FC3 Plus vs the Retro Duo

[Diosoth]

My FC3 Plus arrived in the mail yesterday and the Retro Duo today.

As far as the FC3 Plus goes, the NES picture is good but sound is very low. The Genesis side has good sound but a very dark picture, apparently an issue with certain TVs. SNES? Don't know. I have 1 import game laying around, I had to cut those idiotic tabs out to get it to fit, and the graphics were garbled.

My Retro Duo is the limited edition red/gold model. The import SNES game booted fine. The NES has good sound. Picture is maybe a bit washed out, but I can live with it. I will buy a licensed used SNES controller to play on, though.

Fact is, the Genesis problems kill the FC3 Plus for me as I can't afford to buy a new TV thanks to the darkness issue. A pity as I was hoping to put the RD up as a collectible item. Oh well, I can buy another for that. Red/gold ones cost $10 more but are rather common.

I'm going to stick my FC3 on craigslist for less than it retails and maybe use the cash to buy a used Sega Genesis.

[Arasoi]

The FC3 really sounds like a sketchy system as far as all around quality between its functions, from the reviews I've read here. Between the button mappings, and sound and picture problems I'll probably wait until the next big clone comes out to check into them.

[Diosoth]

A used Sega Genesis can be had for about $20. The 32X is plentiful and cheap, but really, how many 32X games are worth the cost? Sega CD is iffy, but there's only 1 game I'd want for it anyway.

NES and SNES consoles, however, are getting expensive and I don't have the patience to deal with the NES and its faulty cart slot. So $50 for the Retro Duo is fine by me.

[Tupin]

The Retro Duo is way better than the FC3.

Seriously, for the $70 dollars they are charging for them here, you could get all three and a bunch of games.

I use the Retro Duo because of its compatibility and because it saves space. I have a regular old Genesis too. ;)

[bangtango]

Buying a clone Super NES or Genesis doesn't make any sense, unless it is portable.

FACT: Both systems are reliable and that includes ALL "official" revisions of them.

FACT: Both the SNES and Genesis can be acquired for cheap, especially the Genesis. The Super NES can get expensive on Ebay and some gaming forums with a selling section but you can easily find a system at a lawn sale, garage sale or in a thrift store. People who bite the bullet and pay $50-60 shipped for an SNES just ain't putting in a little work and lookin' hard enough.

If I was a first time buyer itching for a clone system, the only one I'd need would be an NES clone. I'd just buy a $20 Yobo and trade Castlevania III and Gauntlet for stuff that would be compatible on the Yobo.

My most recent Sega Genesis cost me $5, it came with all the components and she runs like a Kenyan, beautifully.

[c0ldb33r]

IMHO it's not even worth getting a clone to play NES games. Just get a top loader, get it AV modded and you're set. That's what I did and I couldn't be happier with it. In fact it was a fellow DPer that did the mod and he did a fantastic job.

[bangtango]

IMHO it's not even worth getting a clone to play NES games. Just get a top loader, get it AV modded and you're set. That's what I did and I couldn't be happier with it. In fact it was a fellow DPer that did the mod and he did a fantastic job.

I agree!

The trouble is that I used to own 2 official NES top loaders but gave them both to immediate family members (a brother and a sister) for birthday gifts within the past 2-3 years. One of them I had acquired for free, the other one was bought for $5.

As a result, I have NO intention of paying $50-70 for another top loader. So I've resigned myself to riding things out with a $20 Yobo for awhile until I come across another cheap "official" top loader ($10-15 or less) someplace.

Plus the beauty of that gameplan of mine is that I'll always be able to sell the Yobo for something close to what I paid to it ($15-20 or so), which is more likely to happen locally since it is a sale I can make minus the hassle of shipping fees. This means I will have paid for the NES top loader to replace it. LOL.

[Diosoth]

Yard sales in my area consist of unwanted clothes, VHS tapes, junk trinkets, stuffed toys for babies, and other assorted stuff. Almost any game stuff I see is usually PS2 sports games. I also have limited shelf room to put game systems and limited spots to plug them in(1 immediate free power outlet and 1 slot left on my Radio Shack selector box).

Last I checked, NES toploaders cost a lot of money. The FC3 plus has an advantage of having a region switch installed, but I know first-hand that installing them into a model 1 Genesis is trivial. I used to do it for people at a $15 charge, made a lot of money at one time.

Face facts, the old systems went out of production long ago. Best Buy even offers to take in vintage game consoles for their "recycling program", and people are dumping them off FOR FREE to be destroyed. The supply of old consoles drops by the day as they stop working or are wrecked. My only local options are Craigslist(people overcharge there) or the smaller used game outlets which overcharge because they know they're the only option.

[yoshilime53]

Face facts, the old systems went out of production long ago. Best Buy even offers to take in vintage game consoles for their "recycling program", and people are dumping them off FOR FREE to be destroyed. The supply of old consoles drops by the day as they stop working or are wrecked. My only local options are Craigslist(people overcharge there) or the smaller used game outlets which overcharge because they know they're the only option.

hey, it's called getting lucky. you have to search every chance you get, going to thrift stores, flea markets etc., not just craigslist. if the supply is dropping, it is now or never to get a original. 8-)

[Diosoth]

Thing is, I don't care if it's "original hardware" or not. I'll take anything that works reliably. Sad fact is, the FC3 plus isn't reliable. Iffy Genesis compatibility with random TV brands ruins my use for the system. The Retro Duo works to my satisfaction.

[Arasoi]

I think if a "FC4" comes out with a disc drive for TG16/SCD and an hucard slot, or possibly master system capabilities the combination of all those systems in one unit will be too much to resist, faults or not. Then we'll see some mods to help fix those faults or enhance the system.

Just my $.02.

[Tupin]

I think if a "FC4" comes out with a disc drive for TG16/SCD and an hucard slot, or possibly master system capabilities the combination of all those systems in one unit will be too much to resist, faults or not. Then we'll see some mods to help fix those faults or enhance the system.

Just my $.02.
A reliable disc drive would cost too much to put in a clone system. Compatibility, yes. Never a built in drive.

As for the HuCard slot, only if there's a region switch will people look at it, mainly because it probably could be bought for less than buying a TurboGrafx-16 and converter. I would buy it because I can't find one, but they would have to do something like have a region changer or option for the CD add-on to attract the hardcore Turbo audience.

[tofu]

These threads are gold to me.

But anybody who posts on these forums probably isn't the target market for clone makers. Right now, the FC Twin by Yobo is still the top selling clone on the market, Yobo's distribution is just too wide and every Mom and Pop shop I've been to carries it.

[xDerekRx]

I dont know much about The FCs, but do they play 32x and Sega CD? Would be cool if some day they could make a Saturn one too :)

[Diosoth]

The 32X is a technical possibility IF you hack in a Genesis AV-out port or somehow manage to build a cable to attach the 32X AV-link port to the system AV-outs. This assumign the cartridge slot is wired correctly.

Sega CD? No exisiting connector port on the side. Guess one could be installed, should there be sufficient places to attach the wiring, but you'd have to sacrifice a Genesis anyway so there's not much point.

I found a local Craigslist seller pawning off a model 1 Genesis and 10 games for only $15. I told him I want to buy it. The people who have SNES and NES consoles want mint for them, however.