Emulation What devices can emulate GBA/GBC/GB/SNES/NES games?

[Awesom3]

I have a lot of interest in investing in a device that has great emulation support for older systems such as the GBA, GBC, GB, SNES and NES. Obviously some obvious choices would be those original systems or the PC but when I am using the computer I usually don't play with emulators and stuff. What are some good portable devices that can emulate some of these systems well enough that I can play most of the big titles of them? I know the DS doesn't have GBA emulation unless you use a slot 2 device or that expansion pack thing. Whatabout its emulation for the other systems? I used SNEmulDS and it doesn't seem to run a lot of games smoothly...

Yea I want your input guys!! Is the PSP a good choice for emulating those older systems?

Maybe an iPod Touch!? The Nokia N810?

 

[Diablo1123]

Get a Pandora!
Besides that I wouldn't know.

 

[FireEmblemGuy]

The Gp2X systems might be something to look into, or you can ask around at mp4nation.net/forums; I don't remember exactly what, but a lot of Chinese MP4 players are picking up on emulation now. I don't know what the current state of affairs are on them, but the best Chinese ones to look into right now would be the SmartQ T5-II or the Gemei X760+. Overall, though, I'd compare the PSP and the GP2X systems(their new Wiz will be coming out this/next month, keep an eye out for that.)

Sorry to ramble and jump all over the place.

EDIT: The Pandora is an option, but it's $330 and the next run won't be out until January, I believe. It's a bit bigger than the DS, if I recall.

 

[Awesom3]

Thanks FireEmblem guy... PSX/N64 emulation can't hurt too and the Pandora seems to be able to do that. I'll look into a Pandora but yea it's not my main option. The Chinese MP4 players look like really good options at a relatively low price. Video playback with common video files (stupid iPod), audio playback and emulation... Looks like a real great device and they are very portable as well and have SD cards so I can have like a music card or a video card and a games card... Thanks. I'll go to those forums and check it out with emulation being my main priority.

 

[Knarf]

PSP. PSP can emulate GBA, GBC, GB, SNES, NES, Genesis, atari, and PSX with almost purfect emulation. It also emulates N64 but it's nowhere near perfect.

 

[Awesom3]

Thanks. For those interested I think I am going to settle with getting a netbook (those small laptops) and I'm looking at the Acer Aspire One. It's more useful.

 

[Kkolko]

I'm pretty sure iPhone and iPod Touch can do it, though it was pretty laggy when I tried it.

 

[slaphappygamer]

the psp 2000 has a real nice dpad for emulation. i would get that, im sure its cheaper than a small laptop.

 

[Minox]

PSP. PSP can emulate GBA, GBC, GB, SNES, NES, Genesis, atari, and PSX with almost purfect emulation. It also emulates N64 but it's nowhere near perfect.

The PSP isn't as perfect for SNES as some people say it is. Sure it's a hell of a lot better than using a DS to emulate SNES, but it's still lacking when emulating a couple of SNES games.

One big example of this is Killer Instinct. Killer Instinct was a port of the original arcade game made in 1994 which was ported to the SNES a little later. When trying to emulate it on a PSP it'll start lagging like hell and making the whole game unplayable. If Killer Instinct would utilize one of those special chips that existed for the SNES I'd understand where the lagg came from, but Killer Instinct didn't have any of those and was a perfectly normal SNES game. So where does this lagg come from?
I myself has no idea. I was able to emulate this game almost perfectly back in the days when I still had my old computer with a Pentium 2 and I'm really glad for that. And I do have the SNES version of that game too and I'm really enjoying it, but as for playing it on a handheld I've decided to get a Pandora. The PSP is good, but it's not really made for emulation which is one of the Pandora's main characteristics.

 

[Quincy]

The Wii!

 

[Sc4rFac3d]

PSP. PSP can emulate GBA, GBC, GB, SNES, NES, Genesis, atari, and PSX with almost purfect emulation. It also emulates N64 but it's nowhere near perfect.
The PSP isn't as perfect for SNES as some people say it is. Sure it's a hell of a lot better than using a DS to emulate SNES, but it's still lacking when emulating a couple of SNES games.

One big example of this is Killer Instinct. Killer Instinct was a port of the original arcade game made in 1994 which was ported to the SNES a little later. When trying to emulate it on a PSP it'll start lagging like hell and making the whole game unplayable. If Killer Instinct would utilize one of those special chips that existed for the SNES I'd understand where the lagg came from, but Killer Instinct didn't have any of those and was a perfectly normal SNES game. So where does this lagg come from?
I myself has no idea. I was able to emulate this game almost perfectly back in the days when I still had my old computer with a Pentium 2 and I'm really glad for that. And I do have the SNES version of that game too and I'm really enjoying it, but as for playing it on a handheld I've decided to get a Pandora. The PSP is good, but it's not really made for emulation which is one of the Pandora's main characteristics.
The older version of SNEStyl can do Killer Instinct just fine. At least, it's playable at 20 fps. Same for DKC. The newer version somehow does something wrong, best to stick at 0.2 PSP is your best option if you want emulation. Perfect PSX emulation is bliss.

QUOTE(Awesom3 @ Nov 20 2008, 10:58 AM)

Thanks. For those interested I think I am going to settle with getting a netbook (those small laptops) and I'm looking at the Acer Aspire One. It's more useful.

This is also a fine option. Got a subnotebook myself. Perfect for trips, though I prefer to use a real laptop when at uni.

