Latest news with #ModRetro
Gizmodo
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
How to Play Your Retro Games as Authentically as Possible
It's more than mere nostalgia. Old games still look better on older screens. As much as you may love playing that past favorite from your childhood, the games you're emulating on your LCD or OLED displays don't look anything like they did back in the day. No, it's not that your high-contrast HDR display is somehow not good enough for 16-bit pixel art; it's down to a combination of screen technology, system emulation, and the forward march of display resolution sizes. There are a few expensive ways to bring back the old-school feel, but fear not. There are more than a few affordable solutions to relive your games the way they were meant to be experienced. Before we get started, let's take a moment to mention the collection of modern systems that do a great job of making your games feel true to the original, but on modern systems. There's a growing number of emulation devices that can play older cartridges without any need for conversion cables. Ignoring the fact that handhelds are much easier to get into than the bigger consoles, there are numerous Game Boy-like devices that cost less than $100. We've enjoyed models like the TrimUI Brick and Anbernic RG34XXSP, but despite their pedigree, the most fine-tuned Game Boy Color recreation is currently the ModRetro Chromatic with its pixel-perfect screen. However, if you don't want to deal with ModRetro lead Palmer Luckey's other job as an arms dealer, you could check out the Analogue Pocket. Beyond handhelds, there are many controller options that recreate the feel of older systems, from Nintendo's own GameCube controller exclusive to Switch 2, to Gulikit's Sega Genesis-like Elves 2 Pro device, to 8BitDo's mod kits for the Nintendo 64 controller that lets you play them on modern systems. You don't have to look too hard to find something that emulates the feel of retro content. Strange as it sounds, acquiring the gaming hardware and software is the easy part. The true test of your retro chops is how far you'd go for a quality screen. The olden days of gaming were built for big, boxy cathode-ray tube televisions. These screens sat in front of an array of vacuum tubes capable of shooting electrons to display images on a phosphorescent screen. Those color images you see on your childhood TV were created by controlling three separate beams representing the three primary colors: red, green, and blue. Recreating that effect on a flatscreen isn't easy, even with official console remakes. The Atari 7800+ lets you play both Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 cartridges from any TV, though it won't offer picture-perfect visuals. There are future systems like the upcoming Analogue 3D that can play your N64 cartridges on a 4K display with 'CRT reference quality' even on a flatscreen. Unfortunately the system was delayed until next month, with the console maker citing tariffs for its ongoing shipping issues. Soon we'll even have a Commodore 64 emulation machine, but the problem will continue to be sourcing a screen that will display these games accurately to how they appeared at the time. When you get up close and personal to a CRT TV, you'll start to see a collection of phosphor dots generating each of the colors you see on the screen. Game developers of the time understood this technology and built their games around it. Pixel art of today looks blocky—and while that has its own charm—a game present on a CRT TV with scanlines muddled these individual pixels together, akin to how an oil painter blends colors on a canvas. It created an image that would look like actual art, rather than a blocky approximation of an image. Today's larger screens with higher resolutions only exacerbate the problem. The old 8-bit titles of the NES days ran on screens showing 256 x 240 pixels. A 4K panel displays images at 3,840 x 2,160. The picture has to upscale by 15 times to display fully on a modern television, and that will simply look piss-poor compared to what you're used to. Some systems produce better visuals for old-school games. The NES Classic emulated some of Nintendo's most-touted games with better fidelity than most third-party emulators. However, the reason games looked the way they did is not only a result of the limitations of the consoles themselves but also of the screens. For a full explanation, check out this video from YouTuber Displaced Gamers, which breaks down how CRT standards—all those that remained unchanged