For me, the value of using emulation or original hardware heavily depends on the game or situation.
There have definitely been great strides in emulation accuracy, including FPGA emulators and external devices for running backups on original hardware. Input delay in software emulators still needs a lot of work. I’m not happy with making compromises like using run-ahead to reduce input delay when I have original hardware for comparison, so I can’t see myself relying on software emulation. I still use them for testing games on the fly. FPGA emulators like the MiSTer FPGA are great because, even when there are minor inaccuracies, the FPGA itself does not add input delay. With external devices for running backups, the biggest issue is usually stuttering due to bandwidth or certain parts of the game not working. Despite those issues, the game is still processed by the original hardware.
With original hardware and a retail copy of a game, you have peace of mind knowing the game performs as the developer intended.
I don’t mind making compromises for games that are hard to obtain or only available on prohibitively expensive platforms, including obscure games that require specific or rare devices. But for genres like fighting games, rhythm games, SHMUPs, and beat 'em ups, I prefer the native input delay of original hardware, or even less, if the delay was caused by the original input device. The major exception is when a reliable program like Fightcade exists, which uses emulators that provide a widely accepted delay.
I’m far from a competitive player, but after practicing a handful of games a lot, I begin to notice their quirks as I experiment with different versions or platforms.
