Yobo FC3 NES/SNES/Genesis hands-on mini review (for now)

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b328/FrankieViturello/1229822434413.jpg

Got my FC3 today at the Digital Press store (thanks Joe!).

I'm not sure if I'm going to do a huge, blow-out review with pictures and video like I did with the Retro Duo ... because as nice as this unit is (I DO like it) there really isn't much, other than the fact that it plays all three cartridge types to say about it.

So, here are my thoughts in broad strokes.

The unit is slightly longer than the Yobo FC Twin and shaped a bit more like the Super Famicom than anything else I can think of. Matte black plastic, it has a nice weight to it, likely from all the hardware inside of it.

It outputs in standard composite AV only. The on-screen colors are a bit over-saturated. Not horrible, but not as crisp as the Retro Duo.

The controllers are proprietary, much like the Gen X system. They look very similar to Genesis 9-pin inputs, but are not shaped the same and you can not use a real Genesis 6 button controler in place of them. The controllers have a nice shape and have an a,b,c - x,y,z button layout like a Genesis pad, as well as an L and R button like a SNES pad. While I find the D-pad to be functional/passable in games like Street Fighter II, it feels dangerously "weak". I'm certainly not going to break it, but I wouldn't be surprised if other people do. The system comes with a light gun modeled after the NES Zapper. It's not the same mold, but it's very amusing and a nice extra. It ONLY works for NES games.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b328/FrankieViturello/1229822635200.jpg

The NES portion of the system is like every other Yobo system on the market. No Castlevania III compatiblity. In fact, you should be able to reference any Yobo NES clone compatibility chart on this one to find out what does and doesn't work. Much like the Gen X, and every other clone coming out of Hong Kong these days, it suffers in most cases from backwards A/B button syndrome. In games like punch out it's alleviated by the fact that button C is wired up to function as A+B but it ALWAYS triggers A a millisecond sooner.

The Genesis portion of the system seems to have superior sound output to the Gen X system (I recall Sonic having issues with dropping volume when rings were picked up, no sign of that here) but one very strange thing I noticed was a "rolling" on screen during any period of the game where the on-screen display would read as "nothing" or total black. Hard to explain really. If I do make a video I'll show it. It didn't interfere with any GAMEPLAY portion of any game I tried ... but it was certainly strange to say the least. There's also a region code switch on the back for Japanese/Euro Mega Drive games.

The SNES portion looked and sounded good ... unfortunately that damned "backwards button syndrome" really stuck out in Super Mario World / All Stars with no way around it as buttons c/z don't function in SNES mode.

Final verdict?

This is NOT the be-all-end-all of clone systems by any means. For every thing Yobo does right, they do something bone-headed. The bacwards button thing CONTINUES to baffle me ... there must be at least ONE person involved in the development of these things that realizes that they're not doing it right (and haven't been for quite some time now) ... the "convenience" factor of this unit is nice. If you're a fan of saving space (as well as amusing people with novel devices like this) it's a winner ... and if you have a standard CRT TV set, the included Zapper is a nice touch.

Of course, there is NO substitute for the REAL THING. An NES, SNES and a Genesis are the best way to play your old cartridges if authentic compatibility and accuracy is your thing. I don't argue with that.

AND if you're looking for a high-end NES clone the Retro Duo is STILL the way to go in my clone-system-collecting-book.

however, this thing surely is "NEAT" there's no other system on the market that will allow you to have a copy of River City Ransom in the NES slot, a copy of Super Mario World & All-Stars in the SNES slot and the Nomad 6-in-1 cartridge in the Genesis slot all at the same time.

[GrandAmChandler]

Moving this to Classic Gaming.

-GAC-

[Tupin]

Very interesting, but I'll stick with my RetroDuo.

Does the Genesis portion work with Virtua Racing?

[Bratwurst]

I picked up one of these 3-in-1 systems for some younger cousins as a Christmas present bundled with a ton of games for all three platforms, and decided to try it out first to make sure everything I included actually played on it. I'm glad I did, because Super Empire Strikes Back freezes before you can even start the game, and there were a handful of NES carts that just refused to boot up no matter what I tried.

I'm not real familiar with Genesis clones out there but the Sega portion impressed me and seemed pretty spot-on visually and audibly. Not perfect, but the closest of the three imo. NES games seem to have a strange grid-like artifacting going on with the display, but I don't know if this is common among clone systems. It's not that distracting once the game gets moving though. I found the sound quality of the SNES partition to be the worse of the three, unable to handle most digitized speech and off-tune music. Still, for what I paid it was cheaper and easier than trying to get all three 'real' systems.

