Generation NEX by Play Messiah

[TheCaptain]

A few years ago I saw some info on this system online and it looked interesting, it looked like a classic NES console but with a sleeker design and much smaller, I ended up purchasing one and almost 4 years later I can tell you that I am so glad I did. I love the sturdyness of the hardware and the way it looks set up on my shelf, when people come over and see it they always ask what it is and mention that it looks like their old NES, then when I tell them that it is and NES they geek out and want one. It's a hoot!

I know a lot of people have experienced problems with the NEX including some compatibility issues, strangly enough I have not encountered any of these issues and all 200+ of my NES games work in the NEX, including my copy of Castlevania III. Anyone have any nightmare stories or success stories with the NEX? Anyone here own one at all? I still keep my classic NES on display but I use my NEX to play my games on because I got fed up when I was playing Dragon Warrior IV for like 4 hours and I didn't save and then the NES decided to go green screen on me and I lost all my data, that was a sucky experience.

Discuss!

[Kiddo]

Here's a bit of a question for you. Have you ever gotten them NEX arcade sticks? They seemed pretty nice looking to me, but I was kinda bummed that they apparently aren't standard-NES-compatible or somesuch.

That and the dual NES/Famicom cart compatibility make this famiclone a bit more interesting than the rest.

[mobiusclimber]

The biggest problems I had with the NEX are:

1) bought it for Famicom games, but the emulation on those games was worse than NES games by far.
2) It screwed up colors/graphics/sounds on some NES games
3) The console felt very flimsy. After I sold it, the person who bought it ended up breaking it soon after, but more on that in the next bullet.
4) The cart slot was too tight so putting in and taking out game carts was very difficult. I sold the system on Amazon and the person who bought it also complained about it, but there are several reviews online about this problem. He ended up breaking the system trying to remove a game cart.

Also the controllers kinda suck.

[Carey85]

I'm not the biggest fan of the NEX hardware, but both the wireless controllers and wireless arcade sticks that Messiah made were excellent. Sadly, the wireless controllers and sticks are worthless on an NES without the RF dongle that came with the special edition wireless controllers that came in the lunchpail packaging. I bought my wireless stick from Dave2236 a few years ago at MGC and he was able to throw in a loose dongle that he'd gotten from Messiah in with it.

[jerkov]

I have one in my living room, have had it for about 2 years or so. Never had a problem with it, although it doesn't get used a whole lot. The Famicom slot is very nice to have, although one compatibility problem I have is with the Famicom Star Wars game made by Namco. Game works fine in my regular top-loading NES using a Famicom converter, but will not load up in the NEX.

I also have the wireless remotes, nice to have (especially since the TV and system are set up about 15 feet away), although the remotes do seem to be a bit finicky at times (will occasionally lose signal for a second or two in the middle of a game, which can be annoying) and the d-pad is not as precise as I would have hoped. Still, as I said, wireless is too nice to pass up with my living room set up.

I've never tried this since I only have two wireless controllers, but can you play 4-player games with 4 wireless controllers? Anyone try this? I notice each remote has 4 selectable switches for which controller you are playing with - if I bought two more, would I be able to play 4-player games as I would with a normal NES and a Four Score? If so, I would actually spring for two more wireless controllers off of eBay in order to play with a few other people without worrying about all those wires.......

[Tron 2.0]

There was a in depth review of it here years ago.
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72413

Though my advice thecaptain get a retro duo if your looking for a,clone that plays the most.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kcCbgVkfY4

[StoneAgeGamer]

Build quality the NEX was probably the best clone I saw, however it only came with 1 controller and has had a horrible NOAC.

Doesn't really matter much now since Messiah went out a business over a year ago.

[TheCaptain]

I have not had any color or music issues that I have read some people complaining about, the ONLY issue I have ever had with the NEX was at the WWF Wrestlemania Challenge start up screen, it's supposed to show the Ultimate Warrior and instead it shows a bunch of coding and gibberish in his place, but the game plays fine and thats the only problem I have seen. I love the hardware, I find it to be sturdy and reliable, and while I do somewhat like the controller I do have to admit that the cord is way too short so I just use a standard NES controller in it's place.

