It’s generally not recommended to buy SD cards from Amazon. Bootleg cards are a big issue with Amazon. Here’s an article on the subject.

This reminds me that I once read about a Thompson Twins game that was distributed as a flexi disc record. In order to actually play the game it had to be copied to a cassette first. Apparently it’s pretty rare, since it was only available as a bonus with a specific issue of a magazine.

I have a Thinkpad T480 that I’m very happy with. I believe it’s around 7 or 8 years old, but it works great. Unlike most laptops, it doesn’t have soldered RAM, so it’s easily upgraded. One downside is that most units don’t come with a lot of storage, so you’ll probably want to get a larger drive. I spent around $200 on mine plus another $100 for the SSD. It’s a great inexpensive laptop that’ll last for years.

This is correct, however SNES Virtual Console games were also exclusive and a number of games were enhanced on New consoles.

If you’re looking to save a bit of money, you might want to consider a Japanese console and modding it. 3DS prices are pretty crazy at the moment and no one knows if they’ll ever come down.

It’s recommended that you use a dedicated card for FreeMCBoot.

A flashcart is definitely the best option for compatibility. Just one thing you should know about playing GBA on a DS or 3DS is that it lacks an extension port, so any link cable functionality is out of the question. As for the screen, the DS(i) has a slightly higher resolution, so there’ll be a black border around the picture, but no stretching or anything. The 3DS has a much higher resolution screen and by default it scales the image up, but not to a whole number and that makes it blurry. The 3DS does that to DS games too, but can play in the original resolution by holding Start or Select when launching a game (you would need to do this every time, but I think there’s a way to make it permanent with custom firmware).

Crystal is very special to me. I always felt like I was “wrong” as a child for not liking “girl things.” It was the first game I ever played that offered a female protagonist. That was something that told me that I was okay the way I am. I know it’s kind of silly, but it really helped me become comfortable with myself.

Irisu Syndrome! is a favorite of mine. It’s only from 2008, so I personally don’t consider it retro. It’s tricky to learn at first since it doesn’t tell you anything about how to play and I don’t recall there being a manual. It’s also one of those games that you can’t really say too much about without spoiling things.

The Parallel has a number of issues and generally isn’t a cart I can recommend. Here’s a guide on what carts are and aren’t recommended.

I think the only recommended plug & play option for PS2 is the RAD2X cable. It’s basically a stripped down console specific RetroTINK. I have one for my Saturn and it looks great.

And installation requires some pretty advanced soldering, so if you can’t do that then you’re looking over another $100 for a professional to do it.

Personally, I’m just sticking with the Carby HDMI adapter that I already have.