[LifeGame]

Looks good but like you said, ill stick with my 3 original consoles!

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Moving this to Classic Gaming.

-GAC-

Haha, whooooops!

[bunnybum]

That's a sweet looking piece of machinery. Now, will it play S/NES/Genesis games from any region or just US? Also, any link for a shop selling these and shipping to li'l ole Denmark? :)
I would love one of these, just to be able to play Genesis/MD games. I have absolutely no luck trying to find a console here :frustrated:

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

That's a sweet looking piece of machinery. Now, will it play S/NES/Genesis games from any region or just US? Also, any link for a shop selling these and shipping to li'l ole Denmark? :)
I would love one of these, just to be able to play Genesis/MD games. I have absolutely no luck trying to find a console here :frustrated:

I would imagine that you could play games from any region on it, that's pretty standard for clone systems. There's a dedicated switch for US/Non US Genesis/MegaDrive games.

[bangtango]

Yobo just keeps right on milking people. Obviously they have a business model similar to Nintendo and Capcom. This is basically the same product(s) over and over again in a different package.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Yobo just keeps right on milking people. Obviously they have a business model similar to Nintendo and Capcom. This is basically the same product(s) over and over again in a different package.

True enough ...

... but there is a genunine market for the stuff all over the world, so who can blame them.

If you type in NES top-loader into eBay you'll find a heck of a lot more of these than actual top-loader NES systems, and I bet every last one sells.

I only wish that they'd pay more attention to things like button placement.

[StakeRaiser]

IMO, these things are why its such a pain to sell old games on the internet

People get suckered into buying these things with promises of "It will play all your old games, just like the old days!"

You then have incompatibility issues, which in turn, causes ignorant buyers to blame you if the Castlevania 3 they bought from you won't work on their "nintendo" because "all their other games work" . Sure they do.

Oh, and that compatibility list is a joke, I bought a yobo from a yard sale for 3 dollars, just to test it out. Games that supposedly work on that list and would work in my original toaster would not boot up at all on that crappy yobo.

I didn't even resell it to anyone, it went right in the trash. Shame on me.

[Tupin]

IMO, these things are why its such a pain to sell old games on the internet

People get suckered into buying these things with promises of "It will play all your old games, just like the old days!"

You then have incompatibility issues, which in turn, causes ignorant buyers to blame you if the Castlevania 3 they bought from you won't work on their "nintendo" because "all their other games work" . Sure they do.

Oh, and that compatibility list is a joke, I bought a yobo from a yard sale for 3 dollars, just to test it out. Games that supposedly work on that list and would work in my original toaster would not boot up at all on that crappy yobo.

I didn't even resell it to anyone, it went right in the trash. Shame on me.
If they want absolute 100% compatibility, they should get the original system. It's that simple.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

IMO, these things are why its such a pain to sell old games on the internet

People get suckered into buying these things with promises of "It will play all your old games, just like the old days!"

You then have incompatibility issues, which in turn, causes ignorant buyers to blame you if the Castlevania 3 they bought from you won't work on their "nintendo" because "all their other games work" . Sure they do.

Oh, and that compatibility list is a joke, I bought a yobo from a yard sale for 3 dollars, just to test it out. Games that supposedly work on that list and would work in my original toaster would not boot up at all on that crappy yobo.

I didn't even resell it to anyone, it went right in the trash. Shame on me.

Well, I don't buy clone systems with the expectation that they'll have 100% compatibility, I know better, and as far as people getting "ripped off", it's tough to really know where to direct the anger.

Most of the eBay sellers that have these things up in bulk wouldn't know a copy of Castlevania III from a copy of Combat for Atari2600, it's not like they're classic gaming techies like us, I'd venture to guess that most of them are just bulk eBay sellers that don't know any better. (I bet if you check their other auctions you'll find bulk NON-classic gaming items.)

AND most of the people who buy the things and EXPECT them to have 100% compatibility ... well, it's not hard to google "Yobo NES" and find a wiki or a thread that details the fact that they're NOT 100% compatible.

Caveat Emptor. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

In any case ... there's absolutely no denying that there is NO substitute for the real thing ... BUT remember, even in the case of the "real thing" there are STILL issues of software compatibility between hardware revisions. That's been the case LONG before clone systems started rolling off the assembly lines.