I actually bought something called a "Yobo", which is another NES clone, but it's a flimsy little thing and I hardly ever use it. Right out of the box when I went to set it up I heard a rattle inside the unit that reminded me of a pebble in a can, just not a quality product in my opinion, but it does play the NES library flawlessly so I guess it's a worthy purchase (I bought it for $7.00).

[YoshiM]

I bought the "bundle pack" a couple of years ago at MGC-system, wireless controllers and the joystick based on a review from Retrogaming Radio. I loved the joystick, hated the controllers and found that my NEX system was emanating a foul smell. I traded the whole kit and kaboodle to a fellow DP member in exchange for hardware modding and he said that it was cheaply made and the caps were bad.

[Kiddo]

I probably would most enjoy seeing a mod or so to make one's own RF dongles for the Famicom/NES to get those joysticks working on them. Then I'd consider buying a few of those.

[StoneAgeGamer]

I bet somewhere there is a ton of these receivers. I don't know who owned Messiah, but if you could find out how to contact them, I bet he/she may know.

I know about 1/2 of the Messiah employees now works for Pelican.

[Graham Mitchell]

I have one of these and EVERY game has color issues (looks muted and flat), EVERY game has sound issues (the emulation is not accurate), and several games won't work. In general, the games look and sound so bad that I don't even use it if I can play it on a toaster NES. Even balloon fight looks more lively on native hardware. Oh, and the buttons on the pack-in controller broke within a couple months.

The famicom version of rodland locks up immediately after the first level starts. Gauntlet and alpha mission won't load at all. I haven't tried castlevania 3 yet. I just assumed it wasn't gonna work.

[TheCaptain]

I have one of these and EVERY game has color issues (looks muted and flat), EVERY game has sound issues (the emulation is not accurate), and several games won't work. In general, the games look and sound so bad that I don't even use it if I can play it on a toaster NES. Even balloon fight looks more lively on native hardware. Oh, and the buttons on the pack-in controller broke within a couple months.

The famicom version of rodland locks up immediately after the first level starts. Gauntlet and alpha mission won't load at all. I haven't tried castlevania 3 yet. I just assumed it wasn't gonna work.

Maybe it's your system, it may have a defect or something because I have no issues whatsoever with my NEX beside that WWF game I mentioned before, and I have even tested color between two televisions with one having a NEX and one having a NES and I found no issues.

[Graham Mitchell]

Maybe it's your system, it may have a defect or something because I have no issues whatsoever with my NEX beside that WWF game I mentioned before, and I have even tested color between two televisions with one having a NEX and one having a NES and I found no issues.

I don't have time to search for the thread, but when this thing came out we talked about it for months, and basically everyone agreed that the color palette and the sound chip were noticeably off. This is a widely experienced issue. In addition, I conatacted messiah about my issues with rodland, and they could not explain it. They wanted me to send them the cart. I declined, as I saw it running fine on an actual famicom.

[dao2]

i havent tried the console but i was extremely disappointed with the controllers due to the terrible diskus inplace of the control pad :|

[StoneAgeGamer]

Yeah it seems a lot of these companies make the clones over think the controllers too much. Its amazing how hard it is to apparently make a good controller that is like the originals.

[SplashChick]

Mine works good. I mostly like it because it's so small and light that I can take it places very easily. There's slight sound and color differences on some games but it's rare that it makes a big difference. The controller works well enough, but I have 4 standard NES controllers so I usually don't use it anyway.

[Leo_A]

Maybe it's your system, it may have a defect or something because I have no issues whatsoever with my NEX

Glad you like it so much, but you must have the only one that doesn't exhibit these issues. Even the newest NES clones have issues, especially on the audio side. And they've only improved the accuracy since this clone...

Also, since when did the Generation NEX have the capability of playing Castlevania III? I never saw anyone else get it working back when these things were new.

[TRM]

I remember ordering a set of their wireless controllers and since I didn't have paypal, they allowed me to pay with a money order. I never received the controllers from them, and their customer service never helped either...

[miaandjohnrule]

I remember ordering a set of their wireless controllers and since I didn't have paypal, they allowed me to pay with a money order. I never received the controllers from them, and their customer service never helped either...

Yeah , they are pretty piss poor customer service wise. It doesn't look like they are around anymore.

