Since it’s rare and, sometimes, expensive to find a retro Nintendo console, like the original GameBoy, nowadays, the question that is asked most often is how can I play the classic Pokémon games? Well, you’re in luck because emulators for such classic consoles exist and have been nearly perfected. Therefore, today, we’ll be discussing the best emulators, the best Pokémon games to emulate and how to emulate them.
What is an Emulator?
Emulators are software designed to run old or incompatible applications on current systems by mimicking the original environment. They’ve made a mark in the gaming world, particularly on PCs, where they allow classic games to shine on modern hardware. Before the advent of Nintendo Switch Online, these were the primary means to relive Nintendo classics unless you had an actual retro console. Interestingly, even Nintendo Switch Online utilizes emulators for its retro titles. This article focuses on using emulators to enjoy the best Pokémon games spanning various Nintend consoles—GameBoy, GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS—through online emulators and through offline software. Read More: Apple Just Made the Best Windows Games Emulator for MacOS
How to Emulate Pokémon Games
Emulating games doesn’t require a high-end setup. Emulator software is optimized, making even mobile emulation a viable option. To emulate, you generally need the emulation software and the game’s ROM. However, for online emulation, just being on the website suffices. While most emulation software is free, ROMs present challenges. Downloading ROMs randomly is illegal due to copyright issues; Nintendo is infamous for taking legal action in cases like these. So, we won’t be listing the places you can get free ROMs, but sailing the seven seas ain’t rocket science. Read More: Why Nintendo Sucks Now If you want to play a particular game, consider buying a used copy on platforms like eBay. Alternatively, if you own a physical cartridge, you can dump its ROM. The dumping process varies based on the console, but plenty of YouTube guides can assist you.
The Best Emulators for Each Console
Now that you’re up to speed on what are emulators, let’s look at the how-to. In this section, we’ll be highlighting the best emulators for each console:
1. Online Emulation: Vimm’s Lair
Platform: GameBoy series, Nintendo DS | Multiple Save States: Yes | Multi-player Support: No | Cheats: Yes | Controller Support: Yes Vimm’s Lair is one of the best sites to emulate old Pokémon games. A website that hosts a variety of abandonware and other such programs, Vimm’s Lair is every emulation geek’s haven. It’s one of the oldest sites around (since 1997!), and its simple and straightforward interface with minimal ads, have cemented its position as a digital museum. Vimm’s Lair allows emulation for all the GameBoy and Nintendo DS Pokémon games. However, there’s no support for 3DS games due to their somewhat taxing nature and legal issues. The online emulation on Vimm’s Lair provides the same features as any emulator; multiple save states, cheats, multi-player and a fast-forward option.
Emulating Pokémon games on Vimm’s Lair:
We have a comprehensive guide on Vimm’s Lair as well that we encourage you to check out. At any rate, here’s how you can play your favorite Pokémon games online.
2. GameBoy Series: Visual Boy Advance
Platform: GameBoy series | Multiple Save States: Yes | Multi-player Support: Yes | Cheats: Yes | Controller Support: Yes Since most GameBoy emulators come with native support for GameBoy, GameBoy Color and the GameBoy Advance, we’ve decided to pick out the best one that is feature-rich and supported on multiple platforms; Visual Boy Advance. Visual Boy Advance (VBA) has been around since the early 2000s, and as such, has become the perfect and most complete emulator for any GameBoy game. VBA’s ability to emulate any GameBoy game flawlessly, support multiple save states, different kinds of cheats, controller support, multi-player support, and open-source nature, makes it the obvious choice for many. In order to install VBA on you PC, you’ll need to fulfill some requirements.
Requirements for Visual Boy Advance
There’s a good chance you already have all this but still, you’ll need to install the following programs in order to run VBA on your hardware: Once you’ve installed these programs, proceed to the installation procedure.
Installing Visual Boy Advance
Running Pokémon games on Visual Boy Advance
Once the emulator is installed, you’ll need a ROM of your favorite GameBoy Pokémon game on your PC. If you have it, follow the instructions below to load it up on VBA:
3. Nintendo DS: melonDS
Platform: Nintendo DS | Multiple Save States: Yes | Multi-player Support: Yes | Cheats: Yes | Controller Support: Yes; highly recommended melonDS wasn’t released immediately after the DS, but it was developed with the hope of emulating DS games. Released in 2016, melonDS was released as an open-source project primarily to bring multi-player support to DS emulation. Before melonDS took over, the most popular DS emulator was DeSmuME. While DeSmuME is still very popular, it lost out to melonDS because of the lack of multi-player. However, since DeSmuME had been around for a long time, it was a nearly perfect emulator, as it was able to run nearly any DS game with ease. In that regard, melonDS had to struggle and find its footing, but thanks to an immense amount of support from the community, it was able to do this in a short amount of time. At any rate, here’s how to set up and run games on melonDS.
