StarForcePilot Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 (edited) As usual, whenever I finish another major build I run on over to AtariAge and share the tales of mayhem and mirth. I hope you guys are gonna dig it, it's The Nintendo Snack Pack. After rebuilding every major classic system from the console wars era, I finally brought the remaining two powerhouses of the late-80s/early-90s into one easy-to-carry little console. A light-weight version of the Sega Omega Drive, if you will, featuring a carefully hand-picked list of games for the NES and SNES, running on official Nintendo hardware (emulation, but still). When the NES mini came out, I wasn’t that interested, thoroughly entrenched with Team RasPi & Original Hardware. But when I played my brother’s NES mini and saw that excellent interface, the simple yet rich features, and played on the responsive and authentic controller, I was hooked. And 30 well-picked games was perfect for a guy who never owned anything Nintendo except a GameBoy (SEGA For Life, Baby!). I’ve been wanting to built something Nintendo for a while now, and this was it. I set to work, and created The Nintendo Snack Pack Dedicated Oldschool Entertainment System (DOES). If you’re interested how I built it, visit the buildblog. I wanted the system to be really easy and fun, no brain required, and above all, portable. That’s why the system is fitted with a large 20.000mAh battery and comes with a 12v charger – just carry and play! The system revolves around a SNES mini and a NES mini board stacked on top of each other, which you can switch between via the large vintage-style rotary dial at the front. This dial also allows you to go to other channels, but we’ll get to them later. Each board is hakchi’d and contains a host of platforms and games that can be played via the controller ports at the front, for 1 and 2 player action. The system features a rich 8″ IPS LCD display, running at 1024×768 in 4:3 aspect ratio. Sound is pumped through 1.2watt Logitech stereo speakers for clean & crisp audio, and the whole thing is housed inside a vintage 1972 portable black & white Sony TV-740. The Nintendo Snack Pack has 4 retro channels to choose from, so let’s check’m out! Channel 1: NINTENDO WORLD – Plays the mighty NES, it’s heir to the crown SNES, and Classic Gameboy and GBA games! Of course a channel dedicated to classic Nintendo is fun, but you know what’s more fun than classic Nintendo? Classic SEGA! That’s right, the second mini board is loaded up with everything decidedly NOT Nintendo. Just switch your controller over to the SEGA ports, and Welcome to the Next Level: Channel 2: SEGA ZONE – Play the powerful Mega Drive, Master System, & Game Gear! We even sneaked on a bit of PC Engine, Lynx & Vectrex! All that 8- and 16-bit action getting a bit much? Need a moment to chill, and reflect how to kill that damn boss in Contra Hard Corps? Switch over to channel 3 and chill out with some toons. Channel 3: VIDEODROME – Stream classic cartoons, movies and shows via Chromecast! Classic games are excellent of course, and I enjoy seeing a bit of Ghostbusters over breakfast with the kids, but sometimes you wanna play a little more modern games, right? Well, thankfully this bad boy is equipped with AV RCA input, allowing you to hook up that PlayStation, Saturn or DreamCast for some late-90s polygon action! Channel 4: INSTERT GAME – With oldschool AV you can connect your own console or VHS player! I built this with the idea of making something that would be undeniably fun and flexible, easy to use and portable. What I didn’t consider was how difficult it was to build, especially because I tried following a systematic workflow. This didn’t work out so well, so I went back to building in the manner I had always done: intuitively. Hack and slash, and solder, and fry, and curse, and burn, and replace and finally out from the carnage we get a little treasure that is something I could’ve only dreamed about when I was a kid. A little gaming TV that does it all. Wanna know how I built it? Check out ‘Building the Nintendo Snack Pack’!Wanna know what 30 SEGA Games I chose for channel SEGA ZONE? Check out ‘SEGA’s Fatal 30 for the Nintendo Snack Pack’! Nintendo Snack Pack SPECS: Authentic Nintendo NES Mini Board (Channel 1) Authentic Nintendo SNES Mini Board (Channel 2) 4x Controller Ports (1-2 Player for Channel 1 & 2, respectively) Google Chromecast 2nd Generation (Channel 3) RCA Audio/Video Input (Channel 4) Aluminium Rotary Dial to switch channels 8″ IPS LCD screen in 4:3 aspect ratio, 1024×768 (HDMI/RCA/VGA) Logitech 1.2watt Stereo Speakers (Z120) 20.000mAh 12V DC Battery Vintage 1972 Sony TV-740 Converted Case Dimensions: 25 x 20 x 24 cm, Weight: 2.5kg (5.5lbs) Edited August 17, 2018 by StarForcePilot 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Now why don't they put this on a shelf at Mal Wart? I'd buy one, it's adorable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Because it's a crap ton of work to make a bespoke one of a kind vintage-modern hybrid crazybox like this? Keep it up SFP, you are the only StarForce we need! I love your work and your stories. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarForcePilot Posted August 17, 2018 Author Share Posted August 17, 2018 Cheers Flojo! I have about 4 other freaky projects I would love to start building, but there's only so much time (and this build took a chunk of time). Glad you still remember my other stuff, I don't come to the forums as often as I should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Definitely a labor of love right there. I doubt anyone will ever see anything like this again. How do those Sega controllers connect? It looks like the same port as the Nintendo pads. Are there Sega replica controllers that connect with that same Nintendo connector? Surely not? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Wow, this thing looks great. Will stay tuned! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Cheers Flojo! I have about 4 other freaky projects I would love to start building, but there's only so much time (and this build took a chunk of time). Glad you still remember my other stuff, I don't come to the forums as often as I should. Everyone should be following your blog, where this is old news. But it's cool you came around to repost it here so more people can see it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 That's cool, love the old retro portable crt style of the box. I thought it was an actual old tv. I've got a portable 7" color crt somewhere. Always wanted a 5" one but never found one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 i'm in awe of folks that have the technical abilities to do stuff like this- that is super cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarForcePilot Posted August 18, 2018 Author Share Posted August 18, 2018 Thanks a lot all, glad you guys dig it I'll try and make some time and get a couple of minutes of video up as well, should be good! Definitely a labor of love right there. I doubt anyone will ever see anything like this again. How do those Sega controllers connect? It looks like the same port as the Nintendo pads. Are there Sega replica controllers that connect with that same Nintendo connector? Surely not? Ah, that's a little cheeky on my part, it's just a prop in the picture, like the Gameboy and Lynx. What I was going to do was take a SNES controller, take the board and wire it up inside a Mega Drive Power Stick - but I haven't gotten around to it. I might not bother, I ordered a 6-button wireless Hori Commander controller, if that's as good as other Hori stuff I'll leave it at that. Everyone should be following your blog, where this is old news. But it's cool you came around to repost it here so more people can see it. Appreciate it! I always make my blog posts, share it on social media and only when I'm satisfied unleash it to the scrutiny of AtariAge 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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