Traversing Through the Vast Tapestry of Gaming: A Gamer's Odyssey
- Nathaniel Hope
- Jun 10, 2024
- 49 min read
Updated: Feb 10
I'm a gamer. I've been a gamer my whole life. I've written about my past experiences in gaming before, reflecting on how I grew up as part of the Nintendo generation. I've told the tale of my journey that got me to the Sony Playstation as well as my love/hate, on-and-off again relationship, that I've had over the years with the Xbox. I've also written about what it was like to take my love for gaming to the next level, reflecting on my first year of streaming on Twitch. They're very personal pieces and are stories that reflect on what has defined me as a gamer throughout my life. I'm very proud to share these stories and hope they continue to bring joy, delight, and wonder to anyone who read them. Nonetheless, among all the various journeys I have embarked on, I felt compelled to delve even deeper. Ever since I started streaming on Twitch, my journey and my relationship with gaming has evolved into areas I never thought imaginable. What started out as a means to play games and share in the things I love, turned into a journey into the unknown. For the last eight years, my experiences into this unknown have shown me things. It has taken me to many places that have opened my eyes to new, exciting possibilities, and has shown me perspectives I've never thought of or considered before. It has also shown me what weaves this encompassing tapestry of gaming, the gaming industry, and the gaming community. It's a vast, arduous, complicated odyssey, and is ultimately what I want to talk about. When I started streaming on Twitch, it began with emulation.
Come With Me on an Odyssey
My experience with emulation has generally been a rollercoaster ride at best. In my early days of streaming on Twitch, there wasn't an easy way to play older, retro consoles on modern televisions, let alone finding a way to connect your console to your PC. Everything these days uses an HDMI cable for video and audio because we live in a digital age for connectivity. Back in the day, however, everything that came before the PS3 and Xbox 360 ran on composite cables for audio and video. You needed some sort of adapter or converter to be able to play your old consoles on modern TVs and PCs. There wasn't a lot of options back then. But there were some basic RCA to HDMI boxes out there. Even with those kind of options, the end results varied. Most of the experiences I've had with various adapters and converters at that time didn't do much to help make the picture look good on a modern TV. Because these games were designed with CRT televisions in mind, you run into resolution issues, aspect ratio problems, signal incompatibility issues, input lag, and so much more. So when you run into roadblocks like that, other than playing old consoles on old outdated televisions, what else can you do? Well, enter the realm of emulation.
My Early Experiences With Emulation
I don’t remember when exactly I tried out playing games on emulators. But I do remember when I started to frequently use them. It was when I started streaming on Twitch in 2017.
Paradigm Gaming circa. Sept 2016 featuring BlueNile101 & Derptaku
Now, before I even started streaming on my own, I remember my first team-up stream with my partner in crime and co-creator of Paradigm Gaming, Derptaku. I flew back to Washington to visit him for about a week and he wanted me to experience what it was like to stream on Twitch. He told me to pick the game I wanted to play and he'd get everything set up. I picked Resident Evil 2 for the original Playstation, one of my favorite games of all-time. I watched Derp set it up on the ePSXe PS1 emulator on his PC and found out how simple and easy it was to do. To stream our gameplay to the Paradigm Gaming community on Twitch, all we had to do was open the emulator, run the ROM file of the game (which was acquired by the avenues across the internet at the time), share our window screen in OBS, and then broadcast it to Twitch. Simple. Easy. Fun. Amazing. To top it off, Resident Evil 2 looked absolutely amazing using the ePSXe emulator. With emulators you'll find all sorts of plugins and settings to make games look even better than it did when it was originally released. Things like enhancing the 3D model textures, improved higher framerates for smoother gameplay and animations, anti-aliasing techniques to smoothen the rough edges of polygons, and so much more. With my experience playing Resident Evil 2 using an emulator, I gotta admit, the game looked great, ran great, and overall, Derptaku and I had an amazing time. This experience was essentially the catalyst that got me to start streaming on Twitch moving forward.
It was then that I started to develop a general interest in emulation. I was curious as to what was possible. The more I got into it, the more I was extremely fascinated. I learned that emulation was starting to change the landscape of not only how you could play older games, but it opened doors that have led to some amazing ideas and innovations. For starters, emulators made it very easy to play old games on your PC. No extra hardware, no extra cables, just you and your computer. All you needed was the ROM file of the game you wanted to play, an emulator to run it. The ease and simplicity of emulation, the compactness, the convenience, and the longevity that emulation provides, it started to change the gaming landscape. Especially for those who wanted to share their gameplay to places like YouTube and Twitch. That's pretty much what it was like for me.
During my early days of streaming on Twtich, I learned a lot. I found when it came to emulation on PC, the games that ran well were mainly older retro systems like NES/SNES/Genesis, etc. Once you get to the PS2 and all the console generations above it, that's when things started to get a bit dicey and I found my experiences varied. From PS2, GameCube, Dreamcast, and beyond, I've experienced some games that ran great and many that did not. I've seen many with glitches and bugs and others that just straight up didn't work. Because there was a lot of inconsistencies where you never knew what kind of experience you were going to get, it made it challenging to enjoy gaming at times. But honestly, it's not really anyone's fault considering the fact that creating a video game emulator and having a game's ROM file work on it flawlessly is no easy task. They're created from scratch through computer programming and they're fine-tuned to get games to run as close to the original console experience as possible. Some emulators have been made through multiple year's worth of work, all done by a variety of people from around the world found in the gaming community. Basically, gamers, like you and me. So many groups of people over the years have come together to work on these kinds of projects in their own free time. Why? Because of a shared love of video games and wanting to see these games continue to live on, to continue to be experienced and enjoyed by all.
That being said, because there was still a lot of inconsistencies back then and I was starting to experience them myself, there was a defining moment for me when I decided to stop using emulators altogether.
I'll never forget the experience I had trying to play Onimusha using the PCSX2 emulator. As I was streaming it on Twitch, I got to a certain section at the beginning of the game where I tried to go through a door. I never got through and found myself walking off frame. It was kinda funny too because I was getting attacked by an endless horde of demons that just kept respawning. When you defeat them all, it’s supposed to trigger a cutscene and then allow you to progress forward. Unfortunately, that never happened and the demons just kept respawning over and over again.
It was at that moment that I realized that if I couldn't progress through the game, I couldn’t complete the game. If, for some reason I got the game to work by changing around some settings in my emulator, what happens if I run into the same issue down the line? Or worse, new issues? All of a sudden, all of the ‘what ifs’ were starting to stack against me. If I couldn’t play the game through to completion, I didn’t have a stream to entertain anyone. So it was then that I ultimately stopped using emulators. Not because I thought emulation was “bad” or anything. I just wanted to have a seamless experience playing classic games while entertaining my community on Twitch. Emulation, to me, is an amazing piece of technological wizardry. But in the mid 2000s, it was just not quite there for me yet. There was still work to be done in that space, so, I made a choice. From Onimusha forward, I chose to play games on their original intended hardware. It was then that I began a quest to find the means to be able to hook up all my old consoles up to my computer so I could share the games I love on Twitch. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy. But I was committed to streaming and I was committed to the Paradigm Gaming community. I wanted to see what other options were out for me. What else was out there? What else was possible? Turns out, emulation on a PC was just the beginning.
