Calling all Retron 5 owners

[bombatomba]

So it's been awhile since the system was released and I would like to solicit a general opinion, especially with the NES and Famicom parts of the system.  How is the build quality?  Still holding up?  My local gamestore now has these in stock and I'm considering it as a family room replacement for several consoles (plus my daughter has too much trouble fishing the Famicom games from my NES).  Are there any glaring problems?  Thanks for the info, y'all.

[slackur]

Only real problem I have to report is the controller, which is problematic and unresponsive. The system itself has worked great, and with a good SNES controller I have no complaints.

[Crabmaster2000]

As someone who sells these I love them. Out of the several dozen we've sold I've had one come back with a faulty Power Source and that is it. Hyperkin sales reps are fantastic too, so if you do have an issue with your system I don't think you'd have a problem getting it replaced at no charge.

Like Jess said, the controller that comes with them are not that great, but since you can plug in any other of the 3 controllers to use that isn't much of a problem. I'd say go for it.

[MaterialHandlerMike]

The only flaw (if you could call it that) is extremely tight pin connectors. Some gamers claim, others merely worry, that this might cause long term damage to carts.

[Duke.Togo]

Everyone above me have said it all for me. Good system, bad controller. Wiggle your carts out carefully.

[Ikariniku]

I have a second hardware revision Retron 5 and I have had no problems or complaints about it (aside from the controller, which I don't use).  While the pin connectors are a bit tight, they are no more tight than any clone console I've owned.  I haven't experienced the death grip some have reported.

The build quality of the system itself seems better in the revision, too, as the cartridge slots in the housing are not as flimsy as I'd seen reported.  Rubber controller slot covers that were included, and they make a nice addition.

A recent software update allowed for IPS patching, which has really made me take the Retron 5 more seriously.  Sure, dumping a rom off a cart and patching it isn't much different than just patching any rom in any emulator, but I have lots of Japanese carts that will now be playable parts of my collection thanks to it.

Since you mentioned Famicom and NES carts, I figured I would mention this quirk I noticed.  If you use a converter to plug a Famicom cart into the NES slot (or an NES game in the Famicom slot), the Retron 5 still recognizes it as the proper system (NES for NES games, Famicom for Famicom games).  Maybe this is obvious to technically minded people, but I was amused when I found it out.

More usefully, while it's well known that the Zapper and other light guns won't work on LCD TVs, this isn't the only reason why the Retron 5 isn't compatible with light guns.  I hooked up my Retron 5 to an HD CRT to try it out, and the Zapper doesn't function at all.  When you pull the trigger, the game doesn't even register that it fired.  This indicates to me that the Retron 5 is not wired/programmed to read the "accessory" inputs wired into the 2nd player controller port in the original NES.  I'm pretty sure this means that any controller or accessory that needs this wiring will be rendered useless on a Retron 5.  This is not clearly stated in any Retron 5 documentation I've seen.

I hope any of this rambling post was helpful.

[Duke.Togo]

Not surprised that the Zapper doesn't have any built-in support, as I'm sure the emulators it's running don't. Even if it was, Zappers don't work on HD CRTs anyway, I've tried on mine.

[bombatomba]

Lot to think about.  If I buy this its going directly into the tiger pit, as my children and I will be using it pretty much daily, with as many as five NES and Famicom cart swaps per session (we are heavy NES/Fami users here).  I'm chomping at the bit over the translation patch feature for my FC/SFC games, too.

Anyone here have theirs in such heavy use?

[singlebanana]

Everyone above me have said it all for me. Good system, bad controller. Wiggle your carts out carefully.

+1 - buy it, love it, you won't regret it

[zcrich01]

It was the single best purchase I've made thus far this year. Created space in my entertainment center and provided the ability to pop and play without searching out a bunch of different consoles and cords that I've needed for a long time. It gets two thumbs WAYYYY up. Plus the save state feature makes it so that I suck less at games...which is still pretty cool.

[Banards]

Amazing little console, I can't recommend it enough.

[Ze_ro]

I also recommend the Retron 5. My only beef is the overly tight cartridge ports... but this is probably because they know most of their audience is using them with dirty, 30-year old cartridges and won't clean them properly. The Genesis cartridge port also doesn't seem to be sized well enough for Japanese Mega Drive cartridges... they just barely fit, and sort of at an angle. I actually don't mind the controller at all... I was even able to play SF2 without much trouble. Plenty of other options for controls if you can't handle them though.

The IPS patching is a great feature, and has had me going after a bunch of Japanese games that I otherwise wouldn't have bothered owning actual cartridges of.

I'm actually extremely impressed with how compatible the thing is. SuperFX, SA-1, S-DD1, MMC5, Genesis Virtua Racing... they all work. Basically the only games that DON'T work are ones that require some sort of input from the cartridge itself, such as the tilt sensors in Yoshi Topsy Turvy and Kirby Tilt 'n' Tuble. One caveat I should probably mention is that the PAL support is supposedly pretty poor. I have a friend in Australia who bought one, and there are a lot of games it doesn't recognize properly.

--Zero

[zcrich01]

I also recommend the Retron 5. My only beef is the overly tight cartridge ports... but this is probably because they know most of their audience is using them with dirty, 30-year old cartridges and won't clean them properly. The Genesis cartridge port also doesn't seem to be sized well enough for Japanese Mega Drive cartridges... they just barely fit, and sort of at an angle. I actually don't mind the controller at all... I was even able to play SF2 without much trouble. Plenty of other options for controls if you can't handle them though.

The IPS patching is a great feature, and has had me going after a bunch of Japanese games that I otherwise wouldn't have bothered owning actual cartridges of.

I'm actually extremely impressed with how compatible the thing is. SuperFX, SA-1, S-DD1, MMC5, Genesis Virtua Racing... they all work. Basically the only games that DON'T work are ones that require some sort of input from the cartridge itself, such as the tilt sensors in Yoshi Topsy Turvy and Kirby Tilt 'n' Tuble. One caveat I should probably mention is that the PAL support is supposedly pretty poor. I have a friend in Australia who bought one, and there are a lot of games it doesn't recognize properly.

--Zero

As far as the genesis cartridge port, you are right. It it seems to fit a bit more snugly than the others. However, once the cartridge is in, the connection is pure...which is nice compared to my pre-retron days when the slightest jostle of my genesis caused my games to reboot or turn off (made for much frustration whilst reaching new personal bests in various games, only to have the game shut the heck off).

[singlebanana]

For people concerned about the carts fitting snug, please watch:

[russlyman]

^^^ pretty much works like Thor's hammer   


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