The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) revolutionized the video game industry as gamers know it, and many titles for the system are still held in high regard. Some games are being discovered to this day, such as a lost NES driving game revived from floppy disks by the Video Game History Foundation, but those who want to experience old classics with a fresh coat of paint can turn to the 3dSen emulator released through Steam Early Access today.
Unlike basic emulators such as the recently released Citra 3DS Emulator that plays 3DS games on Android devices, 3dSen markets itself as the "future of retro" by converting the classic 2D sprites for characters and environmental setpieces into 3D, allowing players to experience the touched-up games in realtime. The developer, who goes by vutruc80 on Steam and released the game under Geod Studio, has supported 70 games since starting the project in 2015 according to the most current listing from May 2020.
Among the offerings are titles most people would be familiar with, from Super Mario Bros. 1 and 3 to the first three Mega Man games, the original Legend of Zelda, and more. There are also "modern homebrew" titles available, such as a version of the trendy mobile game Flappy Bird, all including features like save states, dynamic skyboxes, and a separate version supporting VR headsets.
The early access version of 3dSen is currently available for $9.99, with plans to do a full release in mid- to late-2020 with more potential features like a first-person view mode and possibly a different price range based on "community feedback." In fact, the developer is encouraging any and all feedback they can get as being "super important for the future of 3dSen," which has the potential to be an interesting take on a huge catalog of NES titles.
As consoles have grown more advanced, companies like Nintendo have continued to look back on their past offerings by coming up with various ways to keep them accessible. The Nintendo Switch Online service adds new NES and SNES games for subscribers to play, but many feel these are not being implemented as fast as they could be.
However, other attempts to preserve classic games online have unfortunately been stifled. An 18-year-old emulator site removed its offerings in 2018 due to legal action by Nintendo, so hopefully 3dSen does not see quite the same backlash given its more unique take on the subject matter.
3dSen is available now in Steam Early Access.
Source: 3dSen on Steam, Supported Games List