As far as your experience with the Yobo compatibility list, those things are usually compiled by users like myself who have a lot of experience with the stuff ... there's all sorts of reasons why you might have had problems with the games. Personally I wouldn't have thrown the system away ... but, hey, to each their own.

[StakeRaiser]

A ton of people that buy these things aren't smart enough to google a compatibility list, and have no idea how to clean a game. They are used to PS2 - PS3 disc games. They end up getting shoddy clone systems and blame whoever sells them the copy of Castlevania 3.

Anyways, I decided when that Yobo wouldn't even play a mint clean Metroid or River City Ransom that boot up perfectly in both an NES toaster and top loader, it was ready for the trash.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

sounds like it was broken/defective, as both of those titles do work on all manner of clone system. Trash may have been the right option. Probably a bent pin or broken solder point.

[ooXxXoo]

Hey Frankie,
Any chance of taking a pic of the guts?......For technical overview.....

[bangtango]

True enough ...

... but there is a genunine market for the stuff all over the world, so who can blame them.

If you type in NES top-loader into eBay you'll find a heck of a lot more of these than actual top-loader NES systems, and I bet every last one sells.

I only wish that they'd pay more attention to things like button placement.

I do agree with everything after the "... but."

You think it would have been worth it for Nintendo themselves to try and tap into this hardware market (by manufacturing and reissuing certain quantities of an NES model) before Yobo flooded it?

About the button placement thing, why not write an impassioned letter or email to someone? I am sure there is a mailing address or contact form of some sort, even if these things are manufactured on the other end of the world. The absolute worst that could happen is that it'd be ignored and you'd be out a stamp and/or ten minutes of your time.

I am grateful that you do such a good job of staying on top of these clone systems with informative reviews. I'm planning on buying the FC Mobile for a birthday gift and while it isn't perfect, your review did help me to decide it would be "good enough" for the gamer I am getting it for. So your critique helped me make up my mind, which is the measure of a good, well-written review.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Thanks Bang!!

ooXxXoo I might be able to take a pic of the internals ... just give me some time on that one.

[josekortez]

Is this thing available at Play N Trade yet like the Retro Duo?

[Leo_A]

Frankie, what would you recommend for someone that already owns a Retro Duo, but wants a FC3 or a GenX to play a import Japanese Genesis title? Which handles Genesis titles the best and has the best controllers?

Don't care about the NES or SNES capabilities since I have the RetroDuo and original consoles for those (As well as a Genesis, I just don't want to mod it to play 1 game).

Thanks!

[c0ldb33r]

Why not a genesis and game genie?

[Tupin]

Why not a genesis and game genie?
Because of the lockout screens.

I always check to make sure it was made for all three regions, which they did before they separated them.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Frankie, what would you recommend for someone that already owns a Retro Duo, but wants a FC3 or a GenX to play a import Japanese Genesis title? Which handles Genesis titles the best and has the best controllers?

Don't care about the NES or SNES capabilities since I have the RetroDuo and original consoles for those.

Thanks!

The Gen X has some minor audio issues, but a more solid on-screen display (none of the odd "rolling" between screens like the FC3)

The Gen X controllers are MUCH more like the Genesis 6-button controllers.

The FC3 appears to have better audio, no noticeable sound drop out, but a strange "rolling" on screen in areas where the game doesn't display any on-screen data. VERY hard to explain, but reminiscent of the way old analog cable tuners/boxes would distort for a millisecond when changing channels.

I don't think one necessarily outweighs the other in terms of "quality" and both have the region switch.

I think it's really up to you from there.

[aaron7]

Just got one of these for my girlfriend as she wanted a SNES and a NES but also wanted to play her Genesis games!

My little review:

Genesis - Controls are great, color is a little bright, sound is good.
NES - Buttons are backwards of course, color is very bright, sound is a little off.
SNES - Looks and sounds great but has the button problem.

Is there a fix for the backwards buttons? A pin relocation mod I could do?

[calgon]

the backwards button problem on the nes and snes just kills this for me.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Just got one of these for my girlfriend as she wanted a SNES and a NES but also wanted to play her Genesis games!

My little review:

Genesis - Controls are great, color is a little bright, sound is good.
NES - Buttons are backwards of course, color is very bright, sound is a little off.
SNES - Looks and sounds great but has the button problem.

