RetroN5: Hands on first look

[Az]

Realtec's Genesis games do not work, as suspected before, but obviously no big loss since their games are pure rubbish.

Strange thing is Gens Plus GX supports all the copy protection in the Realtec mapper and will run unpatched dumps of their games. However the R5 never gets to the point that it dumps the ROM, anytime a Realtec cart is inserted it throws up a cart slot power error.

Obviously no protected SNES game work since no emulator supports them outright and cracked ROMs have to be used. Has anyone tried any Sega Super Fighter Team games on this? What about Sega games like Puggsy that lock up if they detect SRAM? Or the SNES game (can't remember what it was) that went apeshit and spiked the difficulty if it detected it was running on a copier?

[R9delta]

Or the SNES game (can't remember what it was) that went apeshit and spiked the difficulty if it detected it was running on a copier?

Earthbound? If that's what you're referring to, it works fine. Even running the equivalent japanese version (Mother 2) with a patch to convert it to Earthbound works fine.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Yeah, EarthBound plays just fine on the Retron5. Unlike SA-1 and Super FX games.

[Tanooki]

Since when do SA1 and FX games not work on the R5? Did I miss something? I did some light Kirby play and have run some missions of both Starfox titles, DOOM and Yoshis Island on it.

[Leo_A]

I wonder if controller port 2 for any of the three pairs of controller ports can be used for player 1 on this thing? Would be convenient since it would allow a secondary controller that's regularly used to always be plugged in at the ready (like your favorite arcade stick).

Came across this old post of mine and thought I'd bump the question. Could I keep, for instance, my ASCII SuperNes arcade stick and my ASCII SuperNes gamepad plugged into the two controller ports at the same time and switch off as necessary?

Or does player 1's controller always have to be plugged into port 1, despite this being an emulation machine not bound to the same constraints as original hardware?

Hardly important beyond satisfying my curiosity, but that's reason enough to ask.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Since when do SA1 and FX games not work on the R5? Did I miss something? I did some light Kirby play and have run some missions of both Starfox titles, DOOM and Yoshis Island on it.

They technically work, but the performance is terrible.

I've noticed it in every single Super FX game I've got:

Star Fox
Stunt Racer FX
Vortex
Star Fox 2 Repro
Yoshi's Island

All of them will randomly pause for 1-2 seconds which also cuts out the audio. It renders them unplayable on account of emulation issues.

This is something Hyperkin urgently needs to fix. The same thing happens with Mario RPG.

[Tanooki]

The only one in that list of games I noted I had that did have a problem with Yoshi's Island and haven't checked it since around v1.41 of the firmware where it acted like bad frame skipping in a couple of stages but not the others, and that was the sync bug he supposedly repaired in a later release. My broken RMA I got last monday arrived at Hyperkin on Friday, so I should have yet another system sometime this week. Of your list I do not have Stunt Race or Vortex, did own them at one time though they're oddly not bad albeit slow on real hardware which is a shame as speed would have made them enjoyable (especially the racer.)

[R9delta]

Might want to mention it to Retron Tech specifically to get help with troubleshooting if you hadn't already since it's not a problem that everyone is experiencing. I've done a complete playthrough of Star Fox 1 and 2 (using a patch for 2, not a repro though), and a good chunk of Yoshi's Island and SMRPG and none are having the issue you've described..though there is some frame dropping here and there on Yoshi's Island (though nothing completely broken like is claimed), even when using the Super 2xSai or HQ2X filter. Same without any filters. This is as of 2.0 Stable.

[Az]

Came across this old post of mine and thought I'd bump the question. Could I keep, for instance, my ASCII SuperNes arcade stick and my ASCII SuperNes gamepad plugged into the two controller ports at the same time and switch off as necessary?

You can do this but it's not as simple as just picking up the controller and pressing start, you change one small setting on the frontend prior to starting the game.

By default the system is setup so anything on the left side is P1 and anything on the right side is P2. If you want to swap between controllers plugged up on the same side then all you have to do is pick them up, no change in settings needed.

If you want to use a controller on the right (2P) side as a 1P controller, you enter the controller setup and change the P1 setting from "any controller on P1 side" to "SNES P2 port" (or whatever). The tiny inconvenience of taking 5 seconds to change this setting is outweighed by being able to leave 7+ controllers hooked up to the system and change on the fly.

