Best MultiPlatform Clone Out There?

[thegamezmaster]

HELP!!!!!!!!! After several searches all over the place, I thought I'd ask here about from a user stand point, which one's best all around. I've done so much reseach I'm ready to pull my hair out!lol My older brother is a casual gamer, mainly nes,snes, sms, and genesis games. He asked my advice on the best one to get to cut down on systems. I figured the people on this forum are the most and trusted users who know their stuff. So I'd like user's opinions on the best one to suggest to him. And possibly the best price and place to get it. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give. Thank you!

[Emperor Megas]

I own the Retro Duo and the Retron3 and I haven't had any complaints whatsoever with the Retron3. Unfortunately, my Retro Duo stopped playing NES carts, but it's very likely I shorted something out using the wrong power adapter accidentally. In any event, the Retron3 plays Genesis, NES, and SNES carts, and supports original controllers for those systems (in addition to a pair proprietary IR controllers). It also supports S-Video for Genesis and SNES. I don't believe that it supports S-video for NES games however. I also play SEGA Master System games on my Retron3 with a Master Mega Converter. It's an Australian Power Base Converter, but the Power Base Converter II (or whatever it was called) should work as well. I don't recall if it plays Megadrive carts, but I'd image it does, as well as Super Famicom carts.

My Retron3 was gift, and I hadn't done much research on it before I received it, but I've been very pleased with it's performance. It's ugly as sin, but that's of little consequence. I comes in at least two color schemes (at least it did when I received mine). Grey, and Red. I believe that the red has a slightly metallic finish, but I could be mistaken. I have the grey version.

[thegamezmaster]

Thanks for the reply. And don't feel too bad about using the wrong ac adapter. Been there done that with the first sega deck I ever bought! Luckily I fixed and it works great. Thanks again!

[Ace]

Allow me to share my experiences with x-in-1 clones:

Yobo FC Twin:

This was the first Famiclone I ever bought and I loved this system (I even bought another one after completely screwing up my first FC Twin). The NES side was quite accurate (earlier revisions with no Yobo branding have junk NOACs in them, so the sound will come out wrong), the video was a little darker than on the Front-Loader NES (but the colors were really good) and it had issues with 3 of my NES games: Castlevania III (it boots with both graphical errors and missing graphics), After Burner (works with no background graphics) and Rad Racer II (works with severe graphical errors). The Super NES side was spot-on to original hardware. The colors were a little better than my launch-model Super NES (it didn't have a yellow tint like the video output from my launch-model Super NES), the sound was perfect (but the Stereo sound was reversed - audio left came out of the RED plug and audio right came out of the WHITE plug) and it worked with every Super NES game I had.

The system itself felt pretty solid with a couple of weak spots around the cartridge slots, but the biggest issue with the first FC Twin I got back in 2007 is by far the pack-in controllers. They SUCKED! The buttons worked, but the D-pad was so horribly unresponsive you had to literally jam the D-pad into the controller for diagonals to work, and for a person who plays a lot of Shoot-em-Ups like myself, this is unacceptable. On top of it, one of the controllers in my first FC Twin was getting input from all 4 face buttons without me even touching the buttons.

FC Twins made in 2011 have a fair bit of changes compared to older Yobo-branded FC Twins made in 2007. The NES side sadly got worse. The sound is still almost 100% accurate (I'd say it's about 90% accurate as the white noise is too loud, the square waves are still a bit off and the DPCM is wrong), but it's so heavily amplified, it gets distorted (and yes, the compatibility problems still remain). Most games are tolerable, but some sound rather crappy. The Super NES side got better video-wise as the video is brighter and more colorful, although oddly enough, there is audio interference in the video signal as there are horizontal lines in sync with the sound in the video signal. The reversed Stereo sound has been fixed, but the sound itself isn't what I remember it being on my 2007 FC Twin. It's low-pass filtered, which makes the sound a bit more muffled than original hardware, but on top of it, the sound clips a lot more than it should (possibly due to a cheap op-amp used to amplify the audio signal).

The build quality of the system itself hasn't changed, but the controllers are A LOT better. The D-pad is now VERY responsive and as such, diagonal inputs are very easy and the D-pad itself isn't as stiff as it once was.

RetroBit RetroDuo

I got this as a replacement for my dead FC Twin after hearing a lot of good things about it. I can pretty much sum up the RetroDuo as follows: it's a terrific Super NES but a HORRIBLE NES unless you modify the audio circuitry. The Super NES side works really well; the sound is perfect (aside from some excess clipping) and the video is quite good, but only in Composite. While the RetroDuo does have S-Video and it does look a lot sharper than Composite, the picture is EXTREMELY dark.