Is there a fix for the backwards buttons? A pin relocation mod I could do?

I think that a major issue with re-mapping the buttons for NES/SNES on this is that you're going to wind up with problem/reversed button placement for Genesis 6 button games.

[kjmann]

Is there a fix for the backwards buttons? A pin relocation mod I could do?

Yes there is in this thread. But it only works for NES games Snes will still have the problem.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126778

[aaron7]

Lame. NES I can deal with... SNES is the problem. Run and jump in SMW is difficult haha

[369WIERDO369]

Hm. My system shows a glitched screen when Faceball 2000 (SNES) or Super Mario Kart (SNES) are being played.
I can't test it, though, to see if other games work, as those are the only ones I have.

[ooXxXoo]

Well, finally got one of these suckers....In my personal opinion it isn't the best clone ever....A nice concept (SNES,GEN,NES), but not well applied that is....

The internal design is a bit weird, each individual composite video is piled in top of each other,making the video to look very strong and color saturated....My SNES Super Mario RPG revision game didn't work, There is no Sega Virtua Racing or SMS compatibility..(this clone has a totally new different Sega GOAC ASIC than the usual TECTOY-580G found in GEN-X or even their own YOBO brand GEN/NES clone).....There are no real controller switching IC's but instead another clone switching board (under the Sega side)....Everything else is a some what cheap: plastic,board design, controllers and most of the other electronic components as well (except for the Sony CXA1645 encoder found on the SNES side)....Aside from the already mentioned controller mapping issue...


http://usera.ImageCave.com/capcom2000/hpim7919.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim7915.jpg

So, after splitting each of the systems sides video outputs apart, they all now look much better and as they should....Probably a good thing to do, since this mess was causing a hell of interference when testing the Genesis side, making my tv go out of sync and crazy at the beginning....

Yobo could have used a switching chip such as a FT4066 (have one laying around) for the individual video outputs, but obviously they didn't...So I didn't bother to do the same either and instead added a few more A/V jacks and s-video for the SNES side..


http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim7927.jpg

http://usera.ImageCave.com/capcom2000/hpim7931.jpg
http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim7947.jpg

In the end, this clone is great for clone enthusiasts. :D

A hidden message and a few words for Lei (the person who seems to be responsible for the design of many of these clone systems boards): "C'mon man, You can do much better than this"...
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...

[aaron7]

Well, finally got one of these suckers...

That's awesome! How much to do mine?? :D (but serious lol)

[ooXxXoo]

:( The controllers do worry me too...very cheap design....
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...

[c0ldb33r]

I fail to see the attraction of these units, particular after reading ooxxxoo's comments. I mean, it'd be a different story if they added component or HDMI video out, but they don't. I assume that everyone that comes to this forum likely already has an NES, SNES and Genesis. This doesn't seem to work as well as any of those units, so what's the point?

Does anyone know if there's a multi-system clone in the works that has component or HDMI output?

[Cobra Commander]

Does this thing play nicely with the FDS RAM adapter? I have an older Yobo, and it plays the RAM adapter fine except for an opaque white line rolling down the screen.

Any word if this thing is any different?

[Tupin]

Does this thing play nicely with the FDS RAM adapter? I have an older Yobo, and it plays the RAM adapter fine except for an opaque white line rolling down the screen.

Any word if this thing is any different?
I would assume not, but these things are all different.

You mean that first NES only Yobo clone with USA VERSION on the box?

[Cobra Commander]

The Yobo I have is a NEO Fami. It plays JAP games right out of the box. It has an adapter to play NES games.
This is it right here:
http://www.nesplayer.com/pirates/neofami/NeoFamiSys1.jpg
Read all about it:
http://www.nesplayer.com/pirates/neofami.htm

EDIT:
And just for the record, I just tested Castlevania III. I 'm happy to report that it plays fine and dandy.

[rpepper9]

If they want absolute 100% compatibility, they should get the original system. It's that simple.
I think that is the point he is trying to make. I find it weird that people want to play games "on the original hardware" not emulated on a computer, and then go off an buy this as the "original hardware" to play it on. That seems backward to me.

[madhatter]

I am determined to mod this system to something much more acceptable.

Ideal:

ooXxXoo's mod for the video outputs

AND

Seperate controller ports for each system, or an adapter from the FC3 port to all of the other systems.

