Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games - Kotaku Comments

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

JoelSchmidt — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:06:44 MST

Indeed it can play games while both slots are occupied simultaneously. Goodbye FC Dual, hello Retro Duo :)

JoelSchmidt

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

JoelSchmidt — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:43:40 MST

According to Videogame Central, the Retro Duo *does* play Castlevania III and BattleToads with no problems. I'm waiting to hear back from them on whether or not both types of cartridges can be installed simultaneously or if it can only handle one type being installed at a time.

JoelSchmidt

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

JoelSchmidt — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:34:45 MST

Just to let you know, the Retro Duo appears to just be Play N Trade's FC Dual (released in Nov '07) but put into a shiny black case. They are exactly the same, right down to the S-Video connector.

For those that are wondering, the FC Dual DOES play Castlevania III *flawlessly*. Most likely the Retro Duo does as well. There is a big drawback to the FC Dual & Gen-X systems: you can not have both cartridge slots occupied at the same time. The systems get confused about what is going on. I see that the Retro Duo has both StarFox and SMB inserted in the picture, but were slots occupied when VaporGopher was playing SF and Kirby?

JoelSchmidt

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

taomaster99 — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:24:57 MST

WHY???????????????????????????????????????????

taomaster99

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

OtakuboyT — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:22:50 MST

Now if you can get one to play all 4 then you have a deal.

OtakuboyT

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

cernex — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:59:49 MST

Somebody should have asked the guy if the Gen X accepts the original Virtua Racing for the Genny, or even the good ol' 32X (obvious it isn't compatible with the Sega CD)

El Cernex

cernex

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

vaporgopher — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:10:59 MST

Well, for all you FC Twin owners, I was actually lucky enough to play Starfox and Kirby Superstars on the Retro Duo at the CES Show. It seemed flawless for the 10 minutes I was playing. The gaming section was small, but at least I found something I liked there. I bought an FC Twin last March, and it didn't work for these games, not to mention the Retro Duo also had s-video and they stated it also takes the original and other third party controllers, which I thought was cool. Both features that are not compatible on my FC Twin unfortunately. Can't wait to UPGRADE to the Duo.

vaporgopher

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

bbcloseout — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:48:26 MST

I saw this today! It's a lot better than those "FC Twins" out there. It has S-Video Outputs, plays Kirby Superstar! They had it sitting with the nES Mario cartridge. I also saw a Super famicom cartridge plugged into the system, so super famicom games work well with it. Definitely getting one! I think everyone is getting the wrong facts.

bbcloseout

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

curtisawa — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:44:12 MST

I have an FC twin that plays SNES and NES games. It works pretty well. I think there are a few games that don't work with it, but it definitely works better than my broken NES original.

curtisawa

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name. — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:14:07 MST

I'd prefer Virtual Console myself. Less blowing into cartridges.

Very nice though. I can see these being a good idea- cheap good games for two cheap good consoles for a cheap price.

Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Verum — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:20:32 MST

I'm surprised these knock offs are so expensive. My shop sells the actual NES and SNES for $60 and $45 respectively, and I'm pretty sure we're $5 above Ebay prices.

@Bluejuan85:
Rubbing alcohol and a Q-Tip will clean the contacts on the cart in no time, and 72-pin connectors are cheap, if you're looking to stop the 'arcane rituals'.

The reason blowing on carts is bad is because it corrodes the contacts. The spit stays on the contacts for a while, which causes both the contacts and pins to corrode albeit at a slow pace. Alcohol works because it evaporates quickly.

Another common problem people have is the RF adapter going bad. Not many people know that there's an RCA jack on the right hand side of the NES. It only does mono sound, but you'll never have to deal with 'the fuzz' ever again.

@Adam In Texas:
The Sega CDX is worth the money. You can put the power base converter (to play master system games) or the 32x on top of it, but the weight will eventually cause some damage to the innards of the cartridge slot.