The NES side, however, is a complete mess. Compatibility is better than any other modern NOAC-based Famiclone out there (all 3 of my problem NES games work perfectly on the RetroDuo), but the sound is horrible! It's distorted to the point where some games have their sound output as a mess of garbage and distorted notes. Many games are not listenable on the RetroDuo unless you modify the audio amp by adding in a missing capacitor and resistor. With those added, it is hands-down the best 2-in-1 NES/Super NES combo clone I've personally come across. The audio is 90% accurate, the colors in the video output are a bit dull, but it works really well when properly modified.

The controllers, on the other hand, are a bit of a mixed bag. Many people hate them, but I personally like them despite the fact that A) they feel like they're hollow plastic, and B) the D-pad is insanely stiff.

Some RetroDuos seem to have faulty power supplies as well as the power supply my RetroDuo came with added two thick strips of static in the video signal which would scroll from the top down and wrap around back to the top of the screen. I had to modify the power supply my external LG DVD-ROM drive came with to fix this (it had the wrong tip, so I spliced the cable and soldered a second tip to the power supply's wire).

The system itself seems solid, but is made with lightweight plastic and tends to feel cheap, especially with its high-gloss finish.

RetroBit Gen-X

I don't have experience with the newest revision of the Gen-X, but I do have experience with the first revision. It's a mixed bag, really. The NES side is lousy (typical compatibility issues and inaccurate audio) and the Genesis side has its fair share of problems as well. The video is pretty clear and colorful, but there's too much green in the video signal, causing weird colors. On top of it, the audio amp is so poorly designed, you can't hear any PSG unless you listen REALLY closely and the FM Synthesis is pretty badly distorted. The Genesis also has control issues due to the way the system is designed. It uses modified Famiclone DB-9 controller ports, and since the Genesis uses completely different controller signals than the NES, the controller signals need to be converted. This is achieved by using two chips made to convert the controller signals, and they are poor. Some games have noticeable delays in button inputs, and these delays can sometimes be so severe, the affected games are unplayable. The best part about the Genesis side of the Gen-X is its compatibility. It works with Virtua Racing and it works with Sega Master System games as well, though they're unplayable due to the crappy conversion chips (the B and C buttons work as they should, but the D-pad is unresponsive).

The controllers look and feel like Genesis 6-button controllers. They're obviously not as well-built as Sega 6-button controllers, but they work pretty damn well... except for NES games. The A and B buttons are reversed.

Even the system is built pretty well. It doesn't weigh much, though, because both the NES and Genesis sides are based off system-on-a-chip designs.

Yobo GN Twin

Yobo's answer to the Gen-X is a pile of crap. This is by far the worst Famiclone I've ever used. Not only does the NES side have inaccurate sound (again), the video is VERY dark, blurry and heavily oversaturated, and the sound is very low and heavily low-pass filtered, making most high frequencies inaudible. Compatibility is very poor as well (no joke, I can't get MegaMan 3, 4, 5 and 6 to work on my GN Twin). The Genesis side, though, is 100% identical to the Gen-X.

The controllers are a bit different. They generally feel the same, but they have a slightly clickier and more responsive D-pad than the Gen-X's controllers. It also has reversed A and B buttons on the NES side.

The system is cheap as hell. It's made of low-quality plastic and most of the inside is air as the PCBs are tiny.

Yobo FC3 Plus

Many people bash this clone, but aside from an NES side almost as lousy as that of the GN Twin (the sound is not muffled, but it's wrong, the video is crap, compatibility is crap and the sound is FULL of video noise) and the fact you HAVE to use the pack-in controllers (unless you rig up an adapter to use NES or Super NES controllers - FYI, the Gen-X and GN Twin's controllers are cross-compatible with the FC3 Plus, and I suggest you use Gen-X and/or GN Twin controllers to play Genesis games on the FC3 Plus), I like this clone. The Genesis side is the best of all Geniclones I've used. The sound is a bit too heavily high-pass filtered (this results in weak low-ends), but distortion is kept to a minimum and the volume balance between FM Synthesis and PSG is perfect. The only major sound issue with both 16-bit sides of the FC3 Plus is that the sound is in DUAL MONO, not Stereo! WTF? But still, the FC3 Plus plays every Genesis game I own (beware of early-revision FC3 Pluses as those are not compatible with either Virtua Racing or Master System games) including those with severe control input delay on the GN Twin and Gen-X (a new conversion chip is used to convert the controller signals) and Master System games respond to the D-pad. The Super NES side is quite good, though the video is quite dark and seems to have a bit too much red. Some games have garbled sound due to how the dual Mono audio amp is designed. The worst, though, is the Super GameBoy, which has VERY bad distortion in its audio output.

