If you have VR, I highly recommend EmuVR for all console emulator needs.
Plopping yourself on the ground in front of an actual CRT is such a different and incomparably better experience than playing them on flat LcD screens, it really pleasantly suprised me.
Kind of both. It’s basically a frontend for emulators, where you are in a most archetypal 80s room, with a large CRT TV that runs the emulator, and you get all your roms as physical discs/cartriges on your shelf, with emu cores being actual consoles you connect to the TV, put a disk/cartridge in, and then you can sit in front of the TV and play.
It’s extremely immersive, the games feel so much better on an “actual” CRT TV.
And with how small most save files are, you can even store them in a folder on a cloud service without taking much space. So if something happens to your computer for drive with your legally backed up personal cartridge and disc images… You still have those save files.
Looking at the list on Console Mods I’m actually surprised how many GBA games do use a save battery when a lot of games clearly didn’t need it for saves. Did the battery allow for faster saving, or maybe just cheaper cartridges?
It was a cost/availability thing. SRAM was used all over the place prior to the GBA (and for some early GBA games) because FRAM and flash memory was expensive at the capacities needed.
Funnily enough, most games that use SRAM can have the chip swapped out for an FRAM chip, and they will no longer need a battery. (Actually you move the ROM chip from the SRAM board to the FRAM board) The two types of RAM present identically to the game’s software, so it just works.
The Pokemon games use Flash RAM with 2x-4x the capacity of the SRAM and FRAM chips most other games used. There was also EEPROM for games with small save files.
It sucks when you borrow a friend’s SNES and didn’t realize that was a problem and their saves suddenly disappear (along with your current playthrough on a different save file) and you worried you somehow did something to cause it.
You’re telling me I’m going to have to replace the batteries and replay chrono trigger and Pokémon emerald again? Oh the horror
Just play on an emulator. Save states anywhere you want.
If you have VR, I highly recommend EmuVR for all console emulator needs.
Plopping yourself on the ground in front of an actual CRT is such a different and incomparably better experience than playing them on flat LcD screens, it really pleasantly suprised me.
I’m guessing the VR applies some type of CRT like filter to the virtual CRT? Or is it just a nostalgia thing?
Kind of both. It’s basically a frontend for emulators, where you are in a most archetypal 80s room, with a large CRT TV that runs the emulator, and you get all your roms as physical discs/cartriges on your shelf, with emu cores being actual consoles you connect to the TV, put a disk/cartridge in, and then you can sit in front of the TV and play.
It’s extremely immersive, the games feel so much better on an “actual” CRT TV.
https://youtu.be/73XVOeRuu9A?t=237 It’s not as apparent in 2D without VR, but you can get an idea at this timestamp.
That sounds awesome!
It also gives me some mod ideas like virtual parents telling you to turn the console off if you play too long :P
And with how small most save files are, you can even store them in a folder on a cloud service without taking much space. So if something happens to your computer for drive with your legally backed up personal cartridge and disc images… You still have those save files.
Pokemon Emerald’s battery is only there for real time clock functions. Saves remain intact even after the battery runs dry.
Gen I and II games used the battery for save data, however.
Yeah you’re right. Bad example.
Looking at the list on Console Mods I’m actually surprised how many GBA games do use a save battery when a lot of games clearly didn’t need it for saves. Did the battery allow for faster saving, or maybe just cheaper cartridges?
It was a cost/availability thing. SRAM was used all over the place prior to the GBA (and for some early GBA games) because FRAM and flash memory was expensive at the capacities needed.
Funnily enough, most games that use SRAM can have the chip swapped out for an FRAM chip, and they will no longer need a battery. (Actually you move the ROM chip from the SRAM board to the FRAM board) The two types of RAM present identically to the game’s software, so it just works.
The Pokemon games use Flash RAM with 2x-4x the capacity of the SRAM and FRAM chips most other games used. There was also EEPROM for games with small save files.
It sucks when you borrow a friend’s SNES and didn’t realize that was a problem and their saves suddenly disappear (along with your current playthrough on a different save file) and you worried you somehow did something to cause it.