Verum

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

kingofallcosmos — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:28:31 MST

I got a Yobo NES a few years ago and it works like a champ. My original NES died and the Yobo has been better than my NES ever was. My SNES still works like a champ so I wouldn't bother with a replacement.

kingofallcosmos

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

sandwiches — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:24:03 MST

Ghetto.

sandwiches

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

HAGE — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:21:28 MST

Blowing only makes the damage worse. Really what you need to do is use alcohol to clean the cart, but most of the time, the problem isn't with the cart, it's with the 72-pin connector inside the NES. Replacement connectors, or NES' with the connectors replaced, are both available on ebay and work like a charm. It's simply a design flaw that causes the connector inside the NES to go bad after a certain amount of time due to the stress put on it by the unconventional insertion mechanism.

The NES 2 of course has none of these problems, but it's rare, expensive, and does not have the composite output that the toaster NES has (I do love mine, though), in addition to some output quality issues. The dogbone controller is the shit, though.

In general, if you're going to spend dollars on something like this in 2008, better to go to eBay and get a refurbished replaced connector toaster NES. Same with a used SNES or SNES 2, in good condition, those things will work for a LONG time. I wouldn't bother spending money on these kinds of knockoffs.

HAGE

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Ghede — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:59:14 MST

Here is the question I want answered... Does the NES one play it without requiring you to perform arcane rituals upon starting up the game? For if you do not on an NES, the dreaded gray/random-block screen appears and you must repeat the ritual you missed repeatedly until it works. The ritual varies from person to person, from blowing on the cartridge and console, to smacking it REALLY hard.

Ghede

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Bluejuan85 — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:35:12 MST

Sounds good to me but will it play Super Mario RPG and Kirby Superstar I bought an FC Twin and sadly these two games don't work on it so I was thinking if this one might do. I hope so.

Bluejuan85

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Nintenboy01 — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:28:22 MST

With all the custom chips and the Sony audio DSP in the SNES I'm surprised they would actually be able to design a clone of it, patents lapsed or not. Do the games run just as they would on a real SNES?

Nintenboy01

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

KaneTaker — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:26:49 MST

@Billkwando: I have a fully working CDX. Love that little thing. Picked it up with Earthworm Jim Directors Cut for the Sega CD. Need to dust it off and install that 32X I picked up at Goodwill.

KaneTaker

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

kevinski — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:04:54 MST

I'm disappointed that these knock-off consoles never have anything better than composite connections. I'd love to see them in s-video, at the very least. Can anyone here comment on how accurately the Genesis version recreates the graphics/audio of the original console?

kevinski

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Eltigro — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:03:16 MST

I was interested until I saw that it wasn't Master System/Genesis compatible, it was NES/Genesis compatible. My SNES, NES, and Genesis all still work great. My SMS crapped out a long time ago though.

@Adam In Texas: The X'eye was a joint JVC/Sega product. That's why it was legal. There were several products that combined the Genesis and Genesis CD in one console (Wondermega and CDX being a couple.)

Eltigro

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Billkwando — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:58:15 MST

@Adam In Texas: wasn't that aka the CDX?

I remember that thing. :)

Billkwando

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Adam In Texas — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:46:12 MST

Did anyone own a JVC X-eye? It was legal and was a combo Genesis/Sega CD. We picked one up from Incredible Universe when our original Sega CD (the front loading, power tray version) died on us back in the day.

Adam In Texas

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Billkwando — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:41:41 MST

The only thing to watch out with FC Twins and the like, is that on the NES games the sound is emulated. It's on of those 1-chip deals. SNES is authentic.

I hear the best example of the emulated sound being off is on the Mario coin sounds.

Billkwando

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

DasKonstruct — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:36:42 MST

@RawSteelUT: Haven't run across any incompatibilities yet but I'm sure the hardware isn't perfect at only 50 bucks. I'm just happy I could play Super Punch Out which is like one of the 5 games that really matter.

DasKonstruct

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

huginn — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:33:23 MST

A glorified BIOS emulator?

Hum.. hardly anything impressive.

huginn

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

RawSteelUT — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:20:00 MST

@DasKonstruct: You can't really renew a hardware patent. You must be thinking of the trademarks/copyrights, which Nintendo still enforces. This creates the problem with these systems. Since they can't use Nintendo's copyrighted code, they have to basically make their own emulation program, which results in the incompatibilities you often see.

