Reggie's Return to Retro

Cambridge English dictionary defines Nostalgia as - 'a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past'. For me, this rings true when thinking of the various old games systems I've played throughout my life (starting with the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 1) and some of the many games I've collected, which now sit and collect dust upon my shelf.

Due to recent events *cough* covid *cough* I've found myself on numerous occasions gleefully looking through these 'retro' titles wishing to give some of the old time favourites a replay and see if any stand the test of time. However, with most modernised TV's not having the same display inputs as televisions back in the 90's and early 00's this wasn't a simple task. Games consoles such as the PS1 used scart input (red, yellow and white cables) and are therefore incapable of displaying on my flat screen.

I found myself searching the internet for a way to convert the display input to the more modernised HDMI port and to my surprise (considering I would usually say I was pretty clued up on gaming tech) there were numerous SCART to HDMI converters on the market for only a few quid! This is just a quick overview of how the one's I bought work and discussion on what owning one of these accessories means to me.

I'll start with the Wii HDMI converter which I bought back in June 2020 via Ebay (not the listing shown below but the exact same model) not with plan to play Wii titles but rather to play some GameCube titles such as the Mario Party Series (4-6) which luckily the original Wii console allowed. So after purchasing a very pricey preowned copy of the 6th game via CEX, I was determined on investing in one of these adapters and getting my moneys worth.

When it arrived in the post I was surprised by the lightweight material and lack of documentation included and it was at this point I genuinely thought I'd been conned; that this wouldn't actually do anything close to what I hoped it would however I persisted and clipped the adapter into the back on my Wii, followed by a spare HDMI cable into the input port on the converter. To my surprise it worked; no delay, no freezing, my TV wasn't setting ablaze and the theme tune to Mario Party 6 played in the background. I then spent the evening playing Mario Party, flawlessly, with the girlfriend and reveled in the nostalgia this retro title gave me.

Several weeks past and my need for more 'retro' had me searching the internet again for another converter; this time for my dusty PS2 console sat upon my TV unit. My PS2 games collection currently sits around 30 titles, ranging from classics such as the original 'God of War' to the 'Metal Gear Solid' Saga (2-4) with my PS1 games collection being a modest 10 or so, including classics such as Crash Bandicoot and Croc. For any gamer my age (30 years young) out there I am certain at least one of those titles above evoke some nostalgic feelings of an easier time when games consoles didn't have Bluetooth controllers! Anyway, I found a seller (among the sea of sellers online) that had a converter for a reasonable price which I purchased and patiently awaited its arrival.

Not a week past before the accessory arrived, this time including a very short USB to Micro USB adapter, which I later realised was needed to push power through the converter and display via HDMI as desired. When purchasing I did notice the listing stated the device may not work for some Samsung TV's (which mine was) due to issues surrounding the Hz of Tv's now vs the intended Hz back in the 90's not being the same; however this wasn't going to stop me from at least trying to put my collection to use.

Once again; very easy to set up, just connect the adapter to the SCART input on the back of the PlayStation system and plug a spare HDMI to the other end of the adapter, leading to the TV. This time however I had to also put the USB sockets on the front of the PS2 to use (I can't think of any other time in my life I or anyone else ever used these?) and connect the short USB cable to the side of the adapter, as shown on the piece of paper included.

NO DISPLAY. Panic sets in. I disconnect and take the system into the bedroom to set up everything again on the spare (non Samsung) TV in that room. Nothing. Was I missing something? I searched the listing again and annoyingly found no explanation as to why the adapter wasn't working. I spent hours; unplugging the cables, one by one, checking the ports on the system and testing other HDMI cables in some hope to determine the fault and hopefully fix it. It was at the point of giving up when I stumbled upon a random reviewers comment on an Amazon listing, for a similar item, which spoke of a collection of buttons needed to be pressed in a particular order, thus allowing the PS2 to display via 60Hz (and therefore work through HDMI) so I turned the system on one last time, waited 30 seconds for it to boot up and entered the following code into the controller...

'Down, X, down 3 times, X, right, X'

It was at this point I was filled with childish memories of inputting pass-codes, or 'cheat codes', into my favourite games and then, not seconds later, the display logo for PlayStation popped up on screen paired with the historic booting audio many of us remember. I booted up various games to check all displays were now working and playable; before booting up the first level of 'Croc - Legend of the Gobbos' and tempting my girlfriend to experience her first try of one of my childhood games in all its glory, with its ,fixed cameras' and stunning pixilated graphics. I sat there for a moment watching the excitement on her face begin to fade and the effects of nostalgia being ever more apparent within myself. Memories of sitting up all night playing retro games flooded my mind and paired with a strong feeling of appreciation for the things I had growing up.

Funnily enough I haven't touched either the PlayStation or the Wii once following these initial days of testing but I'm still glad I invested in these adapters so now so should I ever wish to reminisce simpler times or show pieces of history to friends and family, I can do with ease. I do recommend anyone currently with a retro system sat upon a dusty shelf to look into one of these adapters; if not to actually play through some of your older collection, then for that rush of nostalgia I'm certain you'll get when booting up.

"I don’t need to get a life, I am a gamer, I have lots of lives." - Some Smart Gamer.

Wii HDMI Converter - eBay £5.45

PS2 HDMI Converter - eBay £5.15