Thinking about getting a Retro Duo

nintendo_nerd · Post by **nintendo_nerd** » Sun May 17, 2009 3:01 am

Okay guys, I've been looking at various websites about the Retro Duo and how convinient it would be to have an SNES/SFC/NES in one machine and not have to switch back and forth between systems. As of now, I own both an SNES and Super Famicom, and while this is the case, I feel that having an all-in-one system would be nice. Not only that, it's being sold anywhere from $39.99 to $49.99. However, I've been hearing that since it's a clone and not the real thing, there are a few problems such as not having an eject button. Some reviews have said that the sound in some SNES/SFC games will behave strangely. What I want to know is, despite it not being an official Nintendo product, would it be worth getting? Can I trust it not to screw up the cartridge connectors from not having an eject button? I just need some feedback is all.

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:02 am

Have you looked at getting a A/V switcher (hub?) for multiple A/V devices?

dfreer · Post by **dfreer** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:11 am

Well, for starters, I'm not sure if the models I've seen around here is the same as the Retro Duo you are talking about. But at my local retro video game store, they sell these 3rd party SNES/NES consoles, and from talking with the employees, they said they *mostly* work great.

I specifically asked them if there were any games it couldn't play, they said the only games they knew/heard of were (IIRC):
NES - Castlevania 3
SNES - Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars
SNES - Super Mario World 2 Yoshi's Island

Dunno about the rest, but thought I'd mention that.

nintendo_nerd · Post by **nintendo_nerd** » Sun May 17, 2009 5:48 am

Maybe that's the FC Twin you're talking about:( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Twin_Video_Game_System ) and when it comes to the Retro Duo
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro_Duo ) the compability is higher (especially SuperFX/SDD1/etc games). And besides, my SNES was damaged when the basement flooded last summer, so, I personally think it's all the more reason to have one console that plays both Japanese/USA games without any bulky converters. This is clearly my biased opinion and so, I'm hoping I can find out how good this really is.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Sun May 17, 2009 6:51 am

nintendo_nerd wrote:Can I trust it not to screw up the cartridge connectors from not having an eject button?

Check how the eject button on your SNES works.
It's a simple mechanical plunger. It generates almost exactly the same mechanical action as you yanking a cartridge out by hand.

As for the rest...
I bet 255 rupees that the NES side is the same old Nintendo-on-a-chip everyone and their monkey's uncle-in-law uses. It's got the same sound glitches, same graphics glitches, and same incompatibilities as every other Famiclone released in the past decade*

I know next to nothing about SNES clones.
Mario RPG has problems due to the lack of a lockout chip on the deck. As I understand things, the cart-side lockout chip is integrated into the SA1 coprocessor, and if it can't talk to the console-side chip, it shuts down.
I suspect this would affect other SA1 games too.

Beyond that...
*shrugs*

*Most of the clones that predate the single-chip solution actually have far better compatibility. The 1-chip clone was a defective implementation, but being the absolute cheapest way to make a Famiclone, it took over the market entirely, and no one wants to spend the money to make a new NOAC design that DOESN'T have those flaws.

Because unless you're Messiah, you're selling dirt-cheap and don't have any R&D budget to speak of, so the cheapest existing solution is the best.

And if you ARE Messiah, you're selling stupidly expensive for a NOAC and diverted the R&D budget to advertising and packaging, so the cheapest existing solution is the best. And you somehow succeed in making your Famiclone less compatible than the much cheaper competition by miswiring the cartridge port.

