Back in my Play Approved Retro Gaming Products (Part I)

If you listen to the show you know I am super picky about the retro game experience. The preservation of the memories I had growing up. With that being said, here are some compilations, and retro game products I have personally purchased, thoroughly tested, and fully endorse:

Buffalo USB Super Famicom/SNES Controller ($15): I think most of the retro controllers out there are junk trying to cash in on the familiar look of a product you love. This is an exception. These controllers are fantastic. The d-pad feels pretty good and the buttons are super responsive. Also it works instantly on a PC or a MAC without the need for drivers. The build quality is fantastic and it can be had for about $15 on Amazon.

Retrobit VGA/S-Video Box for Dreamcast ($40): If you own a Sega Dreamcast (and if you don’t…why not?) and want your games to look great, look no further than the Retrobit S-Video/VGA Box. The Dreamcast was so ahead of its time when it was released on 9/9/99 in the US (November 1998 in Japan). It came with a disc format capable of holding 1.2 GB of data, a built in 56k modem for online play, and the ability to output at 480p with a VGA connection. A large majority of the DC library supports VGA output (almost all 1st part titles) and they simply look fantastic. Here is a complete list of VGA compatible games. If you want to go a little crazy, with a hex editor you can actually switch on VGA support for some of those that do not support the feature natively. A great $40 upgrade.

XRGB Mini Framemeister ($350ish): This is for the hardcore retro gamer. The retro gamer that wants to replicate the true colors and scanlines they remember from their old CRT on their current LCD/LED/Plasma. With a composite signal you can get a clean picture with scanlines that will make playing old games on a current television a joy. You can also use the RGB/SCART input (SNES/Genesis/MegaDrive/Neo Geo/PC Engine/ect) to get a breath taking picture from your retro game console that will bring new life to the games of your past.

Security Bit Screwdrivers for Nintendo and Sega Games/Consoles ($8): These are a must own for those with old video game carts. There will be times you need to open up your carts to give the contacts a real good cleaning. I like owning dedicated screwdrivers instead of the bits because they are harder to misplace and lose.