What's the best NES clone?....

[ataridave]

I don't see how they can suck worse than the original

 

Alright, but it's entirely possible for a reproduction to suck worse than an original.

 

Mine does, ha.

 

So does mine. I'll get a NES clone, unless I can find a top-loader for cheap. What is the name of the NES clone that has one slot for NES games and another for Famicom games? I remember seeing it in a Game Crazy store about six or seven years ago, but I can't remember what the name of it is.

Edited July 8, 2012 by ataridave

[goldenegg]

What is the name of the NES clone that has one slot for NES games and another for Famicom games?

 

There's a bunch which meet this criteria. One of the more popular units is the Generation Nex. I don't believe you can buy this new anymore, but they're not hard to find used.

[ataridave]

What is the name of the NES clone that has one slot for NES games and another for Famicom games?

 

There's a bunch which meet this criteria. One of the more popular units is the Generation Nex. I don't believe you can buy this new anymore, but they're not hard to find used.

 

I'm thinking of one that was black, where both cartridge slots are on top. It definitely wasn't the Generation Nex; I think it might have been made by Yobo.

[Ace_1]

Just because it has primarily been applied to software in the past doesn't mean it can't be applied to hardware.

 

Therein lies the problem. The term "emulation" always seems to make people think "software emulation" because it's so common. A lot of people say X clone emulates Y functionality a certain way, which for a lot of people, makes them think of software emulation and not reverse-engineered hardware. I'm also certain most people who aren't familiar with clone hardware automatically assume it's software emulation judging by the videos I see people post on different Famiclones and Geniclones (with the exception of AtGames' FireCore-based Geniclones which run on absolutely dreadful software emulation). I have a set list of terms I use depending on what is used to mimic a certain piece of hardware:

 

-Reverse-engineered hardware (discrete components or system-on-a-chip designs): reverse-engineered hardware (I think that's pretty self-explanatory)

-Software emulation: emulation

-FPGA: FPGA-simulated

 

I do this to prevent any incorrect assumptions.

 

I'm thinking of one that was black, where both cartridge slots are on top. It definitely wasn't the Generation Nex; I think it might have been made by Yobo.

 

A black Famiclone with top-loading NES and Famicom cartridges made by Yobo? Are you sure you're not confusing something else with the FC Twin? That one is a 2-in-1 NES/Super NES combo clone.

 

As for a black Famiclone with both NES and Famicom slots... are you perhaps thinking of this one: http://ultimateconso...pgamevg9000.htm

Edited July 9, 2012 by Ace_1

[ataridave]

Well, I've decided on the FC Mobile II, after watching MaximumRD's excellent 2-part video review of it:

 

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Well, I've decided on the FC Mobile II, after watching MaximumRD's excellent 2-part video review of it:

 

Damn ! lol. I gotta say I have soured on such devices since those videos, I will never buy any type of clone again. You should know that before long the slot get very finicky and even the slightest movement is often enough to glitch or flat out freeze the game! Since I had no other means to play NES carts I was happy at first but trust me, you will soon realize you truly get what you pay for. These days I say your much better off getting a Dingoo or GP2X Caanoo handheld and emulate the NES and dozens more platforms. Unless being able to use your original carts and having them stick out of a "portable" gives you a hard on don't bother with this or any other portable clone.

[ataridave]

Well, I've decided on the FC Mobile II, after watching MaximumRD's excellent 2-part video review of it:

 

Damn ! lol. I gotta say I have soured on such devices since those videos, I will never buy any type of clone again. You should know that before long the slot get very finicky and even the slightest movement is often enough to glitch or flat out freeze the game! Since I had no other means to play NES carts I was happy at first but trust me, you will soon realize you truly get what you pay for. These days I say your much better off getting a Dingoo or GP2X Caanoo handheld and emulate the NES and dozens more platforms. Unless being able to use your original carts and having them stick out of a "portable" gives you a hard on don't bother with this or any other portable clone.

 

OK, then, I will stay away! Do you have a top-loader NES? If so, how do you like it??