[retro junkie]

I have one of these and mine works great also. I've had it for a few years. I chose the NEX because of the Famicom compatibility and I have been very satisfied with the NEX. Every game that I have works great except for marble maddness. There are some graphical issues there.

[TheCaptain]

I have one of these and mine works great also. I've had it for a few years. I chose the NEX because of the Famicom compatibility and I have been very satisfied with the NEX. Every game that I have works great except for marble maddness. There are some graphical issues there.

I should invest in some Famicom games myself, the problem in that is that I can understand Japanese (huge anime fan) but I can't read it, maybe I should brush up on learning to read Japanese before making any Famicom game purchases. Anyhow, it looks like we have another person here who is not experiencing any issue's with the NEX aside from one game, and to the person who posted earlier inquiring about Castlevania III and the NEX, my copy of Castlevania III does indeed work perfectly fine.

I'm actually thinking of buying an NEX for a friend of mine who is experiencing some problems with his NES console for Christmas, too bad the company's website is down and they are out of business, it looks like I will have to order it from another online retailer.

[Graham Mitchell]

Glad you like it so much, but you must have the only one that doesn't exhibit these issues. Even the newest NES clones have issues, especially on the audio side. And they've only improved the accuracy since this clone...

Also, since when did the Generation NEX have the capability of playing Castlevania III? I never saw anyone else get it working back when these things were new.

I'm with you, Leo. And in fact, I find it totally bizarre that 3 years down the line people are posting testimonials that the things work fantastic. Just bizarre to me. Could there have been a revision at some point?

Seriously, the color thing is very blatant. I played Gumshoe on that thing for months while I was staying at my parents' house during 4th year med school. When I went back to Chicago, I left the NEX at my parents' house and popped Gumshoe into my toaster NES (which was subsequently smashed on shipping to California. :( ) Anyway, it blew me away how much glossier and more lively the game looked on a real NES.

Super Mario Bros. in particular looks and sounds so terrible on the NEX that it's downright bizarre. It feels like you're playing a crappy romhack or something.

If you guys aren't noticing this stuff then either a) you haven't played a real NES in awhile, or b) my NEX is significantly different than your NEX.

Edit: is the NEX supposed to support every mapper? I seem to remember there being some issue with not every mapper being supported, which is why Gauntlet and CVIII don't work.

[retro junkie]

I'm with you, Leo. And in fact, I find it totally bizarre that 3 years down the line people are posting testimonials that the things work fantastic. Just bizarre to me. Could there have been a revision at some point?

Seriously, the color thing is very blatant. I played Gumshoe on that thing for months while I was staying at my parents' house during 4th year med school. When I went back to Chicago, I left the NEX at my parents' house and popped Gumshoe into my toaster NES (which was subsequently smashed on shipping to California. :( ) Anyway, it blew me away how much glossier and more lively the game looked on a real NES.

Super Mario Bros. in particular looks and sounds so terrible on the NEX that it's downright bizarre. It feels like you're playing a crappy romhack or something.

If you guys aren't noticing this stuff then either a) you haven't played a real NES in awhile, or b) my NEX is significantly different than your NEX.

Edit: is the NEX supposed to support every mapper? I seem to remember there being some issue with not every mapper being supported, which is why Gauntlet and CVIII don't work.

I'm thinking that at some point that they must have had a revision. The reason I think that is the first NEX didn't play Castlevania 3, just a green screen. I'll have to pull out the old NES maybe this weekend and do some comparing of screens and sound.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

...all 200+ of my NES games work in the NEX, including my copy of Castlevania III...

Video proof please. (Just Castlevania III, not the other 199+ games.)

[SplashChick]

@ Captian: Unless you play only RPGs, why is the language going to matter?

[TheCaptain]

@ Captian: Unless you play only RPGs, why is the language going to matter?

True. I have been looking at a few platform games and some fun looking shooting titles to pick up for the Famicom, there is also a wrestling game that looks like it would be fun to play with others, but when playing RPG's I wouldn't be able to stand the Japanese text unless I knew how to read it. By the looks of it there seems to be a lot of great Famicom titles out there, looks like It's time for me to pony up some cash for some new games!

