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[Dacvak]

We can all agree that the future sucks, but thankfully we still have a glorious, latency-free relic of the past: The Incomparable CRT.

If you’re at all like me, the CRT has become the go-to haven for most of your retro gaming. And it turns out there are hundreds, if not thousands, of incredible games that might have gone overlooked in their prime.

So if you’re an active CRT gamer, what are you currently playing? And let’s see some pics!

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I have a Mister Pi, and a VGA-> SCART cable is on its way to my house.
In the last week I’ve been playing Metal Slug 2, Musha Aleste, and Banjo-Kazooie on a CRT. There is no substitute, period. The flicker isn’t the best, but it beats the shimmering I get when playing on an HDTV with fake scanlines. The motion is great, and the sense of depth in 2D games is how it should be.

 

[Ozzie666]

Preach brother, I still have 2 good condition 1084S monitors I use from time to time to get my CRT fix on. Fully invested in FPGA products, DAC and retrotink4k to replace my aging consoles. I recently mounted a 42 OLED with rotation mount just to play shumps in Tate mode.

In my alternate headcannon, sprite based 3D scaler gaming or Mode 7 would sitll be king. I've never been able to score a nice Sony CRT TV or something in good condition bigger than my commodore monitors. Things are getting so old now, I worry about the maintenance or potential accidents with flames. Even N64 in prime condition is nearly 30 years old!

Currently playing Star tropics on NES and Castlevania Blood lines and Rondo of Blood on Genesis and TG16.

 

[Kupfer]

OP from 2020 but nothing has changed :

Got a Bang & Olufsen MX 7000 Type 8700 from 1999.
I saw it on eBay and just couldn't resist. It came complete with it's stand, videorecorder, manual and remote control for like 35€.
It's a great TV I think and even for the late 90's a pretty big and luxury one I guess. At least I knew very few friends that time, who had such a big TV at home. It even has a remote controlled stand which can rotate and it's sound is way better than modern TV's.

To be honest, I don't play much games on it nor use it somehow else, but I just love the thought, that I can always play on my old consoles the way it used to be when I fell in love with videogames as a kid.

 

[IAmRei]

my last CRT is blown years ago, i have psx intact, but well I'm using Emu such as duck station to recreate CRT now. nobody sell CRT here locally anymore, and i don't want to buy big box by online.
last time I played is Castlevania SoTN in said duckstation, along with CRT filter. good times, and planned to play broken mirror and PE after i finish DS3 soon.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Been playing some more modern stuff lately, but I love my CRT. Last games I've played there have been King's Field IV and Persona 3 FES.

Here, have an old pic. Next time I play something here I'll post some more. That pic is missing the Sega Saturn I got not long ago.

Leaving here some pics of some games being displayed on the CRT.

Spoiler

 

[Oner]

Need to find me a good CRT. My only TV that had S-Video, Component, Scart etc was broken in our last move. I haven't been able to play my classics in years because all the newer TV's in my house don't come with them and cheap adapters haven't worked. I would get a RetroTink but there is nothing like playing as I did when I was young.

Edited: Spellng & Formatting

 

[Tarin02543]

Currently playing nier automa on my Sony G420 VGA CRT.

I use special K with latency sync to play at 2048 x 1536 at 60 hz.

Nothing modern comes close

 

[Alexios]

Wish I had a CRT cos I like emulating systems at their native settings without enhancements and that leaves a bit to be desired though CRT shaders help (but I also don't have 4K monitor yet and the best shaders need that to look right I think, or hope since whenever I upgrade to 4K I wanna see that).

Retroarch screenshots with Flycast and all native settings, no improvements and the new PS2 core, LRPS2 with Parallel and again, all native settings, no improvements, which also means I disabled the enabled by default deinterlacing functions, hence the fuzziness. Just a simple lottes CRT shader is on.​

 

[calistan]

OP from 2020 but nothing has changed :

Got a Bang & Olufsen MX 7000 Type 8700 from 1999.
I saw it on eBay and just couldn't resist. It came complete with it's stand, videorecorder, manual and remote control for like 35€.
It's a great TV I think and even for the late 90's a pretty big and luxury one I guess. At least I knew very few friends that time, who had such a big TV at home. It even has a remote controlled stand which can rotate and it's sound is way better than modern TV's.

To be honest, I don't play much games on it nor use it somehow else, but I just love the thought, that I can always play on my old consoles the way it used to be when I fell in love with videogames as a kid.

I remember lusting after one of those when there used to be a B&O shop in my town. It was at least three times the price of flagship TVs from normal brands. I settled for a pair of overpriced B&O earbuds instead. (They didn't sound all that good, and the flimsy wires broke pretty quickly.)