for decades—helped inform how game developers created games with and for CRT televisions. Which brings us to the problem with emulating games today. LCD technology does not present scanlines natively, which means every time you play Street Fighter II on today's flat panels, it will look blocky and unappealing. Not only that, but games were built with the squared, 4:3 screens of yesteryear. That matters for more than just resolution. Super Mario Bros. was a platformer innovator because it kept the screen moving in line with Mario from screen to screen, though it also allowed players to traipse backwards up to the screen edge. Few games up through the GameCube and PlayStation 2 era accounted for widescreens. Out of all the retro games Nintendo has made for Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers, only Super Mario Strikers supports the 16:9 aspect ratio natively. You can simply buy a CRT TV or monitor secondhand, hook up a retro console to its old ports, and play away. But those of us who aren't collectors or don't have the space for even more screens have to be far more choosy. As far as old monitors go, you won't have much difficulty finding a CRT device on eBay or through other resellers. As retro gaming has become more popular, prices on older tech have gotten untenable. If you're shopping around, you also should get to know the terminology. You'll see some old CRT monitors claim they are 'NTSC'. That acornym denoted the U.S. standard for analog TVs throughout the 20th century before the popularization of digital displays. You should look for one of these TVs if you're trying to accurately depict the scanlines of games from your childhood. Meanwhile, PVM TVs were professional-grade monitors that could produce clearer images though they won't be as accurate as what the average 1980s console owner would expect. If you don't plan on transforming your basement into a recreation of your gaming den, you're better off with a monitor. For example, the Commodore 1702 color video CRT monitor from 1984 is compact enough to fit on most desks, plus they fit the time period. They also go for well over $200 on eBay, not accounting for delivery. Sony Trinitron monitors and TVs from back in the day could easily cost than $300. If you can't find one cheap online, you're better off searching your local thrift stores for a piece of TV history rather than paying exorbitant prices to ship your heavy TV across the country. In today's retro-fueled environment, it is easier to connect an old console to a modern TV. Upscaling devices like the RetroTINK-5X Pro can take old-school consoles and their limited resolution up to 1080p. With a few extra HDMI converstion cables, you would be good to go. The big problem is your games won't look accurate on a modern TV. If you want to see the old-school pixel art in its prime, modern conversions are on the wrong tack. What if you don't have an old-school console but happen to have an ancient CRT TV lying around? With enough time, patience, and money, you could potentially hook up a modern system to a CRT TV. At the very least, you'll need an HDMI-to-AV adapter, but it's often more complicated. Depending on the system you're emulating, you may need to convert an image to a lower resolution, in which case you'll need a separate transcoder or downscaler. Most people are better off finding modern ways to recreate the look of retro titles using software. What if you can't acquire a CRT TV and you instead want to play official retro recreations or use definitely not-official emulators? Nintendo's own gallery of retro titles includes the option for a scanline filter applied over the game image. However, this is more of an aesthetic choice than anything. The scanlines effectively break up an image so you're not seeing every individual pixel, but they're not introducing the blur needed to fully merge pixels into a more seamless image. The best virtual recreation you can achieve is through third-party emulators and shaders. These are a separate instance of visuals on top of whatever game your system is rendering. With some visual trickery, modders have managed to craft visuals so close to CRT, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless you looked at each frame pixel by pixel. First, let's briefly discuss what emulation is. Essentially, independent creators recreate the hardware of a console, whether it's a Commodore 64 or a Nintendo Wii U, as software. The more powerful the system, the more complicated and demanding the emulation. This means you can play any number