:cheers:\\^_^/

[retro junkie]

True. I have been looking at a few platform games and some fun looking shooting titles to pick up for the Famicom, there is also a wrestling game that looks like it would be fun to play with others, but when playing RPG's I wouldn't be able to stand the Japanese text unless I knew how to read it. By the looks of it there seems to be a lot of great Famicom titles out there, looks like It's time for me to pony up some cash for some new games!

:cheers:\\^_^/

One great shooter to get is Crisis Force. It is my treasured Famicom shooter.

[josekortez]

To anyone planning to buy one of these: beware. I bought one and it only lasted eight months before it stopped working. I've discovered that its Chinese-made parts aren't as good as the original Japanese NES systems, but it's a clone so what can you do?

[retro junkie]

To anyone planning to buy one of these: beware. I bought one and it only lasted eight months before it stopped working. I've discovered that its Chinese-made parts aren't as good as the original Japanese NES systems, but it's a clone so what can you do?

You must have gotten a bad one. Mine has lasted several years. I am thinking that I have had mine for three.

[Famidrive-16]

never had any major problems with my NEX, although i do agree the sound was off for a couple of games

didn't mind the new controllers that much, but sometimes the pause switch threw me off.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

So.

Where's our proof that your Generation NEX miraculously works with Castlevania III??

I mean, I like to be the kind of guy who takes a person at their word, but there's no doccumented evidence that the folks at Messiah ever made a version of the NEX hardware that ran Castlevania III.

If you're going to make a big "point" about it in your thread I'd like to see you back that point up, not just actively ignore my request.

[SplashChick]

It doesn't work on mine.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

It doesn't work on mine.

I'm pretty sure it doesn't work on any commercially released NEX unit ... but in the event that I'm wrong, I'd love to be proven so (so that I can track down a similar or identical NEX myself).

[SplashChick]

It was on the official site as a non-working game as well.

[jerkov]

Still curious about the 4-player capability using wireless controllers on this system.....would I be able to play with 4 people if I had 4 wireless controllers? Or is the only way to play with four players breaking out the old Four Score and original NES controllers? I can't find anything definitive on the web about this....

[Icarus Moonsight]

Video proof please. (Just Castlevania III, not the other 199+ games.)

Sounds like miracles of an Asian Transvestite Jesus variety to you too huh?

I bought a NEX, read the then current, thread here about it and had a talk with Fuyukaze. Next day, I was in the checkout lane at Hastings, for a return. Wide gulf between promise and delivery, for sure.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

There are some things about the NEX that I like.

I really like the "smooshed" NES design aesthetic, the dual Famicom and NES cartridge slots are nice, the (doubled mono) audio output (at least you don't have to muck around with a splitter and extra AV cable) the built-in wireless for the compatible wireless controllers (unfortunately the strange d-pad on the wireless controllers makes that slightly less attractive) I dig the design of their standard wired controller (with the normal d-pad) and it even works with the Famicom Disk System if you have one ...

... but the compatibility chart is relatively small for a clone. I appreciate that they tried not to use the same NOAC that just about ever HK clone used ... but if you're not going to make a BETTER product in terms of compatibility, why bother?

Even with the blessing of Asian Transvestite Jesus ... the NEX is pretty sub-par in terms of compatibility.

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

[SplashChick]

True. I have been looking at a few platform games and some fun looking shooting titles to pick up for the Famicom, there is also a wrestling game that looks like it would be fun to play with others, but when playing RPG's I wouldn't be able to stand the Japanese text unless I knew how to read it. By the looks of it there seems to be a lot of great Famicom titles out there, looks like It's time for me to pony up some cash for some new games!

:cheers:\\^_^/

Also, Devil World. Get it.

[Raedon]

If you are going to buy anything to play actual retro carts then just get the original equipment.

Why? Well, if you're putting carts in a clone why not just go the next step and emulate the whole damn thing on another console. Save the wear and tear of the carts because you will rub the copper tracing off a NES cart eventually. I've bought a couple of NES games that had rental stickers and wouldn't work anymore because a trace of copper had been rubbed off.

I use an old Xbox for classic consoles here in Waco. My Wii is chipped back in Longview and it plays the classics amazingly well. I actually like NES on my Wii with a wavebird or Classic better then all other forms besides a dogbone on a toaster with the actual game.

