RetroPorts - NES and SNES adapters for GC/Wii Review

[sf1992]

These thigns are great. I jsut wish the D-pad emulated the joystick, or at least there was an option to, so I could play games like Yoshi's Story, Mario Kat Wii, and even Smash Bros. with a SNES pad.

Despite that, they're still awesome.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

NES RetroPort maps Select to Z rather than Select, meaning Select cannot be accessed with this controller.

It seems the SNES one does as well. This, to me, is a fail. I wouldn't buy this product due to this issue.

I'll stick the the classic controller, which I am more than happy with.

Nice review, though! Seems you really like F-Zero. You mentioned it a couple times in one sentence.

Let me make it again clear. The RetroPorts are GAMECUBE adapters and remap GAMECUBE buttons to the NES and SNES controllers. The Gamecube controller doesn't have a Select button at all, so the original Select button is lost in translation.

It would seem that *some* virtual console games remap old games to use the Gamecube's Z button as Select though.

I do indeed love F-Zero! It was in fact among the few games I bothered to make a video review for. Check it out!

Sweet! Air Fortress review! A game close to my heart.
But how can you call the music forgettable? It's classic HAL adventure music!!

When you destroy the reactor core, all traces of melody subside, replaced by distant sounds and the eerie sense of silence builds tension as you desperately search for the exit before the whole station explodes.

That's not true. That melody that kicks in as you navigate the dark maze for your exit is superbly CREEPY! Very minimalist but powerful and heavy.
And did you finish the game? I'm guessing not since there is no mention of the loop, but the music that plays during the end credits is some of the most epic 8-bit gloriousness to ever grace your ears.
Don't just go looking it up on youtube, though! EARN IT!! hahaha

Wrong thread bro But you are right and expanded on my thought. The music is subdued and creepy indeed. I got to the sixth fortress for this review, but yes, I have beaten it before. I didn't mention the Ghost n Goblins bait and switch ending because I didn't want to give people a reason to avoid playing it. Those kinds of endings suck.

NES RetroPort maps Select to Z rather than Select, meaning Select cannot be accessed with this controller.

It seems the SNES one does as well. This, to me, is a fail. I wouldn't buy this product due to this issue.

If you use SNES9xGX or FCEUGX, you can map the buttons any way you like and this is a non-issue. I've used it with my VC games but I didn't notice any issues with any games though.

EDIT: I just tried VC SMB with the SNES retroport and select works just fine. And I also tested VC Super Castlevania IV with the SNES one and select is just fine as well. Perhaps it's just the NES retroport that is wonky because I have never had any issues at all with select on the SNES retro~

Yeah, using the emulators of course allows you to map commands as you see fit, and Nintendo themselves seems to map Z to Select for a number of VC games.

I'll stick the the classic controller, which I am more than happy with.

The CC is nice but it's d-pad is slightly different than the SNES or NES and it actually throws my timing off as opposed to using the original controllers with the adapters. And F-Zero is one of those SNES games so it's a pretty big deal for me. [/quote]

This. SNES pad > Classic Controller

These things are great. I just wish the D-pad emulated the joystick, or at least there was an option to, so I could play games like Yoshi's Story, Mario Kat Wii, and even Smash Bros. with a SNES pad.

Despite that, they're still awesome.

All of those games use analog controls for movement. There is simply no way to translate analog controls to digital controls. Yell at Nintendo for going analog-only for the games you just mentioned.

[EllertMichael]

Sweet! Air Fortress review! A game close to my heart.
But how can you call the music forgettable? It's classic HAL adventure music!!

When you destroy the reactor core, all traces of melody subside, replaced by distant sounds and the eerie sense of silence builds tension as you desperately search for the exit before the whole station explodes.