[ataridave]

Well, I've decided on the FC Mobile II, after watching MaximumRD's excellent 2-part video review of it:

 

Damn ! lol. I gotta say I have soured on such devices since those videos, I will never buy any type of clone again. You should know that before long the slot get very finicky and even the slightest movement is often enough to glitch or flat out freeze the game! Since I had no other means to play NES carts I was happy at first but trust me, you will soon realize you truly get what you pay for. These days I say your much better off getting a Dingoo or GP2X Caanoo handheld and emulate the NES and dozens more platforms. Unless being able to use your original carts and having them stick out of a "portable" gives you a hard on don't bother with this or any other portable clone.

 

I don't see how the game would move around, once you got it in the unit, unless you using it as a handheld NES, which is not what I'm interested in. I would place it on a flat surface to play NES games on my TV, and it would not move, because the controllers are wireless.

[Reaperman]

you using it as a handheld NES, which is not what I'm interested in. I would place it on a flat surface to play NES games on my TV, and it would not move, because the controllers are wireless.

I think that you'll find that those wireless controllers aren't so hot. They're IR controllers, and not especially good examples of the technology at that.

 

The handheld aspect of the FC mobile ii isn't bad at all though. It's not too large, the screen is nice and the speakers are decent. I will note that the d-pad is split into two parts diagonally which was a strange choice to make. I actually game on my FC Mobile ii more than my real nes.

Edited July 10, 2012 by Reaperman

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

 

 

OK, then, I will stay away! Do you have a top-loader NES? If so, how do you like it??

 

I don't have a top loader or an original font loader, hope to add them at some point........

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Well, I've decided on the FC Mobile II, after watching MaximumRD's excellent 2-part video review of it:

 

Damn ! lol. I gotta say I have soured on such devices since those videos, I will never buy any type of clone again. You should know that before long the slot get very finicky and even the slightest movement is often enough to glitch or flat out freeze the game! Since I had no other means to play NES carts I was happy at first but trust me, you will soon realize you truly get what you pay for. These days I say your much better off getting a Dingoo or GP2X Caanoo handheld and emulate the NES and dozens more platforms. Unless being able to use your original carts and having them stick out of a "portable" gives you a hard on don't bother with this or any other portable clone.

 

I don't see how the game would move around, once you got it in the unit, unless you using it as a handheld NES, which is not what I'm interested in. I would place it on a flat surface to play NES games on my TV, and it would not move, because the controllers are wireless.

 

Well if your not using as a portable then really no point in it, get something else. If you insert the cartridge and let it lay of a flat surface then I guess you will be fine. My comment was for those using as a portable as that is the intention of the device right? See the thing is, even fully inserted the cart has some slack and give it does not sit firmly so the lightest tilt can can the issue, I suppose you could say cram a piece of folding paper or something inside to make the cartridge sit snug but then why should you have to do that with a new device. Just trying to save you disappointment, I don't believe in removing or altering videos, truly if I did the same review today I would have a lot more negatives to add but I believe videos should remain as a history of how we saw things at that time but I simply cannot in good conscience let you consider the device based on those old vids.

Edited July 10, 2012 by OldSchoolRetroGamer

[ataridave]

Well, I've decided on the FC Mobile II, after watching MaximumRD's excellent 2-part video review of it:

 

Damn ! lol. I gotta say I have soured on such devices since those videos, I will never buy any type of clone again. You should know that before long the slot get very finicky and even the slightest movement is often enough to glitch or flat out freeze the game! Since I had no other means to play NES carts I was happy at first but trust me, you will soon realize you truly get what you pay for. These days I say your much better off getting a Dingoo or GP2X Caanoo handheld and emulate the NES and dozens more platforms. Unless being able to use your original carts and having them stick out of a "portable" gives you a hard on don't bother with this or any other portable clone.

 

I don't see how the game would move around, once you got it in the unit, unless you using it as a handheld NES, which is not what I'm interested in. I would place it on a flat surface to play NES games on my TV, and it would not move, because the controllers are wireless.

