The real console still plays it best. Here's which retro consoles, controllers and games to buy used, and what to check before you pay.

Usually, if your TV has the right input. Check the back for a coax antenna jack (for RF) or a yellow composite jack. The NES top-loader and a stock Atari 2600 only output RF. Most other consoles can do composite, and many do S-video or RGB with the right cable. Flat TVs often scale the old 240p signal badly, which looks soft. An external upscaler fixes that without opening the console.

Mostly not, without a mod. The front-loading NES has a lockout chip that resets on foreign carts, though the top-loader has none. Japanese SNES and N64 carts are a different shape, and PAL carts are blocked by a lockout chip as well. Some Genesis games check the region in software and refuse to run. PS1 discs carry a region code the console reads before it boots. Every game we list is the North American release.

CIB means complete in box, so the game comes with its box and manual. Loose means the cart or disc alone. What counts as complete varies by game, since some shipped with inserts, maps or posters, and the box's condition and inserts both affect what collectors will pay. Check the photos for everything the listing claims, and read our CIB guide for what each platform shipped with.

Compare the label and shell with photos of a known-genuine copy, then check the screws. A Phillips screw or chewed security screw means the cart has been opened. For rare games, ask for a photo of the board. Genuine Nintendo boards carry a printed board code and chips with part numbers, while a black epoxy blob is a warning sign. For PS1 discs, a silver data side means a burned copy.

Many save to memory kept alive by a 3V coin cell, usually a CR2032, and those batteries don't last forever. A dead one shows up as a cart that plays fine but won't keep a save. Replacing it takes soldering and wipes the old save. If a listing says the battery was replaced, ask when, then save a game on arrival, power off, and check the file is still there.

It can be, when you know exactly what was done and who did it. An HDMI kit or RGB mod can make an N64 or NES look far sharper on a flat TV, and a region mod opens up imports. Ask for photos of the inside and confirm the original outputs still work. If the seller can't say which kit it is, buy a stock console instead.

The ABS plastic on old consoles yellows from UV light and heat, which break down the plastic's polymer chains. Retrobright is a hydrogen peroxide treatment, usually under UV light, that bleaches it back. The results often don't last. Yellowing can return, and a ten-year study found treated plastic ended up worse, with streaks and blotches. A yellowed console works the same as a clean one.