I don't use my Toploader. It's actually vacuum sealed in Tupperware and has been in storage sense 2004ish or so. Reason for that? I got a Super 8 which sits on a SNES and plays FC, NES, SNES, and SFC. Not that I can get to most of my collection which is at the very back of a large climate controlled storage room.

Thing I like about Xbox for emulation is the consoles are easy to MOD and are dirt cheap right now. All the emulation software for Xbox is now time tested and if it didn't work, it never will. The Wii is great at classic emulation but you still have to feed it Emulators on DVD-R because of the lack of a hard drive. The NES emu for Wii is perfect and every FC, NES rom, and bootlegg fits easily on a DVD-R.

[Purkeynator]

Anyone else notice the prices on these lately? Over $100 on ebay or amazon.

[Gameboy415]

I have one in my living room, have had it for about 2 years or so. Never had a problem with it, although it doesn't get used a whole lot. The Famicom slot is very nice to have, although one compatibility problem I have is with the Famicom Star Wars game made by Namco. Game works fine in my regular top-loading NES using a Famicom converter, but will not load up in the NEX.


D'oh!

I've been using a NEX since they were released and I picked up a CIB copy of Namco Star Wars a year or two ago but was upset to find out it wouldn't work.
I thought it was a bad cart so I bought another (loose) copy this past summer!

Any chance Messiah will make something similar for SNES/Super Famicom games in the near future??

I've seen a lot of clone systems and handheld SNES's popping up lately.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Messiah is no longer. No need anyway. Go with a RetroDuo. Probably the best clone system I've ever played.

$100 for a NEX? I can see paying that for a CIB AV Fami... but, wow. LOL

[Carey85]

I used to make it a point at MGC to ask the Messiah folks if I could try out Castlevania III or Gradius II on their demo NEX unit, as their booth was right next to Goat Store which typically has/had a couple hundred NES carts on hand. :)

[StoneAgeGamer]

D'oh!
Any chance Messiah will make something similar for SNES/Super Famicom games in the near future??

As stated earlier in this thread. Messiah has been out of business for over a year now.

[jeffg]

if anyone is interested in any of the 2 pack wireless controllers or the Wireless NES ADvantage style arcade stick just let me know. I stumbled upon 3 sets of wireless controllers and 2 arcade sticks today

I will trade or sell

[genesisguy]

I don't understand why anyone would want clone consoles. I've always thought those were designed for people into modern games that just wanted a quick look see at what games once were or for people who grew up with the original NES, have no clue about the retro scene and just grab one of those consoles for a quick bit of nostalgia.

It's been awhile since I've priced real NES consoles on ebay but I still run into them at the thriftstores for anywhere from 2-10 bucks and 9 times out of ten all they need are new pin connectors.

[jerkov]

For me, it was the wireless controller setup this system could offer, which is crucial due to the layout of my living room. Is there any other way to get an NES with wireless controllers? Any other clone or a way to rig up an original system?

[Tron 2.0]

Is there any other way to get an NES with wireless controllers?
Try a nes satellite it's a wireless multiplayer adapter wich can use 4 nes controllers. ;)

[SplashChick]

For me, it was the wireless controller setup this system could offer, which is crucial due to the layout of my living room. Is there any other way to get an NES with wireless controllers? Any other clone or a way to rig up an original system?

Well you could track down an NES Satellite, that could solve the problem.

[SplashChick]

Try a nes satellite it's a wireless multiplayer adapter wich can use 4 nes controllers. ;)

Crazy same time post.

[Kiddo]

I don't understand why anyone would want clone consoles.

The NEX Arcade Sticks did not seem like the typical "clone controllers" from previews I saw of them, and from most of my reading on their quality, they sound like neat sticks with authentic arcade parts - with any complaints being due to how much of a painful purchasing process it is to get them hooked up to an NES (Seriously, why didn't they -come- with those receivers?)

(EDIT: Ah, read that as "controllers" for some reason. Did I quote the wrong post part...? Ah, anyway, for clone systems in general, it's more for the lulz.)

[Tron 2.0]

Crazy same time post.
Yeah i know silly isn't it :eek: