In 2025, I’ve been dabbling more and more inretro gaming. I don’t really have a reason, but I modded a Game Boy Advance and added in a new screen, so I’ve been trying to play more of the classics on that console. My parents gave me a bag of my childhood games, and that included games such as The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and a slew of old Pokémon games. These are all games I played to death as a kid, so I’ve been looking for more options.
I tackled aRaspberry Pi projectwith RetroPie installed so I could dabble with emulation, and I also started looking more into what the Nintendo Switch Online services have to offer. As it turns out, emulating games comes with a big drawback – choice paralysis. I don’t think I was meant to be given this much freedom in choosing what to play. It’s one thing when I only have a small selection of titles to look at, but when you’re dangling 100 of them in front of me, I find it very difficult to land on something. Your mileage may vary, but this is a major issue of emulation for me.
I turned my Android phone into a gaming handheld for a fraction of the price
It cost me less than $100 to turn my Android phone into a gaming beast.
There are too many choices for me
Overflow isn’t always good
When I make time to watch something or play a video game, I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into. That’s easy to do when I’m in the middle of a show or game, but when the time comes to pick something new, it’s always a struggle. Sure, wish lists and watch lists can help with this, but sometimes I’m not in the mood for that. Browsing through a large selection rarely helps me, and it’s something I find myself running into more and more with emulation.
Decision paralysis isn’t fun, and it’s something I oftenencounter with Netflix. The library is so big on Netflix, and other streaming services, for that matter, that when I have time to sit down and watch something, it’s not unheard of for me to scroll around for 30 minutes before finding something. Many times, I don’t find anything, or it takes too long to pick something, and I don’t have time anymore.
Emulating games creates the very same issue for me, and I don’t like it. It’s not fun to sift through tons of games that I have no interest in before I find something I like. It’s not as much of a problem if you curate the collection of games yourself, but if you have a large selection to go through, as you do with Nintendo Switch Online, it can become a big problem. There are countless Game Boy games on the service I have no interest in, and the problem only gets bigger when there are multiples of the same game. If something catches my eye, I spend some additional time researching what the game is about because I don’t want to dive into something only to realize it’s not a fun experience. I wish I could say all the games curated on the service are hits, but that’s not the case.
A lot of people praise emulation, myself included, but it’s not without its issues. I see a lot of people recommend getting an Everdrive, a cartridge that can be loaded up with ROMs, but I can only imagine the type of issues I’d have with that. I have enough problems looking through my bag of Game Boy games to play as it is; I can only imagine the problems I’d run into if I had an entire console’s library at my disposal.
I don’t think I can be trusted with that type of power, so I don’t want to give it to myself. I’ve been emulating games I already own on a bigger screen, and even then, I’ve been picky about what games I’ve been getting installed on my Pi, as I don’t want to be overwhelmed by a problem that’s of my own making.
The Chromatic is such a good Game Boy remake it feels like Nintendo made it
If your goal is to play old school Game Boy games in the most authentic way possible, the Chromatic is one of the best options available.
Emulation is still great despite the issues
It’s worth it
Don’t let my one issue distract you from the fact that emulation is still a very powerful tool, and I’m very glad it’s available. Not everybody has the same problem, and if you’re somebody who values having many options available, then don’t let my rambling stop you from emulating.
There are clear benefits to emulating, and the big one is access to games that have otherwise gone away. I’m one of the lucky few who bought a Wii U and Wind Waker HD when it was available. Obviously, not everybody is in the same boat, so Nintendo adding Wind Waker to Nintendo Switch Online for theNintendo Switch 2’s launchis a big deal. Sadly, it’s the GameCube version of the game, so it doesn’t come with any of the benefits the Wii U version had, but it still beats having to track down an old console, an overly expensive game, and a CRT TV if you want to match the original experience.
Ironically, the GameCube library on the Switch 2 is small enough that I don’t have an issue finding anything I want to play. I can’t say I have a similar experience with the wide range of games available for theGame Boy family. I’m sure this will grow into an issue for me later on when Nintendo adds more games, but it’s nice right now.
Another underrated element of emulation is the ability to save wherever and whenever I want through save states. It’s no secret that older games were very punishing, and I can guarantee there was no way I’d finish Super Castlevania IV without using save states. These are such a huge quality of life feature that I can’t imagine playing some of these punishing games without them. Even if I end up abusing them more than I’d like, I still get a lot of enjoyment out of games that I otherwise wouldn’t have because I would’ve been far too frustrated to make progress. Ultimately, the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to emulation. Even though I have my own problems, I’ll keep on keeping on.
5 reasons it’s worth dusting off your PlayStation 3
From modding to retro gaming, the PS3 still has a lot of value and many supporters.