At the very least, SNES controllers that I could use for SNES and NES games like in the FC Twin.


ooXxXoo, could you post or send me some sort of close up to where you soldered your points? I'd like to know how to do this mod myself.

Has anyone had any luck with adapting other controllers? I've hacked the end of a genesis controller off, and luckily it has all nine wires.

The FC3 controller uses this wire pattern:

_/ ■ ■ ■ o \
| o ■ ■ ■ o |

Three of the wires are not used.

I used my ohm meter to find these, if they are incorrect please let me know.

The same wires on the Sega controller are:


_/ ■ ■ ■ o \
| o ■ ■ ■ o |

(I did not check the pins that the FC3 does not use, but the sega controller has wires for all nine pins.)


Now, all I need to know is which wires on the snes, nes and sega controller would need to go to the same pins on the FC3.

Any ideas how I might find this out?

I also took apart my FC Twin controller, which looks identical to an SNES controller on the outside (apart from color), but has one more wire. Oddly, the six wires it has are all the exact same color as those on the FC3 controller. My guess is that Yobo just uses the same kind of wire. Sadly, when I connected the wires from the FC Twin controller to the pins on the FC3 in the color pattern of the FC3 controller, it did not work. SO, all I have proven is that even though the wires are the same color for the FC Twin and the FC3, they do not equate to the same function. That would have been too easy, I know. (Because of course, if the FC Twin controller would have worked, then I could have made an adapter for a standard SNES controller)

[Labrynian Rebel]

There is one thing I want to know about the FC3, can it or can it not play Mario RPG for the SNES? Some sites says it can, other that it can't, others say that only some version will, I want the TRUTH (please?) From personal experience, not that "oh my second cousin said that..." rubbish I want cold hard facts for that game (among others) is the reason why I want this system and I would really appreciate it.

[stargate]

I also don't understand why someone would buy this piece of junk.

[tubeway]

I hear you can find these things at Toys R Us.

[madhatter]

There is one thing I want to know about the FC3, can it or can it not play Mario RPG for the SNES? Some sites says it can, other that it can't, others say that only some version will, I want the TRUTH (please?) From personal experience, not that "oh my second cousin said that..." rubbish I want cold hard facts for that game (among others) is the reason why I want this system and I would really appreciate it.

I do not own the game, or I would test it for you. I am overall unsatisfied with this system. The controllers suck, and no other system's controllers will work with it. Someone familiar with embedded systems would need to create a circuit board to convert it.

However, these people claim to have tested it:

http://videogamecentral.com/gamersvoice/index.php/2008/fc-3-plus-game-compatibility-list-nes-snes-genesis/

and say it and other FX chip games work.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I hear you can find these things at Toys R Us.

No.

You can't.

[ooXxXoo]

I do not own the game, or I would test it for you. I am overall unsatisfied with this system. The controllers suck, and no other system's controllers will work with it. Someone familiar with embedded systems would need to create a circuit board to convert it.

However, these people claim to have tested it:

http://videogamecentral.com/gamersvoice/index.php/2008/fc-3-plus-game-compatibility-list-nes-snes-genesis/

and say it and other FX chip games work.

Talking from my own personal experience, since I do happen to have the SNES game "SUPER MARIO RPG" (Made in Japan), when tested, it didn't worked for me....What you have to keep in mind here, is that most of the times, cartridge based games, had the tendency to have different revisions made to the inner boards during their manufacturing (different production runs, among other factors), so this is a reason for why, it will play for some, but not for others....Besides, with the Retro Duo for example, I've seen different motherboard revisions within the actual clone system itself, I would not be surprised is the FC3 has a couple of them by now....My FC3 is the black model, as seen in the pics...And the people at the Youtube video review has a Silver model...Perhaps the different color models could have a different motherboard revision too, who knows....

I'm currently working on a project to make a controller converter for this sucker....Hopefully, it won't die on me before it is done.... :D
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[madhatter]

Talking from my own personal experience, since I do happen to have the SNES game "SUPER MARIO RPG" (Made in Japan), when tested, it didn't worked for me....

I know you're ahead of the curve on this, but for the guy who doesn't own one, this system does have switch on the back for Jap vs Other. I'm sure you probably tried it on both. I'll see if I can find a US copy of the game and try it on my system. I also have the black system like the one pictured.