Panzer88 · Post by **Panzer88** » Sun May 17, 2009 6:57 am

don't doooooo it. NES on a chip is the devil, get a A/V switch.

nintendo_nerd · Post by **nintendo_nerd** » Sun May 17, 2009 3:31 pm

I don't even have an NES in the first place, so it doesn't bother me at all that I can't even use the emulated NES. But again, I do have both and SNES and Super Famicom, and for some odd reason, the Super famicom has vsync problems on both my HDTVs (Sony Wega and Sony Bravia); the screen tends to tear every 20 seconds (maybe it's due to me having a very old s-video cable), so, by getting a famiclone like the Retro Duo, those problems should no longer exist, right? Heck, I don't even have any physical SA1 games; I have Mario RPG on the Virtual Console. I did hear that SDD1 and SuperFX games run just fine. But as far as ejecting cartridges, I don't need to worry, since the eject button mechanisme is the same as gently taking them out by hand. And as I said before, my original SNES was damaged when the basement flooded last year. I'm just listing the pros and cons to getting a famiclone.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Sun May 17, 2009 8:47 pm

Famiclone refers to NES clones, not clones in general.
I suppose Super Famiclone would be an acceptable SNES clone term.

nintendo_nerd · Post by **nintendo_nerd** » Sun May 17, 2009 10:07 pm

Gil_Hamilton wrote:Famiclone refers to NES clones, not clones in general.
I suppose Super Famiclone would be an acceptable SNES clone term.

Oh, right. I suppose I'll refer it to a Super Famiclone, but anyways, should I get one depsite the fact that all games may or may not run on it?

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Sun May 17, 2009 10:39 pm

depends on if your a perfectionist when it comes to reliving the good 'ol times?

nintendo_nerd · Post by **nintendo_nerd** » Sun May 17, 2009 11:36 pm

Well, as long as the sound and video are at least really close to a real SNES/SFC, then I don't care; in all honesty, I really don't know how much longer my SFC will hold out for.

byuu · Post by **byuu** » Mon May 18, 2009 12:21 am

I don't entirely understand the point of these.

Sure it's nice to play carts you own, but it's pretty easy to ::ahem:: dump your carts and play them using emulators.

It seems the main advantage of a real console is to guarantee everything is running exactly as it should. But when that's not the case ... I'd almost say to get a nettop-style ~$100 computer (easy with Atom+onboard everything) or modded console, and hook that up using TV out. And that'll run dozens of systems instead of just two.

If there's some specific thing you need that an emulator can't do:
- play on an older CRT TV with no forced interlace
- play with original controllers (Smart Joy avoids that anyway)
- not lose your on-cart saves
- you can perceive the ~16ms input lag caused by emulation

Then that would make it worth getting, I suppose.

It's too bad these consoles don't follow specifications better. I doubt even Nintendo could make a new SNES unit today that is 100% compatible with their old ones.

Gil_Hamilton · Post by **Gil_Hamilton** » Mon May 18, 2009 6:57 am

byuu wrote: It's too bad these consoles don't follow specifications better. I doubt even Nintendo could make a new SNES unit today that is 100% compatible with their old ones.

Aren't different revisions of the actual SNES hardware slightly incompatible with each other anyways?

(Fortunately, not in a way that any commercial software ever tripped over. Unlike, say, the Genesis.)

Rashidi · Post by **Rashidi** » Mon May 18, 2009 1:59 pm

byuu wrote:Sure it's nice to play carts you own, but it's pretty easy to ::ahem:: dump your carts and play them using emulators.

almost true on SNES / SFC, but what about those evil mapper on NES cartidge (or whatever strange chip on it)?

so, inplace of those NES chip, a faithful NES emulator that feeds the rom program not from file-dump, but read it directly from cartridge would be ... (nah, too un-feasible)

nintendo_nerd · Post by **nintendo_nerd** » Mon May 18, 2009 2:51 pm

I honestly don't know how much longer my SFC will last (it was only 1050 yen or close to 8.00USD). I think SNESes on ebay/amazon are too much money anyways. Hmmm....the thing is I still haven't decided yet, but then again it's only 40 bucks. I double checked and the only Japanese game I have that has a special chip is Rockman X3, which has the Cx4 (only two games ever used it). I've no way of finding out if it works or not unless I get a Retro Duo. Only if Nintendo made something like this before the wii came out....I like the VC and all, but, they never release the games people truly want; that's why I hacked my wii, but that's another topic, so we won't go there for the sake of not confusing people. But, seriously, should I do more research on this topic?

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