Those TVs are currently at least 10x what you paid on eBay, generally with no stand or VCR and a missing/broken remote.

This thread makes me want to clear out the attic and set up my old 21" Sony, currently gathering dust up there...

 

[Dacvak]

I have a Mister Pi, and a VGA-> SCART cable is on its way to my house.
In the last week I’ve been playing Metal Slug 2, Musha Aleste, and Banjo-Kazooie on a CRT. There is no substitute, period. The flicker isn’t the best, but it beats the shimmering I get when playing on an HDTV with fake scanlines. The motion is great, and the sense of depth in 2D games is how it should be.

Oh dang, you got your hands on a MiSTer Pi? How is it? I got a MiSTer a few years back and it's been the greatest gaming console/thing I've purchased in probably a decade. I was also randomly playing Metal Slug 2 (well, X) and Musha over the last couple weeks. So good.

Preach brother, I still have 2 good condition 1084S monitors I use from time to time to get my CRT fix on. Fully invested in FPGA products, DAC and retrotink4k to replace my aging consoles. I recently mounted a 42 OLED with rotation mount just to play shumps in Tate mode.

In my alternate headcannon, sprite based 3D scaler gaming or Mode 7 would sitll be king. I've never been able to score a nice Sony CRT TV or something in good condition bigger than my commodore monitors. Things are getting so old now, I worry about the maintenance or potential accidents with flames. Even N64 in prime condition is nearly 30 years old!

Currently playing Star tropics on NES and Castlevania Blood lines and Rondo of Blood on Genesis and TG16.

I'm so jealous of the Tink4K. I might grab the 4K CE when it releases, but that'd also mean I'd probably want to HDMI mod most of my retro consoles. (How well does it upscale something from composite actually?) This reminds me that I need to finish my playthrough of Rondo sometime soon.

OP from 2020 but nothing has changed :

Got a Bang & Olufsen MX 7000 Type 8700 from 1999.
I saw it on eBay and just couldn't resist. It came complete with it's stand, videorecorder, manual and remote control for like 35€.
It's a great TV I think and even for the late 90's a pretty big and luxury one I guess. At least I knew very few friends that time, who had such a big TV at home. It even has a remote controlled stand which can rotate and it's sound is way better than modern TV's.

To be honest, I don't play much games on it nor use it somehow else, but I just love the thought, that I can always play on my old consoles the way it used to be when I fell in love with videogames as a kid.

Dude those are some of the coolest designed CRTs ever. I've never seen one in person, but I've wanted one ever since I found out about them a few years ago.

Been playing some more modern stuff lately, but I love my CRT. Last games I've played there have been King's Field IV and Persona 3 FES.

Here, have an old pic. Next time I play something here I'll post some more. That pic is missing the Sega Saturn I got not long ago.

Leaving here some pics of some games being displayed on the CRT.

Spoiler

Love your setup dude. Clean af. Beautiful Trinitron

I started playing GBA via MiSTer on my CRT a couple days ago. I really have to push the overscan to try and fill the screen, but it looks so awesome. I've been using a SNES controller, so it really ends up feeling like I'm somehow playing a crazy advanced 32-bit SNES. GBA games on a CRT just hit different, especially the ones that try to push textured polygons.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Oh dang, you got your hands on a MiSTer Pi? How is it? I got a MiSTer a few years back and it's been the greatest gaming console/thing I've purchased in probably a decade.

Yeah. When I saw the crazy advancements FPGA cores made in 2024, it rekindled my interest in a Mister and what do you know, the Mister Pi was introduced. I woke up at 2AM to secure one from the first batch. The stars really aligned for me on that, haha.

The interface is a bit of a pain, but I guess the thing is pretty much 100% the original, according to YouTubers who tried both.
I’m yet to scratch even the surface of its potential, but what little I tried so far has been great. Definitely different from software emulators.

 

[Mattyp]

Been on a fun craze through Time Crisis and Point Blank series at the moment

 

[Kupfer]

Dude those are some of the coolest designed CRTs ever. I've never seen one in person, but I've wanted one ever since I found out about them a few years ago.

I got the TV quite by accident as I was originally looking for one of those Sony PVMs, but they are very expensive these days. In my search, I came across my MX7000 in my neighborhood for said price and just snatched it up.

I only read after I installed my consoles on it and played a bit that it is indeed a really good TV and a good choice for retro gaming.

So I can't complain and am happy with my choice. Unfortunately, it's currently sitting in the attic, a bit awkwardly, ready to play but not super cozy. I hope that one day I'll have the space I need to set up everything properly, display it and be able to play on it at any time

Btw, I found this video the other day and it's a really nice watch, fits the topic here.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

most recently on my CRTs, I played through Castlevania: Bloodlines just because it's one of the franchise entries I'd never actually finished

Also various random King of Fighters arcade games via MAME, since I don't know the series well.