Devices For A New Digital Age
With the increasing demand for the ability to play old consoles on modern televisions, and with ease, some companies have stepped up to provide consumers with some options. Take Hyperkin for example. They created the RetroN series of modern retro consoles with the most popular of them being the RetroN5 HD Gaming Console. The Retron5 is basically an emulation box with cartridge slots for NES, Super NES, Famicom, Genesis, Sega Master System, Game Gear, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance. An ambitious all-in-one package, if you will. So, if you still have a bunch of old retro games and a modern TV with HDMI ports, this device will give you the ability to play all of your old games on that modern TV with ease. Where emulation comes to play is in the system's software.
To allow you to play your games, the Retron5 utilizes RetroArch, a popular frontend for emulators, game engines, and media players. Basically, rather than reading the games directly from the cartridge, this system uses software emulation to play the games you load onto it. When you insert the cartridge, the ROM file is dumped into the system and then ran off the system memory. Beyond giving you a basic ability to play your old games on modern TV, what makes this system really shine is with the built-in features. This system has a built-in video upscaler for an improved picture quality on modern TVs, video filters to give you customization options to improve the picture to your liking, and it also has an audio booster for a deeper and richer sounds and music. The biggest feature though? Save states. This will give you the ability to save your game anywhere, anytime, at any point, and pick right back up where you left off. Very handy for older games that didn't have any save features like many NES games.
Overall, Hyperkin delivered a product that gave the average consumer a solution to play their old games on modern TVs with ease and we have emulation to thank for it. That being said, while I loved that there was an option out there like this, my experience with it wasn't the greatest. I experienced pretty bad input lag on games that I know how it should feel when I press a button. And believe me, I tried everything. I've tried the controllers the system came with, I've tried a variety of original controllers that the console had ports for, and I tried really hard to just ignore it and push through it. But in the end, it all just made me really frustrated. Some games just didn't feel right and the lag was taking me away from an experience I was trying to relive with some of my favorite classic games. Plus, the cartridge slots held the game carts so hard that it felt like you were damaging them when trying to remove them from the console. Because of all this, I decided to look for a different solution.
What I ended up finding next was the Hauppage PVR2 Gaming Edition HD video recorder. This device was neat as it let you connect your old consoles to the box and pass the signal through to the HDMI slot. You can record your gameplay and even use it to stream to places like YouTube and Twitch. It was awesome. I loved the concept of this solution and ended up getting one. However, like the Hyperkin RetroN 5, it wasn't without its own set of challenges. For starters, the box has to be connected to your PC via USB to operate through its proprietary software. Old consoles get plugged into the box and the HDMI out goes to your monitor or TV. The idea was you'd use a second monitor or TV to view your actual game and play it. The box and software were mainly built for gameplay recording purposes. I thought it was interesting that you couldn't play directly through the Hauppauge software and just share that window. But what I noticed was even though there was a screen to view your game in the software, there was a huge input delay. Bigger than the Hyperkin RetroN 5.
I'd press a button to jump, which should be instantaneous. But it wouldn't show up in the software window until about 10-20 seconds later. I'm not joking here. You really did have to use the HDMI out connection to a separate monitor or TV for that instantaneous experience, not the software. I didn't have a second monitor when I first got this device so I had to alternate between HDMI inputs between my PC and my game. Eventually I ended up getting an internal capture card for my PC so I can plug the HDMI from the Hauppauge box directly into my PC. No more input switching that way. But what I also ran into was audio/video syncing issues. I had to tweak the video to match the audio often and that kinda started to become a pain. What made the Hauppauge box even more challenging was the picture quality coming through on the other side of the HDMI. The Hauppauge software had some visual enhancements you could tweak to make your game look better like brightness, color saturation, contrast, aspect ratio, and more. But nothing I seemed to do would make look it any better. One of the biggest issues I faced when using the box was when I used it to stream Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams for PS2. I found it very hard to read the game's text.
I did the best I could with what I had and, overall, the device did provide me and the Paradigm Gaming community some fun times on Twitch. But I really wasn't enjoying this experience as much as I wanted to. So again, I went to look for other options. Next thing I knew, I discovered Hyperkin was coming out with new products that actually got me very excited.
Enter Hyperkin HDTV line of HDMI cables
Hyperkin came out with an HDTV line of HDMI cables for just about all my favorite classic game systems. No longer were you limited to old RF Boxes or composite RCA cables. All you had to do was pick the cable for what system you wanted and just plug and play right to your HDTV. Hyperkin even advertised a 720p resolution, clear audio, and the ability to swap between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios on all these cables, which I thought was astounding. This was going to be a game changer and exactly what I was looking for! Over time, I bought HDMI cables for the PS1/PS2, Sega Dreamcast, original Xbox, Playstation Portable, and SNES/N64/Gamecube. My experience, however, varied. I had great results with some, and, surprisingly terrible results with others.
First, I would like to talk about the good. I've had an amazing experience with both the Sega Dreamcast and original Xbox Hyperkin HDMI cables. I really feel like these two are absolute game changers, bringing new life to my old consoles. This experience literally was just plug and play. The visuals overall, they looked and sounded great on a modern TV. And I love that I can just play these two systems with ease and stream them both with ease on my computer. We streamed Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver for the Sega Dreamcast on Twitch with the Hyperkin HDMI cable and it looked absolutely beautiful and sounded amazing. For the original Xbox HDMI cable, I played Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball on Twitch and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic off stream. Like the Dreamcast HDMI cable, it looked amazing and sounded amazing. This is exactly what I was looking for and the experience I wanted from products like these. Unfortunately, things took a different turn when working with cables for other consoles.
The PSP HDMI cable, for the most part, is pretty awesome. The cable itself is 14 feet long, which I think is pretty amazing. The length gives you the ability to sit on your couch and reach the TV with flexibility and ease. I think this little detail is something Hyperkin definitely put some thought into and I absolutely love it. I found the video quality to be decent/good. It definitely brings the PSPs resolution up to 720p and I love that I can see my experience on a small LCD screen play on my 65" TV. It's pretty amazing. However, there are some contrasting issues where where dark areas of any PSP game are really dark. Not exactly terrible, but noticeable. I also learned that you cannot use the cable while your PSP is plugged into its A/C adapter. It will display a black screen and render the PSP completely unplayable if you do, which leaves you at the mercy of the PSP's short battery life. The solution I came up with that would help me stream my PSP for longer periods of time was to purchase an extra aftermarket PSP battery.
Having an extra battery came in handy when the original battery was about to run out of power. What I did was plug my PSP to the A/C adapter so I wouldn't lose power and my unsaved progress, and then I would swap the battery. Once the battery was in place, I would unplug the A/C adapter so I could get my display back and then I would go about playing my game on Twitch. I also ended up purchasing an external PSP battery charger that would charge the first battery while I used the other one. I find it funny that since I began this quest to play games on Twitch using legit hardware, I had to spend more money on more peripherals to give me the experience that I wanted. But the end result was some amazing games played on Twitch with the Paradigm Gaming community and I feel it was totally worth it.
