MINI MELEE

How well do the major mini consoles fare in terms of image options? We rank them from worst to first

PLAYSTATION MINI

Sony’s console forces a bilinear filter giving a blurry look to most games, though high-res games like Tekken 3 fare better. There are no options at all, so you’re stuck with the default look.

NEO GEO MINI

On its built-in LCD display, SNK’S effort is sharp and vivid. But the TV output has a forced bilinear filter, and the only optional extra is an added smoothing effect that looks even worse.

PC ENGINE MINI

Many games suffer from shimmering scrolling due to uneven scaling in 4:3 mode, and the CRT filter is pretty dark and blurry. The PC Engine GT mode is a nice novelty, though.

CAPCOM HOME ARCADE

While there’s some shimmering here in 4:3 mode, the system’s 1080p output reduces its impact. Display options are weak, with only a smoothing filter on offer – no CRT options at all.

MEGA DRIVE MINI

Most games look good by default, with no pixel shimmering problems. However, M2 did both the Mega Drive Mini and PC Engine Mini, so the CRT effect is equally underwhelming.

NINTENDO CLASSIC MINI: SNES

While this offers a pixel-perfect mode, the 4:3 option also avoids shimmering pixels thanks to light interpolation. The CRT mode is a bit on the subtle side.

THEC64 MINI

The CRT effect here is just as subtle as on Nintendo’s system – faint scanlines and some light blurring. However, the option to choose pixel-perfect, PAL and NTSC aspect ratios wins the day.