That's not true. That melody that kicks in as you navigate the dark maze for your exit is superbly CREEPY! Very minimalist but powerful and heavy.
And did you finish the game? I'm guessing not since there is no mention of the loop, but the music that plays during the end credits is some of the most epic 8-bit gloriousness to ever grace your ears.
Don't just go looking it up on youtube, though! EARN IT!! hahaha

Wrong thread bro But you are right and expanded on my thought. The music is subdued and creepy indeed. I got to the sixth fortress for this review, but yes, I have beaten it before. I didn't mention the Ghost n Goblins bait and switch ending because I didn't want to give people a reason to avoid playing it. Those kinds of endings suck.

Oh, sorry. I missed that thread the first time around
I'm just happy to see such a great game get some much deserved attention!
The loop should be a selling point! All the mazes are different, it's like two games in one

[Breetai]

NES RetroPort maps Select to Z rather than Select, meaning Select cannot be accessed with this controller.

It seems the SNES one does as well. This, to me, is a fail. I wouldn't buy this product due to this issue.

If you use SNES9xGX or FCEUGX, you can map the buttons any way you like and this is a non-issue. I've used it with my VC games but I didn't notice any issues with any games though.

EDIT: I just tried VC SMB with the SNES retroport and select works just fine. And I also tested VC Super Castlevania IV with the SNES one and select is just fine as well. Perhaps it's just the NES retroport that is wonky because I have never had any issues at all with select on the SNES retro~

I'll stick the the classic controller, which I am more than happy with.

The CC is nice but it's d-pad is slightly different than the SNES or NES and it actually throws my timing off as opposed to using the original controllers with the adapters. And F-Zero is one of those SNES games so it's a pretty big deal for me.

Cool how you can map the buttons in homebrew emulators. I like that. I use them quite a bit, to be honest. Too bad Air Zonk on Hugo doesn't work right.

It's true that the classic controller d-pad is slightly different. It doesn't really affect me much, though. Therefore, I'm still happy with the "classic". I DO like the idea of using old controllers, of course, I just don't feel it is necessary for me.

I also love F-Zero. I think it was the third game I played on the SNES (after SMW and Pilotwings on the Super Famicom).

[Breetai]

NES RetroPort maps Select to Z rather than Select, meaning Select cannot be accessed with this controller.

It seems the SNES one does as well. This, to me, is a fail. I wouldn't buy this product due to this issue.

I'll stick the the classic controller, which I am more than happy with.

Nice review, though! Seems you really like F-Zero. You mentioned it a couple times in one sentence.

Let me make it again clear. The RetroPorts are GAMECUBE adapters and remap GAMECUBE buttons to the NES and SNES controllers. The Gamecube controller doesn't have a Select button at all, so the original Select button is lost in translation.

True, but I personally would be using it on the Wii for VC/homebrewed emulators. You were clear about the false advertising in your review.

I do indeed love F-Zero! It was in fact among the few games I bothered to make a video review for. Check it out!

I'll check it out next!

[Breetai]

Regarding the F-Zero review:

I love the intro! I actually think I've owned every one of the games in it! I like how you used the PC Engine version of Salamander and coordinated the hits in Streets of Rage 2 and the coins in Mario Kart to the music. Which version of Outrun was that? It's obviously either the Saturn, Dreamcast, the version from Outrun 2 on the X-Box or the arcade, but I can't tell which. No way that is a 16-bit version. I'm one of these guys who actually likes Super Chase H.Q. on the SNES.

I am not sure if I could say that F-Zero was the first "high caliber racing game" Nintendo developed. What about F1 Race for the Famicom Disk System and the sequel on the Game Boy?

I COMPLETELY agree on a 10/10 for the soundtrack. F-Zero has some of the best tunes going in the game world. Have you heard the jazz versions? Here's one of Port Town: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLhG7ExT ... re=related. This style would really fit Pilotwings I think.

I probably would give it a 10/10 for graphics. Are there ANY flaws in it?

I like how you add an import information to your review.

I LOVE how you added an extra information section. I didn't know that 16 individual cars were originally intended to be in the game. I knew the other stuff, though.

