anyone tried this before? opinion needed

gundamalpha · Post by **gundamalpha** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:40 am

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Retro-Duo-System ... dZViewItem

anyone tried this retro duo before? it's a console made to play NES and SNES games with s-video output. i just want to know how reliable are they and the picture quality and format (NTSC/PAL) they output.

neist · Post by **neist** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:24 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kcCbgVkfY4

Heres a video of the thing. It seems fairly reliable as far as 3rd party Nintendo hardware goes. People were raving about it a few weeks ago.

Post by **spadgy** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:55 pm

No seen one in the flesh myself, but heard good things.

Generation NEX (or is it Generation NES?) is apparently the best modern third-party NES, but doesn't do SNES

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:19 pm

i actually bought one yesterday (calles faminico or something like that), ill be recieving it in 2-3weeks, if you remind me then ill post a review of it.. the one i ordered has s-vid out btw, ive seen alot of those that only do RCA..

neist · Post by **neist** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:24 pm

spadgy wrote:No seen one in the flesh myself, but heard good things.

Generation NEX (or is it Generation NES?) is apparently the best modern third-party NES, but doesn't do SNES

Its definitely the highest quality of third party hardware, but its not 100% compatitible, which the Retro Duo supposidly is. If you notice in the video it actually plays Super Mario RPG, which is reknown for not working on third party machines as its a chipped cartridge.

That being said, I still have a Generation NEX so I can play regular Famicom games. Though I'll probably pick up a Retro Duo when I want to play some import super famicom games. They really dont cost too much.

doodude · Post by **doodude** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:25 pm

I was looking at getting an FC Twin a while back. So I started doing some web searches for reviews etc.
The impression I got was that while its a great console to play both NES & Snes games particularly if you have neither, it also dosent compare with the output of the originals.
Supposedly, the graphics/colors are a bit off & the sound quality isnt as good.
Im no electronic whiz by any means so Im a little confused by this claim. I would have thought that these sum years later it would have been easy to "improve" the consoles capabilities but instead the reviews Ive read have stated the opposite!?
They further claimed that these 1st gen "Twins" would have to be improved in the near future or die on the vine as a 2nd rate attempt to make a comeback on the cheap...

.

Post by **undamned** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:29 pm

doodude wrote:Supposedly, the graphics/colors are a bit off & the sound quality isnt as good.
Im no electronic whiz by any means so Im a little confused by this claim. I would have thought that these sum years later it would have been easy to "improve" the consoles capabilities but instead the reviews Ive read have stated the opposite!?

Most of these systems are "NES on a chip" and/or "SNES on a chip" where everything is integrated into one or two IC's, which means that these companies are probably skimping on certain features when it comes to keeping the exact original color pallet, good video amplifiers, etc. which the originals had in multiple IC's, each being of high quality.

The hardcore have opted to pick up a scart cable for their SNES and the even-harder-core to mod their NES by swapping out the original processor w/ one available on various Nintendo arcade PCB's to get true RGB video out of their NES

Only like 5 games don't like the color pallet of the arcade processor, the rest are dreamy.

Theres even a stereo sound mod for the NES

Both NES mods are on my list of "must do mods before I die"

-ud

Post by **spadgy** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:56 am

undamned wrote:
The hardcore have opted to pick up a scart cable for their SNES and the even-harder-core to mod their NES by swapping out the original processor w/ one available on various Nintendo arcade PCB's to get true RGB video out of their NES Only like 5 games don't like the color pallet of the arcade processor, the rest are dreamy.

Theres even a stereo sound mod for the NES

Both NES mods are on my list of "must do mods before I die"
-ud

I've never done any real mods beyond swapping some stick buttons, but this I want to do. I love my NES, and love the slight irony of super tuning such a loveable old beast. Anybody have any links on any beginners guides on how to do this?

Post by **undamned** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 5:20 pm

spadgy wrote:I love my NES, and love the slight irony of super tuning such a loveable old beast. Anybody have any links on any beginners guides on how to do this?

Not a beginners mod

Mooseman's photo walkthrough:
http://mbrandel.vizionaires.net/?page_id=107

Here's a thread w/ some helpful discussion:
http://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=1592
-ud

Post by **spadgy** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:37 pm

undamned wrote:
spadgy wrote:I love my NES, and love the slight irony of super tuning such a loveable old beast. Anybody have any links on any beginners guides on how to do this?
Not a beginners mod

Mooseman's photo walkthrough:
http://mbrandel.vizionaires.net/?page_id=107

Here's a thread w/ some helpful discussion:
http://nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=1592
-ud

Ah well - maybe one day. Like you - I'll have to add it to my 'to do' list and work up to it. Thanks for the links though - great to look in to...

gundamalpha · Post by **gundamalpha** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:46 am

sven666 wrote:i actually bought one yesterday (calles faminico or something like that), ill be recieving it in 2-3weeks, if you remind me then ill post a review of it.. the one i ordered has s-vid out btw, ive seen alot of those that only do RCA..

have you recieved it? mind sharing your experience?

gundamalpha · Post by **gundamalpha** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:47 am

sven666?

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:12 am

Last I heard...The NEX is still a piece of garbage, even after being fixed. Messiah had decided on a new Nintendo clone hardware, but apparently their stupid manufacturer cheaped out and delivered an overpriced NOAC system.

It's not perfectly compatible with all games (i.e. Castlevania III) and originally there were worries that the wiring inside could damage your games (not to mention the system itself).

The system also is inside one of those horrible shiny black plastic cases - think a black DS Lite without any style.

Messiah reportedly makes good NES controllers though.

Side note: S-Video/ RGB mods for the NES always seemed unnecessary to me.