RawSteelUT

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Bobby — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:19:49 MST

These things have been out for some time now.

Bobby

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

RawSteelUT — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:16:39 MST

I don't like these "NES on a chip" systems, mainly because games like Castlevania III won't work on them.

Me, I prefer to keep my systems repaired. [www.oldschoolgamer.ca] does wonders in that regard. We need to have more unofficial repair centers, and less of these generic, under-supported consoles.

RawSteelUT

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Enigma_20XX — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:15:17 MST

I already have a FC Twin that lets me love my SNES/NES games like yesterday...

Better than tracking down a "used" SNES for the same purpose.

But just how many games were worth playing on the Master System? I hadn't even HEARD of the thing before the Genesis came out!

Enigma_20XX

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

multimoog — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:14:55 MST

@MajorMcMuffin: If that's the case, Nintendo isn't very quick on the draw as a local game store sells the NES/SNES version for $50. The only reason I don't have one is my SNES is still hooked up to my TV.

multimoog

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Amiash — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:04:25 MST

okay its like a "dual sim card phone" i get it!
but it will be cooler if it can play diffrent games at the same time

Amiash

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

strictnein — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:03:34 MST

@htd: Really? How much was it? The Mall of America is 4 miles from my house.

strictnein

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

htd — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:59:20 MST

I saw Retro Duo at a MOA 3rd floor booth during Xmas

htd

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Swift_ — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:56:17 MST

Oh WOW! I need to grab one of these before it gets sued into nonexistence!

Swift_

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

daknight — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:55:30 MST

Yeah, Play N Trade stores sale thing like this already. They have the FC twin (for SNES and NES) AND have the one for Genesis/NES as well actually. Then again the one I go still has a Virtual Boy for sale (Which no man alive will buy for the asking price of 40 that they have).

daknight

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

NNTPgrip — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:55:09 MST

Gimmie one that will accept an SD Card as well and I'm sold...

NNTPgrip

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

VoldtaEngler — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:52:05 MST

@rbininger: Just because it's not news to you doesn't mean it's not news to somebody who has never seen them.

VoldtaEngler

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

CaptLtrl — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:51:56 MST

Yeah, these are pretty readily available. I have one called the "FC-Twin" which I assume stands for Famicom Twin. It works really well, I played through all of mega-man 2 in one sitting. More impressive is the fact that even if I stomped around the system it wouldn't freeze up. Weeee, no more blowing on cartridges and shovin books in the NES!

CaptLtrl

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Dryden — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:49:00 MST

This is news? These things have been widely available for years on eBay!

Dryden

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

bookwo3107 — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:47:59 MST

Yeah - all the mom and pop game stores around my area gouge you on these. (Not to mention on original consoles as well). $50 a pop is a steal if you can't afford/find the originals.

bookwo3107

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Luis — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:37:58 MST

@Slackerchan: Exactly, this has been out for a while. The snes Nes one anyway. $80 at the store I saw, so $50 isn't bad.

@amiash: It accesses one game at a time.

Luis

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

InEffectMode — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:36:12 MST

Now I can still play my copy of Gunstar Heroes for Sega Genesis that I retained for sheer sentimental value... manual and case still intact.

InEffectMode

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

verrius — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:33:53 MST

@MajorMcMuffin: If the patents are lapsed, there's little that Nintendo can actually do. Also...despite all the emulators that are out there, if you've got a save on an actual cart from having the original game...and have rendered your current console inoperable..its kinda hard to get it off and play it on the computer. RIP my SNES ;_;

verrius

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Amiash — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:32:18 MST

how are we supposed to play both games?
or am i missing the concept of it?

Amiash

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Krondonian — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:30:32 MST

@MajorMcMuffin: Even better, go pick up a real SNES for a few quid. Sure, it can't play NES games, but it's the real deal. I recently got one for a few quid, and have SFIII, Super Metroid and Super Mario World to look forward to. Yeah!