of homebrewed games built for these systems, but most players use them to play games ripped from their cartridges or discs, collectively known as ROMs. The emulators are, for the most part, legal to download, but ROMs exist in a much more tenuous state. We can't tell you how or where to get ROMs, and if you emulate ROMs you should know the legalities of it in your region (typically boiling down to only playing ROMs for which you own a legal copy of). Gizmodo doesn't condone piracy. But you can feel safe dealing with the emulators or the front-ends to emulators, namely Retroarch. Thankfully, the active scene of retro emulation offers us great options for emulating games and old-school visuals alike. Emulation platform RetroArch is open to a host of shaders that can offer an image as close to CRT as possible. Of course, you'll still lack those wavy lines and the static-fueled glow that was emblematic of old-school play. There are a legion of independent developers creating CRT shaders, all of which have different flavors that try to maximize the accuracy of the on-screen image. Shader packs like Mega Bezel go as far as to include options that simulate the curvature of non-flat CRT TVs. Others may add a green filter or a 'VHS effect' to introduce more visual distortion to an image. For the sake of actually playing your games, simpler is better. The issue with this is, depending on your shaders, you could introduce stuttering or frame rate dips, depending on how capable your system is. Shaders are very CPU dependent, and if you device isn't up to the task you may need to hold off on some more intensive shaders in favor of others. RetroArch's shader library is extensive, and anybody starting out will likely be confused out of their gourd. To enable a shader in RetroArch, you need to be in a game then access the 'Quick Menu' (by default F1 on keyboard) then go to 'Shaders' and turn them on. From there, you'll see a laundry list of shader presets to enable, and it's not easy to find you're looking for. Mega Bezel, for instance, is found under 'shaders_slang, bezel, Mega_Bezel.' Even then, you'll find so many to choose from, and you can even create your own preset. CyberLab on Libretro forums created some of my favorite preset shader settings, though you need to install them into the correct folder yourself. You don't necessarily want to use the same shader for every game, either. A Game Boy look won't be anywhere near the same as what you should see on CRT. RetroArch is compatible with most systems you can think of, including hacked consoles. The issue is, by itself, it can be a complicated piece of software to use, especially on PC. YouTuber Russ Crandall on his channel Retro Game Corps has a great starter guide for the software. Simplicity is paramount, which is why my personal favorite emulation device is the Steam Deck, and it's what I recommend to most people who want to play games up through the PSP and still use some intense shaders. For ease, I prefer EmuDeck, which is a larger collection of emulators that install all in one batch, making it easy to plug in your various ROMs without much fuss. It also installs RetroArch, which makes things easy. Installing new shaders you find online can be complicated, since the Steam Deck hides some folders in desktop mode, but YouTube channel Retro Crisis has some videos to help you navigate the file path. The next thing you need to think about is the size of your native display compared to the game you're playing. If the emulated content was made for a screen at 240p or even 480p, then you may not get the correct look if you let it upscale naturally. For games that used to run on handhelds like the Game Boy, it's better to adjust for integer scaling. This ensures the game upscales by a whole number rather than any decimals. Now, when you're playing your game, you won't have a blown-up ultra-wide image that matches the device's native widescreen. If you're more focused on console emulation, then different shaders may require you to input different settings into RetroArch. For instance, Mega Bezel asks users to disable integer scaling and allow for its custom TV framing. There are so many dials you can turn to achieve some extra fidelity with your retro games, no matter the size and resolution of your screen. As hard as you work to fine-tune each shader, emulation and shaders will never offer anything as evocative as a static-filled CRT screen. But we can get close, and for the sake of playing some great games with modern amendities, close is more than good enough.