 

Well if your not using as a portable then really no point in it, get something else. If you insert the cartridge and let it lay of a flat surface then I guess you will be fine. My comment was for those using as a portable as that is the intention of the device right? See the thing is, even fully inserted the cart has some slack and give it does not sit firmly so the lightest tilt can can the issue, I suppose you could say cram a piece of folding paper or something inside to make the cartridge sit snug but then why should you have to do that with a new device. Just trying to save you disappointment, I don't believe in removing or altering videos, truly if I did the same review today I would have a lot more negatives to add but I believe videos should remain as a history of how we saw things at that time but I simply cannot in good conscience let you consider the device based on those old vids.

 

OK, well I appreciate the advice! I've seen Gamester81's review of the original FC mobile, and the cartridge fits really firmly in that unit. But, the button layout is not as good, and there are no controllers-if you want to play it on a TV, you're stuck using the unit itself. And don't be so hard on your videos-your Youtube channel rocks; I wouldn't subscribe to it if it didn't!

Edited July 11, 2012 by ataridave

[chrisballer]

Don't replace your pin connectors. The replacements are worse than a refurbished original.

 

I have to disagree here. I replaced the connector on my primary NES nearly 7 years ago and it still works perfectly. My original never lasted that long. Some people don't like the replacements because they don't feel like the original, but that doesn't mean they're worse.

 

Similar experience.

It hasn't been 7 years for me, but I replaced my 72-pin connector with an ebay el-cheapo and it has been working great for probably 2-3 years, anyway.

 

I'm wondering what all the fuss is about the replacement connectors sucking. I don't see how they can suck worse than the original - which definitely sucks, or this would never have been an issue to begin with. Time will tell. Perhaps I should throw a couple spare el-cheapos in the vault.

 

I am also a fan of the replacement connectors. I will have to go back and find out where I got them from. It has been awhile since my purchase of about 20 of them. I do know I did my research back then, and did not buy the cheapest ones out there. There must be different quality ones out there. Mine do not have a death grip at all, and actually have the same grip or less than the original. I still have all the original pin connectors just incase I ever needed one, but I have yet to need them.

 

Just do your homework and check reviews of pin connectors from different vendors and don't buy the cheapest thing you can find and expect it to be great.

[ataridave]

Does anyone know if the top-loader NES uses the same power supply and RF cable as the front-loader? If so, all I'd need to buy is the console itself, because I also have NES controllers.

[godslabrat]

Does anyone know if the top-loader NES uses the same power supply and RF cable as the front-loader? If so, all I'd need to buy is the console itself, because I also have NES controllers.

 

Si.

[ataridave]

Does anyone know if the top-loader NES uses the same power supply and RF cable as the front-loader? If so, all I'd need to buy is the console itself, because I also have NES controllers.

 

Si.

 

Good news! Thanks!

[Ace_1]

You might want to consider getting an A/V mod done if you get a Top-Loader NES or at least add a capacitor and redirect a signal on the motherboard to clean up the RF a bit. The video out of the Top-Loader NES is FILLED with vertical lines and it really makes the video look horrible.

[godslabrat]

You might want to consider getting an A/V mod done if you get a Top-Loader NES or at least add a capacitor and redirect a signal on the motherboard to clean up the RF a bit. The video out of the Top-Loader NES is FILLED with vertical lines and it really makes the video look horrible.

 

I've never seen a confirmed mod that truly takes care of the vertical line issue. From what I understand, it's a more fundamental flaw than just a missing capacitor.

 

I have a top loader now, I'm eventually going to get a refurb toaster.

[Ace_1]

I've never seen a confirmed mod that truly takes care of the vertical line issue. From what I understand, it's a more fundamental flaw than just a missing capacitor.

 

I have a top loader now, I'm eventually going to get a refurb toaster.

 

User TmEE on NESDev posted a circuit he built for the Top-Loader NES that makes the vertical lines practically invisible much like on a Front-Loader NES. This is his circuit: http://nesdev.parodi...p?p=73759#73759

 

I made a few tweaks to his circuit as I was getting very dull colors on my TV. I forgot what resistor I used between Base and Collector (it's definitely more than 4.7Kohms), but I used a 91ohm resistor at the output and a 470uF capacitor between Collector and Ground (it's a good idea to have this cap there).

