best SNES/NES clone?

[jay_red]

Hey guys, I was wondering if there was a clone console that was favored over others? I need an SNES and thought it would be nice to consolidate my cabinet. I had an FC twin for a minute and it seemed to handle all games I tried on it (But I have heard some games have trouble?) One major thing I would like to get if possible is s-video out. So what are my options?

[Valkyrie-Favor]

I have an FC Twin and liked it a lot - although I'm selling it now. It's not too hard to mod for S-Video from what I understand. I see them in my local game shop with S-Video ports hacked into the back all the time.

[AppleQueso]

The Retron 3 iirc has the best compatibility around as far as clones are concerned.

[BurningDoom]

I find this question amusing. It's like asking what's the best generic brand of Mayonnaise. Nothing's gonna be as good as Best Foods, just like nothing is gonna be as good as a bonafide working NES.

[SamuraiMegas]

I find this question amusing. It's like asking what's the best generic brand of Mayonnaise. Nothing's gonna be as good as Best Foods, just like nothing is gonna be as good as a bonafide working NES.

You do realize people have space issues and can't fit a snes and Nes in their gaming area right? I have a FC twin that works great.

[BurningDoom]

I find this question amusing. It's like asking what's the best generic brand of Mayonnaise. Nothing's gonna be as good as Best Foods, just like nothing is gonna be as good as a bonafide working NES.

You do realize people have space issues and can't fit a snes and Nes in their gaming area right? I have a FC twin that works great.

I could find space for items that small. But to each their own. The biggest complaint for me on these things are the sound. It's never the same. So it's worth it for me to have the real thing. And some of the cheaper ones are even incompatible with a number of games.

That said, I do have a Famicon clone. It was only $9 at Goodwill and still had the original box and instructions. I wasn't gonna spend $100 on a real Famicom since I'm not interested in one enough to pay $100, so I got it for budget-reasons.

[Gunstar Green]

I like the multi-system clones for their convenience, I always have a RetroN 3 hooked up for quick play sessions but pull the real hardware out when I want to play more seriously, plus I'm sort of fascinated in seeing them evolve.

Anyway back to the question:

RetroDuo (the console not the handheld of the same name) and the RetroN 3 are probably you're best choices currently.

Both have S-Video (though it's not compatible with the NES side) and both of their latest revisions support difficult titles like Castlevania 3 and SNES games with extra chips.

The benefit of the RetroN 3 is you also get Genesis games and they at the very least play better than on the garbage At Games clones.

As it was stated earlier sound is the real problem with these things but if you can handle it on the FC Twin you already have then you probably won't have a problem with it on the others. None of the consoles in the RetroDuo or RetroN 3 are ear-bleedingly-bad like some clones, but they're not necessarily good either.

[D.D.D.]

I find this question amusing. It's like asking what's the best generic brand of Mayonnaise. Nothing's gonna be as good as Best Foods, just like nothing is gonna be as good as a bonafide working NES.

You do realize people have space issues and can't fit a snes and Nes in their gaming area right? I have a FC twin that works great.

On the other side, if space is an issue, why not invest in a better/larger entertainment center instead of going for a clone-in-1 system?
Space isn't an issue for me but I still don't have all of my systems connected (Wii & Xbox emulation works well).

[Mechblue]

I like the FCtwin, but I tend to avoid those kind of systems. I really hated the cheap feel of the FC controllers and I'm not sure if the real controllers work on it.

The Retron 3 isn't very durable from what I've seen. Two of the local game stores have gone through maybe 3-4 demo systems. Either the power plug needs to be wiggled to work, the switch to change systems stops working right, power button doesn't work any more, etc. Yes, it is more abuse than an average system might get.

[marlowe221]

Personally, I like the concept of clones. I also think emulation has its place. Now I like original hardware as much as the next guy but my reasoning is simple:

One day - maybe 10 years from now, maybe 50 years from now - the original hardware from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras will be gone. Capacitor death will be a big factor here, as will ordinary attrition over time.

I will use my original hardware as long as I can keep it going. But when that day comes I intend to embrace clones and emulators so that I can keep enjoying my favorites from that era. It is my sincere hope that clones and emulators continue to improve in their accuracy and quality for that reason.

The rest of you may do as you please but I intend to beat A Link to the Past for the 2,000th time from the nursing home.

/rant

That said - Retron3 is the current best bet!