How to Relive Your NES + Game Boy Glory Days
Want Mario and Tetris tonight without a Craigslist console hunt? These are the best ways to play NES and Game Boy in 2025 — from five-minute easy to pixel-perfect nerd.
The Easy Button: Nintendo Switch Online
If you just want to play the classics tonight, Nintendo Switch Online gets you curated libraries of NES and Game Boy titles with save states, rewind, online play, and selectable screen styles. It’s $19.99/yr for NES + SNES + Game Boy; the Expansion Pack tiers add N64, Game Boy Advance, Genesis and, on Switch 2, even GameCube. Install the classic apps and you’re in. Nintendo
Best for: quick nostalgia hits, sharing with kids, couch co-op without tinkering.
Trade-offs: not every game is there; filters and latency aren’t “purist-grade.”
Bottom line: Fast, official, and painless for instant nostalgia.
FPGA Accuracy: Analogue Pocket & MiSTer
If you want original-hardware timing and low latency without aging consoles, FPGA is the cheat code.
Analogue Pocket (handheld)
Runs your real GB/GBC/GBA carts on a 1600×1440, 615-ppi display. “Original Display Modes” emulate classic screens (pixel grid, subpixels), and the Dock outputs 1080p with 8BitDo or USB controllers. It’s FPGA, not software emulation; openFPGA adds third-party cores. analogue.co
MiSTer (desktop/console)
A community FPGA project built on the DE10-Nano that implements hardware “cores” for consoles like NES and Game Boy, outputting HDMI or analog with extremely low lag and optional CRT-style filters. More DIY, but accuracy is stellar.
Best for: minimal latency, “it feels exactly right,” and using original cartridges (Pocket).
Trade-offs: price (Pocket + Dock isn’t cheap); MiSTer requires tinkering and parts wrangling.
Bottom line: Pricier and nerdier, but the closest feel to real hardware.
Original Hardware, Modernized
Already have the original console? Modern gear makes it gorgeous on today’s TVs and much friendlier to use.
Flashcarts
Load your own legally-dumped ROM backups to play on real hardware:
- EverDrive N8 Pro (NES) — instant loading, multi-slot save states, mapper support, USB for dev. krikzz.com
- EverDrive-GB X7 (GB/GBC) — fast loads, save states, works on original handhelds (and Super Game Boy). krikzz.com
Upscalers
- RetroTINK-4K / 4K CE scale classic signals up to 4K60 with pixel-perfect modes and excellent CRT shaders. CE is the more affordable variant. RetroTINK
Use real controllers on modern devices
- RetroUSB NES RetroPort turns an original NES pad into USB.
- 8BitDo Wireless USB Adapter pairs modern pads (and bridges to various devices) with simple setup. 8BitDo
Best for: purists who already own hardware, speedrunners chasing exact feel, photo-worthy setups.
Trade-offs: costs add up; some cabling/firmware reading required.
Bottom line: Real carts + modern video = authentic feel without a CRT.
Emulation on PC/Mac (Feature-rich and Free)
If you’re comfortable on desktop, modern emulators are accurate, configurable, and slick—and with shaders, you can get either razor-sharp pixels or cozy CRT glow.
Front end: RetroArch
RetroArch ties everything together with shaders, run-ahead latency reduction, and unified controls. (RetroArch is a frontend; you’ll add “cores” for each system.) RetroArch
Accuracy-first cores to use
- NES: Mesen (cycle-accurate, great debugging), Nestopia UE/puNES as solid alternates.
- Game Boy/Color: SameBoy (extremely accurate), or mGBA if you also want GBA with speed and features. sameboy.github.io
Best for: convenience, screenshots/streaming, quick saves, and “tweak everything” people.
Trade-offs: you’ll need to configure cores, pads, shaders, and keep it all tidy.
Bottom line: Maximum flexibility and features if you don’t mind setup.
Bring Your Own Cartridges (Legal Dumps & Save Backups)
Want to play your carts on modern screens—or back up that fragile Pokémon save battery?
Game Boy carts on your PC
Epilogue GB Operator reads/plays GB/GBC/GBA carts via its Playback app, backs up and restores saves, and even writes homebrew to blank carts. (Use only for content you own/are allowed to copy.)
NES cartridge dumping
Hobbyist tools like the INLretro (formerly Kazzo) let you dump your own NES/Famicom carts to ROM files for preservation and play on emulators. Niche, but well-documented.
Best for: collectors preserving libraries; continuing childhood save files without risking the original cart.
Trade-offs: supply can be sporadic; setup isn’t plug-and-play.
Bottom line: The right path if you want your exact carts and saves—safely.
Quick Picks (Choose Your Path)
- Zero fuss: Nintendo Switch Online → launch, play, rewind. Nintendo
- Handheld perfection: Analogue Pocket (+ Dock if you want TV). analogue.co
- Most authentic on a TV you already own: Real console + RetroTINK-4K CE + an EverDrive.
- Max control + mod vibes: PC with RetroArch + Mesen/SameBoy cores and a USB adapter for your original NES pad.
About the Legal Stuff (Worth reading, two minutes)
- Emulators are legal in the U.S. when they’re independently created (see Sony v. Connectix—reverse-engineering to build a compatible emulator was lawful). That does not legalize downloading commercial ROMs.
- Nintendo’s stance: downloading pirated game files is infringement. Use official services, your own dumps, or public-domain/homebrew.
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