Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac
We usually compress the games creating 7z archives with maximum compression. That's why you need to use the right software to open them. Please use 7zip manager for Windows and Keka for Mac. Sometimes other programs seem to be able to uncompress the archives, but when you launch the games, they don't work. In most of the cases, it's because not all files have been extracted correctly. Be sure to use Keka or 7-zip.
All emulated games (Amiga, MS-DOS, C64, Genesis, etc.) should work without problems. In general, we don’t publish any game that hasn’t worked for us. So, first thing, please check that you have extracted the archive correctly (see #1). If you are on Windows, please also check that you are running the correct file: search for ".BAT" or ".LNK" file in the first level of the directory extracted (for example, PrinceOfPersia.bat). Don't look for an EXE file (unless it's a Windows game, see below), because it won't work. In general, you need to run a BAT file to launch the game with the emulator. On Mac, you will need to launch the app (the game icon).
Non-emulated games (Windows 9x) like Hercules or Road Rash, are a different story. There is no Windows 95/98 emulator for Windows 10/11, so the only possibility is trying to see if these titles - some of them created 20-30 years ago - still run on your new PC. If we have published a game, it means the game works at least on Windows7 64bit, but there’s a chance it won’t work on Windows 10/11. If this is the case, there's not much we can do.
First of all, check if you have used Keka to uncompress the archive (see #1). Then, when you open the archive, you either find a folder or a DMG file. If it's a DMG, double click it to open it. Now DRAG & DROP the game icon (just the game icon) into another location (e.g., Applications, or Desktop). Don't run the game from the installation folder! If you do this, even if the game works, you won't be able to save the game. Once moved, you can double click the icon to launch the game.
If your Mac doesn't launch the game, open the System Preferences -> Security and Privacy, and check if you have a warning below "Allow apps downloaded from". Click the button to launch the game.
The above it's true for all types of games (DOS, Amiga, C64 etc). Additionally, if it's an Amiga game, and save doesn't work, check #5.
No, we can't. But in some cases, the game manual is available as an additional download or included in the package. When it's not available, you can try to search for it on Google, or, even better, you should check if the game is live on GOG.com or Steam, and buy it. GOG always provide all documentation, as well as soundtracks and additional files. Unlike us, Steam or GOG can also offer a technical support.
First of all: don't use emulator save states (see next question). Use the game built-in save/load features. If you have saved the game, but you cannot find the saved game, it means you didn't exit the emulator properly. Once you have saved a game, you might be tempted to type F12, and click X to close the window. Don't do it!. If you do this, the saved game will be lost.
Instead, before closing the emulator, you must exit to the AmigaOS, otherwise games won't be saved. Pay attention when you launch the game: a small window will tell you which key can be used to exit the game. Often it's F10. On Mac, the key could be different from what is written, try different ones (for example Page Up or Page Down). The right process is: save the game, then exit the game with F10. Finally, when you are back to AmigaOS, you can close FS-UAE with the X.
You can try, but it's possible that this will generate problems. In particular you will see an error like this one:
Installed program has modified the VBR...
This is a known bug of FS-UAE with WHDLoad games. Despite the situation seems to be improved now with the new version, people are still reporting crashes. The solution is: don't use the emulator save states. Use only in-game saves, and exit the game properly (see previous question).
GamesNostalgia is not a company; it is a non-profit site maintained by volunteers in their spare time. We don’t want to get a profit from this activity, but there are costs to sustain, especially for the server and the bandwidth, which is required to allow users to download the files. Any donation will be much appreciated. Click here to donate.
No one should be sad because he/she cannot play his/her favorite game from the past. Feel free to write us and ask. Remember that the list of requests is very long and it might take some time before we can add your game. If you are a supporter (you are if you have donated), just let us know, because your request will receive priority.
Besides donations, you can help us in many ways: speaking about GamesNostalgia with your friends; sharing our links on Facebook or Twitter or your favorite site. If you have a site/blog, write a small article about us and link our site.
We are also open to collaborations. If you can write a review about a game, we will be happy to publish it. If you find a manual, soundtrack, a map or an enhanced version of a game, feel free to send it. If you are a programmer and you have fixed some bugs in a game or created a better package (i.e., using a different configuration for the emulator) we’ll be happy to use your version. If you have created a package for a game you don’t see on our site, we’ll be glad to add it. Finally, if you found a bug on our website, tell us, we hate bugs!
It should be possible if it's a game for MS-DOS or Amiga. Just send us an email. If it's a Windows game, unfortunately we can't: we stopped creating Mac packages since macOS stopped supporting 32 bit apps. If it's another system (C64, Atari ST, etc.) just write us and we'll see.
We take all the necessary precautions to protect our packages from computer viruses. If you want to know more, please read how we keep GamesNostalgia safe from viruses and malware. We are aware of a known issue with Windows Defender. This antivirus cannot read our maximum compression 7zip archives properly, and in some cases, it reports a trojan, but in reality, the file is clean. If you trust us enough, you can try to deactivate Defender, download the file, and extract the archive in a folder. After that, you can scan the folder with antivirus, and you will see that it's clean.
If you don’t know the password, open your browser again and go back the page of GamesNostalgia where you downloaded the game and read the review/game description. If the archive is password protected, you will find the password there. Sometimes the password is just the game title, for example, to extract Hercules, just type “hercules”.
The answer to this question is not so simple, but if you want to know more about it, you can read our opinion here: what is abandonware?
Have you checked the Help page? You can also write to our email address. Just remember we receive a lot of emails every day, so be patient.