 

[fateastray]

The PSP can emulate all those systems to an extent decent enough to call it playable. My Nokia N96 can do the same.

 

[linkinkid]

PSP. PSP can emulate GBA, GBC, GB, SNES, NES, Genesis, atari, and PSX with almost purfect emulation. It also emulates N64 but it's nowhere near perfect.

The PSP isn't as perfect for SNES as some people say it is. Sure it's a hell of a lot better than using a DS to emulate SNES, but it's still lacking when emulating a couple of SNES games.

One big example of this is Killer Instinct. Killer Instinct was a port of the original arcade game made in 1994 which was ported to the SNES a little later. When trying to emulate it on a PSP it'll start lagging like hell and making the whole game unplayable. If Killer Instinct would utilize one of those special chips that existed for the SNES I'd understand where the lagg came from, but Killer Instinct didn't have any of those and was a perfectly normal SNES game. So where does this lagg come from?
I myself has no idea. I was able to emulate this game almost perfectly back in the days when I still had my old computer with a Pentium 2 and I'm really glad for that. And I do have the SNES version of that game too and I'm really enjoying it, but as for playing it on a handheld I've decided to get a Pandora. The PSP is good, but it's not really made for emulation which is one of the Pandora's main characteristics.

Snes emulation on the psp is almost perfect, Killer Instinct used to be really laggy on me until I got ahold of DanTheMan's updated speed hacks, and now it works perfect for me.If a game isn't working properly on you, try elevating the frameskip number or getting an updated speedhack, but GBA/GBC/GB/SNES/NES emulation are really close to pefection on my opinion.

 

[U-said-it]

Sorry, I don't know about any portable system emulation.

But if your looking to do you emulation outside of your PC, you should check out the Dreamcast, PS2, or a modded XBOX to play on a TV.

Dreamcast: Doesn't need modded, you can play straight out of the box, so to speak.
NES = Very Good - Has most compatible Nester, even better than PC.
GBC = Good
Sega Masters System = Very Good
Sega Genesis = Good - Compatibility needs work.
SNES = Ok to Good - Depends on title, special chip games not playable.
Old MAME = Good version "0.35" - CPS1/CPS2 games need optimized.


PS2: You'll need to mod, or a way to install an "exploit" to run homebrew.
NES = Very Good
SNES - Good, FX chip games unplayable


XBOX: You'll need a mod chip period.
NES, SNES, GBC, Genesis, MAME, MSX, TG-16 = Good to Excellent
PSX, N64 = Ok to Good

 

[Big Green]

PSP is pretty good

 

[CoconutCake]

PSP has an amazing GBA emulator called gpSP. I like it more than my real GBA SP+ & flash cart!

It runs full speed, no frame skipping (on 90% of games), with full sound. Has save states, reconfigurabke controls (you can use both the dpad and the analog), can run full screen with smoothing etc. It's really great.

There are also great emus for many systems on PSP, including NES, SNES, Genesis, SegaCD, TG-16, SMS/GG, CPS1/CPS2, Ne-Geo, NeoGeo CD, SCUMMVM etc.

Plus there's Sony's fantastic PSX emulator for PSP, which plays nearly every PSX game perfectly.

All you need is a PSP with Dark Alex's custom firmware and you can do it all.

 

[Tozarian]

A laptop

 

[unknownworlder]

the psp 2000 has a real nice dpad for emulation. i would get that, im sure its cheaper than a small laptop.

Are you serious?! The PSPs Dpad is pure BS. The DS one is better, at least the old one.

 

[MerlockMagus]

IF you guys look in the netbook laptop range, a lot of the netbooks can be bought for under $400, and can emulate at a much better success rate than the PSP. Granted, they may not have as much battery life as the PSP, but then again, the PSP doesn't have much battery life to begin with. The Asus EEE 1000HE's purported to have some 7 hours of battery life with usage, and that's on a 10 inch screen. And with newer netbooks coming out all the time, the older ones are dropping quickly in price. I've seen some of the older Asus netbooks in the $200 range, and I'm waiting till they drop to $150 or less to purchase one (I'm just that frugal). Plus, netbooks are ridiculously small and quite useful. Though, I don't know if I'd want to play on it with any controller or anything -- it doesn't seem the least bit ideal.

The modded xbox is just as great of an idea -- I don't think enough people realize the untapped potential of that behemoth. Sure, it's not keeping up as a 'next-gen' system, but it can do all the older systems blissfully, plus it's got plenty of it's own games.

Dammit, I sound like a used cars salesman. I need to go out and get these; I'm just too cheap to still purchase them. I do plan on modding my friend's xbox when the time comes, though.

Ooh, since you mentioned the N810, I think you could just as well go with that. I'm not sure how it does PSX or N64 games, but it ought to pull out all the older platforms without a sweat. Well, that's what I figure, because my friend ran torrents on it's predecessor, the Nokia N800, which I think was pretty spiffy. My friend also ran doom on it -- which makes me think it could probably play GBC/GB/NES, with good hopes for GBA and SNES. PSX and N64? I dunno.

If you ask me though, getting a netbook would be the best bet for a portable gaming platform.

 

[lopezmk]

-PSX,CPS1, CPS2,GBA,SNES, Genesis, N64, Neogeo, Gameboy, Amiga, PC Engine, TurboGrafx,etc

Just for 100€ (Second hand PSP with CF + Memory Stick) you can emulate all this platforms in a 4.3" screen!