56 replies to this topic

[mos6507]

I know the NES clone boom started due to the NES having an expired patent.  Are all these systems have expired patents now?

[StoneAgeGamer]

Not 100% sure, I know the NES has like you stated. I'm guessing if they are not they would either be getting sued or Sega and Nintendo just don't really care.

Edited by StoneAgeGamer, Mon Feb 2, 2009 10:57 AM.

[madhatter667]

My Retro Entertainment System seems to have bricked on me
Working on working it out.

From the brief test I could do, it played Micro Machines fine, played Castlevania ok.... DIDN'T play Castlevania III (not surprised), and then it was all down hill. It stopped sending signal out. Either it is not reading carts, or the video output is dead. Either way, I JUST got it today, and 20 minutes in, it's took a crap on itself. I understand it is a clone (hey I actually liked the controllers on this thing!), and an inexpensive one, but... I still expect it to work. I don't expect it to be able to take a hit, but I also don't expect the authentic thing to either.

I sent an email... Like I said, working on a resolution. I'm not angry....just disappointed that I had to be the first to report a dud.

[Lee9977]

this price is right with this, but i am still skeptical.
I bought the retro duo for my snes fix and i must say , its a real piece of junk. the audio is awful, the controllers are awful. i was shocked a buddy of mine was willing to buy it off me , so i least made my money back. I then  dropped 50 at the local retro game shop for a mint snes with controller and 6 games.

[godslabrat]

Lee9977, on Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:01 PM, said:

this price is right with this, but i am still skeptical.
I bought the retro duo for my snes fix and i must say , its a real piece of junk. the audio is awful, the controllers are awful. i was shocked a buddy of mine was willing to buy it off me , so i least made my money back. I then  dropped 50 at the local retro game shop for a mint snes with controller and 6 games.

Considering most people are saying the RetroDuo is one of the better clones out there, that says something...

[madhatter667]

I've had relatively good experiences with clones... though I am not as auditorily inclined as some people. I DID notice some sound flaws playing Adventure Island on my FC Twin the other day. The bass sounds are mixed too high, and the treble seemed too low. Picture was nice though.

As an update, Stoneagegamer said that mine is the second clone to tank. So, the survival rate of these things sounds pretty good. Also, he/they paid for the return shipping, and will test the next system they send my way first. So far, appear to be going quite well as far as the return process goes. Not only does the speed of service say something about the company, but I think the way that someone/some firm handles its returns and faulty products speaks more to the quality of service. Stoneagegamer appears to care about the customer, and his/ehr experience with going through them for various game related items.

I've just gotta stop off at a UPS drop location to get the box headed back their way.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Thanks for the kind words madhatter667. Hopefully the new one brings better luck.

[cybercylon]

Lee9977, on Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:01 PM, said:

this price is right with this, but i am still skeptical.
I bought the retro duo for my snes fix and i must say , its a real piece of junk. the audio is awful, the controllers are awful. i was shocked a buddy of mine was willing to buy it off me , so i least made my money back. I then  dropped 50 at the local retro game shop for a mint snes with controller and 6 games.

These clones aren't worth it. $50 around here can score you an NES and SNES in good working and cosmetic condition if you are patient.

[madhatter667]

Just a quick update... Stone Age Gamer.... got my RES a couple of days ago.... working fine this time around.
My thanks!

The whole return process was fairly painless, when I get more funds, I'll be popping back on the site to see what else there is to be had

[godslabrat]

madhatter667, on Sun Mar 8, 2009 2:31 PM, said:

I'll be popping back on the site to see what else there is to be had

Oh, yeah... FWIW, if I decide to buy a clone, there's no doubt in my mind where I'll buy it from.

[Metalwario64]

About 2 days ago, I received my Retro Entertainment System in the mail. When I turned it on, I was pleased to find out that it did, in fact use an updated NOAC meaning accurate colors and sound. However, if it doesn't play Castlevania III as reported earlier in the thread, then perhaps it is not the chip from the Retro Duo, but in fact the chip from the jeweled FC Twin. Regardless, that makes this the best standalone clone you could buy.

From my experience, the Retro Duo mangles a lot of games badly sound wise, and the colors are ridiculously washed out, along with some vertical bands of light going down the screen. The sound, colors and vertical band issues are close to non-existent on the Retro Entertainment System; There are still a few audio bugs (mostly with DPCM heavy games missing a note every once in a long while(really not that often at all, and seems to be lessened as I play on), and the bands of light are still there, just nowhere near as noticeable as on the Retro Duo). This will probably please fans of Jackal greatly...

