107 replies to this topic

[Neojapan]

Inside photos

http://s140.photobuc...aramith/Retron/

[Neojapan]

Quick Update: Seems we have 2 defective units.. coincidence that the only 2 we opened played super metroid with glitches, we opened 2 more for testing and super metroid works ok, still Castlevania 3 is not working on those 2 but 2 defective units so far.. hum I will test all units we received tomorrow just in case.

[Metalwario64]

Well, a YouTube user by the name of "8bitjunkies" has recorded some footage (and has a review) of the Retron 3. It is recorded off of a camera however, but you can get a general idea of the sound quality and performance at least. The only NES game he has footage of is Castlevania... and it sounds like the same old inaccurate NOAC with the square waves being switched with saw waves (incredibly noticeable on Super Mario Bros.), which would explain why Castlevania 3 won't work...

If that is the case, then it boggles the mind why Hyperkin would go back to the old, outdated hardware when they just made it a point to use the latest NOAC on the FC Mobile 2, and even stated in interviews and whatnot that it would be a newer NOAC and would, in fact, play Castlevania 3...

Also there are conflicting reports of the SNES button layout. Some people are reporting that the layout is unchanged, which could mean that the unit StoneAgeGamer tested may have been defective.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Yes the crazy thing is that a guy at Hyperkin said he tested SMW and the button layout on the SNES controller was fine. However, I tested 2 units that I sent out for review and the button layout was wrong on both. So either I was smoking something, the SNES controller I was using to test was somehow broken, and/or both units I tested were defective.

Also, Metalwario64 is right. Hyperkin told me that the NOAC is .2+ versions higher than the one in the FCM2 so it should at least should have the same compatibility one would think. They also said it did finally play CV3.

So I am not sure what exactly is going on. I will be talking to the guy from Hyperkin again today.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Hyperkin just told me that the NOAC that came with the RetroN3 is NOT the one Hyperkin negotiated for. I guess the prototype had the newer NOAC, but the production systems do not. This explains the sound issues and CV3 not working.

Pretty disappointing to say the least. I apologize if anything I said earlier mislead anyone, I was just telling everyone what Hyperkin told me. As with every clone that seems to come out anymore its 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

Although I still think the system (as a whole package) is better than the FC3 I think Hyperkin missed a golden opportunity to cease the clone market and be THE clone to get.

[SoulBlazer]

StoneAgeGamer, on Fri May 28, 2010 10:03 AM, said:

Hyperkin just told me that the NOAC that came with the RetroN3 is NOT the one Hyperkin negotiated for. I guess the prototype had the newer NOAC, but the production systems do not. This explains the sound issues and CV3 not working.

Pretty disappointing to say the least. I apologize if anything I said earlier mislead anyone, I was just telling everyone what Hyperkin told me. As with every clone that seems to come out anymore its 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

Although I still think the system (as a whole package) is better than the FC3 I think Hyperkin missed a golden opportunity to cease the clone market and be THE clone to get.

Just curious, was there a reason given? Too expensive, deal fell through, couldn't be delivered?

[StoneAgeGamer]

SoulBlazer, on Fri May 28, 2010 2:23 PM, said:

StoneAgeGamer, on Fri May 28, 2010 10:03 AM, said:

Hyperkin just told me that the NOAC that came with the RetroN3 is NOT the one Hyperkin negotiated for. I guess the prototype had the newer NOAC, but the production systems do not. This explains the sound issues and CV3 not working.

Pretty disappointing to say the least. I apologize if anything I said earlier mislead anyone, I was just telling everyone what Hyperkin told me. As with every clone that seems to come out anymore its 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

Although I still think the system (as a whole package) is better than the FC3 I think Hyperkin missed a golden opportunity to cease the clone market and be THE clone to get.

Just curious, was there a reason given? Too expensive, deal fell through, couldn't be delivered?

They did not give a reason. They made it sound like the change was made without their knowledge. However who really knows.

Edited by StoneAgeGamer, Fri May 28, 2010 3:06 PM.

[Atari2600Lives]

I got my order in today from Stoneage gamer (I ordered 2 units). I first want to say that it was a super easy pleasure dealing with them (big thumbs up).

I plugged in the unit and played a couple of my favorite games for about 2 hours, :

Sega
Sonic the Hedgehog
Mortal Kombat 2

NES
Techmo Bowl

SNES
Donkey Kong Country

The unit itself was flawless in all the games. Looked and sounded great.

One wirless controller did not work out of the box (not a big deal to me as I switched to regular controllers after about 15 minutes). The other wireless controller played everything fine. I probably would not want to play a competitive match of Mortal Kombat 2 with the wireless controller but for the other games they worked pretty good. Also you need to have a good line of sight to the unit from the wireless controller and be fairly close as well to make sure they work ok.

I then plugged in an original controller from each unit (only tested joystick port 1 on each).

Worked great.

All in all I could not posisbly be happier. I have a lot of space in my house but I wanted to set up a game station right next to my computer and this fits the bill nicely and now occupies a space next to my Atari 2600 (its great to have everything plugged in at once).

I will also be ordering a few more units for my friends who are also very interested.

As far as SNES mapping , I think its right but to be honest, I play so much MAME and everything else I could probably adjust to whatever is mapped in about 2 seconds and never look back. It felt right to me anyway. I'll plug in my SNES and test the mapping to be 100% sure in the next few days.

thanks!

Edited by Atari2600Lives, Fri May 28, 2010 6:22 PM.

