Emulation Questions And Possible Wiz/caanoo Comparison

[SammyCRX]

Hi,

As you'll see from this being my first post, I'm a noob! Presently I own a Sega Game Gear (since it was first released) and a PSP, but I really want to get some of the older games on a handheld so that I can play them on the go. Arcade games like SDI, Chase HQ 1 and 2, Ninja Turtles, Galaxy Force... I'm a bit old school and I like pick up 'n' play titles. I've only ever downloaded a Spectrum emulator for my PC, so I'll be honest and say that I've got no idea what I'm doing. I'm wondering - is it difficult to download an emulator and software, and is there much risk in terms of viruses (both on PC and the console itself)? Are the games freely available (I'm in the UK if that helps with copyright laws etc.)?

Another question I had was about which handheld to get. Based on what I've read I think it's likely to be the WIZ or the Caanoo, but I don't know which will be best for the sort of things I want to run. So below I've put the things I'd be interested running in order of preference (first in the list being most important to me) - please could someone advise which handheld is likely to best suit my needs? I realise some of these might not be available (if you could advise on that also then I'd greatly appreciate it!)

Arcade Coin-ops
Commodore 64
Spectrum 48k
Super Nintendo
Gameboy
NES
Master System
N64
3DO
Play Station 1
Neo Geo
PC-Engine
SEGA Megadrive (is there a Mega CD emulator?)

Thanks for reading if you got this far and sorry if I've asked all the typical noob questions, I'm really new to this sort of thing. I'm used to things coming on a cartridge or a disc

Many thanks,
Sam

 

[yoshi41dragon]

I'm wondering - is it difficult to download an emulator and software, and is there much risk in terms of viruses (both on PC and the console itself)? Are the games freely available (I'm in the UK if that helps with copyright laws etc.)?

Installing emulators on Wiz/Caanoo isn't difficult, just download the emu pack and copy it to the SD card...

Wiz : http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/wiz.cgi?0,0,0,0,5,542

Caanoo : http://dl.openhandhelds.org/cgi-bin/caanoo.cgi?0,0,0,0,5,696

Everything (incl. icons/titles) is already pre-installed.

You are on your own for ROM and BIOS files. The fact sheets have information where to put these files on the SD card.

PS: Sega Game Gear was my first console as well. The colour handheld was pretty amazing at this time. Castle of Illusion and Columns are still my favorite games.

 

[foleyjo]

I would consider an Android> I have the JXD S601 myself and when compared to my caanoo we have

Arcade Coin-ops - JXD wins. Faster on games like MK1 and Outrun
Commodore 64 - JXD wins for speed. Though there is a sound delay problem using Vice
Spectrum 48k - JXD Wins. The emulator I use links to a website where you can instantly download and play the games
Super Nintendo - Tie
Gameboy -- Tie
NES -- Tie
Master System - Tie
N64 -- JXD wins. Not perfect but more than just playable
3DO -- NONE
Play Station 1 -- JXD Wins. Hard choice at first. Caanoo has plus points including multi disc eboots. But JXD is faster
Neo Geo -- Not tried no comment
PC-Engine -- Never Tried So No Comment
SEGA Megadrive (is there a Mega CD emulator?) -- Caanoo. Can't beat Picodrive. CD and 32x support is a must. JXD has a good emulator too with cd support but compatibility on the cd games is not as good

 

[SammyCRX]

I feel like I've been in a time capsule... I hadn't even heard of the JXD S601 before! I'll do some research on this one tomorrow, as I didn't expect another option. The Mega CD and 32X emulators are interesting, as I've owned both consoles (I still have two Mega CD Mk1s, but no longer have the 32X). Although saying that, I've got most of the other consoles, I just don't want to keep digging them out every time I want to play a game.

Yoshi Dragon, thanks for the links and help. The BIOS thing was the bit which had me slightly miffed, but I'm thinking it's for legal reasons that it isn't readily available? I still play my Game Gear now and then, Castle of Illusion is a favourite of mine (and plays better than the Megadrive equivalent in my opinion).