Build quality-wise, the FC3 Plus is nothing exceptional. The system itself feels a bit cheap, the controllers are quite poor (especially the cords - the cord on my Player 2 FC3 Plus controller frayed at the plug, AND I WASN'T EVEN USING THE DAMN CONTROLLER!) and the included light gun (which is no longer included in the newest revision of the FC3 Plus) feels REALLY nasty as the plastic is cheap as all hell and the gun itself has no weight to it (inconsistent precision-wise, too).

The button mapping is a mess with the NES and Super NES sides. On the NES side, A and B are reversed and on the Super NES side, A and Y are reversed. C and Z also serve as duplicate L and R buttons with Super NES games.

Hyperkin RetroN3

I've had experience with both the Version 1 and Version 2 RetroN3, and let me tell you, they're two completely different beasts. On the Version 1, the NES side is rather poor due to, once again, inaccurate (and low) audio, the typical compatibility issues and some slightly oversaturated video. The Genesis side is decent, though the sound is very weak, quite heavily muffled and the PSG is so loud it can drown out the FM Synthesis. The Composite video is dark and again has excess green, but the S-Video is quite sharp, although the whites are too bright and the colors are dull. It also doesn't work with Virtua Racing unlike the Gen-X, GN Twin and later revisions of the FC3 Plus. I've also noticed some strange video issues with both the pack-in controllers and original Genesis controllers. With the pack-in controllers, the first time you press a button, the video gets brighter, and whenever you press a button on a Genesis controller, the video gets darker. You also can't mix the pack-in controllers with Genesis controllers. Doing so will make some buttons on the Genesis controller unresponsive. The Super NES side is quite good despite quiet sound, some Stereo separation issues (there's a layer of Mono audio underneath the Stereo sound - this affects the Genesis side as well), dark Composite video and excessively bright S-Video.

Build quality-wise, this thing is built better than other clones. It actually has a fair bit of weight to it.

What people complain about the most with the RetroN3 is the pack-in controllers. They're infrared wireless controllers (seriously, Hyperkin, infrared? This isn't 1992, you know!), which means if you try to use them anywhere away from the receiver's useful range, they won't work. They're quite nasty button-mapping wise, but I've had good experiences with the RetroN3's pack-in controllers nonetheless.

Now for the Version 2, and wow... what a mess. The NES side is *almost* the same, but Castlevania III now works, Rad Racer II works perfectly too, but After Burner plays with major graphical errors. The NOAC is still crap, though, but the audio is actually at a good level. The Genesis side is unchanged except for the darkening of the video when pressing buttons on Genesis controllers, but the Super NES side... ARGH! It makes me sick just to think about it. The video is the same, but the sound... GET SOME EARMUFFS!!! It's so loud, almost every game suffers from severely distorted audio (UN Squadron and Doom in particular... OH MY GOD!!!) and the bass is nowhere to be found (VERY heavy high-pass filtering on the Super NES side of the RetroN3 Version 2). I hate the RetroN3 Version 2 and deem it the worst of the 3-in-1 clones.

Wow, that was a long post. Hope this helps you and your brother decide which x-in-1 clone to get, Thegamezmaster.

[thegamezmaster]

Thanks for the input. It really helps to hear all the info from an actual user! Again many thanks!

[Emperor Megas]

After reading that, I'm glad that my RetroN3 is the first run.

[Ace]

Hold on to that RetroN3 Version 1 because it really is a better system all-around than the RetroN3 Version 2. If you dare, watch these videos I posted on my YouTube channel to see how the RetroN3 Version 2 completely murders nearly every Super NES game I own and makes a mess out of the Super GameBoy (WARNING: KEEP SOME EARMUFFS NEARBY!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2g3MaUNWa4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJs35hLscyg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP3t7an7Oh8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly1ymhyJw-k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM-Ox4ZIbpI

And for Thegamezmaster, here's my Clone console comparisons playlist with comparison clips of the RetroDuo, RetroN3 Version 1, RetroN3 Version 2, the GN Twin and the Gen-X: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxNzj...=plpp_play_all

The Gen-X is first followed by the GN Twin, RetroDuo and the RetroN3 Version 1 and 2 one after the other. Be advised: the 5 Gen-X videos are of very poor quality as they're the very first videos I ever posted on YouTube. GN Twin testing is also far from complete as only a few Genesis games are shown (I ended up breaking both my GN Twin AND my Gen-X while attempting to mod the consoles... fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...). I will redo both Gen-X vs. Original Hardware and GN Twin vs. Original Hardware once I get replacement consoles.

I'll tell you one thing: if you're handy with a soldering iron, x-in-1 clones make for nice tinker toys. Since clone console manufacturers always seem to screw up something, you can always fix what they messed up and make a better clone than what the clone manufacturers made (unless the clone hardware itself is junk, in which case you're stuck with junk that has better audio and video amps and that can take original controllers if they use Famiclone controller ports).