Frankly emulating on other systems is simply better by all the improvements you can do over the base experience. Especially when it comes to 3D games. Not to mention the libraries are much more expansive. I think the only advantage of NSO is the integrated online multiplayer being more seamless and easier to find other players in.

I usually emulate on my Steam Deck. I still have a Nintendo Online subscription going as it's required for multiplayer (hate that that's a thing), but I rarely use the emulators. I wouldn't pay for the Online+ subscription, it doesn't seem good value to me.

Over the years, I've become one to keep my media use as legit as possible. No judgement on anyone who doesn't, but for a variety of reasons I have chosen to.

For retro games, that means my process is:

• Evercade - I'm a huge fan of the Evercade ecosystem and if a game is available there I will play it there first.
• NSO - For games not available on Evercade, my next stop will be Switch Online.
• Collections - If a game isn't available on NSO, I'll see if it's available via a collection. Think Castlevania Collections, Arcade Archives, Namco Museums, etc. For these I'll typically check reviews before picking it up and make sure the games play well as that's not always a guarantee.
• Unlicensed emulation - Only at that point will I fire up a game on my raspberry pi.

Though honestly I can't really be bothered to tinker with shit as much anymore these days, so often (but not always) by the time I arrive at unlicensed emulation as the solution I'll just decide to play something else instead.

considering some games take years to play, I'd rather pay to own than do an annual subscription. otherwise, I'll gladly emulate

Most of my emulation happens on my phone, because most of the games I like from back in the day play well enough with touch controls and are quick things I can play while waiting for various things while out of the house.

I’ve gotten a few emulated titles on Wii and WiiU in the past. I preferred the Virtual Console collection from those consoles. You’d pay a few dollars for the title you wanted and you had it forever. I’m not a fan of the strange bundling of online services + retro gaming with Nintendo Switch Online... not to mention the expansion pack. I just don’t do enough retro gaming to justify it.

As much as I prefer going legit for gaming, if I get a retro craving I’ll probably just set sail on a trusty PC.

The way companies try and upsell retro games rarely ever wins me over, so I just stick to emulation on my Deck, whatever pocketable emulation device I own at the moment and PC 99% of the time. I'm a technical user and I have no qualms with pirating unrealistically priced or hard to access content, so the barrier of entry is basically zero to me. The only collections and such that catch my eye are the ones with additional QoL features, good supplementary material, stuff like that. I don't even mean basic features like filters, scaling options, save states or rewinding, RetroArch probably does it better anyway, I mean things I wouldn't be able to get otherwise like added difficulty settings or expanded content.

The perfect examples of what I'm looking for are things like Atari 50 and The Making of Karateka. Unrealistic to expect of most, granted, but the gold standard as far as I'm concerned. A good, more vanilla example is the Mega Man Battle Network collections, since they have proper online play and content that was previously Japan only.

The Emulator on the Switch runs like ass for many games. So I'd stick with emulators

I introduced a friend to Earthbound and we played it together on the SNES app. It was nice because I could watch them play and point my cursor to things, and even take the controls from time to time. It's not a bad way to play games but I have better options for playing retro alone.

Problem would be, that the Games you get via NSO are only available as long as you pay the subscription while on other devices the ROMs (or Virtual Console Titles) you put there stay and be accessible.

So yeah, I play my gba, n64, ... via other devices or even physical.

Until I can play ZOoTR on my Switch, Steam Deck it is.

There are some games that are so good I've been content to repurchase them on new devices, like Castlevania.

But I also have an extensive library of emulators on my PC, which is important too because many of these games can no longer be played otherwise.