Not perfect, but still a pretty awesome solution.
Things unfortunately took a different turn when I picked up the Hyperkin PS2 HDMI cable. Hooking it up and seeing everything in a 16:9 aspect ration with a 720p output was neat at first. But the magic started to immediately fade as I started playing games with it. Like the PSP HDMI cable, I ran into similar issues where the dark areas of a game were really dark. I tried my best using color, contrast, and exposure settings in OBS. But my experience took an unexpected turn when trying to stream one of my favorite games, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2.
This was bad. And I'll be honest, I was pretty distraught because of it. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 is one of my all-time favorite games on PS2 and I couldn't even play the game because I literally couldn't see. I'm thankful that I still had my Hauppauge PVR2 as a backup. Seeing the visual night and day difference between that box and the Hyperkin PS2 HDMI cable, it was then that I decided that to continue to use the PVR2 for Playstation games going forward. At least until I could find a better solution. Until then, Hyperkin finally came out with the one HDMI cable I've been waiting for. An HDMI cable for the SNES/N64/Gamecube.
When I eventually bought the SNES/N64/Gamecube Hyperkin HDMI cable, I ran into something a bit unique. For a while, it seemed to work fine on all three systems. With this cable, we streamed Super Mario Sunshine and Mario Party 4 on the Gamecube, and Castlevania 64 on the N64. We even used the Gamecube Gameboy Player and streamed The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Metroid: Zero Mission with this cable. They were all amazing experiences. The picture, color, and quality was very impressive. I did not run into any contrasting issues and everything was bright and colorful. But upon playing the SNES, I ran into strange issues. While streaming Super Mario World for the SNES, over time, audio would just increasingly get more static-y. Below is an example of it in action.
Eventually, the static got worse. It started to happen faster and it got much louder where it's wasn't tolerable anymore. At first, I chalked it up to a faulty cable. The retro shop I bought it from was kind and let me exchange it even though I had it for a while. They even let me test a new cable in their store before the exchange to make sure I got a good one. Everything seemed in order and I left with another cable. But it didn't take long with this second cable before I started to run into a different issue.
While the audio seemed fine, for some reason the picture would randomly dim. Sometimes I would have to unplug and replug it back into the system to fix it. Eventually the picture wouldn't dim anymore and it just went black. I couldn't see anything. It would do this randomly and sporadically until it just happened all the time. I'll be honest, I was feeling pretty deflated at this point. Why does this have to be so hard? At the end of the day, all I wanted was to play my some of my favorite games on some of my favorite consoles. But this just...well...it sucked. Because these systems mean the world to me, I gave Hyperkin one more chance. I chalked it up to another faulty cable and I went out to actually buy another one. I can't believe I was doing this but I couldn't find any better alternatives at the time. Sadly, the third cable, also sucked. I eventually ran into static audio issues again. You can imagine my frustration at this point. I was feeling very heartbroken. It was then that I decided that these cables weren't for me. I just kept running into issues, and, all my issues were different from one another. So, like many other peripherals before it, I went to look for other options. That's when I discovered HDMI upscalers.
Taking It To The Next Level
During the pandemic, when a lot of us were under lockdowns, stay at home orders, and generally not going outside like we used to, I spent a lot of my free time getting lost in the magical world of YouTube. I started digging around for anything that had to do with video games. I ended up finding a variety of channels with some amazing content. What I found, pulled me in like Alice in Wonderland falling down the rabbit hole. I found channels full of personal in-depth gaming retrospectives and gaming documentaries on how some of my favorite games were made. I found documentaries that showed how/why games failed, which brought with it some fascinating stories I never knew about. Oh, and I also found a variety of let's plays. Nothing like watching someone play some of your favorite games when you don't feel like playing them yourself, am I right? Anyway, this deep dive into anything and everything that had to do with video games eventually led me to channels that showed me some very intriguing things. Things like how video game consoles actually worked, how people mod their consoles, and what kinds of things you can get out of them when you do mod them. It was pretty fascinating. Next thing I know, this rabbit hold I was in had landed me on a channel that showed me the wonders of HDMI upscalers. The one video that grabbed me the most was Modern Vintage Gamer's video on the RetroTINK-5X compared to the Open Source Scan Converter (OSSC).
At the time, I have never heard of HDMI upscalers, the OSSC, or the RetroTink-5X. But this video was showing me an experience I've been dreaming of having. I'll be honest, I was completely in awe. I wanted to know more about these devices and what I could do with them. This video ultimately sent me down a new rabbit hole and I ended up finding this video by RetroRGB who created the RetroTINK-5X. Apparently, they've made many other devices prior to this one, and they broke down how the technology works. It's such a great watch and I learned a lot.
Of all the devices and peripherals I've spend money on over the years and all the options that I've tried, this seemed to be the best choice for the experience that I've always wanted. After seeing these videos, I scoured the internet for more research. I went to forums, read reviews, and watched more deep-dive videos from other channels. At this point, I knew I wanted an upscaler, I just had to decide which one. After much research and much money saving (these things aren't cheap after all) I ended up picking up the RetroTINK-5X. It's been one of the most amazing investments I've ever purchased. Plug in all your old consoles to it using their original component or composite cables, and the box passes the signal through to the HDMI like my old Hauppauge PVR2. You can check out me gushing in the video below.
The face of a happy man.
There's something special about playing games on their original consoles. But there's something even more magical when the games not only look amazing on modern displays, but look even better thanks to HDMI upscaler technology. As you can see, this device really is amazing and honestly a game changer. The RetroTINK-5X really does upscale your picture and brings out the best quality you could ever want out of your old consoles on today's TV standards. I've been using it for a few years now and I still gush over how amazing it was playing Conker's Bad Fur Day for the Nintendo 64. The game looked great, sounded amazing, and I loved the simplicity of hooking everything up. I like that the built in user interface has visual presets for different consoles and I like that it lets you save the settings you've customized to your liking. That way you don't have to mess with it every time you use it. Oh, and another personal favorite, I've hooked up a VCR to this thing. I've been able to save old family videos to my computer thanks to this device and upscale them too!
I gotta tell you, ever since I started streaming on Twitch, I had no idea what my journey would be like. While I've been gaming my whole life, Twitch took my love for gaming and elevated it to places I never imagined I'd go. When I started, I just wanted to share my love for gaming and play some of my favorite games that I grew up with. I had no idea how difficult something as simple as that was going to be. Finding the best experience to play and share my games became a journey in and of itself. It started with emulation, only to realize that there was still work to be done in that realm. When I decided to stick to original consoles, I never realized how many peripherals, devices, and cables I'd go through. But it was all for the pursuit of a seamless experience in sharing games on Twitch. All roads let me to discovering the RetroTINK-5X and boy, retro gaming never looked so good. Personally, I don't regret anything about my journey into finding the best options available to play and share the games I love. It's these experiences that shape us after all and I've ultimately learned a lot when trying to figure it all out.
