They say a certain smell can take you back in time and make you relive a particular memory. Well, so can the right retro console for gaming. Nostalgia for simpler times never found a better outlet than your early years games played on an Xbox console. The past meets the present, and hours of gameplay float around.
The Xbox One Home Gaming Console
Microsoft launched the Xbox One console in 2013 and stopped producing it in early 2022. It was the first of its kind to be launched in China. The “One” comes from the company’s marketing strategy to refer to the console as an “all-in-one entertainment system”. The Xbox One’s competitors at the time were PlayStation 4 by Sony and Wii U, later Switch, by Nintendo. Its most popular characteristics were cloud computing and social networking. The latter made it possible for the player to record video and to livestream on platforms such as Twitch and Mixer. Its Kinect 2.0 sensor provided next-generation motion tracking as well as voice recognition.
Emulators On Xbox One Without Dev Mode
Playing your childhood games on an Xbox One console requires you to install and use an emulator, which is software that lets you run ripped versions of your favourite games.
Dev Mode
Dev mode is short for Developer mode. Upon purchase, the Xbox console has two modes, Retail and Developer. Retail mode is the “normal” one, where the player enjoys games and apps acquired from the Xbox store. Dev mode needs to be activated using the “Retail to Dev Kit conversion” app found in the store. In this mode, you can’t play games, but you can develop and test apps for the Xbox. You can always revert to Retail mode.
Emulating In Retail Mode
If you would like to skip acquiring the conversion kit from the Xbox store, know that you can play your favourite retro games without Dev mode.
Eclipse Online Emulator
Eclipse supports games from Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Game Boy (GB), Game Boy Color (GBC), Game Boy Advance (GBA), Sega Master System (SMS), and Game Gear (GG). To upload a game, you just need to select it from your local drive, Google Drive, or Dropbox; you can even upload it through a URL link.
How To Use Eclipse Emulator To Play Games On Xbox
You will need a USB drive formatted in fat32, exFAT, or NTFS, on which you put your ROMs. Make sure first that your ROM files are unzipped. Start your Xbox One and connect your USB keyboard, then plug the USB drive into the console.
The next step is to launch Microsoft Edge. Go to the Eclipse emulator web page and click on the ‘Get’ button, then on ‘Above link not working?’, and select ‘Play Online (Mirror)’. Use your controller to select browsing controls from the menu after Eclipse loads on your console. Now is a good time to go to Settings on the emulator’s menu page and make any changes you see fit. After you are done with the tinkering, click on the ‘+’ icon in the top right corner to upload a game. Select the USB stick icon and press the A button on your controller to let Eclipse run it.
RetroArch Xbox One
One of the most complete and reliable emulators available is RetroArch. This emulator is open-source and free of charge. It is compatible with Microsoft, Mac, and Linux computers.
How To Install RetroArch On Xbox One
Installing and setting up RetroArch is recommended for experienced users of similar apps. It is a process that requires some knowledge of this type of software.
To use RetroArch for playing old games on your Xbox, you have to purchase the Dev mode activation kit from the Xbox store, which is a one-time fee. The steps you need to take are as follows: set up and enter Dev mode; download, install and set up RetroArch; link the Xbox as a network drive; add BIOS and ROM files to the emulator; update RetroArch. Now you’re good to go!
RetroArch Xbox Series S
The Xbox Series S followed the Xbox One and launched in 2016. It was an improvement thanks to the smaller size and the lack of an external power supply. It operates silently, and it loads faster than its predecessor. However, it has less storage and no disk drive.
Using RetroArch on Retail mode is possible, thus avoiding the purchase of Dev mode from the Xbox store. To do this, simply follow the instructions above, on How To Install RetroArch On Xbox One.
Xbox Series S Retro Games
If you’re wondering what games you can play on your Xbox with the help of an emulator, read on.
There are several options for emulated games on an Xbox console. PlayStation 1 games available for emulation are PaRappa The Rapper (1996), Digimon World (1999), Ape Escape (1999), Chrono Trigger (1995), Wipeout 2097 (1996), and Parasite Eve (1998). A few PlayStation 2 titles are God of War (2005), Shadow of the Colossus (2005), Metal Gear Solid2: Sons of Liberty (2001), Jak & Daxter (2001), Ico (2001), TimeSplitters 2 (2002), Silent Hill 2 (2001), and Gran Turismo 4 (2004). You can also play GameCube’s Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness (2005) and Wii’s Super Mario Galaxy (2007).
RetroArch Xbox One X
You can use the RetroArch emulator to play old games on your latest Xbox console purchase.
The most powerful home gaming console in its family, the Xbox Series X launched in late 2020 and features 4K resolution, visuals up to 120 fps, and Xbox Velocity Architecture. Unlike its predecessor, Series X is equipped with a Blu-ray disc drive.
Using RetroArch on your Xbox Series X will take you through the same steps you took with the Xbox One and the Xbox Series S (see above).
You can choose from PlayStation and Nintendo 64 games to emulate on your Xbox Series X.