Another plus is the pin connectors; on the Retro Entertainment System, they are snug, but I do not need to rip my games out with full force to get them out, and they slide in with relative ease. Much better than on my Retro Duo and GN Twin where I have pulled and even torn some pins trying to get the carts out!

I have a question however, does anybody know if the jeweled FC Twin supports Reproduction Carts such as Earthbound Zero and Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels? I am thinking about picking them up if it can. I would imagine it so, since the old NOAC used in the GN Twin apparently is able to do so, but I would like to be sure before I spend around $30 on one.

Overall, I am pleased with the Retro Entertainment System, and considering the price, it's a real steal! It has some minor flaws (well, major if you must have CVIII) but if you care about the majority of the games, then this is the next best thing to a real console, and I would definitely recommend it if you have an old NOAC and no working NES. Although, even with the flaws of the Retro Duo, I find this a bit hard to recommend if you have one of those and are happy with it. If you haven't gotten a Retro Duo yet, and don't really care for saving space, already have a SNES, or you don't want a SNES, then this one is definitely the one for you.

With my camera, I have made a couple of comparison images between the 3 main NOACs (Note: These are not the best representations of the colors and picture quality, but do give a good idea as to where each stand visually)





Also, within the next few days, I might make a video review of the Retro Entertainment System, complete with Audio Comparisons.

[godslabrat]

Metalwario64, on Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:24 PM, said:

Also, within the next few days, I might make a video review of the Retro Entertainment System, complete with Audio Comparisons.

That would be most helpful.

[Metalwario64]

godslabrat, on Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:49 PM, said:

Metalwario64, on Sat Mar 14, 2009 2:24 PM, said:

Also, within the next few days, I might make a video review of the Retro Entertainment System, complete with Audio Comparisons.

That would be most helpful.

Yeah. Thing is, I don't have a capture card, which means I have to use my camera for the recordings. However, it does give a good idea as to where each clone stands compared to each other.

(I made a mistake in my previous post. I thought I read that the GN twin played EBZ, but I was wrong. Reading all of those compatibility lists can get disorienting. I would have edited it into my post, but this board only lets you edit your most recent post for some reason...)

Edited by Metalwario64, Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:48 PM.

[godslabrat]

I'm interested mostly because you say the RetroDuo messes with the sound more than other clones, while some think it's one of the better clones out there.  Or, is it just better than an NEX or Yobo?

[StoneAgeGamer]

Great write up Metalwario64. I just want to apologize, we are currently out of stock, but should be getting more later in the week. We are having a hard time keeping stock at the current price point. We thank anyone who has purchased one from us.

[Ace_1]

I'd love to see the Retro Entertainment System in action.  Hopefully, the retailers in my area will ditch the Yobo FC Game Console for this superior piece of modern NES clone technology.

Though there's one thing I'd like to know about the system: is the plastic as cheap as on the Yobo FC?  Its plastic is so thin it bends when pressure's applied(even when shoving in a cartridge; it practically bends the system in 2!).  Does the Retro Entertainment System suffer from that same "cheap plastic" issue?

Edited by Ace_1, Sun Mar 15, 2009 4:30 PM.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Ace_1 its $15. You pretty much get what you pay for (build quality) and that's just me being honest. Its not a high quality item, not many $15 electronics are. If we ever see a high quality clone I doubt it will be under $60 MSRP. Honestly build-quality-wise the Generation NEX was probably the best I've seen since I've been selling clones and look how much that cost ($59.99 MSRP) and you only got 1 controller.

A lot of people complain about the quality of the clones, however many of the same people would never spend the money for a high quality clone. Because of this I believe its hard for any company to justify making a high quality clone that would sell for $60+. At that price point most people will just buy used originals.

For $15 its not a bad product. But don't buy one expecting a high quality built product, its just not realistic.

[godslabrat]

StoneAgeGamer, on Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:39 PM, said:

A lot of people complain about the quality of the clones, however many of the same people would never spend the money for a high quality clone. Because of this I believe its hard for any company to justify making a high quality clone that would sell for $60+. At that price point most people will just buy used originals.

Agreed.  I hope most of us are being realistic about what most people would spend on this stuff.  I know I'd pay $60 for a well-made NES clone, but I'm probably less than 25% of the target market.  OTOH, if I had to choose between build quality and compatibility, I'd choose compatibility any day.  Perhaps that will be something these clone makers would consider?

[Metalwario64]

Ace_1, on Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:26 PM, said:

I'd love to see the Retro Entertainment System in action.  Hopefully, the retailers in my area will ditch the Yobo FC Game Console for this superior piece of modern NES clone technology.

