NES/SNES Console?

Beltaine

Been getting into some retro gaming lately and I wanted to pick up some NES and SNES stuff to play on.

Looking around on Ebay I see some duo consoles that can play both NES and SNES games.

Anyone have some experience with these? Are they decent or would I be better off picking up actual NES and SNES consoles?

see317

I've played with them in a few game stores. Didn't spend too much time at it though, just a few minutes.
They work as advertised, they'll play the NES/SNES cartridges. In my opinion the controllers felt a lot cheaper then the original NES/SNES ones, like they were made out of thinner plastic. Granted, that's pretty much what you expect from of a knockoff product.
On the up side, they' have more current connectors to interface with your TV, and is also going to have all the needed cables. If you buy a used SNES/NES it could be missing something, which is a hassle for everyone.

If you can find a classic SNES/NES from a reliable seller for a comparable price, I'd probably go with them. Otherwise save a few bucks that you can use to picking up some games.

Madpanda

Retro gaming is a hobby of mine so this might not be entirely objective.

The duo consoles have a small amount of compatibility issues, for NES its with castlevania 3 and I think snes its some of the super fx games. Also from what I hear the sound is off on them, its close but still emulated which may or may not be a problem for you. Racketboy.com I think has some reviews of them which will provide more info. You can also buy good composite and svideo cables from them.

They are decent for the price if you aren't concerned with 100% accuracy.

Going with the real hardware is not much more expensive and feels better both accuracy and hardware wise in my opinion.

A few caveats though.

Most original nes consoles will need the 52-pin connector replaced or at least cleaned/repaired. Replacing it can be done by yourself, its just removing a lot of screws. Replacing the connector will give it a kung-fu grip. I've inserted probably about 200 snes carts in mine and while its easier than when I first replaced it, the grip is still much tighter than a stock one, this can make taking carts out require a lot of force.

Finding a non yellowing snes at a decent price might take some shopping around on ebay. I think I paid $30 for mine.

If you are using original carts get some 91%, or preferably 99% isopropyl alcohol and some real qtips, clean carts before first use. Electronics contact cleaner works also if you have some of that around.

Other sites of interested would be nintendoage.com, particularly the forums which have a buy/sell section.

Sebbie

Madpanda pretty much covered anything I would have said (I also started collected old video game consoles and games recently). I would just like to point out that I was able to find quite a bit on kijiji. Also, a site that I've been using to buy old games (and it's been pretty much hassle free with 4-5 orders so far) is lukiegames.com. They have NES in stock with a replaced 72-pin connector for about 60$ (any order over 25$ has free shipping, or used to anyway). I'd look for a refurbished system, I bought a few 72-pin connectors myself a replaced it in my old NES but I found it difficult to get it right... even after following a video/picture guide I still find the connector to be wobbly and the system doesn't feel new.

Another tip, don't blow into the NES. We all grew up with a faulty NES that we'd pull the cartridge out of the console and blow in it to get the dust out. It wasn't blowing that was fixing the game, it was the removing and reinserting of the game in the system. Basically when you blow in your system or cartridge you'll introduce spit which will corrode the connectors. It's just a matter of moving the cartridge around until you've got the connection nice and snug. Also, once you're done playing you'll want to remove the cartridge from the down position. Pushing the NES carts down bends the 72 pin connector and after a lot of usage they lose their natural springiness (real word [not really]).

Sorry for going a little off topic there... have fun!

Beltaine

Yeah, accuracy is kind of a thing, otherwise I'd buy a USB adapter for SNES controllers and use an emulator.

The local Warhammer/Magic shop has started dealing in retro video game stuffs. I may hit them up this weekend and see if maybe I can work a trade for some Warhammer thingies I no longer play with.

Capt Howdy

I got my NES and SNES at Goodwill. Along with Zelda, Zelda 2, Mike Tyson's Punchout, Metroid, Rambo, and Commando for $1.25 each.

Saw a Dreamcast and really wish I would have grabbed it.

Madpanda

Goodwill can have some fantastic bargains but like any resale place you have to go there a lot or get lucky.

Also they have started putting up a lot of stuff on shopgoodwill.com for auction, which can still have some decent deals but nothing like what Capt Howdy just posted. Another place to try is used dvd stores or pawn shops. The latter usually having better deals than the former.

Craigslist/kijii also can be an option, look for bulk listings.

Videogamepricecharts.com can give you a good idea of prices.

MushroomStick

If you do go with one of the knock off consoles, make sure its one that has the sockets for authentic control pads.

HeraldS

The RetroDuo specifically won't play any late model SNES games and all SNES games with the FX chip. Specific titles include Super Mario RPG and Yoshi's Island. I ended up returning mine because of this. Also, it felt cheap and lightweight- always seemed like I had to jam the carts in their way too hard and that sooner or later something would break. YMMV but I suggest looking on ebay or amazon for a legit used system.

webguy20

Also as far as connectors go didn't nintendo use the save Video/Audio cable from the SNES through the gamecube? If I'm remembering correctly it can make it a lot easier to find replacement cables.

Essee

Yeah, if you can't play the games that support the SuperFX chip, you're missing out on quite a number of the incredible gems on the system. Also, aside from maybe having a different controller and the full game selection, I think that if the combo console just emulates the games in the first place you might as well be going with the Wii's Virtual Console and a Classic Controller or two if you have that available and they have the games you want (Super Mario RPG, for example, is indeed available on there-- for much cheaper than you'll be able to buy it, I suspect). But otherwise, I would recommend grabbing original consoles for the best compatibility and most faithful experience.

webguy20 wrote:

Also as far as connectors go didn't nintendo use the save Video/Audio cable from the SNES through the gamecube? If I'm remembering correctly it can make it a lot easier to find replacement cables.

Yes! I currently use the composite cable that came with my Gamecube to play mine. And even the Wii's connector looks like it would conceivably work if you sawed off the mysterious bit of plastic at the bottom that makes it shaped slightly differently from the Gamecube's, but don't quote me on that since I have yet to try it. Anyway, basically, that means it's incredibly easy and likely cheap to grab a modern composite cable for the SNES (better than ye olde RF switch by far), and if you find the right cable you could even get a component hookup, which is the best quality you could really get from an original console. I have noticed that, using composite cables on an LCD, I've seen a bit of interlacing on certain games (looks like lines across the sprites). Not sure if there's some way to fix that (possibly component cables would improve this?).

Unfortunately I think the NES uses a different AV cable, but hopefully if someone's selling the console they're also giving you the cable with it. I'm sure you can find one either way, though.

corky842

The NES just uses normal RCA cables. Lack of AC adapters and controllers would be the main thing to watch for.

Gaslight

Since SNES emulator consoles have been brought up I feel compelled to mention this thing.

I realize there's all sorts of practical arguments to be made for why it's a silly idea and I am not really actually suggesting it to the OP, I just can't help but think it's neat.

Cliff

Do you have a Wii? I believe alot of nes/snes games are available for download.

Beltaine

Just a PS3 right now.

Madpanda

NES is composite/rf only, make sure to get an adapter for the audio so you can do dual mono audio.
Snes/n64/gamecube can do s-video, which is going to be a step up from composite.

That is as good as you are going to get stock, the next step up is getting a rgb-component convertor which is I think outside the scope of this.

The WII connector differs from the snes/n64/gc multiav in more ways than just the plug port.

http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:wii_multi_av_pinout
http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:nintendomultiav