Krondonian

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

SuperMaxZero — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:30:11 MST

Not impressed, there's already a much much nicer looking phony for the NES/SNES that comes with a recolored SNES controller. What it was called? The FC-Twin, I think...I'd get it myself, but my retro TV I play old games on doesn't have RCA jacks...

SuperMaxZero

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

DasKonstruct — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:30:01 MST

The model I have is called the FC-Twin. The reason these things are popping up is that the patents on the NES and SNES hardware is running out or has run out. Nintendo still owns the IP of their games and just won't tech support one of these 3rd party consoles. I've played everything from Demoncrest and Super Punch Out to Ninja Gaiden on it so far with good results.

MAJORMUFFIN - No real retro gamer plays a rom.

DasKonstruct

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Ignis — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:25:08 MST

@Chief2BeaR: ...wow...I hate you lol. just kidding. But thats a pretty neat little toy.

Ignis

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

MajorMcMuffin — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:24:54 MST

Its nice in theory, but:
1. Nintendo would presumably leap out, legal guns blazing if anyone tried to sell the thing.
2. Who needs a weird looking console when there are about 10 emulators freely available.

MajorMcMuffin

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Struct09 — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:24:48 MST

These have been around for a while. I would have grabbed one, but both my NES and SNES still work.

Struct09

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Foxstar Sixtail — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:24:16 MST

You can find these suckers in malls, mom and pop gaming stores and fleamarkets everywhere, it's just up till now, they were all made/imported from China and Korea. It's pretty smart as there seems to be a pretty large market of people who actively still play 8 and 16bit titles, but don't want to have four systems.

I find the 'lasped patent' thing funny as hell, Nintendo renews/enforces those things with the fury of god.

Foxstar Sixtail

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

DasKonstruct — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:16:42 MST

50 bucks brand new

DasKonstruct

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

BPMΣ — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:16:09 MST

@ptolemy:
Click the link. Looks a bit like the Genesis 3 (the third model of the system which was TINY).

Odd, though, as it has an NES and a Genesis cart in it. I thought it would take Master System?

BPMΣ

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Slackerchan — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:15:05 MST

What, no one here has heard of Yobo's FC Twin? The console can play both NES and SNES games and is roughly 98% compatible with the entire 8 and 16 bit libraries. It was only a matter of time before a Sega system would come out...

Slackerchan

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

goldwings — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:14:21 MST

@DasKonstruct: How much was it?

goldwings

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

not_tom_brokaw — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:14:09 MST

Oooh, that's nice; I hope they provide tech support/customer service, though. Stand behind their product and all that, instead of just being all "lulz, exploit the retrogaming market" (not that I'm implying that's all it is)
@Gomerboy: Well the controller itself and the jack that goes into the console looks like it's not too different from the original, so I would think/hope they're compatible.
And nothing's uglier than the ITC1. Nothing (ok, nothing so far).

not_tom_brokaw

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

xAnarChisTx — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:13:44 MST

Mmmm, retro gang bang goodness!

xAnarChisTx

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Nightshift_Nurse — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:12:58 MST

Awesome. I'll be the first in line for one if they're of reasonably good quality. I've been pretty happy with my NEX.

Nightshift_Nurse

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

DasKonstruct — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:12:04 MST

I have one that I bought from Play N Trade and it works quite well. They have custom controllers that are pretty much near identical replicas of the SNES controller.

DasKonstruct

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Ptolemy — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:11:15 MST

Whats the SEGA one look like? That one's kinda similar to the re-released SNES.

Ptolemy

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Tonx — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:10:59 MST

Oh, shit that is BOSS HOG.
Was it actually running Starfox? Or wasn't it hooked to a TV?

Tonx

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Gomerboy — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:10:42 MST

The real question is: does it accept the original controllers or are there some generic ones that go with the console?

Oh, and: FUGLY!

Gomerboy

Knock-Off Console Plays Real Genesis, SNES, Sega Games

Chief2BeaR — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:10:16 MST

At the same time?!

Chief2BeaR