Guides
Plain-English answers to the questions people actually ask about playing retro games today. Written by people who play them, checked for accuracy, and linked to the games so you can jump straight in.
Retro Games That Are Still Brutally Hard (and How to Actually Beat Them) Ninja Gaiden, Contra, Battletoads, Ghosts 'n Goblins and more: why these classics are so tough, the specific traps that end most runs, and the tricks and codes that get you to the credits. 9 min read PAL vs NTSC: Why European Retro Games Ran Slower Why Sonic, Street Fighter II and countless other games ran slower in Europe and Australia, what 50Hz and 60Hz really mean, and which version to play today. 6 min read Why Your Old Cartridge Lost Its Save (Save Batteries Explained) Why Pokemon, Zelda and other classic cartridges forget your progress, how long save batteries last, which games are affected, and how to protect or replace them. 7 min read CRT vs Modern TV: How to Make Retro Games Look (and Feel) Right Why old consoles can look blurry and feel laggy on a flat-screen TV, what 240p means, the cables and upscalers that fix it, and whether you really need a CRT. 7 min read Region Locking Explained: Can You Play Japanese Games on a US Console? How each classic console stopped imported games from working, which handhelds were region-free, and the adapters, mods and alternatives people use to play imports. 7 min read The Best Games on Every Classic Handheld The essential games for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color and Atari Lynx, and what makes each one worth playing. 8 min read The Konami Code and Other Famous Cheat Codes, Explained Where the Konami Code came from, the Mortal Kombat blood code, Sonic's level selects, JUSTIN BAILEY and other legendary codes, and how to enter them today. 6 min read How to Get Into Retro Gaming: A Practical Starter Guide The easiest ways to start playing classic games today, from subscriptions and collections to original hardware, plus what to play first and how not to get overwhelmed. 7 min read The Best Couch Co-op Games on Every Classic Console Hand-picked games two or more people can play together on the same screen, console by console, with tips on which ones are friendly and which ones will test a friendship. 8 min read Why Duck Hunt Doesn't Work on Your TV (and How People Play Light Gun Games Today) The NES Zapper and other classic light guns rely on how old CRT televisions draw the picture. Here is how they work, why modern screens break them, and the options that exist today. 5 min read How Matrix Picks Ranks Games (and Why 'Best' Doesn't Mean What You Think) Where our data comes from, what the fame score measures, how the quiz picks games for you, and the limits of ranking thousands of retro games. 6 min read Retro RPGs You Can Actually Finish: Great Picks for Busy People Classic role-playing games that won't eat 60 hours of your life, from friendly first RPGs to tight action RPGs you can wrap up in a couple of weekends. 6 min read NES, SNES, Genesis or PlayStation? Which Classic Console to Start With A plain-English comparison of the most popular retro consoles: what each one does best, which games define it, and who it's the right starting point for. 6 min read How to Use Retro Cheat Codes: Game Genie, GameShark and Action Replay Explained What the classic cheat devices were, what their codes look like, how to enter them on original hardware or in an emulator like RetroArch, and what to do when a code does nothing. 7 min read