Retron 5

[Desh]

OK, so one of my buddies picked one up yesterday and I had a chance to check it out.  To be honest, I went in with a low opinion as I prefer original hardware but, the HDMI output had me intrigued.  The overall build quality is decent.  An issue I found with the Retron3 is that the cartridge connectors were really tight and actually had been known to damage some games.  Although that issue seems to have been addressed, the Genesis slot on this example is a bit overly tight. 

I loved the idea of a wireless controller and although it's bulky and looks dumb I thought I would give it a chance.  There is a slight delay between hitting the button and it registering which could almost be overlooked but this controller has more serious issues.  WHY no F-ing D-pad!?  All of the games that play on this console originally had D-pads for control and they had the audacity to put a cheap, crappy working thumb stick in the place of a D-pad.  WTF?  OK, F that shitty controller and use original controllers and be done with it.

Now, the good things.  Whatever emulation they are using here is top notch.  The handful of games I tried looked and sounded correct, it was actually great.  The user interface and display options are nice and can even be changed in the middle of a game.  Yay! Built in save states!  I must say the display output is actually very good.  There are compatability issues with some games i.e. playing Sonic 3 attached to a Sonic and Knuckles cart but I guess that's liveable as even some 1st party hardware has issues with some games.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the display and sound output is.  I don't know if I'm willing to shell out the dough for one of these yet but, it's not all that bad.  This would be a good setup for someone with limited space that wants the ease of having one console play multiple games.

So has anyone else played on one yet? 

[HailingTheThings]

Wish it had component. Meh.

[ClodBuster]

Pat the NES did an in-depth review of the Retron5:

There seem to be some issues with save states and saving back to SRAM. No support for light gun games.
Doesn't play HuCard either (just kidding)

[Desh]

Pat the NES did an in-depth review of the Retron5:

There seem to be some issues with save states and saving back to SRAM. No support for light gun games.
Doesn't play HuCard either (just kidding)

Ha, I hadn't seen that review yet but it sounds like he over all had the same opinion I did and even had some if the same compatibility examples.

I honestly don't care that it doesn't have composite out.  I no longer use a tube or CRT so I've been modding all of my consoles and have been in the market for an upscaler to use on my hi-def TV.  The Retron 5 does save a lot of that hassle of getting a good picture on modern TV's.

[Joe Redifer]

Game Sack review coming in a week and a half. Or maybe this weekend. I dunno.

[Medic_wheat]

Game Sack review coming in a week and a half. Or maybe this weekend. I dunno.

So long as this system is better then the neo geo x gold I'll be happy


Will you be doing a review on the analouge nt as well?

[Desh]

Game Sack review coming in a week and a half. Or maybe this weekend. I dunno.

Yay!

[jtucci31]

Game Sack review coming in a week and a half. Or maybe this weekend. I dunno.

Your review may or may not make me buy one. I'm counting on you guys!!

[PunkicCyborg]

Cool product for the casual retro gamer but I like playing on my classic systems on a crt and not an emulator

[esadajr]

one word: wii

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk

[Medic_wheat]

Seems like a good clone system.....

My only question is this......say they update the firm ware and patch up what seems to be the big three flaws, inability to use games accessories that need you to piggy back off another cart like the game genies and the sonic knuckle cart, and allow you to play flash carts and have every carriage slot with a game and simply select through which ever game/system you like....let's say that is resolved.  And if it isn't offfical,y we know the hacker Comunity will probably do it for us eventually.

He next logical step for most would be to take your various flash carts that already exist for each system, and load up a flash cart in each slot then potentially play and and every game import or other wise on a clone system but on modern TVs with the option to use original controllers...

At what point does it become no different then just using a computer hooked up to your tv and have a USB adapter to connect your various original controllers to....?


I mean I get a flash cart on an original hardware there is no emulation involved and allows you acess to your entire game library and a few of the uber rare without the fear of mucking up a hard to find or replace original. 

But for a clone system that lets face it we all see what I discribe as that the gaming hacker Comunity and general consumer want to happen.  At that point what's the point of having these multi system clones?

I guess I am treading old ground and simply stating the obvious. 

[ClodBuster]

For comparison I have got a Retrode, which is able to play SNES and Mega Drive cartridges on PC in stock form, and features 4 controller inputs (2x SNES, 2x MD). Along with plug-in adaptors that I bought separately, it can also be used with GameBoy, Master System and N64 cartridges (the latter one came even with two N64 controller inputs). Unfortunately no NES/Famicom carts supported so far.



That thing acts like a USB reader for the cartridges, is able to retrieve and write SRAM data back to the cartridge (take THAT, Retron 5). Of course it doesn't work with any specialised add-ons, since it is just used to dump the ROM and SRAM data on-the-fly. Other than that, game compatibility is just dependant on the emulator you choose to play with on your PC. Firmware updates for the Retrode have been coming frequently.

A fine device for me to let me cheat through R-Type III with save states (the only way that made this damn tough game enjoyable for a wimp like me), and letting me back-up and rewrite my SRAM save data from various time consuming RPGs.

At the time speaking, the further development of the Retrode is on hold, but as the device is now, it works fine. Support for NES through plug-in adaptors would be nice, though. It is possible to hook up HuCards to the Retrode's SNES cart slot if you are able to build an adaptor on your own with the help of these schematics.


I'd say the Retron 5 is a machine built upon Retrode, that let's you conveniently output directly to the TV and has all that emulation stuff hidden under a neat looking GUI. But I don't like all the restrictions that come with this machine.


Just for convenience, here's GameSack's Retron5 review which was already posted in the dedicated GameSack thread:

[SamIAm]

My question is, how much input lag is there?

The one thing I don't like about emulation with a USB controller is that there seems to be slightly more input lag than the real thing.

Of course, that's just with my setup. On the flipside, an optimized MAME configuration can actually be criticized as having LESS input lag than the real thing for certain games, IIRC.

[Desh]

My question is, how much input lag is there?

The one thing I don't like about emulation with a USB controller is that there seems to be slightly more input lag than the real thing.

Of course, that's just with my setup. On the flipside, an optimized MAME configuration can actually be criticized as having LESS input lag than the real thing for certain games, IIRC.

There is slight input lag using the wireless controller which is Bluetooth.  It's not horrible but it is noticeable.  Using O.E. controllers erases any lag and feels like playing on real hardware.

[Medic_wheat]

My question is, how much input lag is there?

The one thing I don't like about emulation with a USB controller is that there seems to be slightly more input lag than the real thing.

Of course, that's just with my setup. On the flipside, an optimized MAME configuration can actually be criticized as having LESS input lag than the real thing for certain games, IIRC.

There is slight input lag using the wireless controller which is Bluetooth.  It's not horrible but it is noticeable.  Using O.E. controllers erases any lag and feels like playing on real hardware.

I wonder if the nes advantage which eeqi ires two controler poets or the sega wire less controlers work on this as well