The retro gaming market has experienced significant growth in recent years. This surge of nostalgia has led companies like Nintendo, Atari, Sony, and SEGA to relaunch classic consoles with modern features, such as HDMI output and updated designs for LCD TVs. Here are six of the best retro game consoles you can play today.
Atari 2600+
Atari has faded from modern gaming but now focuses on retro appeal. The Atari 2600 defined early 1980s gaming with titles like Pitfall, Space Invaders, Adventure, Asteroids, Breakout, and Ms. Pac-Man.
Atari revived its greatest console by releasing the Atari 2600+ in 2023. That is a top-tier retro game console that enables users to play 2600 and 7800 games with original cartridges on 4K TVs.This retro console comes with a 10-in-1 cartridge with which you can play 10 or more memorable Atari 2600 games. It has a slightly smaller design than the original but retains the authentic feel of the Atari 2600+. So, the Atari 2600+ is the best retro console for discovering the golden age of Atari.
Nintendo Classic Mini
The NES was the greatest console of the 8-bit gaming era. This was the console on which players played classic games like Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Mega Man 2, Metroid, Contra, and Super Mario Bros 3. With an iconic library of games and a revolutionary D-pad controller, the NES was the console that revived gaming during the 1980s.
Nintendo relaunched the NES as the Nintendo Classic Mini in 2016 (and again in 2018). Although no longer in production, the Nintendo Classic Mini is still available on Amazon. The NES Classic Mini is one of the best retro game consoles because it comes with a curated selection of 30 of the best NES games. It also comes with some convenient new features, such as additional suspend point save states for each game.
SEGA Mega Drive Mini 2
The SEGA Mega Drive (Genesis) was the best SEGA console in history. This 16-bit console gave the Super NES a run for its money in North America. The Mega Drive had some great platformers, beat ‘em up, and sports games, such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Rocket Knight Adventures, Streets of Rage 2, Street Fighter 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
The Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 is the best retro console for playing those classic Genesis games. This console comes with 60+ original Sega Mega Drive games. It also enables players to play some SEGA CD titles as well. Note that the Mega Drive Mini 2 is no longer in production, but there are still some available on Amazon.
Nintendo Classic Mini Super NES
The Super NES was the 16-bit NES that had many timeless classics. Games like Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario Kart, Street Fighter 2, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario World were some of the timeless Super NES classics. For many, this was the best 2D gaming console in history, which also featured 3D capabilities with its Super FX cartridge chip.
Nintendo relaunched the SNES with the Nintendo Classic Mini Super NES for a limited time. That comes with 21 pre-installed classic games from the SNES library for players to play. It is a slightly smaller version of the original SNES console, which has the same suspend point and rewind features for saving game progress and rewinding gameplay.
PlayStation Classic
The original Sony PlayStation revolutionized 3D gaming with its higher-storage CD-ROM format. Its CD-ROM format generally offered better value than cartridges for both game developers and players. Consequently, the PlayStation had a diverse gaming library, which included classic titles like Final Fantasy VII, Grand Theft Auto, Tekken 3, and Metal Gear Solid.
Sony launched the PlayStation Classic in 2018, which is still available via third-party retailers. Although lacking features, you can still play some of the best PlayStation games on this console with the 20 included. This console is also easy to modify with software tools like AutoBleem and Project Eris. Such modding tools enable users to add many more games to the PlayStation Classic, including arcade and Dreamcast titles.
Analogue 3D
The Nintendo 64 might have played second fiddle to the PlayStation, but it was still a pioneering 64-bit console for 3D gaming. It was the first true 64-bit game console with an innovative controller and faster load times than the PlayStation. The best thing about the N64 was the first Nintendo console to showcase true 3D gaming with classic titles like Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, and GoldenEye 007.
Now you can play all those classic Nintendo games on the recently launched Analogue 3D. Analogue 3D is a reimaging of the original N64 console, which is not an official Nintendo product. This retro game console replicates the N64 with FPGA tech and enables players to play Nintendo 64 games at a 4K resolution. It is compatible with all N64 game cartridges and also has variable display modes.
Those are six of the best relaunched retro game consoles for gaming nostalgia. They’re revived consoles on which you can play many of the best retro Nintendo, SEGA, Atari, and Sony PlayStation games from the eight to 64-bit eras. Such consoles are ideal for discovering those bygone eras of video gaming.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login