SNES clones

[asheenlevrai]

Hi

 

I just retrieved my old SNES from the basement and wanted to give it a try on my new 4K SMART TV with the kids.

Obviously the connectivity is problematic (AV-in, no HDMI) and the image quality seems less good than on old CRT TVs, more pixelated, because of the resolution I guess.

 

I started reading about it and discovered that there is a whole world of "retro gaming" that I need to discover...

 

In the meantime, I also found out about these clones of SNES that provide HDMI connection and maybe other advantages.

I saw this HYPERKIN RetroN 2HD gaming console and wonder if it is any good.

 - I kinda like the fact that it accepts both NES and SNES cartridges (I may have a few NES cartridges laying around)

 - I like that it has HDMI (720p only, I guess that's the max). Will it make the image any better compared to AV-in? I guess not...

 - I like the fact that it's easy to set up and doesn't require extensive effort to start playing

 

Now I wonder if there are any other options out there that are superior and would make the Hyperkin a bad choice.

 

Please let me know of your experience and opinion.

 

Best,

-a-

[mariushm]

There are very good emulators for nes and snes, it's fairly well documented.  

So you could get a raspberry pi  or some old laptop or one of those hdmi sticks (pc you plug directly in hdmi) and play the games from emulator. 

The emulators have various scalers, which allow you to upscale the original resolution (which is less than 640x480 if my memory is correct, probably closer to 320x240), and you can pick which one you like most.

 

 

 

[SteveGrabowski0]

I wouldn't bother with Retron 5, that's nothing special. If you want a high quality emulator get a legit SNES Classic and mod it (you can play NES on it just as well and even use the official NES Classic controller on it). It's the only emulation I have ever played where Super Mario World felt like playing the real thing. That's a game I'm always running full speed in and so far SNES Classic is the only emulator I have ever used where I could play SMW exactly like I did when I played on a real SNES nearly 30 years ago. Too bad you weren't in the market a couple of years ago, as Analogue built an FPGA SNES that they sold for $190 that was considered the ultimate SNES. Everything in hardware with HDMI and wireless controller support. But those things go for ~$700 or so on ebay right now.

 

Although best (if you don't want to spend $700 on Analogue ST-mini) would be just get an upscaler to convert your SNES rgb signal into a 720p signal to output via HDMI. There is a youtube channel called My Life in Gaming that goes into a lot of detail about how to get really good experiences with old hardware on modern TVs.

[SteveGrabowski0]

8 hours ago, mariushm said:

There are very good emulators for nes and snes, it's fairly well documented.  

So you could get a raspberry pi  or some old laptop or one of those hdmi sticks (pc you plug directly in hdmi) and play the games from emulator. 

The emulators have various scalers, which allow you to upscale the original resolution (which is less than 640x480 if my memory is correct, probably closer to 320x240), and you can pick which one you like most.

I was not at all impressed by SNES on the Pi 3. Ever since getting an SNES Classic I haven't touched my Raspberry Pi. It's cheap but I could never get input to feel anywhere near as clean as on the SNES Classic for SNES and NES games.

[asheenlevrai]

On 10/22/2020 at 11:57 AM, mariushm said:

There are very good emulators for nes and snes, it's fairly well documented.  

So you could get a raspberry pi  or some old laptop or one of those hdmi sticks (pc you plug directly in hdmi) and play the games from emulator. 

The emulators have various scalers, which allow you to upscale the original resolution (which is less than 640x480 if my memory is correct, probably closer to 320x240), and you can pick which one you like most.

 

I tried emulators in the past.

The main concerns I had were:

 - lots of input lag leading to mediocre gaming experience

 - very difficult to use controllers that match original controllers (hardware/driver level)

 - not at all kids friendly (especially for kids that don't speak English)

 

Thanks

-a-

Quote

 

 

[asheenlevrai]

On 10/22/2020 at 8:53 PM, SteveGrabowski0 said:

I wouldn't bother with Retron 5, that's nothing special. If you want a high quality emulator get a legit SNES Classic and mod it (you can play NES on it just as well and even use the official NES Classic controller on it). It's the only emulation I have ever played where Super Mario World felt like playing the real thing. That's a game I'm always running full speed in and so far SNES Classic is the only emulator I have ever used where I could play SMW exactly like I did when I played on a real SNES nearly 30 years ago. Too bad you weren't in the market a couple of years ago, as Analogue built an FPGA SNES that they sold for $190 that was considered the ultimate SNES. Everything in hardware with HDMI and wireless controller support. But those things go for ~$700 or so on ebay right now.

 

Although best (if you don't want to spend $700 on Analogue ST-mini) would be just get an upscaler to convert your SNES rgb signal into a 720p signal to output via HDMI. There is a youtube channel called My Life in Gaming that goes into a lot of detail about how to get really good experiences with old hardware on modern TVs.

Thanks

 

As I previously mentionned, there is a whole world there for me to explore.

 - I just heard about FPGA based clones this morning and still need to figure out what they are.

(were you refffing to these: https://www.analogue.co/store/#super-nt ?)

 - I will also look into that SNES Classic you mentioned and I hope the required modding isn't to extensive.

 - About upscalers, I first need to find out in what conditions my current hardware is. I remember I have several SNESes but some/all of them are faulty in some way. Thanks for pointing to LifeInGaming, I'll check that out

 

Thanks a LOT

-a-

 

[handymanshandle]

22 hours ago, SteveGrabowski0 said:

Although best (if you don't want to spend $700 on Analogue ST-mini) would be just get an upscaler to convert your SNES rgb signal into a 720p signal to output via HDMI. There is a youtube channel called My Life in Gaming that goes into a lot of detail about how to get really good experiences with old hardware on modern TVs.