That being said, while I was enjoying my time on Twitch, there was something happening in the gaming community that started to really capture my attention. The emulation scene was apparently getting a lot better out there. Remember when I said that I got lost in the magical world of YouTube during the pandemic, and that my journey through that rabbit hole led me to channels like Modern Vintage Gamer (MVG)? Well, it turns out MGV has experience with emulators, is also a game developer himself, and has a ton of videos showcasing not only how emulation works, but how gamers and the gaming community are taking emulation to places that were previously never achievable. He also has a ton of videos talking about fascinating tales in the history of emulation. Where it started, where it's been, where it's going, etc. I gotta say, I was really getting engrossed by all of it. My early experiences with emulation have led me on a vast, arduous, and complicated journey through all of these cables, peripherals, and devices. But times were certainly changing and my eyes were being opened to new understandings and new possibilities. Not only that, I was learning how emulation came to be, the stigma behind it, and how the narrative around emulation is changing and evolving for the better.
Unlocking The Past To Understand The Present
Emulation has been around since the 90s. In its earliest incarnation it was seen as an underground movement and a haven for piracy. In a sense, it may have started out that way. But it has definitely evolved over the years. As there will always be individuals with malicious intent, I've watched the landscape and the stigma around emulation change over the years. What may have started out as a means to pirate old video games, there now exists a passionate, vibrant, engaging community, eager to explore the possibilities offered by emulation, all for the pursuit of technological innovation, gaming preservation, and more. When it comes to the topic of emulation, there are endless debates and legal gray areas surrounding the moral and ethical implications of it all. Especially in this day in age where emulation is more mainstream now that it has ever been. However, regardless of how you may feel on the subject, at the end of the day, emulators are in fact legal. You can read about that here.
If you want a brief history as to why they are legal, you can check into that here
The history of emulation is a fascinating one. And these are just two resources among hundreds more out there on the topic. I share these particular posts because they explain things better than I probably could. Plus, I don’t want to make an attempt anyway because I feel I would just be beating a dead horse at this point. So, case in point, emulation is legal. Boom. Done.
That being said, I can already hear the counter argument from the people in the back asking me "WeLL, wHaT aBouT YuZu?" Yes, Nintendo won its court case against the Yuzu Switch Emulator on March 4, 2024. But it wasn’t because they created a Nintendo Switch emulator. It's actually a lot more complicated than that. Sure, Nintendo doesn't want you to emulate Switch games. But to put this unique case into perspective, I think TheGamer.com said it best where: "Legally you're supposed to buy the game first then emulate as you wish, [but] a lot of people don't. Proving that can be tricky unless they're emulating a leaked version of an unreleased game, which is precisely what happened." - “A lot of this hinged on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This was available to emulate on Yuzu before the game was even released, meaning those paying for it did not own the game. Nintendo claimed over one million copies were emulated this way, and the losses it accrued via this emulation was the justification for that $2.4 million settlement figure.” - "You can't sue a company for some of their software users not buying a video game. However, what Nintendo claimed was that not only was Yuzu infringing on Nintendo copyright and circumventing the Switch's copyright protection, it was also selling that circumvention technology, and at that point it moved from being emulation software into specifically assisting in breaking the law."
Basically, the group behind Yuzu locked updated versions of their emulator behind a paywall and somehow, people were playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on that same paid, updated Yuzu emulator before the game was even released to the public. And supposedly, according to Nintendo, over one million copies were emulated. That just baffles me. I mean, for one, how do they know that? Like, where did that number come from? And two, how did someone get access to the game before it was released in the first place? These questions are generally rhetorical. I don't know if I'll ever get those answers and I'm not going to chase after them either. I'm just flabbergasted over the whole thing.
Something else to note is the fact that the Nintendo Switch is still an existing console. They still make and sell systems, they still make and sell games, and it's still their flagship console. Other than the fact that there were a few bad apples with the desire to pirate a hotly anticipated Zelda game, why would you create a Switch emulator in the first place? Especially when it's still a mainline console? Generally, the emulation scene was always about games and consoles no longer in production, only a few generations behind. But if you dig deep enough like I have, you'll find that the story is a lot more complex than just a few random people wanting to pirate games.
Where It Started. How It's Going.
The Nintendo Switch has been out for over seven years. It launched in March 2017. As of February 2024 they have sold over 140 million units worldwide. It is one of the best selling consoles of all-time. So that begs the question, why emulate it right now? Especially when the console is still as popular as ever? Well, it turns out that as much as many gamers love the console, the issues lie in what's holding the system back, and that's outdated hardware.
Personally, I feel that's always been what gives Nintendo products its charm considering their aim has always been, (generally speaking) about affordability, the uniqueness of the console itself, and the many fun games they create for it. But even after the first five years of the console being out, the gaming community started to unanimously agree that the Switch was showing its age. Compared to other consoles like PS5 and Xbox Series X with the latest and greatest of internal components, the Nintendo Switch is built on outdated technology and has not had an update or a refresh model since 2021's OLED model. The funny thing about the introduction to the OLED model, when it comes to performance, both their standard model and their OLED model use the same processor. So other than the new fancy screen, it's in essence, it's still using the same outdated hardware.
What does that mean to the average person who doesn't care or pay attention to these kinds of things? Well, it all comes down to the fact that games made for the Nintendo Switch are struggling to run on them. Games like Pokémon Scarlet, Pokémon Violet, Sonic Frontiers, Bayonetta 3, and many more, are riddled with glitches, stuttering, frame drops, lag, and it all takes away from the fun of trying to enjoy these games. You don't need to be a technical wizard or a dedicated gamer to see it and experience it either. It's pretty blatant and apparent on many games. So, it all comes down to the fact that if Nintendo isn't going to improve its hardware to make these gaming experiences more enjoyable, the gaming community will.
The Gaming Community Does What Nintendon't
This is where the narrative around emulation starts to change and ultimately what I find very interesting. At this point, it's not about piracy, but rather the want and desire for a better experience while playing these games. This is why you see a bunch of Switch emulators getting created (yes, there are more than one) and why it became so popular. It was giving gamers a better experience than what they were having on the Switch itself. Basically, the gaming community does what Nintendon't. And with the power of Switch emulation, comes Switch innovation. For example, the gaming community found a way to make it possible to run your Switch games at 4K/8K, 60FPS, with ray tracing. The results are absolutely stunning. But don't take my word for it. Check out this video of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
This game has never looked more stunning and beautiful
What's even crazier is the fact that the gaming community also got the Yuzu emulator to work on Valve's Steam Deck. I mean, it makes sense when you think about it. The Steam Deck is basically a handheld Linux based PC. And because it's a PC, it can run just about anything, emulators included. You know what issues the Steam Deck doesn't have that many have experienced on the Nintendo Switch since launch? Joy-Con drift. Even upon the Steam Deck's release, Valve said right out the gate, "The Steam Deck won’t have Nintendo Switch’s most awful problem." So, right out the gate, once you get your Switch games to work on a Steam Deck, the biggest quality of life improvement is the fact that you won't have to worry about experiencing Joy-Con drift. And because of that, the Steam Deck became a better portable Switch experience than Nintendo's very own console. Overall, I am completely blown away by all of this. The innovations, the possibilities, the quality of life improvements, it's all absolutely amazing. Most importantly, the love and passion that the gaming community has for the betterment of gaming overall, never ceases to amaze me. And while this certainly is a bit of a blow to Nintendo, it's not like Nintendo wasn't aware of all this. It's not like Nintendo has been ignorant of all the public opinions and posts regarding its hardware. There's no way.