Android Authority
16-07-2025
- Android Authority
Analogue's N64 clone is finally shipping, and there's good news for pre-orders
TL;DR Analogue announced its N64 FPGA device is finally shipping in August. Released in pre-order in October 2024, the Analogue 3D faced nearly a year of delays. Pre-orders are not subject to additional tariff charges, with Analogue eating the cost. The Analogue 3D made huge waves when it was made available for pre-order in October 2024, promising to play classic N64 cartridges in full 4K over HDMI. The $250 pre-orders quickly sold out, and after nearly a year of waiting, Analogue has announced that it will finally be shipping next month. This is the third time the company has delayed shipping, with initial estimates for the end of 2024, then July 2025, and now late-August 2025. Analogue cites 'last week's sudden tariff changes' as a reason for this final delays, but it appears that the date will actually stick this time. Tariffs have touched nearly every gaming handheld release this year, from the Retroid Pocket Flip 2 to the Nintendo Switch 2. Analogue has promised to absorb any extra tariff costs for pre-order customers, but it's not clear whether the product will ever be back in stock — and at what price. The Analogue 3D is a modern take on the N64, with Bluetooth and full 4K output. Despite its troubles with timeliness, Analogue is renowned for making excellent devices. The Analogue 3D is its third release after tackling the TurboGrafx-16 and Game Boy. The Analogue Pocket in particular impressed us in our review, although it now faces stiff competition from the ModRetro Chromatic. ModRetro has also teased an N64 FPGA device called the M64, although no concrete details have emerged as of yet. The Analogue 3D isn't a 1:1 copy of the N64, but rather a modern reinterpretation. It's still 100% compatible with the full N64 catalog, using low-level hardware emulation via FPGA chips to provide a much more authentic experience than software emulators could ever dream of. Given the difficulties with emulating the N64's unique architecture on modern devices, this makes a huge difference for retro gaming fans. In terms of modernizations, the console features full 4K output over HDMI, which is 10x the resolution of the original console. To keep things authentic, it has built-in filters to replicate the CRT look of displays at the time. It keeps the power and reset buttons of the original console, as well as all four controller ports. If you don't have (or just hate) original N64 controllers, Analogue has partnered with 8bitdo to create a modernized version, complete with Bluetooth compatibility and a design that's better suited to human physiology. It ships at the end of July, and is compatible with not just the Analogue 3D, but also PCs, Android devices, and even the Nintendo Switch. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
ModRetro Announces Return of the ModRetro Chromatic With New Exciting Extras
The ModRetro Chromatic captured the hearts of retro enthusiasts and those who grew up playing the Game Boy and Game Boy Colour. Still, after its initial launch in late 2024, the pixel-perfect handheld has become exceedingly difficult to find in the wild, that is, until now. ModRetro Chromatic has announced that their popular handheld device will enter mass production and become a permanent fixture in the new supply chain. Not only that, but to sweeten the pot, ModRetro promises a brand-new colourway for the ModRetro Chromatic to coincide with the release of some classic new games for the Game Boy successor on top of the already existing lineup of fun colours, with the latest variant joining the lineup labelled as Cloud, which features a white and purple treatment, somewhat reminiscent of the Super Nintendo. Additionally, the long-awaited rechargeable battery pack for the ModRetro Chromatic will be made available alongside a mod pack, which allows those who like to tinker to swap out parts, refreshing or customizing their handheld to their choosing. In addition, ModRetro will also release a branded Link cable and Koss Porta Pro headphones to complement the handheld, completing the retro arsenal of gaming goodness. A detailed breakdown of the accessories and new games coming to the ModRetro Chromatic can be viewed below: Sabrina: The Animated Series – Zapped! A re-release of the fast-paced platformer based on the cartoon series, where you switch between Sabrina and Salem to reverse a magical mishap. Wicked Plague: A side-scrolling Metroidvania with fast-paced action, haunting visuals, and intense boss fights in a cursed tower. Self-Simulated: A high-speed precision platformer with over 100 levels, customizable assists, and a story about reclaiming your lost identity. First Contact Protocol: An adventure-puzzle game with branching choices, cinematic cutscenes, and a crew fighting to survive aboard a damaged starship. Gravitorque: A puzzle platformer where you control gravity instead of jumping, solving mind-bending levels across four distinct worlds. ModRetro Rechargeable Power Core ($29.99): Snap-in battery for up to 16 hours of gameplay. ModRetro Link Cable ($14.99): Bring back couch co-op with head-to-head multiplayer support. ModRetro Mod Kit ($14.99): Personalizes or refreshes with high-quality, swappable parts and a one-of-a-kind dual-sided screwdriver. ModRetro Koss Porta Pro ($49.99): A colour-matched retro headset with legendary sound. On the software side of things, ModRetro promises new features via firmware updates for the ModRetro Chromatic, including native streaming via Discord on Mac and PC, with no additional dock required. Finally, official ModRetro cartridges will now be able to receive game updates or patches via what ModRetro is calling its Cart Clinic service, ensuring that all physical games are free of bugs or issues going forward. Lastly, ModRetro plans to team up with some major names in the gaming space, including Ubisoft, Atari, and Argonaut Games; however, details are scarce for now. Nevertheless, this collaboration is exciting for the future of the ModRetro Chromatic. For further details, readers are encouraged to visit the official ModRetro Chromatic website. For those who missed out on the initial wave of handhelds, which sold out almost immediately, portable gaming enthusiasts can rest easy in knowing that ModRetro will deliver more units, hopefully making the ModRetro Chromatic more readily available alongside its expanding library of new and classic releases that bring the Gameboy into the modern age while retaining that authentic look and feel of the original. And if you're new or unfamiliar with the system, the ModRetro Chromatic is fully compatible with both DMG Game Boy titles and Game Boy Color games, which further take advantage of the sapphire crystal 1:1 display of the handheld, making it one of the best ways to play your classic library of games.
