Andrew Heinzman
Virtual reality can help us experience things that are far beyond our reach, like space travel or a zombie apocalypse. But it can also allow us to relive the mundane. Now, anyone with an Oculus Quest can travel back in time to play classic NES games using the NES Space application.
NES Space is an NES/Famicom emulator for the Oculus Quest. It places you in a customizable VR room with fully stocked game shelves, bedroom furniture, and an old TV or arcade cabinet. Of course, you can customize your environment to make it look less like a haunted 80s bedroom, or take your virtual CRT outdoors for a less familiar retro gaming experience.
In a way, NES Space is like a younger sibling to the popular EmuVR application. EmuVR is an emulator that gives you customizable retro environments, but it only works on high-end VR headsets, like the Oculus Rift. NES Space, while not as robust or EmuVR, allows people to experience retro VR playrooms on an affordable, portable Quest headset.
The NES Space application is still finding its legs and has trouble with some ROMs. But it supports multiple controller inputs, like VR gamepads and mobile phones, and the developers plan to add multiplayer support at a later date.
You can buy NES Space now for $14 on Itch.io, but it only works after being sideloaded from your PC. Sideloading is safe and easy, but you need to read a guide to get it done right.