Through social media, the community, as well as popular online gaming publications, they've all been very vocal about Nintendo Switch's issues over the years. Aside from the Joy-Con drift problem, the biggest issue that just about everyone has been vocal about has been regarding the console's performance. But because Nintendo wasn't doing anything about it, right or wrong, the community took it upon themselves to create the experience they wanted. An experience free of glitches, lag, low resolutions, low frame rates, and then some. While there were good intentions behind the Yuzu emulator and many wonderful things were created because of it, unfortunately, when your emulator is locked behind a paywall and somehow people are using it to play an unreleased Zelda game, it absolutely makes sense why Nintendo won its court case. Be that as it may, beyond the story of Yuzu and it's failings that caused its own demise, I am still all for the gaming community, coming together and working together, to try and make improvements in the gaming space. Especially when companies like Nintendo fail to be a part of the solution or even be a part of the conversation. It is because of emulation and the passion of the gaming community that we have the means to not only play these older games with amazing features and enhancements, but through emulation, these games can also be preserved for all eternity.
Emulation For Preservation
Like movies, music, and books, video games are an art form. Think about the ideas that get put onto paper that turn into the drafts that craft a compelling story. Think of the the early drawings and sketches being transformed into concept art and then turning those into full 3D models on a computer. From there, it's the building of the gameplay mechanics, filling in the story beats, and polishing the CGI cutscenes. Plus, let's not forget about the sound designer and composer who creates all the sounds and music that wrap everything together. It's within all of these things, all these pieces that come together, that have built amazing, impactful, and lasting experiences found in the world of video games. And it's takes a variety of talented people with skills across multiple artistic mediums to create an interactive experience that you can only get from video games.
Video games are art. And when it comes to art, I believe Samantha Kaplan says it best: "Art is genuinely a gift to the world. It's what we crave in the human experience. Art gives meaning to our lives and helps us understand our world. It is an essential part of our culture because it allows us to have a deeper understanding of our emotions; it increases our self-awareness, and also allows us to be open to new ideas and experiences. Art therefore continues to open our minds and our hearts and shows us what could be possible in our world." - "Art can transform our lives. When we connect with art, we are ultimately connecting with our inner selves. Art enables us to look within and to listen to ourselves, realize who we are, and what we care about." Everything that is described here is why video games resonate and mean so much to so many people around the world. It's why there is a gaming community, full of people around the world with a passion for this medium. Just look at the video game industry as a whole. It's a bigger medium than the film and music industries combined. Even in just the U.S. alone, over 212 million Americans play video games regularly. That is saying something. The fact that this medium resonates with so many, myself included, it's because of this, that so many of us want to see these games preserved like they do with movies, music, and books. It's just a shame that many companies out there think otherwise.
The Challenges We Face
Too many digital games and game stores have been shut down by their own companies that did not preserve their old games. There are so many games lost to the ether and it's an absolute travesty. It's also a stark reminder that your digital purchases do not last forever. At first, you would think that the way to go is to buy physical copies of your games, right? I mean, when all these servers shut down and digital games disappear, at least you have a physical copy of the game that you can play whenever you want, right? Well, that would be a partially correct assumption. However, there are hundreds of games out there that have never seen a physical release. Many have only been released digitally.
For the games that were released physically but are no longer in production, that presents a new challenge as you will have to hunt it down at local game shops or find them on websites like Mercari and eBay. Depending on the rarity and physical quality of the game, that can also be an expensive endeavor. To make matters worse, those games that still exist in CD and cartridge form, those will eventually break down and be unreadable someday. Old consoles no longer in production, especially those that are over 20+ years old will eventually stop working. At some point, emulation becomes necessary to save all of these games from disappearing from our history completely.
That almost happened a few years ago with Playstation. Sony almost closed down the Playstation stores on the PSP, PS Vita, and PS3, until there was an outcry from the public. The problem wasn't so much that Sony was going to close down the stores on these older consoles no longer in production. What it really came down to was the fact that the the Playstation Stores on the PS4/PS5 were completely different from the stores on the PS3, PS Vita, and PSP. There were so many legacy titles that were locked in the PS3, PS Vita, and PSP space. From PS1 classics, some PS2 games, many PS3 digital titles, to even PS Minis, Sony didn't have any plans to bring the hundreds of legacy titles forward to the PS4/PS5. Thankfully, Sony acknowledged the outcry from the gaming community and Sony eventually reversed course on their decision. Thankfully, today, Playstation now has a "Playstation Classics" gaming catalog as part of their Playstation Plus tier membership. Many of the games found on previous Playstation consoles have made its way to the Playstation 5, which is absolutely amazing. However, that being said, not everything has made its way over. I also have thoughts on how Sony can make the Playstation Classics section better as it's currently just a small section where all games across multiple older platforms are all lumped together. Not only that, there currently is no way of discerning what system each game originated on. The perception I have on it is like it's this section is currently an afterthought or a placeholder. I went pretty in-depth when it in a previous reflection, including gaming digital storefronts overall. If you are interested in reading about that, you can check it out here. Either way, I feel there's still work to be done and we still have a ways to go. But for now, I would say that it's a great start in moving towards a better direction when it comes to accessing older playstation games on the PS4/PS5.
The one company who I think took some of the best steps towards gaming preservation currently is Microsoft/Xbox. They introduced a backwards compatibility program in 2015 where you could play select Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One. After over six years of the program, they have made over 600+ Xbox 360 games and over 40+ original Xbox games compatible with their Xbox One series of consoles, which is absolutely amazing. I remember when this happened, I immediately bought and downloaded a digital copy Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the original Xbox. Having an easy access to the game via my Xbox One in the living room was a must have for me. Sadly though, on November 15, 2021, Xbox announced their final list of games to the program stating they "have reached the limit of our ability to bring new games to the catalog from the past due to licensing, legal and technical constraints". Personally, I love the fact that Microsoft took gaming preservation seriously and did what they could to bring as much of their legacy content forward.
