Retro Entertainment System compatibility questions

[The Adventurer]

So my old Toaster NES is finally feeling its age. Its getting more and more unreliable, to the point where I can't tell if the console is failing, or the games I'm buying don't work. Lock out chip flashing is a regular problem etc... I want to replace the connector, but when I opened it up to clean the existing one I stripped most of the screws, and it didn't lead to any particular improvement.

So I've thought it might be a good idea to pick up one of the several 'famiclones' that are all over the place as a cheap alternative to give my old girl a break. At least until I stumble over a real NES Toploader. I like form factor of the Retro Entertainment System, the fact that I can use my regular NES controllers, and the price is really nice (less then $20 on amazon). Though I am aware that you get what you pay for. Regardless... I'm curious about compatibility. The Retro-Duo has a list of games that don't work on its wikipedia article, but I can't find confirmation that the Retro Entertainment System has the same issues. Also, is it compatible with PAL and Famicom games? Any general negative opinions about the thing?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I don't own an RES, but I do know a crapton about Famiclones. With Famiclones the old saying is very true: You get only what you pay for. If you buy a cheap Famiclone, the quality and preformance will also be cheap and lackluster.

If you want the best Famiclone currently on the market, the undisputed champion is the Super 8/TriStar, which is actually for the SNES. In terms of performance it can't be beat. It typically sells for $40-60, so more than double the price of the cheap NOACs, but it's well worth it. Check out my review of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO5ICApvVNY

As for independent NOAC Famiclones, the RetroDuo is the best with it playing 99.9% of the entire library. Only a handful of mostly PAL games don't work because of timing differences in the clockspeeds of the CPUs.

If you do buy an RES, you are likely to not be able to play:

Any MMC5 game (Castlevania 3, Laser Invasion, Uncharted Waters, etc)
Rolling Thunder
Camerica games such as Dizzy the Adventurer
PaperBoy
The Retrozone Powerpak

Is it compatible with PAL and Famicom games?

That's a loaded question. Thje answer is both yes and no. NES games are in theory the compatible with all systems around the world. The only reason the original "toaster" model NES won't play PAL games is because of a lockout chip Nintendo added to the design. The Famicom and all clones lack that chip allowing PAL games to run.

That being said, When it was released in Europe, Nintendo for whatever reason deciced to adjust the specs of the system and gave the PAL model a slightly slower clockspeed of 1.66Mhz vs the NTSC 1.79. The 17% difference is enough to completely ruin your experience depending on what PAL title you play. On NTSC systems, most PAL games will run 17% faster than they should, and this includes the music.

Famicom compatibility is also theoretical. The NES and the Famicom share the same hardware, but different cartridge connectors. If you get an adapter, you can run most Famicom games on any NES clone including the RES.

If you REALLY want to get into the NES hardcore, buy yourself what is called the AV Famicom and then get yourself a NES to Famicom adapter so you can run NES games on that Japanese model.

[Enmity]

I dunno the only clone I have ever like is the NES Messiah which isn't produced anymore. They sold for $100 though. Can't beat the 2.4ghz wireless controllers though.

[kedawa]

You could always disable the lockout chip, find some fatter screws, and give the toaster another chance.

[Ace]

I've been unable to get 3 games working correctly on the RES:

-Castlevania III (crashes when you begin a game and has major graphical errors until then)
-Rad Racer II (plays with severely screwed up backgrounds)
-After Burner (plays with no backgrounds)

Famicom carts with expansion audio won't work correctly, either. They do work, but you won't hear the audio out of the audio chip in the cartridge. So if you have Akumajou Densetsu or other games like it, you will have to modify the console to hear the audio out of the VRC6.

Also, as Satoshi mentioned, don't expect the PowerPak to work.

Small note: you can get Castlevania III working by adding a 74xx04 inverter into the console to fake a missing signal on the cartridge slot which is responsible for broken Castlevania III compatibility.