WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

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BRIK
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by BRIK »

I'm seriously considering buying this, I've been after a way to record Famicom footage reliably for a year now (plus I don't have a way for GBC or GBA games yet either).
Plus, I think it would be a pretty cool device to have setup to my bedrooms tv, so if it was late at night I wouldn't have to make a racket using my game room.
I think I'll have to wait until it (hopefully) falls below $100 though. Maybe the company will send me a review system :lol:
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dunpeal2064
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by dunpeal2064 »

For any shmups forum members/lurkers, Fudoh just gave a great detailed analysis of what he thinks of the Retron 5 (You know how awesome this is if you know who Fudoh is).

Check it out!: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... &start=180
graffix_13
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by graffix_13 »

dunpeal2064 wrote:For any shmups forum members/lurkers, Fudoh just gave a great detailed analysis of what he thinks of the Retron 5 (You know how awesome this is if you know who Fudoh is).

Check it out!: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... &start=180
Awesome! Thanks dunpeal!
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by BoneSnapDeez »

So those of you who own it (FerretFurry, Exxxed, Big Hoss, etc) would you say it's functional enough to effectively "replace" the NES / SNES / Gen in your game room? Have you tossed those bad boys into storage or on shelves as display pieces?

I'm planning the gaming configuration in my new house and ideally I'd like one HD set-up with Wii U / PS3 / Xbox 360 / Retron 5 and a CRT set-up without NES / SNES / Gen / GameCube (Game Boy Player) but instead have Wii / PC Engine Duo / N64 / Saturn / DC.

Probably by the time my wacky blacky Amazon system arrives there will be another firmware update or two.
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ExedExes
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by ExedExes »

BoneSnapDeez wrote:So those of you who own it (FerretFurry, Exxxed, Big Hoss, etc) would you say it's functional enough to effectively "replace" the NES / SNES / Gen in your game room? Have you tossed those bad boys into storage or on shelves as display pieces?

Probably by the time my wacky blacky Amazon system arrives there will be another firmware update or two.
I disconnected the SNES. Only have the Gamecube w/GBP (component) and the Retron 5 (HDMI) now on this HDTV. Except for the EEPROM saving back to cartridge issue on the GBA games, I still have no major issues.

About future firmware updates, another update today from Tanooki talking to Retron Tech -

I was talking with the tech again last night and they have a lot on the plate, but this time they're handling things differently going forward.

The next build fixes a lot of issues, but I didn't get a heap of detail about it. Some CNROM games would fail, they're fixed. Sonic and Knuckles lock-on, fixed. Camerica quattro mapper added. SMS compatibility fixes too. The cheat system is entirely re-written how the coders want, the one out now isn't good supposedly but I have no idea what, maybe you can do your own codes?

They've gone and done a big hardware level fix on the NES side of the system causing it to tick off specific games with particular coding/wiring? to them and it was a mix of things between the CNROM stuff, and also other stuff like the mapper that Alien 3 and Return of the Joker use as they're fixed.

Currently they're holding back a new build for the public on the device for a bit as they need to do a massive bug testing routine as they rewrote the NES low level access code and they're not going to shove out something like that blindly where it could have a regression causing a working game to break. Once it is out though it will boost compatibility and detection routines again on carts, perhaps due to the new routines homebrew and repro(bootlegs) may pick up even more than before. I guess they have a list of known problem games from owners and their own work and this whole reworking fixes the games.

They also after I pointed out that Arkanoid 1 and 2 use the vaus controller, found out it existed, guess they had no idea, so they're going to get a hold of one and add compatibility for it to the R5 which is great, same with the power pad too he mentioned. They said any device they can acquire they could add to the device so I guess if someone wants to send them the miracle piano that would be a choice. The coders basically at this point since most stuff is very stable isn't going to be shoving out daily updates as they'd rather do a massive one that really is worth the users while once it has been coded, well tested, and then released properly so it's not rushed. I can't fault them for that.


Honestly, neither can I. Less frequent updates with more fixes and fixes that work is far more important at this point. I can only hope the promised GBA EEPROM fix is in the works soon; sadly around half my games use it and all I can do for now is leave my progress for those games in the Retron 5's internal storage until they can save back to the cartridge.
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by FerretGamer »

BoneSnapDeez wrote:So those of you who own it (FerretFurry, Exxxed, Big Hoss, etc) would you say it's functional enough to effectively "replace" the NES / SNES / Gen in your game room? Have you tossed those bad boys into storage or on shelves as display pieces?

I'm planning the gaming configuration in my new house and ideally I'd like one HD set-up with Wii U / PS3 / Xbox 360 / Retron 5 and a CRT set-up without NES / SNES / Gen / GameCube (Game Boy Player) but instead have Wii / PC Engine Duo / N64 / Saturn / DC.

Probably by the time my wacky blacky Amazon system arrives there will be another firmware update or two.
I'd say yes. I don't have a NES, SNES or Genny hooked up to my projector right now. I think the picture quality is fantastic and keep in mind that I'm projecting onto a 100" screen so I can really tell the differences in picture quality between different setups. Thanks to the Retron and XRGB mini, I keep my CRT in a storage closet. The funny thing is, I am using an XRGB mini for basically the same consoles that you'd be hooking up to a CRT, Bone.

The Retron is perfect for my situation since I can hook it up to my hdmi switch and forget about it.

I still keep my GBA SP and back-lit GBA out though for the occasional bedroom naughty time.
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Unleaded Logic
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by Unleaded Logic »

BoneSnapDeez wrote:So those of you who own it (FerretFurry, Exxxed, Big Hoss, etc) would you say it's functional enough to effectively "replace" the NES / SNES / Gen in your game room? Have you tossed those bad boys into storage or on shelves as display pieces?

I'm planning the gaming configuration in my new house and ideally I'd like one HD set-up with Wii U / PS3 / Xbox 360 / Retron 5 and a CRT set-up without NES / SNES / Gen / GameCube (Game Boy Player) but instead have Wii / PC Engine Duo / N64 / Saturn / DC.

Probably by the time my wacky blacky Amazon system arrives there will be another firmware update or two.
I've been playing mine every single day practically since I've got it. I've covered more games in my backlog the last 3 weeks then I have in years. Tonight, I finally finished the NA release of Ninja Gaiden 3!

The picture, compatibility and the ease of just having one system to connect makes it well worth the price, even for a 140 dollars.

I'm still not a fan of the controller, I don't like the way it fits in the hand after extended use and with the games I've played, I just can't get use to the stick. That's easily fixed with using the original games pads.

If your looking for a single solution to play your games on a HD TV with some extra bells and whistles, this is the thing to get.
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Gunstar Green
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

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Unleaded Logic wrote:Tonight, I finally finished the NA release of Ninja Gaiden 3!
Well done, sir.
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by graffix_13 »

Gunstar Green wrote:
Unleaded Logic wrote:Tonight, I finally finished the NA release of Ninja Gaiden 3!
Well done, sir.
I was thinking the same thing. Bravo! That game is no joke.
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Re: WELL THIS IS INTERESTING.. Retron 5

Post by Gunstar Green »

graffix_13 wrote:
Gunstar Green wrote:
Unleaded Logic wrote:Tonight, I finally finished the NA release of Ninja Gaiden 3!
Well done, sir.
I was thinking the same thing. Bravo! That game is no joke.
It's amazing that the Japanese version is the easiest in the series and the NA version is probably the hardest.

Limited continues in a Ninja Gaiden game? What were they thinking?
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