I'm currently working on a project to make a controller converter for this sucker....Hopefully, it won't die on me before it is done.... :D


Now you're talkin! Are you expecting to make some sort of circuit board? or using the circuit board from the controller? or do you think it would be possible for the wires to simply be rearranged for something to work?

I don't expect the wires would work directly for Genesis especially, since it used all 9 wires, and had specific wires for each direction, etc.

I've tried to splice in SNES controllers to no avail, but I would really like to use an NES, SNES, and Genesis controllers for the respective system function.


Is there any way you could post some close up of your video output mod so I could improve the video output of mine? the screen scrolling for the Genesis aspect is really quite annoying.

Thanks.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

There is one thing I want to know about the FC3, can it or can it not play Mario RPG for the SNES? Some sites says it can, other that it can't, others say that only some version will, I want the TRUTH (please?) From personal experience, not that "oh my second cousin said that..." rubbish I want cold hard facts for that game (among others) is the reason why I want this system and I would really appreciate it.

The cold hard facts about Super Mario RPG have already been detailed elsewhere (mainly on Retro Duo research).

The only version of SMRPG (NTSC US) that will run on FC Twins, Retro Duos (and I assume) FC3s (which probably use identical Yobo FC Twin SNES hardware) - is version 1.0.

There are two revisions 1.1 and 1.2, and from what I understand, aside from dumping a ROM there is no way to determine which version of SMRPG that you have.

Even in the case of the game running, there have been reported crash points early in the game.

So, if I were you I would put aside the hopes of getting it to run on clone hardware.

A used SNES doesn't really cost much more than one of these, it will guarantee compatiblity, and they all have AV output, so it's not like the output situation with a top-loader NES or anything.

[madhatter]

Any update on the controller adapter?

[Diosoth]

I just got mine in the mail today, bought it cheaper off Amazon than I would have paid at the local game store outlet.

NES works fine. StarTropics plays well.

Genesis games have a dark picture. Another thread here indicates this is a problem with the TV itself, not specifically the console. (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124327) I have a crappy Sylvania TV that has NO brightness adjust option whatsoever. Either I can hope to perform some simple mod to make the system put out a better picture, or buy a new TV. Possibly damage the new system or spend $50 or so on a better TV? Might just get a better TV when I get some dough. Not that I'm overly concerned, I only have Sonic and Sonic 2, both of which are on the Mega Collection Plus Xbox disc I own.

I haven't tested the SNES side yet. The only gave I have on hand is some Sailor Moon game an annoying otaku ex-girlfriend left at my house, and Yobo had the "good sense" to put those tabs into the SNES cart slot! Would someone kindly tell them that those tabs serve NO function whatsoever? I'll have to open this thing up and cut them out. But I'll assume it works.

Not sure of the light gun. My TV is a CRT but the screen is flat, which MAY mess with the gun. I don't have a game to try anyway.

If I can get around the dark Genesis picture, then I'll consider the console worth what I paid.

[ooXxXoo]

I'm not aloud to work today :D ....But Yes, I finished my converter a few days ago... I focused in being able to use official SNES controllers to play with all of the 3 systems sides, NES/GEN and SNES...Duh!....And successfully did it....And Yes, even the 3 and 6 button Genesis games can be played with the SNES controller after the mod...

Although, I didn't had another 9 pin controller extension cord to add te 2nd player compatility, but atm it will do...

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim8064.jpg

Here's my FC3, Player 1 only, controller port pinout..(Looking at the console port).....One more thing, this is most likely the same pinout for other clone systems that may have the same controller port style, since, they all seem to come from the same place...

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim8072.jpg

NOTE: The FC3 controller port player 2 has a slightly different pinout, which includes the light gun signal pins...

I used a SNES "PERFORMANCE" branded Super 5-Play adapter and rewired the 9 pin extension to it, but you can use whatever male SNES connector port that you may have available....Here's mine:

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim8075.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim8078.jpg

Enjoy!
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...

[madhatter]

fuck yeah! Let me know if you get anywhere with using an actual NES light gun.

[madhatter]

How do you think this would work for genesis games?

http://www.8-track-shack.com/mad-catz-super-nintendo-replacement-video-game-controller-p-32091.html

[ooXxXoo]

Well, the controller mapping for the FC3, after building and using a SNES converter is as follow:
For the NES side, the converter is great, the SNES D-pad,Select,Start, Y and B buttons, equals to the NES D-pad,Select,Start, B and A buttons.....The SNES side, uses the same controller funtions as a regular SNES controller....When it comes to the Genesis commands, the Genesis A,B,C buttons, equals to SNES controller B, Y and Left trigger buttons.....The Genesis X, Y, and Z buttons equals to the SNES A, X and Right trigger buttons.....I'm going to rewire a second SNES controller port and a NES controller port at the same time, so it can funtion as second player port as well as being able to use the NES zapper light gun...
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[madhatter]

So, pretty much not very useful for Genesis games?

