gotten into gaming big time and it's a great bonding experience that I want to continue. My best memories as a kid was staying up all night playing FF III or Zelda: LttP with my Dad, and I want to have the same with my kids.

I plan on buying the actual consoles and games, since I prefer playing the original thing to emulators. Nothing brings back the memories like the original to me, although for the expensive games emulators will suffice. This site has been a great help, but is there any advice you guys can give me to help me get caught up on those old systems without ignoring the current systems and falling behind on them as well? Should I focus first on those older systems before trying to catch up on the games for current systems or should I catch up on current games 1st? Or a little of both?

Sorry for the lengthy post, but any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I attempt my quest of experiencing all the great games I've missed throughout my years.

[CRTGAMER]

Welcome Wombatula ! A great first post, I can see a lot of knowledge has just been added to the member list! Every console has its own great games.

This site has been a great help, but is there any advice you guys can give me to help me get caught up on those old systems without ignoring the current systems and falling behind on them as well? Should I focus first on those older systems before trying to catch up on the games for current systems or should I catch up on current games 1st? Or a little of both?

Sorry for the lengthy post, but any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I attempt my quest of experiencing all the great games I've missed throughout my years.

Hit the Guides section at the top left.

[Wombatula]

Doh! Can't believe I missed that section. I'm used to seeing it in the stickied section. Thank you also for the kind words, hopefully I can contribute as much as possible to this site and this hobby.

[Opa Opa]

Welcome to the site!

So you started on the Odyssey? That's pretty awesome.

[CFFJR]

Welcome FNG!

My best advice, take it slow. Its very possible to completely burn yourself out!

Only buy games you intend to play. Collecting is fun, but its easy to go on a rampage and buy a ton of games that end up sitting untouched.

As for ways to approach it, consider picking a system and exploring it for a while before trying another one. Alternatively, find a genre you love, and try all the best games from that genre.

Enjoy it! You've got thousands of games to look forward to!

[Wombatula]

Good idea. I believe I'll start with either the Dreamcast since I already purchased one with a number of games, or the PSX. However I've heard there is an emulator that plays PSX games better than the PSX does itself so there is no need to buy the system or the games. Is this true?

[KillemallCFH]

Welcome!

The one piece of advice I have to give is that you'll never be able to play every game there is, so just pick some and have fun with them. Don't stop playing a game prematurely just because you want to get through as many as you can. It can be intimidating going through over a decade of games, many of which people will label as "must-plays," but as I said, and as others have said, don't get wrapped up buying so many games that most of them will never get touched. Gaming is about having fun, not about beating or owning as many games as you can. So just have fun with it! It's cool that your whole family is involved; I know I have a lot of great childhood memories of playing Super Mario World and Tetris Attack with my mother.

[lisalover1]

Only buy games you intend to play.

Quoted for being the NUMBER ONE RULE OF COLLECTING. Repeat this in your mind before you make any purchase. You don't need that Dreamcast Zip Drive nor do you need that knock-off N64 light gun. Why? Because you can't possibly use them in any constructive way. I base my collection on this rule. Otherwise, you're just wasting money. Best of luck in building your collection, new Racketeer!

[Wombatula]

Thanks for the advice. I have no intentions of collecting anything that I or my kids don't enjoy playing. I sampled all the Dreamcast games I recently purchased beforehand, and will do so as well for future purchases by using emulators or whatnot. I never did understand the collectors that wanted EVERY game, even the horrible ones.

[CFFJR]

Good idea. I believe I'll start with either the Dreamcast since I already purchased one with a number of games, or the PSX. However I've heard there is an emulator that plays PSX games better than the PSX does itself so there is no need to buy the system or the games. Is this true?

I'm honestly not sure about this. I've never explored emulation for playstation so I couldn't say. Higher resolution, sure, but run it better? Dunno.

Even then though, as you said, its more fun to play on the original systems, and a ps1 can be had for dirt cheap. Better yet, get a ps2, and you can play 95% of the ps1 library, plus have access to the ridiculous number of ps2 games.

Continuing your Dreamcast fun is good bet though. Really solid library. I'd recommend Sonic Shuffle as a good game you could enjoy with your kids. There are many others too, of course.