Though there's one thing I'd like to know about the system: is the plastic as cheap as on the Yobo FC?  Its plastic is so thin it bends when pressure's applied(even when shoving in a cartridge; it practically bends the system in 2!).  Does the Retro Entertainment System suffer from that same "cheap plastic" issue?

The plastic is definitely cheap, although I wouldn't quite say it bends nearly as bad as you say. The plastic in front of the cartridge slot can only bend a bit when I apply a lot of pressure to it(a centimeter at most), and the pin connectors don't seem to have a death grip on the cartridges like every other clone I've tried out there(it's still snug, but I don't need to pull my absolute hardest to remove them), so I never see the plastic bending much at all when inserting and removing cartridges.

In short, it looks and feels cheap, not so cheap that I worry about breaking it in 2, but it definitely bends. As it's been stated, it definitely feels worth it's price.

Edited by Metalwario64, Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:28 PM.

[StoneAgeGamer]

We got more of this in stock today. Just an FYI.

[Reputator]

Hey guys, I'm new here, sorry to bump an old topic but I have a question about this system. It runs fine but I got some pretty bad audio distortion, and at times I can hear some quiet static in the background. So I'm just wondering if any other RES owners have experienced the same thing, or maybe StoneAgeGamer can chime in if he's heard anything about this issue. I didn't buy it from SAG, I got it elsewhere.

[StoneAgeGamer]

Sorry I can't help you. Many clones have sound issues. Seems to be par for the course unfortunately.

[Metalwario64]

Reputator, on Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:32 PM, said:

Hey guys, I'm new here, sorry to bump an old topic but I have a question about this system. It runs fine but I got some pretty bad audio distortion, and at times I can hear some quiet static in the background. So I'm just wondering if any other RES owners have experienced the same thing, or maybe StoneAgeGamer can chime in if he's heard anything about this issue. I didn't buy it from SAG, I got it elsewhere.

Well, on mine, the audio is very clean; in fact, it has the cleanest audio of any clone I have ever owned! It does have a very very quite buzz sound going on, but nothing major.

I have a question however, is anybody else getting issues with sound on games that are heavily reliant on the DPCM channel, such as Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, Kirby's Adventure, Metroid, Bases Loaded, Batman, ETC.? I ask because on those kinds of games, my system will play a wrong note every 1-2 minutes (and every 10-20 seconds on Metroid!) and I have not seen this complaint before...  

...Can anyone chime in? Is this normal, or should I buy another one and hope for the best?

(I'd honestly like an actual NES, but I don't want to spend $40 on a blind online purchase, and I don't want to pay ~$70 for one at my local Game Swap for one... Seriously, why are the prices for the old systems going up so much? At my Game Swap, they are selling Genesis 2's for $79.99! Seriously what is going on?)

[Ace_1]

My jeweled FC Twin MURDERS Super C's music(it's REALLY DPCM-heavy).  It hits a wrong note VERY often, almost every time the game plays a sampled instrument other than drums.  I also noticed that on the jeweled FC Twin, Gradius II has distorted speech.  I think it's a slight problem with the updated NOAC.

I do like to know something: does the Retro Entertainment System play DPCM samples too quietly?  I have that problem on my FC Twin, where anything that uses the DPCM channel is too silent.

Also, take a look at what Yobo did to the FC Game Console(pay close attention around the Power and Reset buttons): http://www.xboygame....ole/Yobo-FC.jpg

Looks familiar?  I think there's a new version of the system that's made to resemble RetroBit's version.  If anyone has it, does it contain the same NOAC as the older FC Game Consoles, or did Yobo use the revised NOAC in the Retro Entertainment System?

Apparently, the box is also different(again, look at the Power and Reset buttons): http://www.xboygame....o-FC-retail.jpg
The newer FC Game Consoles identify the colors differently too.  From a picture I found(don't remember where), the color is now identified by a check mark written in black marker instead of a red circular sticker.

[StoneAgeGamer]

I haven't ordered an FC Game Console since the RES came out. RES was cheaper (wholesale) and seemed to be a better product. Not to mention the packaging was way more eye catching and had different packaging depending on the color of the system and not just a sticker or check box like you stated.

If I had to guess it probably was not meant to look like the RES. Yobo's old FC Game Console stock probably finally sold out and the factory that made them probably made the RES. So they just started putting Yobo's logo on the redesigned RES. So if I had to guess it probably has to same hardware as the RES. However, don't take my word for it. Most of these systems are made in the exact same place.

I can order some FC Game Consoles if there are people that want to check them out. However, my guess is they are probably the same thing (inside and out) as the RES.