Your voice is very clear and easy to understand. It's not really enthusiastic, but that's okay. It's your style.

Nice video review!

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Oh boy you sure did give me a lot to reply to!

Regarding the F-Zero review:

I love the intro! I actually think I've owned every one of the games in it! I like how you used the PC Engine version of Salamander and coordinated the hits in Streets of Rage 2 and the coins in Mario Kart to the music. Which version of Outrun was that? It's obviously either the Saturn, Dreamcast, the version from Outrun 2 on the X-Box or the arcade, but I can't tell which. No way that is a 16-bit version. I'm one of these guys who actually likes Super Chase H.Q. on the SNES.

The intro I made for my 16-bit reviews was intended to basically show off the 16-bit era at a glace. The first choice I had was music. What song represents the 16-bit era as a whole? I chose Conaria from Star Fox.

Next, was a list of games that showcased what the era was all about. In order of appearance, I chose:

Run Saber (SNES)
Pocky & Rocky (SNES)
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Super Metroid (SNES)
Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis)
Super Mario World (SNES)
Bonk's Adventure (TG-16)
Megaman VII (SNES)
F-Zero (SNES)
Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES)
Ninja Spirit (TG16)
Super Famicom Wars (SFC)
Gekirindan (Arcade)
Super Street Fighter II (SNES)
Super Chase H.Q (SNES)
Pilotwings (SNES)
Thunder Force II (Genesis)
Akumajou Dracula X (PCE-CD)
Panel De Pon! (SFC)
Salamander (PCE)
Rockman Mega World (Megadrive)
Silpheed (Sega CD)
Star Fox (SNES)
Yoshi's Island (SNES)
Megaman X (SNES)
OutRun (Arcade)
Sonic CD (Sega CD)
Bubble Bobble Again/Puzzle Bobble 2 (Arcade)
Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis)
Super Mario Kart (SNES)

These are all games I owned and played back in the day, though I sadly no longer own a PCE-CD so all that had to be emulated.

I am not sure if I could say that F-Zero was the first "high caliber racing game" Nintendo developed. What about F1 Race for the Famicom Disk System and the sequel on the Game Boy?

Quite right you are, but neither of those titles were on the same level as F-Zero. What I meant by "high calibur" was that it was the first console racing game Nintendo made and really pushed to serious racing game fans.

I COMPLETELY agree on a 10/10 for the soundtrack. F-Zero has some of the best tunes going in the game world. Have you heard the jazz versions? Here's one of Port Town: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLhG7ExT ... re=related. This style would really fit Pilotwings I think.

Of course I've heard the awesome jazz remixes! I was debating if I should use them as background tracks, but I thought The Tramsmitter remixes would be better fitting. The Red Canyon remix is from F-Zero GX and I did throw a jazz remix for the credits.

I probably would give it a 10/10 for graphics. Are there ANY flaws in it?

If you've read any of my text reviews within the last year or so, you'll notice I leave out score. Just talking about each section is enough in my opinion; to me, there's way too many stupid arguments over scores in videogames. 8.8 anyone?

I like how you add an import information to your review.

I LOVE how you added an extra information section. I didn't know that 16 individual cars were originally intended to be in the game. I knew the other stuff, though.

It's always been my goal in all my reviews to give the reader/listener the most information I can. All my reviews have a history section, because very often the history is just as interesting as the finished game is. There's countless examples such as Journey to Silius originally going to be a Terminator game but Sunsoft lost the license and made a generic hero. How cool is that?

Your voice is very clear and easy to understand. It's not really enthusiastic, but that's okay. It's your style.

I've never really been happy with my voice in my videos. For these video reviews I would record them in clips of about a paragraph each and then edit out any dead air, studdering or miswording. The result is a rather robotic prefromance. Just go listen to where I say you can race on the surface of a star in firefield. It's cringe worthy!

But thanks for checking out my video review of Star Fox. I've got a few others, so check out the rest of my channel.