What Is It With Emulation??

[o.pwuaioc]

I've been thinking about this lately. Even as late as when I first joined, I pretty much only emulated. Sure, I have my consoles, but I was living in a tiny room in an apartment I shared, and having my current setup was impossible. I played everything; I had SNES, N64, and PS/PS2 USB adapters; and for about two years I didn't even touch emulation.

Now I'm here in my own apartment again in NYC, and I have my TV out with my consoles - I haven't emulated anything since! The last game I emulated to play fully was StarTropics (back in Rhode Island, so before I had my NES hooked-up), and when I noticed a bug in the ROM, I haven't touched any since.* The only games I'd want to play emulated now are the ones that never got US releases, like Terranigma or Sin and Punishment. The rest I'm more content to wait until I buy it.

Why is that? It's not a matter of TV size, since my laptop has an HDMI cable, and my TV that I'm currently using for retro games isn't even that much bigger than my comp's screen. I have the original controller for both. I can put my laptop as far away as I want and sit on the couch still. There's just nothing like actually owning what you consume. Out of music, books, movies, and games, I must own the games, and want to own the movies, would prefer to own the books (if I use them enough), and would like to own the music (though that's not at all necessary). So why games? I can't figure it out, but it's there. Emulation just lacks something that consoles provide.

* Except for Supercade games, but that's different since I'm playing multiplayer with friends thousands of miles away. This might change when Noise makes us play Golden Axe Warrior in January, though!

[corn619]

I love emulation for a lot of reasons. Some the ROM hacks released are absolutely awesome. Fan translations are the best. Star Ocean, Sweet Home and Secret Of Mana 3 were phenomenal experiences. The crystal clear screen with the ability to smooth out the pixels is great. Not having to walk back to the king every time I want to save is a pretty big bonus, especially being as busy as I am these days.

The portability factor that emulation brings to the table is a great thing too. Not having to worry about wiped saves due to shitty batteries is a plus for me. I break out the old carts once in a while, but I emulate most of the games I have on carts these days.

[AmishSamurai]

I don't do romsets, but I do emulate some. I've noticed that when you download too many games at once though, you get a bit of emulation burnout.

[xan_racketBOY_fan]

Just ain't the same.

[Xeogred]

I was making a big reply earlier but wasn't sure where I was going with it, lol. Anyways my thoughts still remain with what I said earlier in the thread, I'm more about the authentic experience myself, but not totally against emulation which I've been doing a lot lately. Even with games I own actually, I think it's mainly due to the fact that I don't have the best setup anymore right now for consoles via AV and all, my HDTV sadly doesn't support S-video, and yeah. Washy consoles via AV on my HDTV is a real eyesore to me. I barely use save states thesedays though as they really take me out of the experience and ruin the fun, and I haven't used the keyboard in years for any emulator which is nice. I either use my wired 360 controller, or 90% of the time a PS2 controller through some USB adapter. I won't argue it's better than being authentic, though the controller certainly does make the experience way better while emulating stuff. Wouldn't mind getting more USB controllers eventually.

... Not having to worry about wiped saves due to shitty batteries is a plus for me. I break out the old carts once in a while, but I emulate most of the games I have on carts these days.

I think this is another reason why I've been emulating some SNES stuff lately, even with games I own. Probably just being paranoid though, haha. But I'll never forget the last time I replayed SMRPG a few years ago, I went to load up the game the day after I beat it to go fight the secret boss Culex and my game was erased. Granted the cart is kind of in bad condition, but yeah it sucked that this happened the very next day after finishing the game again.

I don't do romsets, but I do emulate some. I've noticed that when you download too many games at once though, you get a bit of emulation burnout.

Yep, like I said on page 3 I think, they're the devil. I just download roms one by one now when I'm in the mood to play or check something out, that way I actually play them!

[BoneSnapDeez]

I like to emulate games that I actually own. Helps me preserve my old games (and batteries). I usually use a VGA cable to hook my laptop to my television. I use a Logitech PS2-style controller or SNES controller with a Super Smart Joy. Feels like the real thing.

Plus, emulation is about the only way to play Japanese games in English (unless there is a reproduction cart available) and MAME is great for arcade games.

[gtmtnbiker]

I'm all for emulation which is why I love the Wii virtual console and my PSP for portable emulation. I'm looking forward to the 3DS XL virtual console one day.

It's not perfect but it's good enough for me. I do admit that using the camera stick on the Wii controller for Legend of Zelda OOT is not as good as using the N64 buttons but I can adapt ok.

[Pulsar_t]

The PSP is so awesome for playing MD/SNES/GBA/GBC/MCD/PCE/NES/SMS/PS1/MVS/CPS1/CPS2 games and too bad it doesn't have a faster CPU it could have handled N64 as well. Portable retro gaming is too good to ignore.

Hopefully they'll homebrew the Vita before long.

[fastbilly1]

Emulation has its place, but it will never replace the real experience. I emulated every day, be it a NES title on my 3ds, a 7800 game on my Wii, or a PSX game on my PC. Those games are often short titles - most of those are arcade games (I play DK Jr and Wrecking Crew at work during lunch on my 3ds). But when I do play a long game, specifically an RPG, I am far more inclined to play it via emulation for two reasons: exp modifier and save states. The Exp modifier is so I dont have to grind for hours between bosses in an RPG. Save States are simply because when I am playing a game, often I have to pause it for an extended period of time. I play games during the downtime at work at both of my jobs, so sometimes I will be in the middle of a boss fight and have to go problem solve for two hours. Save states let me still play long games.

Dont get me wrong. Despite having a Wii full of NES titles, I am only 50 carts away from having every NES game I have ever been interested in. Which will give me alittle over 300 NES/Famicom titles.

[KingDavid73]

I don't know what it is, but I can't get into emulated games. I just flip through them and never focus on one. It's probably because I don't have to get up off the couch to change games.. once you sit down, you're committed.