I have 5 CRTs in this house, of different sizes from small up to modestly large; I actually prefer gaming on the smaller one in the corner of my office, looks so crisp. Largest one is upstairs in the "official" game room. Wife & kids both think I have too many of these but they shall not be relinquished under any circumstances.

I also sometimes watch football in the CRT in my office lol, I prefer it to the big flatscreen when half watching a game even if I'm cropping the video badly.

 

[Solarstrike]

Still the best gaming system! So many great games.

 

[Dacvak]

Btw, I found this video the other day and it's a really nice watch, fits the topic here.

I just watched that a few days ago, it was such a good video! I ended up messaging the Japanese dude who helped facilitate things on Twitter afterwards. Turns out he’s the designer of Star Fox Guard, a tower defense-like game on the Wii U, that I happened to be playing that week. Makes me want to buy that Bayonetta Origins game he designed too.

most recently on my CRTs, I played through Castlevania: Bloodlines just because it's one of the franchise entries I'd never actually finished

Also various random King of Fighters arcade games via MAME, since I don't know the series well.

I have 5 CRTs in this house, of different sizes from small up to modestly large; I actually prefer gaming on the smaller one in the corner of my office, looks so crisp. Largest one is upstairs in the "official" game room. Wife & kids both think I have too many of these but they shall not be relinquished under any circumstances.

I also sometimes watch football in the CRT in my office lol, I prefer it to the big flatscreen when half watching a game even if I'm cropping the video badly.

Oh man that sounds awesome. I watch old TV shows through a Plex server I’ve got hooked up to a CRT (well, I used to, but it’s not currently set up atm). You gotta post some pics of your CRTs!

 

[Oner]

Still the best gaming system! So many great games.

If you look closely to my attached pic in my comment above ~ in the first display case, the top 2 rows, you will see the original I personally bought back in December 1985 as an 11 year old with my own saved Birthday & Christmas Gift money! It's still in very good looking + working condition. Just missing the box, as it was lost during a move....still looking for a good condition, fair priced, replacement.

Edited: Spelling/Grammar Correction

 

[Cao Cao]

I have been pretty much only playing old games over the last years, they are just better and more fun I think. Most recent ones:

 

[Solarstrike]

If you look closely to my attached pic in my comment above ~ in the first display case, the top 2 rows, you will see the original I personally bought back in December 1985 as an 11 year old with my own saved Birthday & Christmas Gift money! It's still in very good looking + working condition. Just missing the box, as it was lost during a move....still looking for a good condition, fair priced, replacement.

Edited: Spelling/Grammar Correction

Amazing collection! That display case is sweet. I'd love to have a boxed Dreamcast. Love that oldschool bike too. I have an original Stu Thompson Huffy BMX (chrome, og white mags, pads, new gooseneck, chain guard, and original octopus Donuts grips) I need to put together. Awesome stuff!

 

[Oner]

Amazing collection! That display case is sweet. I'd love to have a boxed Dreamcast. Love that oldschool bike too. I have an original Stu Thompson Huffy BMX (chrome, og white mags, pads, new gooseneck, chain guard, and original octopus Donuts grips) I need to put together. Awesome stuff!

Thanx man, really appreciate it! It's literally my life story/history since childhood. As they are not "new finds" via picking ~ they are majorly day & date launch models (or pretty close to it) that I played since then! TBH I have lost so much to theft from bad people in my family and dozens of moves. I truly am lucky to have been able to keep 80% of all my stuff from back then. Some of the things lost were Atari 2600, TurboGrafx-16, Atari Lynx, Seag GameGear, Master System, Genesis with CD & 32x plus so much more including TONS of games & accessories across the board. I even lost 5 old school bikes

1 late 80's Haro Team Master I had all paint stripped and chromed out EVERYWHERE
1 late 80's Haro Sport
1 mid 80's Haro FST
1 late 80's Redline RL 20a
1 Original NEW IN BOX 1950/1960's Schwinn Stingray Frame & Fork I found in an abandoned row home scheduled to be torn down

Please let me clarify something though ~ I was not spoiled and neither were we rich. The vast majority of my stuff was EARNED by me either bought & paid for OR by trading/wheeling & dealing (especially on the stuff like Atari 2600 when people were giving/throwing them away or the NES/SNES/PS1/PS2/OG Xbox days when friends got bored with 'em and I'd finesse deals). Lastly you said "you'd love to have a boxed Dreamcast" ~ LoL, I have a launch one complete with box and everything it came with (like the AT&T WorldNet 56k modem Web Browser disc and the later SegaNet 2.0 version as well).

Edited: Spelling/Grammar Correction