Ideal would be SNES B, A, R = SEGA A, B, C
and then SNES Y, X, L = SEGA X, Y, Z

in which case, the mad catz snes turber controller would be perfect.

I guess that's probably too much to ask, eh? I wonder if it would be possible to reconfigure the mad catz turbo controller buttons... that would be better than playing with the standard FC3 controller.

Let us know when you figure out the pinout of player two, for the extra inputs for the light gun.

[Diosoth]

Best I could get from my seller was a replacement, not a refund. I'm not buying a new TV to get aroudn the dark Genesis picture, so I traded it in to the local game store for store credit. I'll survive on my Retro Duo for Nintendo, and I have a pending craigslist Genesis purchase.

[madhatter]

Any progress on that NES lightgun functionality?

[Diosoth]

I think what ticks me off about Yobo is that they keep releasing the same junk with no thought to quality. No enhancements, no concerns for a good product.

They STILL keep putting the plastic tabs in the SNES slot which keeps out any non-US game!

[nobble]

I'm not aloud to work today :D ....But Yes, I finished my converter a few days ago... I focused in being able to use official SNES controllers to play with all of the 3 systems sides, NES/GEN and SNES...Duh!....And successfully did it....And Yes, even the 3 and 6 button Genesis games can be played with the SNES controller after the mod...

Although, I didn't had another 9 pin controller extension cord to add te 2nd player compatility, but atm it will do...

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim8064.jpg

Here's my FC3, Player 1 only, controller port pinout..(Looking at the console port).....One more thing, this is most likely the same pinout for other clone systems that may have the same controller port style, since, they all seem to come from the same place...

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim8072.jpg

NOTE: The FC3 controller port player 2 has a slightly different pinout, which includes the light gun signal pins...

I used a SNES "PERFORMANCE" branded Super 5-Play adapter and rewired the 9 pin extension to it, but you can use whatever male SNES connector port that you may have available....Here's mine:

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim8075.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/capcom2000/hpim8078.jpg

Enjoy!
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I wish his pictures were still up, I really want to do this mod.

[Ace]

Hey guys, sorry to bump this thread, but I'd like some technical information on FC3 Pluses that were purchased by DigitPress members in the past month. What I'd need would be a picture of the internals, as well as a compatibility test with Virtua Racing for the Genesis. Virtua Racing is not supposed to work, but I found a review by ReviewTechUSA on YouTube showing that Virtua Racing works on the FC3 Plus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsqKf7C3pt4

I'm wondering if the GOAC on this clone has been changed in any way to make Virtua Racing compatible. I'd like to see the silver model's internals, but the charcoal model will do as well(it must have been purchased within the last month), especially a close-up of both the top and bottom of the Genesis board.

[BetaWolf47]

I'm curious as to if there are any other 3-in-1 units like this. The thing is amazingly convenient.

[Ace]

I think the FC3 Plus is the only one of its kind. I would have prefered it if Yobo used the same NOAC as the RetroDuo, as it's a BRILLANT 16-bit console, but as an NES, it's not that great. And if the new FC3 Pluses are truly compatible with Virtua Racing and what is shown in the video I linked isn't a fluke, then this is the ULTIMATE 16-bit combo clone. Yobo should make a Super NES/Genesis combo clone sometime.

But right now, I just want to see the Genesis board from an FC3 Plus purchased in the past month. I'm looking for something to replace my FC Twin(NES sound circuit won't stop going bad) and GN Twin(completely dead), and if the FC3 Plus is now compatible with Virtua Racing(which the GN Twin was), I'm going to buy one.

[BetaWolf47]

I could take a snap of the board on my silver & black FC3 Plus, but it was purchased in 2008. I don't know if that'll help.

[Ace]

Not quite. Unless you take a close-up high-res picture of the board from both the top and the bottom so I can see if those FC3 Pluses have Virtua Racing compatibility.

[MarioMania]

I missed the Controller Converter from ooXxXoo :(