Retro gamers have been getting it great recently. Companies have been releasing replica consoles of some of the greats, and they do a good job of giving people a superior retro experience, even going so far as to work with original CDs and cartridges. However, they're not the only products out there you can use to emulate your games.

For example, there are plenty of Raspberry Pi projects out there designed around retro gaming. The Pi is a perfect fit for playing the classics; it may not be super powerful, but you don't need a beefy PC to emulate a retro game. Plus, the chips are really inexpensive, and if you're feeling creative, you can make some cool projects with one. As such, here are some great examples of how you can either purchase or make a retro game console from a Raspberry Pi

1 The Heber MultiPi - a Raspberry Pi console

All of the Pi goodness, with none of the DIY

Raspberry Pis are really good for DIY projects. They're small enough to fit within pretty much everything, but they still have enough ports to connect to a ton of different mediums. However, sometimes you don't want to do all the coding, 3D printing, and designing; sometimes you just want to skip to the bit where you have a cool device that does cool things.

Enter the Heber MultiPi. This piece of kit comes as a console, complete with USB ports for mice, keyboards, and controllers at the front like a console. The only bit you have to set up yourself is the emulator on the device, which is good, given how there are plenty of apps you can pick from. It's always good to have choice.

2 The Olimex NEO6502 - for those that want Apple and Commodore support

Get the best of both worlds

Want to emulate Apple II and Commodore 64 apps? Then the Olimex NEO6502 is well worth a look. This board features the same hardware as a Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040, but it has an additional MOS6502 specifically to emulate Apple and Commodore programs. If you like emulating a whole range of different apps, you can't go wrong with this, especially given how it sells for around $32.

3 The 65-inch retro gaming magic mirror - for the ambitious

The classics have never looked bigger

Alright, let's now take a look at a project that requires some DIY chops. A few months ago, we saw when element14 created a 65-inch magic mirror that ran retro games on the big screen. It was a seriously impressive feat, but it wasn't something that element14 could just buy and ship to him; it took a little bit of handiwork to get going. Fortunately, he took the time to write a full blog post on the project alongside a parts list, so if you want to get tinkering, then you can make your own.

4 The Video Game Module for Flipper Zero - because why not?

Turns out this little game device can also hack things, who knew?

Our very own Adam Conway has been really tucking into the Flipper Zero lately. And why wouldn't he? It's a great digital Swiss army knife and he's been using it to test the security of his home network. But, as it turns out, that's not all it can do. You can also get accessories for your Flipper Zero that add features to the little device. And one of them is a video game module.

Does it count as gaming on a Raspberry Pi? Technically, yes. The module runs off of a Raspberry Pi RP2040, and while Flipper Zero supplies its own apps, you can also theoretically tweak it to play anything you want. It may not be ideal, but it's definitely cool.

The Raspberry Pi is a retro gamer's best friend

If you love retro gaming but you're not into SBCs, you're missing out. There are plenty of devices you can pick up for dirt cheap, and you can choose between buying a fully-fleshed product or acquiring just the board and going your own way. Plus, there's a lot of support from emulator developers, such as the recent release of Lakka 5.0.

Of course, it's a good idea to learn about the Raspberry Pi and what it can achieve before you jump in. If you already have a Raspberry Pi, you can check out our guide on how to turn it into a retro gaming powerhouse using RetroArch. And if you want to see what else these little boards can get up to, why not check out these simple Raspberry Pi projects for beginners to earn your stripes?