It’s certainly easy to feel jaded by the modern gaming space.
Great games continue to be released at a steady pace; this month we have already seen bangers Nioh 3 And Romeo is a dead man. Yet when many big-budget AAA games boil down to this same open-world format, or developers suffer huge layoffs weeks after the release of a new title, it can all leave one feeling extremely cynical about the state of things.
I don’t want to sound like “yer da”, but there really is something to be said for the simplicity and often expertly crafted nature of games released 20, 30, even 40 years ago and beyond. What we now call retro games were once pioneering works of art and have withstood the ravages of time extremely well.
There have been many pieces of retro gaming-adjacent specialty hardware in recent years that have really reignited my love for classic games. Whether it’s revisiting old arcade games in the palm of my hand with the Super Pocket, or experiencing PS2 and GameCube hits with quality upscalers like the mClassic, there’s so much on offer for the curious.
Diving a little deeper into these two in particular, the Super Pocket is a great handheld console with a Game Boy-like silhouette. Created by Blaze Entertainment, it uses the brand’s Evercade cartridges to play and display retro games on a crisp 4:3 screen. Different versions of the Super Pocket also come with a selection of built-in games, from Capcom or SNK, for example.
The mClassic requires a little more setup. It is above all an upscaler for the Nintendo Switch and one that the console often desperately needs; increase the resolution and apply essential anti-aliasing. However, it also has a dedicated 4:3 mode for retro hardware and can be used with anything from the SNES and PlayStation to the Dreamcast and GameCube – provided you have an HDMI converter compatible with your system of choice.
Whether you’re a young gamer curious to explore the wide world of retro gaming for the first time, or an old seasoned looking to shake off the dust of that old system that’s been sitting in your attic, I can highly recommend the following products to those looking for an experience quite different from the latest releases from the big names.
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As TechRadar Gaming’s Hardware Editor, I’m on the front lines bringing you the latest (and hopefully best) gaming tech. That includes controllers, headsets, must-have accessories, and of course the consoles themselves.
The Best Retro Gaming Products Available Today
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