Unfortunately, what they brought forward is still such a small percentage as there are over 2200+ games released for the Xbox 360 and over 900+ games on the original Xbox. After their final batch of compatible games released, then head of Xbox Phil Spencer, who is a huge voice in the gaming industry, called for legal emulation of older games stating "My hope (and I think I have to present it that way as of now) is as an industry we’d work on legal emulation that allowed modern hardware to run any (within reason) older executable allowing someone to play any game." In 2024, current Xbox president Sarah Bond has outlined the company’s commitment to backwards compatibility in its future hardware stating "We are building on our strong history of delivering backwards compatibility to our players, and we remain committed to bringing forward the amazing library of Xbox games for future generations of players to enjoy." I commend Xbox in their efforts to at least try to preserve and share their legacy titles through their backwards compatibility program. And reading that they are still committed to bringing their library forward for future generations to enjoy is a great step in the right direction. I just hope these efforts aren't in vein. I like seeing that there is some sort of effort going on at a few of these companies. But I believe they can all do better. Don't take it from me though. I'm just a gamer with over 35 years experience as a gamer. You should take it from someone with more authority in the gaming industry.
Take Frank Cifaldi, for example. He's got a very unique perspective about gaming and emulation. If you don't know who Frank is, he's currently the Executive Director and Founder of the Video Game History Foundation. He was also the Head of Restoration at Digital Eclipse, a video game developer who helmed the Megaman Legacy Collection. I'll also add in this fun fact that he was also a senior editor at 1UP.com, a popular video game entertainment website that's been around since 2003. This guy lives and breathes video games and it's pretty darn impressive. Well, in 2016, during his time at Digital Eclipse, Frank did a presentation at the annual Game Developers Conference. His topic was about emulation and the challenge of selling old games. While this presentation was given in 2016, everything he touches on is still completely relevant today. While his full presentation is a fantastic watch from start to finish, below is an excerpt from that presentation that I feel is very important in regards to emulation pros/cons, the differences between ports, remakes, remasters, and how we are losing a piece of human history that is worth preserving.
There's still time to turn it all around
Frank made some amazing points and a lot of what he said resonates with me to this day. And what's amazing is this was back at GDC2016. Over the last eight years, his sentiments on the subject has grown and continue to grow throughout the gaming community. It is why you are seeing not only the narrative around emulation changing, but also why you are now seeing a resurgence in the emulation scene. More people are clamoring about the preservation of their favorite games than ever before and the gaming community is coming together stronger because of it. Plus, not only are we now seeing communities and companies finding a means to preserve gaming, but we're also now seeing a renaissance in expanding beyond basic gaming emulation.
Fan Mods and Emulation Are Now Changing Everything
During the pandemic, when I went down all sorts of rabbit holes watching a variety of video game content on YouTube, something else I discovered that really stood out to me was the discovery of some amazing fan mods and improvements in the realm of emulation. Like I said at the beginning, since I last experienced emulation, I felt there was still work to be done. But again, that was back in 2017. Fast forward a few years later, and I couldn't believe how much bigger this gaming space has gotten. Emulation was really starting to evolve gaming as a whole and Fan Mods were opening doors to some amazing things that were just making games better. Thanks to channels like Modern Vintage Gamer, Nerrel, Retro Game Corps, Retro Dodo, Wulff Den, Spawn Wave, SNES Drunk, and Captain Jack (just to name a few), my eyes were completely blown away by all the possibilities and wonders that was being done within the gaming community.
What kinds of things you ask? Well, to quote Nerrel from one of his videos on the subject of emulation: "Emulation [now] gives you the ability to play every video game ever made in any resolution or aspect ratio, with any controller you want in any configuration you can imagine, with custom filters, unlimited save states, texture packs, mods to add new gameplay mechanics, and entirely new games built out of ROM hacks."
When it comes to Fan Mods, I believe Ashley Buckwell from Acer said it best with: "Modding has been around for more than 20 years and is becoming more popular as services like Steam Workshop, Nexus Mods, and mod.io aim to make the process more accessible." - "Over the last 20 years, modders have created some of the world’s most popular games, such as Battle Royale, Defense of the Ancients, and Counter-Strike. They have helped countless games, including Minecraft, Skyrim, and The Sims expand and live on with new and exciting content for players."
What got me to really get into exploring the world of Fan Mods is when I stumbled on videos about Silent Hill 2: The Enhanced Edition for PC. Does anyone remember the travesty that was the Silent Hill HD Collection that came out for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2012? Well, for those who don't, to summarize, it was developed by Hijinx Studios, an outside third party studio with little-to-no experience with ports or remakes. For some reason, Konami hired this company to helm one of the greatest pieces of video game history to a very inexperienced company. Oh, and Konami also lost the original source code of its own game and Hijinx Studios was forced to use an incomplete code and fill in the blanks. Sadly, the blanks that it was filled with was a myriad of technical issues. And I don't mean issues like there was a few bugs here and there. No, it's much worse than that. These versions of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 that are featured in this HD collection is generally considered the worst way to play these games and is widely hailed as one of the worse ports ever made. For starters, there was a severe loss of fog/fog effects, a staple of the series. Fog was used to shroud the game and the town of Silent Hill in mystery. The lack of fog in the HD Collection uncovered many boundaries of the game that were usually hidden, making the world (and the game) look incomplete. There were also a range of audio stutters, audio syncing issues, framerate issues, and a redesign of several aspects of the town that made Silent Hill appear clean, neat, and well-kept. If you've ever played this game, you would know that the town is supposed to look battered, damaged, broken, and shrouded in an a haunting atmosphere. The Silent Hill HD Collection basically strips the game of all that, everything that made Silent Hill, well, Silent Hill. And because of all that, it's why the collection is hailed as one of the worse ports ever made. It's a very fascinating tale and one I highly recommend you watch in the video below.
This is a pretty intriguing watch
Since then, Silent Hill has all but vanished. You cannot play these games on modern consoles except for the HD Collection which is currently available to play on Xbox Series S/X thanks to their backwards compatibility program. But since this is considered the worst port ever made, if you want to enjoy the original experience, you have to play the game on its original disc, on original hardware. Sound familiar, right? After talking about what I went through during my gaming journey, trying to have a seamless gaming experience with the best possible picture quality on older consoles, you know it's not exactly easy. Plus, it's an expensive road to go down. Just look as all the peripherals and cables I bought over the years. And if you don't already have a copy of Silent Hill 2 and 3, or a console to play them on, the costs for all that add up even more. So, what else can you do? Well, your other option is emulation, which, honestly, is lightyears better than anything found in the HD Collection. Emulation has been making some amazing strides over the last decade and the options available to get any game to run and look great has been an impressive feat to witness. However, there is another option. If you want the best experience you'll ever have with this game, it's all thanks to fans of the game found in the gaming community.
A group of Silent Hill fans came together and took it upon themselves to create a remaster of the PC version of the game. Enter: Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition. This version of the game goes above and beyond what it was capable of when released on PC back in 2002. Here, you'll find things like widescreen aspect ratio with HD and 4K resolutions, improved natural fog effects, an improved in-game noise filter for HD and 4K resolutions, and much needed lighting and shadow enhancements. The audio was upgraded using better quality PS2 files, and the CGI cutscenes have also been upscaled and replaced. The fans have basically fixed what Konami could not and took it even further with all of these amazing enhancements. It was because of this, because of the love, passion, detail, and care that went into this game, that I celebrate the gaming community. This was all done by fans, for fans, and the results are absolutely beautiful.
