How to Play Classic Video Games on Your Computer

Between all the different gaming platforms and systems that have been released in the last several decades, almost everyone has fond memories of a favorite childhood video game. For some it might be classic Atari games like Space Invaders and Atlantis; for others it might be Mario or Zelda. Others might remember the Castlevania series. No matter how amazing and realistic gaming technology gets, the newer games just don't feel the same. Nothing comes close to your first love.

So many people own older systems that have stopped working years ago and now sit on a shelf collecting dust and serving as a reminder of good times from the past. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can find almost any game in existance and replay it again today!

This is an exciting prosepect, but there are different methods of doing this.Take a few minutes to read this guide and decide what's best for you and your computer, and you'll hopefully be reliving your childhood in no time.

The easiest method would be to find Java or Flash versions of classic video games, of which many exist. These games are designed to run on most computers immediately without requiring downloads or installations of any sort. Occasionally, an update to your Flash player might be required. The only downfall to these types of games are that you usually can't save your progress and the graphics might not be so great. Usually Flash versions are limited to older games, such as Atari and NES.

The following sites are legally allowed to host any game that they already possess the cartridge for, so some games might be missing. You can donate your old game cartridges so they can legally add to their selection.

http://www.virtualnes.com/
http://www.everyvideogame.com/arcade.php?mode=cat&c=1
http://www.retrouprising.com/index.php?action=arcade;sort=plays;desc=DESC

There is another method to play games on your computer, but it's more complicated and requires both downloads and an unzip program. An emulator is a virtual version of a gaming console that you download to your computer; these are small programs that usually take up around a couple thousand kb of memory once unzipped. ROMS are the virtual versions of games that you can also download and use with the emulators. These are generally a few megabytes each when unzipped, taking up about the same amount of memory as a music download.

Legalities must be followed in this case as well, and it's up to you to only download ROMS of games that you actually own the cartridges for. These games are for people that already own the physical version, but would like the additional method of playing them on a computer. They also come in handy for when you own older games but your outdated console is broken and can't be replaced. If you don't follow these guidelines, you will be responsible for dealing with any legal actions that result from your downloads.

There are emulators for every gaming platform from Atari to Playstation, as well as games for each. The list of emulators is exhaustve, and in most cases, all are about equal. All will require an unzip program, such as Winzip. That should be downloaded and installed on your computer before you attempt to download any emulators or games.

When you're ready for the games, go to a search engine and search for the emulator of your choice, such as "Sega Saturn Emulator" or "Gameboy Advance Emulator." The first results that come up will be the most popular and frequently downloaded. You can then search for ROMS of the games you would like to play.

Keep in mind that downloading anything from the internet can be risky to your computer. Reports of harm coming from emulators and ROMS are far and few between, but it's a good idea to do a complete virus and spyware scan of each file or program before you download it.

Hopefully you will be playing your childhood favorites again minutes from now! Good luck and happy gaming to you!