The Positive NES Classic Thread

[atarilovesyou]

...Happy New Year, everyone! It's been crazy busy over the last few weeks, so all I've been able to really do is lurk lately...but no more! I've noticed the other NES mini thread is about 70 pages worth of complaints and general negativity (much of it deservedly so), but rather than add to that albatross I thought those who have had positive experiences with their minis sound off.

 

I picked mine up on release day, and it's the first time I've ever done such a thing. I was at the Walmart about 30 minutes before opening, and was the 8th person there. The staff were super friendly, handed out sticky notes with your number, so they just let us in and we didn't have to run for the electronics section. They only had 11 systems and 2 controllers (which were first come first serve). I met a few other gaming nerds in the line and we all had a good laugh and nostalgic chat about the NES...it was great, to be honest. This was in a smaller town of course, and while there may have been some scalpers, since each person could only get one system, I don't think that was the case.

 

I wish I could have gotten an extra controller but I made due with my Wii Classic controller.

 

I was really tempted to put the thing on ebay when the prices got stupid high, but didn't. I can't say it was for any good reason, other than I just didn't do it. Mainly, I got to 're-live' Christmas Day back in 89 when I finally got my own NES (it was already aged by that point, but I didn't care, lol). I popped on my NES t-shirt, my NES Vans high-tops and plugged in the mini with my younger daughter...we had a blast! She really enjoyed all the games, especially Bubble Bobble.

 

I didn't (and still haven't) critically gotten into the games, but right off the top, the sound lag. Man, it's noticeable. My TV is about six years old now, though, and it has a 'game console' feature which speeds up the response time considerably, but I didn't really notice any input lag...just the sound is a touch off. You can notice it most in SMB. As far as input lag goes, I beat the crap out of the first few guys as I always have...no real difference. Just the sound thing is a pain in the butt. I hope that if they ever do a second run of these, they fix that.

 

Overall, it was a GREAT way to enjoy some NES memories. I didn't really read much of the documentation with it, and I hear the save states are a bit tricky. I will agree with everyone about the cord length...but considering that the cord is the same length as the Wii Classic Controller cord, at least it's uniform. It's not like they were cost cutting with abandon. I found the short power cable to more of a PITA than the controller...I have a longer HDMI cable, so no issue there. I do hope they release an official remote control doc, though....if not remote control controllers together.

 

I hope they continue making these things, hopefully with improvements. I can see an SNES at some point, but I doubt until the Switch takes off properly. And they really should include both controllers...just annoying to have to source it separately. I've got my eyes out for another one, and this little unit will be complete.

 

Anybody else wanna share some good stories about their minis this holiday season?

[AtariLeaf]

If I ever find one for a decent price, I'll add my two cents. Maybe I'll do a youtube review. Those haven't been done yet

 

Seriously I do eventually want one to play games like SMB and Metroid with save states so I can actually get through them.

[godslabrat]

Thank you. I was getting fatigued of the negativity toward the mini, along with the contradictory optimism toward the RBG. I just don't get it. I think the Mini is fantastic for what it's supposed to be, and I can't wait to get my hands on one. If the sound issue is such a problem, then that is unfortunate, but if that is the only real issue with the games themselves then I'll call this a "win" overall.

 

I plan to stockpile these and use them for travel or guest room setups.

[+Charlie Cat]

Hi guys,

 

This's looks pretty cool this thread. I would like to pick one up in the near future hopefully.

 

Anthony...

[Pixelboy]

I managed to buy some third-party controller extension cables at Toys'R'Us not too long before Christmas. No NES Mini, extra controllers or even carrying case was available (I wasn't surprised one bit) but they did have some Edge joysticks on sale.

 

When I finally score an NES Mini later this year, I'll have the extensions for the gamepads, at least.

[omegadot]

Had hoped to make one an easy little gift for my son but his birthday is in January. Maybe by March for my daughter. For what it is I feel like they have a great little console to get for a little kid.

[atarilovesyou]

I guess the only thing that's positive about this thread is that there aren't many stories to go around!

[Flojomojo]

I plan to stockpile these and use them for travel or guest room setups.

 

Do you run a bed and breakfast or something? Not trying to be snarky, just curious.

[godslabrat]

 

Do you run a bed and breakfast or something? Not trying to be snarky, just curious.

My family is spread out across the country. I've learned a few things about how to set up a home away from home, for myself and for others. :-) Every time I set up a TV in my house, it gets wired with antenna access, an AppleTV (connected to my media server), a BluRay player, and a game console. Which console depends on a number of factors, but the NES Classic is perfect because it's dirt cheap and anyone can use it without asking me how it works.

 

Plus, a house upgrade seems likely before the decade is done. So there's lots going on.

