Nintendo still hasn't finished resolving the availability problems affecting the NES Classic, a detail that causes some concern ahead of the Switch console's March debut. However, some enthusiasts have already started to dissolve the limits of this system. Back in January, we talked about a hack to add extra titles to its catalog, and now, user "madmonkey" has completed the circle by preparing a compatible RetroArch build, which enables access to games from Game Boy, Super Nintendo, Sega Mega Drive, and other platforms..
Once the technical specifications of the NES Classic (a.k.a. Classic Mini) became known, the message was clear: this hardware can do much more than run NES games. The first step for the hackers was logically to expand the basic thirty-game catalog, but they only needed a month to start exploring its emulation potential. Many readers ask themselves whether at this point it's better to use a Raspberry Pi or play with emulators on a traditional computer. While both options are valid, I'm sure hackers prefer the challenge of proving that it's possible. That said, here we have RetroArch on the NES Classic.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uj4_clJg_kAThe first thing that RetroArch activates is the execution of those NES games that for some reason don't work directly on the NES Classic. In the video you can see that Batman: Return of the Joker throws an error, but when opened with FCEUmm inside RetroArch, it works without problems. The demo continues with Game Boy games (GBA for now not), then goes through Pitfall of Atari 2600, and finally reaches Sonic and Super Mario World. Apparently, RetroArch requires manual loading of emulation modules each time the user wants to jump from one console to another. It's not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it doesn't take away too much from the hack.
The installation tutorial is still quite complex, requiring a combination of hakchi2 with RetroArch and downloading individual LibRetro modules. However, the story is just beginning. It's only a matter of time before madmonkey and company achieve greater integration of RetroArch with the NES Classic and simplify the process. Now some users ask themselves if these hacks take away identity from the NES Classic or not. As I said above, the goal is limited to proving that it's possible. Each owner must decide on their own whether they prefer an experience focused on the NES, or a multi-console hybrid.