Don't take my word for it. Here's a cool comparison between versions.
Because of this particular Fan Mod, because I got to see one of my favorite games of all-time restored and enhanced beyond anything I could ever imagine. I fell in love with gaming all over again. This was a magical experience for me and I wanted to know more. What other games were getting this kind of attention to detail? Turns out, there's a lot more and then some.
The Community Goes Above and Beyond
There are so many kinds of Fan Mods out there and it's impossible to go through them all. However, I wanted to highlight some of the ones that have really stood out to me the most like what Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition did. The following are mods are worth your time to look into.
A fan-made project aimed at enhancing and preserving classic games for the PC. The project focuses on improving compatibility with modern operating systems and enhancing the overall gaming experience while maintaining the original game's integrity.
A fan-driven initiative aimed at enhancing the graphical quality of classic Resident Evil games, such as Resident Evil 1, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, by using high-resolution texture packs and other graphical improvements, making these games look much better on modern systems while preserving their original charm and atmosphere. Available for the Resident Evil trilogy on the PC as well as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for the Nintendo Gamecube using the Dolphin emulator.
Something fun and worth noting about these two is that you can combine Classic Rebirth and Seamless HD Project together with the original Resident Evil Trilogy for PC. The end result is THE ultimate Resident Evil experience that is on par with Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition!
The fixed camera mod offers players a way to experience the remake with a gameplay style that pays homage to the original game's fixed camera system. This mod is a testament to the dedication and creativity of the Resident Evil fan community, as it combines modern game design with classic gameplay elements.
This mod is a comprehensive project that aims to restore the game to its intended form by reintroducing cut content, fixing bugs, and enhancing the overall gameplay experience. It is a highly regarded mod within the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic community, offering players a more complete and polished version of the beloved RPG.
Fallout: London is an extensive fan-made mod for Fallout 4 that transports players to a richly detailed and reimagined post-apocalyptic London. With its original storyline, new factions, custom assets, and immersive design, the mod offers a fresh and exciting experience within the Fallout universe.
A fan-made remake of Half-Life that has evolved into a commercial release, offering modern graphics, enhanced gameplay, and reimagined levels while staying true to the spirit of the original game. Developed by Crowbar Collective, it serves as a tribute to Half-Life and showcases the dedication and creativity of the fan community.
A narrative-driven mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that introduces a unique time travel mechanic, complex storylines, and multiple endings. Its success and acclaim led to the development of a standalone game, offering an expanded and refined experience. The mod's emphasis on exploration, moral choices, and immersive storytelling has made it a standout creation within the Skyrim modding community.
A comprehensive fan project that aims to remaster and bring The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion into the Skyrim engine, offering enhanced graphics, mechanics, and additional content while staying true to the original game's essence. Developed by a passionate team of volunteers, it represents a significant effort to preserve and modernize a beloved classic within the Elder Scrolls series.
As you can see, the gaming community is doing some amazing things with games, both old and new. From restorations, to improved textures, to creating, or recreating games using in-games assets, and more. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many wonderful things like this being done in the gaming community and it doesn't just stop there. I discovered something else the the community is doing that is probably the most craziest thing I have ever experienced. New ways to play old games and creating new games out of old games...
Enter ROM Hacks
This is probably, by far, the craziest thing that I have ever found. But before I dive into it, let me explain what exactly a ROM Hack is. It's basically a modification of a video game's ROM (Read-Only Memory) file, which is the data that makes up the game itself. ROM hacks are typically created by enthusiasts and fans to alter the original game in various ways, such as changing the graphics, adding new levels, altering gameplay mechanics, or even creating entirely new games based on the original framework. It's also used to translate games into different languages. This was helpful for games that may have never originally been released worldwide. Most notable games like what I'm describing are games like Mother 3 aka Earthbound 2 or Seiken Densetsu 3 aka Secret of Mana 2. For the years, ROM Hacks were the only way to play these two games.
So, based on all that, here's what I have discovered. Thanks to Twitch, I have watched many channels and streamers play ROM hacks. My number one favorite game of all-time, for those who may not know, is Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo. I remember perusing Twitch one day, looking at the gaming categories, and I decided I wanted to watch someone play Super Metroid. It's always fun to see other people playing your favorite game as you get to see the game through their eyes and get in on some new perspectives. But one channel caught my eye where I didn't recognize the thumbnail. The game said "Super Metroid", but Samus has a different color palette. I was curious, so, I clicked on the stream. I had no idea that what I would find would hook me so hard that the rabbit hole I was falling through would turn into a black hole. There was no coming back from this. The Twitch streamer was playing a ROM Hack called Hyper Metroid and I was completely blown away at what I was seeing. It basically looked like a new SNES Metroid game, which, is basically what it is. Someone took Super Metroid and created a new game out of it...Holy wow, I didn't know you could do that.
Turns out, this ROM hack completely reimagines the world of Super Metroid. It sets it in an alternate history from the official Metroid timeline featuring a darker and more intense tone. It also introduces a new ammo system which streamlines gameplay by having all weapons share a single ammo pool. The redesigned Planet Zebes features much more open rooms than those in Super Metroid, encouraging extensive vertical and horizontal exploration. I fell in love. I had to know more and I had to play this myself. Turns out, all you needed was an SNES emulator and apply the fan-made Hyper Metroid patch to the original Super Metroid ROM and you're good to go. Watch me geek out about this game in the video below if you want to know more.
As you can see, I fell in love with the game. It was so much fun. The overall quality of the game was so impressive, you could have sworn that this could have come from Nintendo. But no, it was made by fans, for fans. And I still can't believe that the community went as far as actually putting the game into a Super Nintendo cartridge complete with box art! I've played the game on my SNES and it's just so damn cool! The passion and dedication for the love of gaming I keep seeing in this community never ceases to amaze me. And because of this game (and also thanks to countless videos on YouTube), I found a huge Metroid ROM Hacking community filled with so many more Metroid hacks to play across multiple systems! I felt like a kid again.
So, like I said, the rabbit hole turned into a black hole. I got sucked into the ROM hacking scene so hard after this. I mean, after the experience I just had with Hyper Metroid, why wouldn't I? Well, my ROM hacking travels led me to one of the most comprehensive online resources and communities dedicated to this subject. Enter Romhacking.net, a database full of ROM hacks across every gaming console you can think of. It is here where users can browse and download patches for specific games to experience fan-made translations, bug fixes, enhancements, or total game conversions. Users can also share their own projects, seek help from others, and discuss various aspects of ROM hacking in their forums. Overall, the site is THE central hub for anyone interested in the ROM hacking scene and it's absolutely amazing. Plus, there's a TON of ROM hacking communities on YouTube as well. I've found a variety of "let's plays" to see what's good or what's even out there. I've found a variety of channels posting videos of their top favorite ROM hacks. And I've also found many channels dedicated specifically to just ROM hacks. This community is just as big as the Fan Modding community and it's just absolutely wild.