Edited January 5, 2017 by godslabrat

[Tanooki]

I ended up getting one of these days before Christmas when BB got that big push of them out. I told her not to, but the wife snuck out in the middle of the night and got in line around 4am for it and got a ticket at 6. She was 17 in line out of what ended up being 45 systems and they were sold through with annoyed people to spare. I got it as an early Christmas gift. She messed with me as I was off work and we went to take the kid to school and then she was acting like she was the first in line to miss the count (at 20) and went to the McDs to get food, then whips the voucher out.

 

It's an amazing little box that does it so well. I already owned 2/3 of the games on it, but the other 1/3 added up to a good bit over the price of the unit so that softens the blow too. The HDMI on it is fantastic, audio is clear, no surprise I guess as the same coder team did the console based virtual console so they knew what they were doing unlike all the knockoff devices and emulators that take guesses. I really do like the basic menu and the few choices it gives as it keeps it straight for the entry level person but throws a few bones (like hot saving and scanlines) to the more picky old gamer. The fact Nintendo didn't just kiss its own ass and put a little over the 1/3 of the games on it from third parties was a smart move and really nice selection between Final Fantasy, MM2, Ninja Gaiden 1, Super C, Ghosts n Goblins and the rest. I do get the gripes from uptight collectors and those who nerd out on hacking, it's closed which sucks, you can't even throw a card or a plugged into the controller port upgrade box to flash more games into it (like the Neo Geo X) but that's Nintendo classic paranoia for you.

[atarilovesyou]

I'm hoping that Nintendo (or some 3rd party) will release a remote control port for the controllers...although I'm not holding my breath. I'll be happy to find an official 2nd controller at this point! Hopefully by March. I'm still having fun with this thing, if only because it gets a bit more play than my original due to the novelty for the fam.

 

What's funny about it is that I've experienced something that is truly nostalgic: not being able to use the 'big' tv to play it ...we only own one large tv, in the family room, so it's not like I can fire it up at whim. Just like in the 80s! ...at least it's not because the sisters wanna watch "The Facts of Life" or something like that

[Agamon]

I really like the front end UI, very clean and easy to use. Saving state is simple, and the chiptune they made for the front end is really catchy. While there are many things one can complain about with the NES Classic, there's a lot to like about it.

[Tanooki]

I got lucky. The day after I got the thing we had gone out looking for something and oddly went to walmart (rare) and I asked about it on a joke whim and the guy pointed out the EMiO Edge Pad which was $15, comes with a mini guide/hints book. The EMiO stuff a month ago or so got entirely recalled because the devices would not detect the Mini. This one had a screwy loosely attached white sticker from the factory with a 12/13 date on it so I went for it. Ends up it was post recall and worked great. In was a solid deal as it has a 9-10ft cord on it already, has a turbo feature, and has the same otherwise molding as the 1st party pad so I ended up having 2. The original with its 2.5ft cord I ended up putting down another 10 for the Best Buy(Insignia) extension cord so the EMiO costs a bit less and has the guide with turbo feature so a win.

 

I haven't honestly used it much because shortly after I bagged a Dreamcast and got caught up and am caught up in it. I wanted it really for both me and my 5 year old daughter as she loves Super Mario Bros and Kirby. I even mid-last year craigslist found locally a really badass gameboy color owned by a young girl from when she was a kid and she treated it like a princess, not a mark on it, it was like a time capsule. I kept a couple pokemon games out of it and Resident Evil Gaiden, let her have the rest conveniently in that pikachu fold over carry case that doubles as a protective sleeve for the GBC. She enjoys that stuff far more than anything modern or 3D, well the NES, the Gameboy and my Neo Geo arcade cabinet (loves Bust a Move.) I hardly had to encourage it, she just loves the stuff which is nice, so the NES is there for her to enjoy in the end probably more than me and I'm good with it. So far I've put down 1 dungeon and found an added heart and magic vial in Zelda 2, and tinkered with around 1/3 of the other games so far. I intend eventually to deal with Final Fantasy and finally put down Startropics too(never had this as a kid, later years but never really bothered being a dumb collector more than player.)

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

The NES CLASSIC has been hacked to run all games! WHAT? THAT'S POSITIVE RIGHT?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I34qN7Zc8ag

[Rev]

I still have not seen one in any stores. Talk about alienating your customers.

 

:-/

[CGQuarterly]

If I ever walk into a Target and see one on the shelf, I'll grab it. Seems like a fun thing to have in a room that doesn't normally have a video game system.