 

But I can assure you that adding a capacitor between pin 22 of the 2C02 and Ground really helps a lot with the vertical lines. My Sharp Twin Famicom AN-500B had some VERY nasty vertical lines in the video output, and as soon as I added a 470uF capacitor between pin 22 of the 2C02 and Ground, the lines are barely visible.

 

Another thing I suggest to do if your Top-Loader NES has very quiet audio after the A/V mod (mine had VERY low audio when I first A/V-modded it) is to build an audio amp using an LM358 dual op-amp, a few resistors and a 100pF to 220pF ceramic capacitor depending on how much low-pass filtering you want (I used a 100pF cap on my Top-Loader NES and it sounds no different than my Twin Famicom with its excessive low-pass filter cap removed and my AV Famicom). The cap is a must because if you don't use it, you'll get a lot of video noise in the audio signal. At the same time, wire up pin 51 of the cartridge slot to where the audio out of the 2A03 gets mixed with a 47Kohm resistor so you can get expansion audio out of whatever game has expansion audio (this only gives good volume balance on the PowerPak, though, and even then, the audio out of the PowerPak still seems a bit too quiet. With a 47Kohm resistor, at least with Akumajou Densetsu, expansion audio is WAY too loud, so add a 47Kohm resistor in series with a 1Kohm resistor in your Famicom to NES converter between pin 46 of the Famicom end and pins 51 and 54 of the NES end so you can use the converter on both a Front-Loader and Top-Loader NES. Using 95Kohms worth of resistors makes the volume balance between expansion audio and the 2A03 perfect when using the original cartridges).

Edited July 13, 2012 by Ace_1

[ataridave]

Well, I just got my FC Mobile II in the mail yesterday, and I'm pretty satisfied with it. I've played as handheld, and not had any problems with the screen freezing, except once, when I tried moving it around a lot. The picture is fantastic, and so is the sound, although it was messed up a little in Batman, just in the first stage.

 

I do plan on getting a Famicom AV at some point, if I can find one for the right price. Reverse converters aren't that hard to find, so I could play my NES games on it pretty easily.

 

I just LOVE NES games! They are my favorite retro games. Before the NES, I had an Atari 2600, which I liked, but I loved the NES! The games still hold up well after all these years.

[LidLikesIntellivision]

My Retron 3 arrived yesterday. First impression isn't that good and I'm already having some compatibility issues.

 

I really don't know if there were much unlincensed/ilegal snes games (don't like to use piracy word for that) but I never saw the blue screen of Nintendo saying the product won't work in a device that can be used to copy games!

It happened with a Snes DK II cart I recently bought. It's old and has no label anymore...

 

And the Genesis slot is too tight, I have only 4 carts and only one worked but was hard to put it in. Again, I don't know if they are originals.

 

Unfortunately I haven't got a Nes cartridge to test it. I like the Nes very much so I will buy the power pack and/or some carts to try. If that doesn't work I'll go for an old clone like Phantom System or Tubo Game both local clones.

[godslabrat]

My Retron 3 arrived yesterday. First impression isn't that good and I'm already having some compatibility issues.

 

I really don't know if there were much unlincensed/ilegal snes games (don't like to use piracy word for that) but I never saw the blue screen of Nintendo saying the product won't work in a device that can be used to copy games!

It happened with a Snes DK II cart I recently bought. It's old and has no label anymore...

 

And the Genesis slot is too tight, I have only 4 carts and only one worked but was hard to put it in. Again, I don't know if they are originals.

 

Unfortunately I haven't got a Nes cartridge to test it. I like the Nes very much so I will buy the power pack and/or some carts to try. If that doesn't work I'll go for an old clone like Phantom System or Tubo Game both local clones.

