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hey guys. i was wondering what everyone thought about emulators and playing the real thing on a system. a lot of my friends seem to prefer emulators whether it concerns rpgs like ff or just fighting games and others as well. i actually prefer playing games on a system. very seldom do i use an emulator. for some reason i just get more into a game, especially rpgs, when im playing on the actual system. so what do you guys think?

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Playing it on emulators makes it too easy. Those instant saves even during a battle take away from the challenge. The only emulator I used was for FFIII because it was never released over here. I have to say, I NEVER would've beaten that game without the ability to save anywhere. Fighting enemies that can kill any of your party members in a single hit... reload if a single round goes wrong. Nah, just not the same.

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Quote (Racthoh @ 4th March 2005 19:54)

Playing it on emulators makes it too easy. Those instant saves even during a battle take away from the challenge. The only emulator I used was for FFIII because it was never released over here. I have to say, I NEVER would've beaten that game without the ability to save anywhere. Fighting enemies that can kill any of your party members in a single hit... reload if a single round goes wrong. Nah, just not the same.

I beat it without save states since the JNES I had couldn't handle save states without not working. So I did it all the natural way.

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I like to play the real verison when at all possible. However, playing the ROM does have its movement, the most notable of which being the fast-forward key. This makes it a lot easier and quicker to accomplish long, time-consuming tasks, such as building the levels on your weapons in Robotrek, or power-leveling in FFV for a tough boss in a SCC. Still, it doesn't seem as authentic when you play it on the computer.

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Emulators never run games perfectly. There's almost always graphical and sound issues with games played on emulators. Plus it's better to use the controller that the game you are playing was designed for. BUT, emulators are much more convenient than taking those old systems out of the closet and hooking them up. Also there's the advantage of being able to run other applications in the background. Plus you can play modified games. Last but not least, the screen is right in your face instead of across the living room or bedroom, so you can see everything real good.

It's a tough call, but considering the fact that I've used emulators a lot more than consoles in recent years, I'll have to say I prefer emulators... for 2D games anyway. I don't recommend even trying 3D games. There's way too many problems.

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I don't like playing games on my computer as it is, so I seldom use emulators. There are only a handful of ROMs I've played, and those're all games that were never released here. Much more convenient than paying loads to mod my system or buy a foreign one, plus the price hike for importing (which I have leapt hurdles to do in the past).

Besides, if I already own the game, I'm not gonna dampen the experience by playing it with my game-unfriendly keyboard. Unless it's a hack or somethin'...

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RPGs tend to be measured in hours, and a great chunk of a 50 or 60 hour RPG tends to be mundane or "transit" time, the parts of the game that don't mean too much to the game, such as leveling up, running through a dungeon, or even that 10 minutes of dialogue you saw once but won't wish to see again in the same playthrough. Emulators shave an incredible amount of time off RPGs. When I turn on the 4x speed button in ZSNES, I pretty much shorten the playtime to a 1/4 at best, and sometimes I really don't have the time to spare.

Yes, emulators make the games extremely easy. That rewind button in ZSNES pretty much guarantees an F-up-proof playtime. Alot can happen in 5 seconds, and going back to before the mistake you made takes all the challenge away. That, and the fact that "random" minigames or events is most games aren't so random when you can force a specific protocol and rewind to its start and win by trial and error.

For games, particularly RPGs, on the SF or other 2D systems, I simply emulate and quickly accomplish the game as another notch on the wall. However, I better enjoy the console experience, when all you have is the system itself, the controller in your hand, and the consequences you must handle in the game played. I can safely say all my console RPGs show no less than 60 hours of solid playtime, usually 80 or more, since I go completionist.

One last thing to note, is emulators can enhance the graphics, like the wonderful ZSNES. There is the opportunity to use your computer's power to improve the graphics, turning the 16-bit SNES graphics into near 32-bit PS1 graphics. When I played Seiken Densetsu 3, I found the normal graphics typically jagged and SNES-ey. However, once I turned that 2xSAI engine on, oh man the game went absolutely gorgeous, as if it was hand-painted for every frame. There's games that are otherwise ugly to look at, but beefing up the graphics processing can really make it easy on the eyes.