[icemanxp300]

Looks pretty easy to mod it. I just wonder if Nintendo was waiting on this before they release more so they can modify the coding to make this not work.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG9YeTOS29w

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Looks pretty easy to mod it. I just wonder if Nintendo was waiting on this before they release more so they can modify the coding to make this not work.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG9YeTOS29w

 

If I could find one at actual retail price (or lower) I would consider it ONLY BECAUSE this is now possible. If I could find one at actual retail price (or lower) I would consider it ONLY BECAUSE this is now possible. I KNOW the die hard Fanboys / purist hate this kind of thing, they are happy to keep paying Nintnedo over and over for the same games they bless them with and NOTHING MORE but this hack ADDS VALUE imho. I have heard you can put up to about 80 games (or was it 90?) That many games of your own choosing is pretty cool. NOT that I do not have a million other ways to play the roms just as well but as always to be different, a conversation piece especially for those not aware when you fire it up with not only a better selection of games but more than intended.

[Pixelboy]

Now we'll see if Nintendo will actually learn something from all this.

 

If they can fully grasp the opportunity before them, they'll add a network cable connector to the Super-NES Mini and turn it into a dedicated download-only retro emulation box. Then third-party companies will be able to revive/license their old games and cash in (at least a little bit) on the opportunity. But for this to work, the console will need to have a much bigger Flash memory to store a lot of ROMs and savegame files.

 

Of course, such a mini-console would get hacked even faster than the NES Mini, so one has to wonder if it's worth the trouble for Nintendo to develop and manufacture the gizmo. But then again, the hacking wouldn't hurt sales of the console itself, just the companies that offer their official game ROMs on Nintendo's dedicated server.

[icemanxp300]

Oh yeah this def. adds value. Having the ability to run any nes game at HDMI and being able to load like 90 games at a time completely eliminates the need for all the other expensive stuff. Honestly is there really more than 90 nes games you want to play? Even if there is you just reboot w/some different game.

 

I say this at the $60 price eliminates having to buy expensive mods for HDMI, the AVS, and makes the everdrive and powerpak kind of pointless now. The fact the controller is a replica of the original nes makes this a great win. No more fussing w/carts, pin connectors, lock-out chips, and so forth.

 

I will have to get one and see if games like Gemfire can be played. There are a few games like Gemfire that can't really be reproduced because of the boards they use.

 

My only concern is if future releases of this will be "fixed" to prevent this.

[Tanooki]

The last total I could find concrete without loss was about 97 games total and that's including the original 30 on there in that figure. When you breach that point you lose save states fast exponentially downward from 4...2..1 and none and not really sure how that chips at it either but just what I read.

 

You're right it adds HUGE value. The thing handles all the pre-MMC chip memory mappers and then all of the MMCs too from 1 through 5 and variants. Anything licensed outside of a few tricky/sneaky coded games taking advantage of the NES hardware in a specific way will work just fine. Those that decided to abuse some nintendo custom shortcuts (maybe like the fact their CPU isn't stock and won't do decimal) may cause some problems somewhere. Also games using custom chips in the uS (Return of the Joker - Sunsoft mapper) or JP (Konami VRCs, Namco, etc) don't work.

 

Gemfire should work, it's MMC5 and Castlevania III runs. Effectively outside of rose tinted nostalgia, at about 100 games you can load that thing up with anything worth a true grain of salt and be on your way for good with it. I've seen menus loaded with all sorts of franchise favorites with all releases. Mega Man1+3to6, Castlevania (3), Ninja Gaiden 2+3, Mike Tyson's Punchout, Dragon Warrior 1-4, StarTropics 2, Bubble Bobble 2, all the Disney Capcom platformers, all the Taito overpriced hitters(Samson, Panic Restaurant, Bubble Bobble 2, etc), Bonks Adventure, and a heap of commons like all the good Konami and Capcom titles of the era.

 

 

I doubt Nintendo will fix it, it would cost them money and they're cheap. What i could see is when the inevitable SNES pops up as it'll be identical hardware (as the guts are beefier than the new3DS of all things), they close the hole if it bothers them that much in the one run. Nintendo isn't going to re-press or re-flash the existing model as it would cost them money and most people won't have the balls or smarts to hack it anyway.

[atarilovesyou]

I've heard of this hack, but I'm not bothering on my system. Essentially getting an AVS though, is tempting.

 

I just wonder if the audio lag is still present with new ROMs. I haven't heard anything back, and like I've said, I'm not doing the mod on mine...but it is intriguing. If the screenshots are just as cool as the original games, and if it's fully reversible, I don't see the big deal.

 

But that audio lag makes me wonder.

 

PS, out of curiosity: how many confirmed owners of the Classic do we have here at AA? I mean owners who bought it, play it and plan on keeping it?

Edited January 23, 2017 by atarilovesyou

[Tanooki]

Count me in I have one. I don't intend to bust it open, but if I can find a 2nd one I would. Doesn't feel right shredding up a gift.

 

Still have no idea what you're on about with audio lag though.

[Neo 64]

Is there an official negative nes Classic thread?

[CGQuarterly]

I POSITIVEly still can't find one of these.