If you like playing old school NES games, then you might download an emulator, or even play them on your browser. On the other hand, these solutions are limited in many ways, including that they don’t mimic the original system’s traits like flicker or slowdown when there are just too many enemies onscreen.
If you’d like to recreate a true 8-bit Nintendo experience, with the ability to play NES and Famicom games and use any original accessory for either, you can actually do it on original hardware without competing in the collectors market — well, maybe for the cartridges. No, this is not an original NES, but the electronics running the game are the same.
This is the Super 8 bit Video Game System. Unlike other systems which attempt to recreate the NES experience, this one actually uses the original CPU and PPU (picture processing unit) for gameplay, while being able to output signals in RGB, S-Video, or composite. The enclosure can even accommodate a Hi-Def NES Upgrade board for HDMI output if necessary.
What is eliminated however, is the region lock that was present on original systems, so you can play games and use accessories that were never intended for your country. As shown in the video below, this system can be used with a wide variety of accessories, some of which you’ve probably never even heard of!
As of this writing, assembled units have a three week lead time, though this could certainly change. The Low-Budget store also has a console that needs additional NES components to function if that’s of interest.