I will comment this about going the real SNES hardware and RGB route: the output quality may vary wildly. Every normal style SNES/Super Famicom can output RGB natively, but because these consoles were built with Composite video in mind, some consoles may have extremely sharp output and others might have strange, blurry results. I've heard that getting an RGB-modded SNS-101 SNES/SFC Jr. is the best route to go if you wanna stick to real Nintendo hardware. 

I do second the recommendation of getting an SNES Mini, though: the emulation is top-notch and the output is crispy-clear. Hell, it allows you to output the games in the native aspect ratio of 256x224, rather than having to stick to stretching the games out. Not to mention, they aren't expensive and they're easy as hell to modify.

[Monkey Dust]

16 hours ago, handymanshandle said:

I will comment this about going the real SNES hardware and RGB route: the output quality may vary wildly. Every normal style SNES/Super Famicom can output RGB natively, but because these consoles were built with Composite video in mind, some consoles may have extremely sharp output and others might have strange, blurry results. I've heard that getting an RGB-modded SNS-101 SNES/SFC Jr. is the best route to go if you wanna stick to real Nintendo hardware. 

I do second the recommendation of getting an SNES Mini, though: the emulation is top-notch and the output is crispy-clear. Hell, it allows you to output the games in the native aspect ratio of 256x224, rather than having to stick to stretching the games out. Not to mention, they aren't expensive and they're easy as hell to modify.

If it's notably blurry the console is broken. The later '1 CHIP' consoles are a touch sharper, but from couch distance you're unlikely to notice.

 

The RAD 2X cable is probably the most straight forward solution to use original hardware. Be aware with the SNESs you think are broken, they might just need the cartridge slot cleaning, electrical contactor cleaner and a cheap tooth brush 

 

But if you're not planning on properly disappearing down the retro gaming rabbit hole, I'm also going to recommend the SNES Mini.

[kaiju_wars]

Best experience I have with clone consoles is the Retron 5.  But that is more enthusiast as it has a lot of retro consoles built in.  It's well worth it, IMO, with it's HDMI out and how you can get an add on card to expand it even more.  But it is expensive, relatively speaking, for clone consoles.  I do like mine though, as it can do famicom, super famicom, NES, SNES, GB, GBC, GBA, Genesis. If you have the add on card, it adds functionality for Master System carts and cards, and Game Gear.  

[asheenlevrai]

Is this the SNES mini?

https://www.nintendo.com/super-nes-classic/

 

Does it accept original SNES cartridges or all the games are built in?

 

Tx

[kaiju_wars]

2 hours ago, asheenlevrai said:

Is this the SNES mini?

https://www.nintendo.com/super-nes-classic/

 

Does it accept original SNES cartridges or all the games are built in?

 

Tx

they're just built in games.  But it's fairly easy to hack and add your own roms.

[asheenlevrai]

IIRC Anthony mentioned some kind of "good" upscaler or something like that in an LTT video, right?

Anyone remembers it?

[kaiju_wars]

3 minutes ago, asheenlevrai said:

IIRC Anthony mentioned some kind of "good" upscaler or something like that in an LTT video, right?

Anyone remembers it?

There's the framemeister that a lot of enthusiasts use, but that is really pricey. 

[SteveGrabowski0]

16 hours ago, asheenlevrai said:

Is this the SNES mini?

https://www.nintendo.com/super-nes-classic/

 

Does it accept original SNES cartridges or all the games are built in?

 

Tx

Yeah, just make sure to get the real thing, as there are a billion knockoffs. Personally I hacked mine and put about 40 SNES games I liked and another 40 NES games, as you can dual boot the system between the SNES Classic OS and the NES Classic one since the hardware inside the NES Classic and SNES Classic is exactly the same. Also bought an NES Classic controller as well as an extension cable for playing the NES games. You can play them fine with the SNES Classic controller but official NES Classic controllers were like $10 and you can't beat the feel, they're just like real NES controllers. What's nice is the NES Classic OS also supports Famicom Disk System roms since some of the games on the Japanese Famicom Mini are Famicom Disk System games (eg Metroid and Zelda no Densetsu), so I could put FDS games like Super Mario Bros 2 (JPN version) and Doki Doki Panic (game reskinned into US SMB2) and play them through the NES Classic OS.

 

The quality of emulation of NES / Famicom / Famicom Disk System / SNES / Super Famicom is outstanding and the controllers are spot on, so a legit SNES Classic / SNES Mini is an amazing buy if you want a great gaming experience but aren't willing to pay to go the actual hardware route or the FPGA route.

[asheenlevrai]

14 hours ago, asheenlevrai said:

IIRC Anthony mentioned some kind of "good" upscaler or something like that in an LTT video, right?

Anyone remembers it?

 

from https://videogameperfection.com/2016/07/08/source-converter-verdict/ :

"SNES/Super Famicom – The SNES/Super Famicom is certainly the system that causes the most issues with the OSSC. On most TVs and every computer monitor we’ve tested so far, the image is great, with no noise whatsoever and just the tiniest hint of jitter if you really get your nose up against the screen. Unfortunately, on some TVs the system simply does not work and it’s impossible to get a stable picture. Various firmware updates have improved the situation but there are still some displays that prove to be incompatible."

[asheenlevrai]

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki

 

This looks interesting, right?

A lot of work though I imagine to build the hardware. Maybe someone sells per-assembled units?