5 Best Ways to Legally Play Retro Games

While there are plenty of new games to enjoy, especially as the year comes to a close, getting a chance to revisit titles you grew up with is also a joy. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to revisit the retro games you liked best and legally play them.

Analogue Consoles

Analogue releases an array of retro consoles and handhelds that play the original cartridges in optimized ways. The Super NT? It plays all of your SNES and SFC cartridges with no lag and exported in 1080p. The Mega SG? It does the same, but for the Master System, Mega Drive, and Genesis. The Analogue Pocket plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games out of the box, as well as lets you create music with its synthesizer. Get the adapters for that, and you can also play Game Gear, Lynx, and Neo Geo Pocket Color cartridges. The downside is, many of the Analogue systems sell out upon launch.

Evercade

The Evercade is another one of the best ways to legally play retro games, because it means custom consoles and cartridges with titles that may be rather inaccessible otherwise. The Evercade VS is basically a console for multiplayer. The Evercade EXP lets you take games on the go. The Super Pocket Handhelds have games from companies like Capcom or Taito built into them, while also still playing Evercade cartridges. With Atari, C64, Codemasters, Data East, Gaelco, IREM, Intellivision, Jaleco, Piko Interactive, Sunsoft, Technos, and Toaplan among some of the collection cartridges, a lot of great games can be revisited.

GOG

While GOG is generally known as offering a wide array of new and old games now, the storefront started out as Good Old Games. Part of its commitment was to make older PC games you probably would have trouble playing and make them accessible and playable on modern systems. It is still committed to that, and searching for games made between 1980 and 2000 brings up 724 titles there. Not to mention they’re also DRM-free.

Nintendo Switch Online

If you own a Nintendo Switch system, Nintendo Switch Online is honestly a one of the best ways of legally playing retro games. Someone with the system would need to pay $19.99 per year for access to online multiplayer. An added perk is access to apps with Game Boy, NES, and SNES games. These feature save states, online multiplayer, limited rewind functionality, and access to special versions of some games and in some cases Japanese games. If you spring for the more expensive Expansion Pack, you also get access to Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, and Sega Genesis games. 

SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with the Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Classics collection. Unfortunately, you can’t easily but the over 50 game collection on Steam anymore. But you can get a Switch or PS4 physical copy of Sega Genesis Classics for about $30. It’s legal. It’s easily accessible. Plus since you’re getting a cartridge or disc, you don’t need to worry about losing access or rights to these older games.