 

[Orion4874]

Also check out the Yinlips YDPG16 or YDPG18. I own a G16 and from what I've read the Yinlips have a bit more horsepower over JXD. The Wiz/Caanoo are both great units. With the exception of C64, any console under PSX runs very well and PSX isn't that bad either imo. The NeoGeo and PC Engine emus on the Wiz/Caanoo are great as well.

 

[foleyjo]

Yeah do look around at different android devices before choosing. I only mentioned the JXD s601 because that's what I have experience with. Price was also an issue for me as I had already purchased the Caanoo. JXD S601 was the cheapest option and did all I needed

 

[vampire8bit]

The NeoGeo and PC Engine emus on the Wiz/Caanoo are great as well.

Which one is the better PC Engine emu on Caanoo, Temper running with Ginge or the Hugo port?

 

[Orion4874]

The NeoGeo and PC Engine emus on the Wiz/Caanoo are great as well.

Which one is the better PC Engine emu on Caanoo, Temper running with Ginge or the Hugo port?

I've only used Hugo, which I havn't had any problems with, but from what i've read Temper under Ginge runs very well. Imo though, a native port is usually the better choice.

 

[yoshi41dragon]

I would say Temper is the better choice. For example, Bonk's Adventure runs very well on Temper, pretty slow on HuGo. Another example is Air Zonk, which has no sound and flickering screen on HuGo.

And of course the most important reason for Temper are CDROM games. They are not supported by HuGo. Gate of Thunder is a must play. And Star Parodier for Parodius fans. B)

 

[vampire8bit]

Does the GP2X version of the nes emu, GPFCE run using Ginge on Caanoo as well? I know Caanoo has its own native version of GPFCE but just wondering if you could use the GP2X version as well, like GP2X Temper.

 

[Akabei]

Maybe, but why do you want to do that? GPFCE on the Caanoo is almost flawless.

 

[vampire8bit]

Maybe, but why do you want to do that? GPFCE on the Caanoo is almost flawless.

I just wanted to know if it worked with Ginge like Temper does, anyway it just gives you choice to use another great GP2X emu.

 

[SammyCRX]

Well I opted for the Caanoo - bought a pre-owned one with loads of stuff already installed and I've spent ages playing it already I'll have loads of questions I'm sure, but I'll do a search on the forum before asking (I know what it's like when the same questions keep coming up on these places).

Thanks for all the advice so far.

Sam

 

[erico]

Well I opted for the Caanoo - bought a pre-owned one with loads of stuff already installed and I've spent ages playing it already I'll have loads of questions I'm sure, but I'll do a search on the forum before asking (I know what it's like when the same questions keep coming up on these places).

Thanks for all the advice so far.

Sam

Hey Sam, should you wan´t to make games to the caanoo too, look at GLBasic here:
http://www.glbasic.com/

It is what I use and I have a caanoo just so that I can make games and have it on the go.
Should have first game published soon, it life allows me to

Congratulations on your new machine.

 

[SammyCRX]

Well I opted for the Caanoo - bought a pre-owned one with loads of stuff already installed and I've spent ages playing it already I'll have loads of questions I'm sure, but I'll do a search on the forum before asking (I know what it's like when the same questions keep coming up on these places).

Thanks for all the advice so far.

Sam

Hey Sam, should you wan´t to make games to the caanoo too, look at GLBasic here:
http://www.glbasic.com/

It is what I use and I have a caanoo just so that I can make games and have it on the go.
Should have first game published soon, it life allows me to

Congratulations on your new machine.

Thanks for the link, actually I would like to try to make something myself, so I'll look into it. I used to make some very basic shoot 'em ups for the C64 using a construction kit, although that was a long time ago... I'll give it a try and see if I can make something worth playing

 

[erico]

I believe Gernot made a shot em up construction kit with GLBasic, so you are in for some fun.
Check here:
http://seuck.glbasic.com/

GLB works freely for desktops, but for 3d, net commands or other platforms (including caanoo) you need a premium version.
Quite easy to use if ever did something in basic.