Old-school games are making a rapid comeback. There are countless gamers who search abandonware websites for their favorite classic games. Someone may consider it foolish to opt for “fossil” titles in the era of sophisticated video games that are released almost every day. Still, not all players are fully satisfied with mainstream games, which boast mind-blowing graphics but often lack in the authentic spirit any experienced gamer appreciates.

Whether you’re a grey-bearded old-school gamer overwhelmed with nostalgic memories or a teenage fan of modern online RPGs in search of fresh emotions, you’ll definitely appreciate the experience of playing classic games created for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Some mistakenly assume that it’s impossible to play retro games without a vintage console which, needless to say, is a rarity nowadays. If you’re one of the lucky ones whose vintage device is still working properly and you have enough cartridges, you won’t need installing any third party software on your comp to enjoy your favorite retro games. As for the rest of players eager to try classic games, they’ll need special tools called emulators. Emulators act as vintage consoles and enable you to play console games on your PC or any other device. You’ll also need special “games” to run on your emulator you can download from the Internet. Want to know more? Go on reading.

Finding and Downloading an Emulator

As you have understood, the first thing you need to do is to get a reliable emulation tool. Of course, finding and downloading an emulator is not brain surgery. The internet allows you to get the desired software in the blink of the eye. Still, you should be mindful of scammers distributing malware on their websites. Take care to run a quick check on the online resource you’re planning to download an emulator from.

• Recommendation: The safest option would be visiting such websites as RomsMode, Romsmania, EmuParadise, or/and CoolRom. These online sources are listed among the top sites providing emulation software and ROM files for all popular vintage consoles. You can download any piece of available software for free and without fearing to catch a virus.

Once you figure out what website to trust, you may proceed to downloading the emulator you think is appropriate. If you want to emulate a specific console, say, NES, you should look for NES emulators on the chosen website.

Once you decide what emulator to download, locate the “Download” button and press it.

In a minute or less, you’ll get a new program into your Downloads folder.

The next step will be extracting files of the emulator into an appropriate folder and configuring your emulator (if you find it necessary).

Games to Play

After installation, you new emulator will start looking up NES games or ROMs to run on your computer. If you haven’t downloaded the desired files yet, it’s high time you did so.

It’s not a problem to find a couple of cool NES games on the internet. You may either search trustworthy abandonware websites for them or visit the same websites we recommended for downloading emulators.

Playing Games on an Emulator

When you’re ready to start playing retro titles, launch the emulator your emulator by double-clicking on the .exe file.

Access the menu and select “File.” Then, choose “Open” to navigate the list of the downloaded ROMs. Choose the game you want to load by double-clicking on it.

Many emulators have external controller support, which means that you can connect a gamepad to your PC to make your gaming experience more authentic.

Enjoy your game!