For systems that are emulated well, I'll always choose emulation, simply because:

• The tray under my TV is already too full with a PS2 and an N64;
• If I want an authentic console/TV experience, I just take my control pad over to the bed, and hook up the emulator to display via TV-Out. Granted, it's not 100% perfect, but it's good enough.

My first FF was FF7 PC, which I couldn't get into at all without a control pad; as such, it sat on my shelf for six months. Once I had a Gravis Gamepad Pro, though, it was the best thing ever. If you don't like playing console games on a PC and you've never tried doing so with a pad, give it a go; you might be surprised how much nicer it feels. I recommend hooking up a PSX Dual Shock through a USB adapter, especially since I bet plenty of you already have the pad lying around and only need the adapter.

A word of warning, though: using a PS2 Dual Shock 2 doesn't work as well. The buttons are analog but the USB interface can only read them as digital, which means they only register as pressed when you press them very hard. It doesn't work too well if you have a soft touch like me. (I always find myself going half speed in PS2 racing games too.) The analog sticks will work fine though, if you have a use for them.

I'd prefer my emulator, for alot of reasons, one of which is I don't OWN the system, or the games don't work. Yeah the Instant Saves make it easier, but I don't use 'em, it takes away all the good gaming quality.

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I prefer to buy the original copy of the game, but there are times when nothing beats a fast forward button ^-^

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They both have there pros and cons the.

Actual System: sertain games its easier. But no fast forward botton.

Emulators: It's somtimes harder to play games but fast forward botton.

This post has been edited by Zeil on 5th March 2005 23:50

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I prefer playing on game systems because the sound isn't as good on emulators and because I like controlling my characters with a controller.

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Elena Indurain

Currently Playing: Suikoden II

Being the fiscally conservative person that I am, emulation.

I sometimes say that I use emulators to see what games are truly great, then I'm actually going buy those that I deem worth my money, but the 'buying' part hasn't happened yet. The only games I've gotten in hard copy after I discovered emulation are:
Pokemon Gold
Pokemon Crystal
Final Fantasy VII (gift from friend)

For some games, I prefer to play them on console/hand-held for various reasons, such as Pokemon GSC/RS because they keep real time, and 3D games (e.g. Super Mario 64) because I can't replicate what a joystick can do using only my keyboard. I can generally get nice sound emulation, though, so I don't really mind that part, and I like to play stuff that can open and close easily in windows (I use Windows XP Pro on my computer).

Also, I'm not one of those 'hardkore' gamers who wants stuff to be really really damn hard. (If something's just too annoyingly hard, I don't like it. When I play a game, I expect to get enjoyment out of it. An example of a game that isn't excessively difficult but still provides a decent amount of challenge is Donkey Kong Country.) So if I run into a problem I don't really mind too much about using savestates, although I usually try not to save state in the midst of boss fights. (Of course, using savestates so often has sometimes resulted in me starting to wonder what life would be like if we could save/load states, but that's a different story.)

Edit: changed the wording slightly (kept the meaning), so it was clearer.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 23rd March 2005 10:49

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Emulators. Not only is it the only method through which I can access older videogames, my computer chair is decidedly more comfortable than my 'console' chair.

Edit

Also, there'r lots of handy features on emulators. Frameskip, screenshot features, etc.

This post has been edited by Mimic on 7th March 2005 17:20

I've given up on emulated games. My computer, or to be more specific, my crappy Dell laptop, sounds as if it's going to explode every time it tries to run a game. Anyway, I feel more comfortable playing the real thing on a system. Just feels better for me.

Emulators. My NES broke, I left my SNES somewhere I never intend to return to (just don't ask), I don't even know what happened to my genesis, and my brother destroyed the only working PS1 cord. Besides, I like savestates and fast forward. Also I'm poor.

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