[Neojapan]

RETRON3 Update:

1. Tried my SMS Genesis adapter, had to open it up, but it works on the retron 3, some minor graphical glitches can be seen while playing sms games.
2. Game Genie is not working.

[NightSprinter]

Ok, that's kinda cool.

[DickNixonArisen]

Neojapan, on Fri May 28, 2010 9:36 PM, said:

some minor graphical glitches can be seen while playing sms games.

Just like on the real hardware

[godslabrat]

StoneAgeGamer, on Fri May 28, 2010 10:03 AM, said:

Although I still think the system (as a whole package) is better than the FC3 I think Hyperkin missed a golden opportunity to cease the clone market and be THE clone to get.

Yeah... still an option, but this thing was >>>THIS<<< close to being a home run. Now I'm wondering if it's really worth the $55, or if next year Hyperkin might FINALLY get it right.

I hate to say this to the guy I was gonna buy it from. I appreciate your candor about the product, and I don't want to discourage anyone else from getting this... but I was really looking forward to this, and now notsomuch.

[StoneAgeGamer]

godslabrat, on Sat May 29, 2010 9:07 PM, said:

StoneAgeGamer, on Fri May 28, 2010 10:03 AM, said:

Although I still think the system (as a whole package) is better than the FC3 I think Hyperkin missed a golden opportunity to cease the clone market and be THE clone to get.

Yeah... still an option, but this thing was >>>THIS<<< close to being a home run. Now I'm wondering if it's really worth the $55, or if next year Hyperkin might FINALLY get it right.

I hate to say this to the guy I was gonna buy it from. I appreciate your candor about the product, and I don't want to discourage anyone else from getting this... but I was really looking forward to this, and now notsomuch.

I'm sure if something better comes out we will have it too, so no worries.

[Atari2600Lives]

StoneAgeGamer, on Sat May 29, 2010 9:16 PM, said:

godslabrat, on Sat May 29, 2010 9:07 PM, said:

StoneAgeGamer, on Fri May 28, 2010 10:03 AM, said:

Although I still think the system (as a whole package) is better than the FC3 I think Hyperkin missed a golden opportunity to cease the clone market and be THE clone to get.

Yeah... still an option, but this thing was >>>THIS<<< close to being a home run. Now I'm wondering if it's really worth the $55, or if next year Hyperkin might FINALLY get it right.

I hate to say this to the guy I was gonna buy it from. I appreciate your candor about the product, and I don't want to discourage anyone else from getting this... but I was really looking forward to this, and now notsomuch.

I'm sure if something better comes out we will have it too, so no worries.

and i guess I'll keep enjoying the one I bought. I guess everyone missed my review so no worries...stoneage, let me know if you got two more. I need to order by tomorrow if possible.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Yes we have two more. Make sure to use your discount code you got with your previous order.

[Neojapan]

Edited at request of poster

Edited by Punisher5.0, Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:11 PM.

[NinjaWarrior]

How's the Genesis Side??

[Neojapan]

Its good, better than the other clones.

NinjaWarrior, on Fri Jun 4, 2010 9:17 PM, said:

How's the Genesis Side??

[godslabrat]

Neojapan, on Fri Jun 4, 2010 8:23 PM, said:

Edited

Can you substantiate this?

[NinjaWarrior]

Neojapan, on Fri Jun 4, 2010 8:23 PM, said:

Edited

Source??

[OldSKoolFool]

Hmmmmm, it looks like I was right (about the compatibility referencing the same factory as the FC3)in my earlier post. Hence the awful controllers! They are awful, they don't work correctly more than a foot away from the unit. But for what's it's worth the original controllers make me feel like a champ!

Here's my review:
http://www.dasreview...m-depth-review/

[OldSKoolFool]

OldSKoolFool, on Wed May 12, 2010 10:57 PM, said:

nonner242, on Tue May 4, 2010 10:52 PM, said:

Maybe I'll bite...I like my FC3 tho

Okay guys, did some snooping around and found out that the RetroN3 is the same chipset as the FC3 but here's some more details in my RetroN3 preview:
http://www.dasreview...-gaming-system/

Awful controllers...but who needs them anyways? http://www.dasreview...m-depth-review/

[Reaperman]

OldSKoolFool, on Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:03 PM, said:

Awful controllers...but who needs them anyways? http://www.dasreview...m-depth-review/

snes had s-video. At least most of them did.

[lisalover1]

I am always suspicious of these console clones; I have a Yobo FC [Famiclone], and other than the fact that it doesn't take up a lot of space, I really don't like it. It has a death grip on cartridges, so I always feel like I'm damaging the console when I try to remove one.

[jeremysart]

lisalover1, on Wed Jul 21, 2010 12:23 PM, said:

I am always suspicious of these console clones; I have a Yobo FC [Famiclone], and other than the fact that it doesn't take up a lot of space, I really don't like it. It has a death grip on cartridges, so I always feel like I'm damaging the console when I try to remove one.

That was the same problem I had with my Yobo FC Twin. I always felt like I was harming the cart or the consoles when removing an NES game.
As for Hyperkin, no idea, never owned anything by them yet.

But when I get a new car (trans crapped out on me) I will be getting the Retron 3, I like that I can use original controllers, its a space saver, and me and my buddy usually get down on all 3 of those systems, so not having to connect and disconnect and search for cords will be nice.

I would also like to own the FC Mobile 2 and the FC16 Go just for novelty.. they seem like great conversation pieces!