Retro Gaming Hacks

Play Retro Games on Older Systems

Mess around with older attempts at classic collections .

How retro are you? So retro you don’t even have a PlayStation 2 or Xbox? Possibly. But I bet you’ve at least got a PSone or a Nintendo 64 around somewhere.

(“But,” you explain, “it was on sale, and isn’t it retro nowadays? Hell, it came out in 1994…”)

Okay, okay, I get it. You’re retro. But you’ve got to admit, those classic game compilations [Hack #16] look pretty sweet, huh? Come on, I see you staring. You might want to know that there are a few retro game collections for older systems, too. Some are well done, but some are total ripoffs. In this hack, I’ll help you separate the golden oldies from the just plain outdated.

Tip

A few of the games discussed in this section are available only in Japan. To learn how to get your hands on these games, read “Buy Retro Games from Japan” [Hack #9] .

Classic Arcade Game Collections

Home versions of arcade games were always inferior to their coin-op counterparts. That was just something we had to deal with back then. Not in today’s age of high-powered hardware, right? Yes and no. While some of the collections shown next are perfect, others have some problems. Read before you buy!

Namco Museum.

You can find Namco Museum collections, which feature a sampling of the company’s classic arcade games, on most contemporary systems from the Xbox to the PSP. But the series started on the PlayStation, which is where the most complete array of titles can still be found. ...