This was a an experience unlike any other
I want you guys to know something. When I was growing up, there was like a eight year gap between the release of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. I was ten years old when Super Metroid came out and eighteen when Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime came out. Do you know what it's like to be a kid and grow up into an adult and never see a new Metroid game in-between? I'll give you a hit, it sucks. It felt like eternity! I'd like to tell you that I'm exaggerating, but I'm not.
That ten year old kid felt feelings when he played Super Metroid. And with all those years growing up with no Metroid sequel in sight, I had to rely on my imagination to guess at what a Super Metroid sequel would even be like. I was even hoping that Nintendo would make something in the world of Metroid on the Nintendo 64. Unfortunately, all we got was Samus as a character in the first Super Smash Bros. Not the greatest, but I'll take it. Eventually Nintendo released Metroid Fusion for the Gameboy Advance and Metroid Prime on the Gamecube and I obviously fell in love with both of those games. But you can just imagine how I felt when you fast forward to today, of grown up me, discovering Metroid ROM Hacks that look, feel, and play like Super Metroid, BUT they're all NEW experiences. New games filled with new maps, new enemies, and new music. The ten year old kid inside may have shed a tear or two. I know that sounds sappy and all that, but hey, what can I say? I was having a profound moment. These Metroid ROM hacks have given me what I had been imagining all those years ago, and, that's pretty special to me. The impact of this experience hit me harder than a ton of bricks. And you know what? What I described to you here is the power that video games have. They have the power to move you, to fill you with wonder and delight, and take your imagination to unimaginable heights. And just when I thought you couldn't get any better than this, just when I thought I had discovered the pinnacle of gaming creativity, once again, the gaming community took ROM Hacks and Fan Mods a step further.
Randomizers Are Breathing New Life Into Gaming
Video game randomizers are games that are modified that shuffle/rearrange certain elements of a game to create a unique and unpredictable experience each time it is played. What this ultimately does is enhance replayability for games and introduce new challenges, even for well-known and thoroughly explored games. The most common feature is item randomization, where items found in the game world are placed in different locations each playthrough. For example, in a Zelda game, the bow might be found in a completely different dungeon than usual. Enemies or NPCs may also appear in different locations, may have altered behaviors, or even be swapped with different characters altogether. This unpredictability that randomizers provide significantly change the strategy needed to progress through the game.
Randomizers have given rise to new community activities, such as randomizer races where players compete to finish the randomized game as quickly as possible. This is particularly popular on Twitch and YouTube, and has been pretty neat to witness as some of my friends on Twitch have participated in many Zelda Randomizer speed runs. Personally, I'm not a big speed runner myself. But I do generally enjoy Randomizers as a whole. It's really fun to think differently and figure out new strategies on games I am very familiar with. I've participated in quite a few Randomizers on my own including Super Metroid, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Resident Evil 2. And I'll tell you, there's nothing quite like it.
Resident Evil 2 Randomizer is so fun. Being able to swap all the NPCs makes the experience that much more fun and hilarious and the item switching makes it very challenging. Just thinking about what items you have, and where you can go with what you have, it really makes you think about what your next move is going to be and if what you find will help you progress further. Randomizers are such a fun and unique concept. They've become so popular and you're starting to see them pop up in more games, including commercial releases.
As you can see, video games in this day in age is something completely different than what it used to be. Navigating though this unique tapestry and everything that encompasses all these facets of gaming has been a crazy, innovative, and amazing experience to behold. The gaming landscape has been evolving into something special and it's just so neat to see what's being done out there.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Of all the things we've talked about here, there's something that still kinda bothers me, and it's with Nintendo. You know, its interesting, Nintendo's stance on emulation. It's a confusing one. They have been quoted as saying "Emulation stifles innovation" which is pretty hypocritical on their part. As stated by PC Gamer: "The fan emulation scene has not only lead to countless innovations over the years, it's directly benefited Nintendo." Nintendo currently uses emulation to power its classics library in its Nintendo Switch Online service. The Nintendo Switch, in essence, is a handheld emulator with the biggest install base worldwide if you think about it. Ironic, right? Plus, they have been emulating their classic games since the Virtual Console on the Nintendo Wii and Wii U. What many people may not know though is the fact that the Super Mario 3D All-Stars game collection also uses emulation to run its games on the Nintendo Switch.
Oh, and do you remember the NES Classic and the SNES classic mini retro consoles that Nintendo sold for a limited time? Both have a built-in emulator to play all of its pre-installed games. So, I'm going to have to agree with PC Gamer on this one. Nintendo really has benefitted from the innovations found in the fan emulation community. And it's not just Nintendo. Everyone has benefitted from the emulation scene, even gaming companies including as Xbox and Playstation. It's wild, isn't it? Oh , and a funny thing to bring up about the Nintendo Classic Mini consoles. Did you know you can hack them very easily and add even more ROMs than what the systems originally came with? I've recently tested this out. Threw in a bunch of Metroid ROM Hacks and got basked in the experience. It's kinda mind blowing. We live in some crazy times right now.
Now, I've also got to give Nintendo some credit. They created an amazing system with the Nintendo Switch. The hybrid handheld console was the neatest thing they've ever created. It's the most sold product they've ever created surpassing even the Nintendo Wii. And because of the Nintendo Switch's success, it's inspired so many companies to invest in handheld technology. My journey through this blackhole of gaming also led me to discover a variety of custom handheld emulation devices like the Retroid Pocket 2 and the Anbernic RE35XX. Playing ROM Hacks on these devices kinda makes it feel like you're playing them on a legit Nintendo console. If you ever do an internet search on 'emulation handheld devices', it's crazy to see how many options available now. And there are other devices and peripherals out there that I haven't even covered. Devices like Everdrives, or jailbreaking your handheld devices like Playstation Vita or the Nintendo 3DS. Heck, even the homebrew scene for all sorts of discontinued consoles are not only breathing new life in them, but they're also pushing the boundaries and capabilities of what's even possible on these old technical wonders. Maybe that will be a story for another day.
An Odyssey's Conclusion
I've covered a lot of stuff here today. If you've made it this far, I hope you found something that resonated with you or at the very least, found something interesting. I am very passionate about video games as I have been experiencing them my whole life. Gaming has grown up so much over the years and and has evolved into something bigger than anyone could have imagined. Growing up with gaming has been an amazing thing to be a part of and sharing in my various perspectives as a kid has been fun to tell. But painting a picture of what I've seen and what I've experienced as an adult, that was probably the biggest challenge of all. I initially wanted to talk about emulation and my experiences with it. But it turned out to be more complicated than that. My journey through gaming as an adult changed the moment I started streaming on Twitch. What started out as a means to play games and share in the things I love, turned into a journey into the unknown. Being able to reflect on where I started and what I discovered along the way, I will say, has been pretty compelling and enlightening to piece together. I hope that what I have shared has opened your eyes to new, exciting possibilities, lending new perspectives you may have never thought of or considered before. What weaves this encompassing tapestry of gaming, the gaming industry, and the gaming community has been a vast, arduous, and complicated odyssey. But it's been one of the best rides of my life. I wonder what they'll think of next. We'll have to wait and see. Until then, thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
BlueNile101
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