Forbes
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Hello New ModRetro Chromatic Color, Goodbye Limited Stock
Chromatic Credit: ModRetro ModRetro's M64, an FPGA ode to the Nintendo 64, is supposedly on the way, though who knows when that will ship, or even go on sale, for that matter. In the meantime, however, we've got ourselves what seems to be a permanent restock of the retro revival company's premium Game Boy and Game Boy Color-compatible handheld. After selling out months ago, you can now buy the coveted Chromatic yet again, and in a new colorway, too, one that's simply dubbed Cloud (which is different than the GameStop variant). The fresh hue brings to mind the North American Super Nintendo motif, although if you'd rather have something a little bolder, the original rainbow options are still available, but they won't sport the notable '1st Edition' stamp found on units from the initial Chromatic production run. Since its inception, one of the big selling points of the Chromatic has been its extremely durable sapphire display, and interestingly enough, this restock arrives with an additional, cheaper screen option: Gorilla Glass. Chromatics with sapphire displays are priced at $299.99 ($100 more than they were at launch, by the way), while Chromatics with a less desirable Gorilla Glass offering will set you back $199.99. Both handhelds still come bundled with a physical cartridge of Tetris . Cloud Chromatic Credit: ModRetro Full disclosure: ModRetro kindly sent me a Chromatic months back for testing and I've only just gotten around to actually using it. I can honestly say it's a very solid Game Boy homage, if a little on the small side for my massive hands. The display quality is fantastic, and so are the springy buttons—I really like how they feel. The unit build-quality gives off tiny tank energy (did anyone ever play that weird PS1 title?) and I think it's worth the asking price, maybe even the increased $300. In many ways, I'd say I prefer it to the Analogue Pocket, although I do wish it played Game Boy Advance titles as well, even though that would go against the Chromatic's 'purest' design philosophy, as it were. I wouldn't doubt if ModRetro is working on a specific GBA follow-up for the future, though. Something with a horizontal hand-feel, no doubt. There's also a new rechargeable battery available on ModRetro's website, alongside a branded link cable and a mod kit that will allow you to change out d-pads and other inputs. I might have to check out that Power Core, because while AA batteries are nostalgic, they're sort of a pain to keep replacing. The link cable seems intriguing, too. I always loved playing head-to-head Pokémon with friends and siblings on my old Atomic Purple Game Boy Color. That said, let's just hope ModRetro isn't bringing back the Worm Light. Let's collectively shudder at such a thought. I wouldn't doubt if translucent Chromatic colors are on the way at some point, especially since Analogue has dabbled in this type of variant with its own Pocket handheld. But the Cloud option is good for the time being, and I'm excited about putting my Inferno review unit to the test over the next few weeks. If only I could grab a second Chromatic and try out the link cable. I guess I'd need a friend, too. Perhaps ModRetro could supply this as well? Stay tuned.