 

There weren't many unlicensed SNES games. I can only think of one off the top of my head (Noah's Ark). Pretty much any device connected to the SNES will trigger the "Piracy" warning. Game Genie used to do it too.

[Ace_1]

I really don't know if there were much unlincensed/ilegal snes games (don't like to use piracy word for that) but I never saw the blue screen of Nintendo saying the product won't work in a device that can be used to copy games!

It happened with a Snes DK II cart I recently bought. It's old and has no label anymore...

 

Clones seem to have a tendency to trigger anti-piracy messages in certain games. I don't quite know why this happens, though.

 

And the Genesis slot is too tight, I have only 4 carts and only one worked but was hard to put it in. Again, I don't know if they are originals.

 

The Genesis slot really has a death grip on it, and it seems to be common to most of the modern GOAC-based clones. I have two different revisions of the FC3 Plus and have used the RetroN3 Version 1 and Version 2, and all 4 consoles have death grips on their Genesis slots.

 

Strange that the Genesis side has issues. The only game I've had problems with is Virtua Racing, which simply will not load, and even when you try to make it work by faking a missing signal on the cartridge slot, it still doesn't work! A user on Sega-16 got a RetroN3 Version 2 soon after it was discovered, and he had to send it back due to the Genesis side working with very few of his games while his RetroN3 Version 1 worked with everything no problem.

 

Unfortunately I haven't got a Nes cartridge to test it. I like the Nes very much so I will buy the power pack and/or some carts to try. If that doesn't work I'll go for an old clone like Phantom System or Tubo Game both local clones.

 

Do not waste your time with the PowerPak on the RetroN3, it will not work. I don't know what the RetroN3 Version 1 does, but on the RetroN3 Version 2, it seems to be unable to read any data off the Compact Flash card. It gives an error saying the POWERPAK directory was not found every time.

 

By the way, has Hyperkin fixed the INSANELY DISTORTED Super NES audio? When I tried the RetroN3 Version 2, I got this mess:

 

 

The RetroN3 Version 1 was pretty good when it came to audio out of the Super NES side (aside from low volume and inferior Stereo separation to original hardware), but the RetroN3 Version 2 is a MASSIVELY distorted mess.

 

Honestly, I think the RetroN3 in general is a piece of crap. The RetroN3 Version 1 is decent, but the RetroN3 Version 2 is an absolute mess, and it looks like in the long-run, you will ALWAYS have one problem or another with the RetroN3. The RetroN3 Version 1 I tested would short out if I kept a Super NES controller plugged into Player 1's port while playing Super NES games, and the RetroN3 Version 2 used to show graphical glitches in Super NES games when I first tested it, which have since stopped, but now, it stopped recognizing Super NES controllers. In short: avoid at all costs. I would much rather have an FC3 Plus, and that's why I have two of them, Version 1 and Version 2. The Version 1 is only good for Super NES games (the NES side is garbage and the Genesis side has compatibility issues with Virtua Racing and Master System converters on top of VERY bad video), but the Version 2 is a lot better (the NES side is still garbage, but the Genesis hardware is completely different and works with nearly everything I've thrown at it with the exception of R-Type for the Master System which simply displays as rolling graphical garbage). If only it had 6 controller ports like the RetroN3 does... that plus the fact the NOAC is one of the worst ones to be used on a modern Famiclone (reversed duty cycles, incorrect colors, lots of compatibility issues, incorrect wiring of the cartridge slot... yeesh) and all audio is Mono (yes, even on the Genesis and Super NES sides... WTF?) really hurts the FC3 Plus.

[LidLikesIntellivision]

Now I know why DK intro didn't convince me!

 

I've made a mistake in my previous post, I have the first Donkey Kong Country not the sequel. I love that intro but in my Retron3 it simply wasn't that cool, now I know it's due to the poor sound!

 

I searched the box and labels but couldn't find the rev. #.

 

Thanks for all information you posted. I must go plan B and look for others Nes clones and buy original SNES and Mega Drive.

[ataridave]

With regards to the top-loader NES, how visible are the lines in the picture? I mean, do you have to be sitting really close to your TV to notice them??