Installing melonDS
Starting up a game on melonDS
4. Nintendo 3DS: Citra
Platform: Nintendo 3DS | Multiple Save States: Yes | Multi-player Support: Yes | Cheats: Yes | Controller Support: Yes; highly recommended Citra is the definitive 3DS emulator. First released in 2014, it has come a long way and made mountains of improvement in terms of feature, optimizations, compatibility and more. In it’s current state, the emulator can now play nearly 80% of 3DS games. You can check out the compatibility list on their website for more details. Luckily, Pokémon games are able to run without any issues. Citra is completely open-source, so there’s no reason to doubt its authenticity. Its refined multiplayer, ability to emulate the 3DS’s finer features like the camera and microphone, controller support, advanced settings and automatic fast-forwarding (if your hardware is capable enough) have allowed to to cut down any competition. Anyhow, these are the requirements you’ll need to satisfy to run Citra.
Citra Requirements
Installing Citra
Loading up a Pokémon on Citra
The Best Pokémon Game For Each Console
Now that we’re done with the emulators, let’s talk about the Pokémon games you should think about getting to experience Pokémon fully and truly. Like Final Fantasy, Pokémon games are not connected in a linear way; you don’t need to necessarily play them in chronological order. However, playing them in order by release is recommended to get a better idea of the gameplay mechanics and get accustomed to them. Every new mainline Pokémon game release (termed “Generation”) transports the player to a whole new region which features a diverse cast of brand new Pokémon. Pokémon games are released as 2, sometimes 3, variants. While the variants have identical gameplay and narratives, the main difference is the signature legendary Pokémon that appears in them, which is usually featured on the cover. Read More: Which SEGA Dreamcast Emulators To Use on Windows
1. GameBoy Series: Pokémon Emerald Version
You’ve seen us playing Pokémon: Emerald already on this article twice; once online, and the second time on VBA. That’s because it is, arguably, the best Pokémon game ever made. Featuring fan-favorite starters like Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip and one of the most infamous legendries in Pokémon history; Rayquaza, Emerald’s diverse cast of Pokémon is one of the greatest amongst Pokémon games. Pokémon: Emerald is set in the Hoenn region and is a 3rd Generation Pokémon game. Its other variants are Pokémon: Ruby Version and Pokémon: Sapphire Version. There are slight differences in each variant, but Emerald is the more popular one due to the fact that you can catch all the legendries of the Hoenn region in this version. The game follows your 10-year-old protagonist (even in the games, the protagonist never ages and is 10 years old!) set off on an adventure to capture every Pokémon and become the best Pokémon Trainer in the region. Along the way, your neighbor, and rival, challenges you to battles frequently. Featuring rich landscapes like caves, oceans and underwater exploration, Emerald checks all the right boxes. Read More: The Best PlayStation 3 Emulators for PC
2. Nintendo DS: Pokémon White
Set in the Unova region, Pokémon: White is a 5th Generation Pokémon game. Introducing a complete 2.5D environment, White was revolutionary for all the classic turn-based RPGs of that time. It’s narrative was considered very mature, as it concealed the underlying theme of questions about mankind’s existence, purpose and morality; something no-one expected a kids’ game, especially Pokémon, to do. White is mostly known for its engaging cast of characters, innovative Pokémon designs, and diverse cast of Pokémon. Pokémon: White, and its twin variant Pokémon: Black, were so successful that it resulted in GameFreak, the developer of Pokémon games, to do something unprecedented; release direct sequels for both games titled Pokémon: Black 2/White 2. To this day, they remain the only Pokémon games with direct sequels.
3. Nintendo 3DS: Pokémon Y
When the 3DS launched, Nintendo games went through a transition phase from 2D to 3D. The same applied for Pokémon too. The 3DS, like its predecessor, hosted 2 generations’ worth of Pokémon games. The 6th Generation was the generation which outlined the new direction towards which future Pokémon games would be heading. The 6th Generation games were Pokémon: X and Pokémon: Y versions. Yveltal, the cover legendary featured of Y, is a major pull factor for players choosing Y over X. Other than that, there’s no specific reason why you can’t pick X over Y. But the main reason we’ve chosen the 6th Generation games is due to the new, and vastly under-utilized feature they introduced; Mega-Evolutions. Mega-Evolutions allowed a handful of Pokémon to achieve a temporary, but more powerful form. This new mechanic, although a smash hit among fans, would unfortunately end up being sidelined by GameFreak in support of future projects. Y also introduced new gameplay mechanics, dazzling environments, and a concept of 4 rivals. The Kalos region features a brand new cast of Pokémon with mesmerizing character designs, especially Froakie’s final evolved form; the cool and suave Greninja. Read More: How to Play Any PS1 Game on Your Android Device
Start your Own Pokémon Adventure!
Since, we’ve told you everything we can about emulating Pokémon games, there’s nothing left to do except to play them all. Be sure to check out all the features offered by every emulator. Check out YouTube to configure the emulators’ settings properly, especially Citra, as they can affect game’s performance greatly. Make sure to save your game frequently, both in the game and with the emulator. And now excuse us, as we blast the opening theme to the Pokémon anime at full volume.
