Search

Nostalgia Search at search.nostalgialab.org is an advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) discovery engine indexing a massive catalog of retro games across dozens of platforms. It makes searching intuitive, conversational, and tolerant of typos, enabling you to discover classics using plain English queries rather than complex, strict text keys.

Quick Start -- No Login Required

Go to search.nostalgialab.org and type anything in the search bar: Ask about retro games... e.g. "Best SNES games ever made"

Try these to get started:

• Best SNES RPGs of all time
• Classic NES platformers
• Must-play Sega Genesis games
• Greatest N64 multiplayer games
• Top Game Boy games of the 90s

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How to Search

Screenshot Needed

Capture: The search results page showing a query like "best snes rpgs" with game cards, box art, and ratings.
Save as: docs/assets/search_results.png

1. Navigate to search.nostalgialab.org
2. Type your search query in the search bar (max 500 characters)
3. Results appear automatically, sorted by score (highest first)
4. Click any result to view the full game detail page with metadata, box art, screenshots, manuals, and videos

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Game Detail Pages

Screenshot Needed

Capture: A game detail page showing full metadata: title, system, box art, score/rating, developer, publisher, and available media.
Save as: docs/assets/game_detail.png

Click any search result to view its full detail page, which includes:

• Title, system, and region
• Developer and publisher
• Release dates (US, JP, EU)
• Score / Rating (0-100)
• Genre and player count
• Box art, screenshots, and other images
• Video content (when available)
• Game manuals (when available)
• Reviews from multiple sources
• Other regions and platform releases of the same game

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Search Tips

• Be specific: "Batman: Arkham Knight" works better than just "Batman"
• Use platform names: "NES platformers" or "Genesis sports games" help narrow results
• Try natural language: "best rated PlayStation RPGs" or "multiplayer N64 games"
• Keep it under 500 characters: Queries longer than 500 characters are rejected
• Avoid special characters: The search sanitizes input and strips SQL-like tokens for security

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Solution
No results found	Query too specific, typos, or no matching games in database	Try a shorter or broader query. Check spelling. Use common game title variations.
Images not loading	Firewall or proxy blocking the S3 CDN	Check that your network allows connections to the OVHcloud S3 endpoints. Disable VPN if applicable.
Search feels slow	High complexity of the query phrasing	Simpler queries are faster. Repeat queries are served from cache and are nearly instant.
Page not loading	Browser cache issue or service maintenance	Clear browser cache and cookies. Try a different browser. Check if the site is under maintenance.
Unexpected results	Query parser interpreted phrasing differently	Rephrase your query. Be more explicit about the platform or genre you want.

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Top Bar Navigation

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Capture: The top navigation bar at search.nostalgialab.org when logged in, showing all icon buttons with tooltips visible. Save as: docs/assets/search_topbar_auth.png

The top bar contains the following buttons (left to right on the right side):

Button	Tooltip	Action
Home	"Home"	Opens nostalgialab.org
Play	"Play Retro Games"	Opens play.nostalgialab.org
API	"GraphQL Explorer"	Opens api.nostalgialab.org
Key	"API Key"	Opens the API Key modal (see API Key Management)
Docs	"Documentation"	Opens docs.nostalgialab.org
Community	"Join the Community"	Opens Discord / Reddit links
Donate	"Support Nostalgia Lab"	Opens Ko-fi / Patreon links
Login / Logout	"Log in" / "Log out"	Conditional on auth state

Community

Platform	Link	Purpose
Discord	discord.gg/Guuukt9zuR	Chat, support, bug reports
Reddit	r/NostalgiaLab	Discussion and news
Ko-fi	ko-fi.com/nostalgialab	Support the project
Patreon	patreon.com/nostalgialab	Monthly membership