Gizmodo
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
The Most Accurate Way to Play Game Boy Games Is Available Again, but There's a Catch
Palmer Luckey, the man who took a career crafting VR headsets and turned it into a company that sells weapons of war to the U.S. military, also makes a Game Boy-like handheld. The ModRetro Chromatic, designed to play old Game Boy cartridges, has proved incredibly popular. Now, the handheld, in all its original colorways, is back after a year of unavailability, but with a few changes. First, there's an all-new gray and purple colorway that's giving SNES vibes. Second, while the Chromatic still starts at $200, which gets you the same magnesium alloy shell and a special copy of Tetris, the screen cover is now Gorilla Glass instead of the more durable, scratch-resistant sapphire glass that all original Chromatics had. If you want the version with the sapphire screen, that now costs $300 (also bundled with Tetris). Whether or not the Chromatic is worth it depends on how much you loved your old Game Boy Color and how much you can stomach Luckey's ongoing love affair with the military-industrial complex. The Chromatic is a kind of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) emulation device. That means it doesn't merely recreate Nintendo's original handheld as software, like most typical emulators do; it effectively replicates the hardware and chip logic. As such, it can play original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges alongside ModRetro's own 'Chromatic' cartridges. ModRetro, a company cofounded by Luckey and fellow Anduril lead Torin Herndon, started promoting the Chromatic almost a year ago alongside a few homebrew games designed for the device. There are a few more ModRetro-specific games to go alongside the handheld re-release. The selection now includes Sabrina: The Animated Series – Zapped!, First Contact Protocol, Wicked Plague, Self Simulated, and Gravitorque DX. The last of those is a gravity-manipulating indie platformer akin to lo-fi darling VVVVVV from back in 2010. ModRetro is also selling a few more accessories, including a rechargeable battery to replace the old AAs, a mod kit to swap its buttons and D-pad, and a link cable to trade Pokémon with friends the old-fashioned way. I am pleased to annouce our latest game! Gravitorque DX is a puzzle platformer where you control gravity instead of jumping, solving mind-bending levels across four distinct worlds. Get it now on a REAL cart: #modretro #GameBoy #gamedev — Nikita Kurylev (@NikitaKurylev) July 10, 2025The Chromatic is currently the most accurate way to replay Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, with the added benefit of a backlit IPS LCD screen and other modern amenities like video out via USB-C. That IPS screen replicates the colors found on Nintendo's original handheld. While there are other FPGA mod kits available for DIY enthusiasts like this one from FunnyPlaying, your only other option for a similar complete system to play your old Game Boy cartridges is the $220 Analogue Pocket. It's a fellow FPGA emulation device with a four-button layout that is also compatible with Game Boy Advance titles and other non-Nintendo games like Sega Game Gear with additional add-ons. While Analogue has done several limited edition colorways before, it's currently only available in black or white. In the last few months, Analogue seemingly managed to overcome chronic stock issues, so at least for now, buyers have a choice. Grabbing your stash of Game Boy games from the attic sounds enticing, until you consider who you're buying the Chromatic from. With one hand, Luckey promotes his retro gaming venture—a continuation of his early days as a handheld modder. With the other, he's turning his military weapons maker, Anduril, into one of the government's de facto suppliers of cutting-edge military technology. Lately, Anduril took Microsoft's place making XR goggles for troops on the ground, and he even partnered up with once-friend, then-enemy, now-friend again Mark Zuckerberg to craft the XR device for the U.S. military's future soldiers. Beyond his overtures to his nerdy past, Luckey sees the world in stark lines. He has said in past interviews his goal is to supply enough weapons to act as a kind of deterrent against aggression toward U.S. interests. This kind of 'game theory' isn't what most gamers love most about their pastime, but it's intrinsic to how Luckey views his other, non-Game Boy-related business interests. How to compartmentalize Luckey's businesses is up to each individual buyer, but I personally can't advocate supporting the arms dealer no matter how innocent this venture seems. You already have an incredible number of software emulation-focused devices available—including sub-$100 handhelds like the Anbernic RG34XXSP or TrimUI Brick—so buyers are not starved for options. Luckey has suggested he'll launch a Game Boy Advance-like device and Nintendo 64 emulator in the future, but when those hit the scene, we'll still have the same reservations, all to do with Luckey himself.
