Perhaps, gamers are the category of people who knows firsthand how powerful and persistent such a feeling as nostalgia can be. They look for old consoles, surf the Internet in search of retro games, and re-acquire some old cartridges from eBay. True connoisseurs of retro games would do anything to return to the classic games, cheap and simple, but cheerful and exciting! Do you want to do the same? We will help you relive your best gaming memories!

Searching for the Emulator

Of course you have heard about emulators, the programs that mimic the operation of retro consoles, thus allowing you to play games initially designed for other systems on your PCs, laptops, and mobile devices.

If you have made up your mind to play console game using an emulator, you can start looking for the magic program online.

• Those who tell you that using emulators is illegal are clearly mistaken. There is nothing criminal is emulating third-party software on your PC. Unless used for gaining profits, emulation software can be used quite legally by any user. As for the game, or ROM files, for the emulators, using them is considered illegal in most jurisdictions. It is up to you to decide whether to use the ROM file for the game whose physical version you don’t own or not.

Selecting the Emulator

Before downloading an emulator, you should determine what system, e. g. NES, GBA, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 1, Sega Genesis or any other, you would like to emulate. Note that there are lots of emulators you can download from the Internet. Still, not all of them are equally reliable and stable. Moreover, not every online source can be trusted.

Make sure to familiarize yourself with the descriptions of the most popular emulators used for this or that system. Reading other users’ reviews and feedback on the tools they use also won’t hurt.

You may want to download several emulators on your computer to decide which one can cope with their task better. The truth is that some programs may be better at mimicking certain mappers, while others can do better in terms of sound and graphics.

Moreover, you may want to avail yourself of a multi-system emulator, the program capable of mimicking several systems.

Also, don’t forget to check the program’s compatibility with your comp and make sure that your machine meets the requirements for the emulator you’re planning on installing.

Among the most popular emulators are Zsnes, Visual Boy Advance, MAME, Gameboid, RetroArch, PCSX2, SNESoid, N64oid and many others you can choose from (depending on the system you want to emulate, of course).

Downloading and Installing the Emulator

Once you find the emulator of your dream, press the Downloads link nest to it. In a minute or two, the new file will appear in your Downloads folder.

• Take note of the fact that emulator files come in a .zip format. So if it is not done automatically, you’ll be required to decompress the acquired file manually, which is not a big deal, after all.
• Some files may be self-extracting, though. Suffice it to double-click on them and they start installing automatically.

Getting the ROM files for the Game to Play on the Emulator

Next, you’ll need to download some great games to play using your new emulator. ROM game files are based on read-only memory chips from video game cartridges or an arcade game’s main board.

To get the game of your choice, you should find the reliable online source that offers proper ROMs for download. You can find the biggest collection of ROMs on RomsMode.com. So, if you want to get the best ROMs compatible with your emulator, don’t hesitate to download them from this reputable website.

When you decide which game to download from RomsMode, click on the corresponding link next to the selected ROM file.

Playing the Retro Games

Launch your emulator by expanding the menu, clicking File and choosing the “Open” option. Select the game you want to play from the folder where you put it after downloading. Upon double-clicking, the ROM file should start opening within your emulator.

Congratulations! Now you are well on the way towards quenching your nostalgic thirst!