[From Henry Kong at ppcoc.org ] As a retro gamer, I like emulators of older consoles and computers. I started with emulators on the PC, then Palm, PPC, GP32… Liberty was the first Palm emulator - for use with Gameboy cartridges. imho it wasn’t until the Palm Zodiac appeared that emulators for the Palm really took off.
In order to play these emulators, you will needs game ROMS - get them at PDROMS, your #1 legal ROM Source since 1998. Running an emulator is like having another device on your Palm, with a library of software thrown in as well.
1. Codejedi's CaSTaway, the Atari ST emulator is free! I had a great time playing all the blasts from the past - from breakout games like Impact to 2-disk games like Street Fighter II. In fact, I liked the Atari ST computer so much that I had 2 of them; one running in colour and the other in super fine hi-res black and white. There hasn't been a gaming computer quite like it since then - the game play is just out of this world.
2. Whenever emulators are mentioned, MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is used as the benchmark for all others to follow. Xcade is Palm’s first attempt from Codejedi. For a few dollars, Palm owners get to play the actual ROMS of arcade classics like Space Invaders, Galaxians, Pacman and the like. The Zodiac friendly version runs in full screen 320x480 mode.
3. There is a NES emulator by KalemSoft is with a nice interface, sound, and lots of options - I call this the "Lexus" of Palm emulators. It also supports full screen (320x480) and the Zodaic version is wonderful (I'm inspired by KalemSoft's passion for the Zodiac) and NES games like Battle City, Galaga and Galaxians are really arcade quality.
4. This emulator has 7 of the most popular 2600 games - the first home console that made it big until it went bust. Everything about Atari Retro is very well laid out, with controls and variations of games like the real thing. For Zodiac owners, there's the 360x480 version as well - great blast from the past.
5. Gizmo Ultra is a virtual Game Gear handheld/SMS (Sega Master System) console running at full speed with sound on Palm devices. For Palm capable devices like the T3 and Zodiac, the full 380x480 screen is possible.
6. Firestorm, a GB/GBC/GBA emulator is surprising robust. It takes large GBC files at ease and moves along somewhat with GBA roms – something the 21st century PSP is still struggling to emulate. I really love reliving my favorite cartridges - Super Marioland, Headon and Watch & Game series work just fine.
7. Frodo is a c64 emulator. It has sound and good key assignments all round. The screenshot above is from a great an early c64 pinball game, already playing as good as it looks.
8. LEDhead is an emulator for Mattel handheld games, an interesting LED handheld device which every kid in my neighbourhood wanted for Christmas. This electronic game is somewhat like Speak and Spell, targeted at children. This device cleverly used LED numbers to simulate many kind of games - great for developing the imagination in today's clueless kids.
9. apPALM ][ is a nice little Apple ][ emulator that works pretty well with sounds, disk drives and all.
10. Colem is a pretty good console with some very neat games. For some reason I can't get it to run on the Zodiac. This emulator is just starting out and already it is looking pretty good. There are many more emulators for the Palm and new ones are coming out all the time. I will be happy to hear from anyone about their experiences with Palm emulators or new ones I have not heard, especially from developers whom I want to thank for brightening my world.