Edit...

The section you go to to change this setting is the same place you'd go to setup the control ports for emulating a multi-tap. It doesn't take but a second to change (especially if you're just changing it to do what you mentioned) but I've not fooled with it enough to determine if it keeps this change after you power the system off or until you manually change it back. From what I can tell you can't save it as a game specific setting, only as a system specific one.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

My long delayed full review of the Retron5 has begun today with part 1 of what will be a 9 part video series detailing in depth the Retron5 as it currently is. Like my other reviews, my aim is to be as through as possible and include way more detailed information than you would find....anywhere.

Here's Part 1. New installments will be out daily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_18ema35ZSs

[Tanooki]

Port covers? I never got any of those. Hrmm... Didn't think it as really professional opening up cursing hyperkin over their concept of June. Also the old boot up which sucked was 5 seconds, 5 very boring wasted seconds. :P Not bad so far, but this is going to be very long at 9 videos.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Yeah, all told, this video series will consist of about 3 ½ hours of content across all of its videos.

[BoscoTheMan82]

http://retron5.in/?src=d9d4f495e875a2e075a1a4a6e1b9770f

Retron v2.1
Changes since v2.0 include:

Fixed bug causing certain button mapping configurations to prevent games from starting
Fixed issue causing occasional video instability for some people storing saves on SD card

[YoshiM]

Tomorrow I will be picking up a RetroN5 from a local game shop after I bring in some trades. I've been on the fence for a while as I have an Ouya filled to the gills with ROMs. When I feel in the mood to play an old game, I'll link my Wii Classic Controller Pro (or whatever it's called) and go at it that way and for the most part it works for me.

Last night I took my Ouya to my friend's house so her kids could play some classic Super Mario. It was a mix of boys and girls (grand total of 5 playing) with ages ranging from 9 to 4. Overall it went ok but they seemed to have issues with the Pro controller and hand placement. I lost count how many times they accidentally went into the emulator menu. All the while I was wishing I had USB adapters for my original NES controllers as they would have no problems.

Now granted I could get the adapters but by the time I was done I'd be close to the price of a RetroN5 without factoring the price of the Ouya. I like the idea of inserting cartridges in and using my refurbished original controllers. I get that nostalgic feel while the kids will get to experience a combination of the "old school" (cartridges, the original controllers) with the new (HDMI, state saves, etc.).

As a side note, if there's a language patch for it I can finally play Dragon Quest 4 that I got from Queen of Felines way back in the first Secret Santa!

Oh yes, and the 4-year old rocked everyone playing Legend of Zelda. She got the farthest out of everyone.

[BTR]

Not looking too bright for PAL region gamers right now, it appears there are still CE marking problems
http://www.funstock.co.uk/news/retro...ate-sept-2014/

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Tomorrow I will be picking up a RetroN5 from a local game shop after I bring in some trades. I've been on the fence for a while as I have an Ouya filled to the gills with ROMs. When I feel in the mood to play an old game, I'll link my Wii Classic Controller Pro (or whatever it's called) and go at it that way and for the most part it works for me.

If you already have an Ouya, the Retron5 might not be something worth buying. It depends on your physical cartridge collection size and your devotion to physical media. I've found that the Retron5 and Ouya are very similar devices and the main reason to go for the Ouya is if you'd rather just play virtually any game via the ROM file or want to instead put in the cart and play that. The Ouya does more and costs less, but the Retron5 feels more "authentic".

Just some food for thought before you plop down the money to buy a Retron5.

[Tanooki]

BTR the only semi-official reasoning I was given by the tech for the CE backed regions is that it's not hyperkin, nor is it a major issue with the system, it's one little thing -- bluetooth. The supplier of the bluetooth device in the system and controller supposedly refuses to submit the schematics/designs to the CE board for approval for some mystery(at the time I was told like 2 months ago, maybe it isn't one now) reasoning. Until that supplier decides to act like adults and do whats needed people who have to work with the CE are SOL unless they import.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Part 2 is now published:

This time I thoroughly explain and detail the user interface of the Retron5 as well as go over each of its features, and give my impression on them. Spoilers: all but one of the filters are terrible and you are terrible if you use them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyRbAeRzfZI

[Gameguy]

BTR the only semi-official reasoning I was given by the tech for the CE backed regions is that it's not hyperkin, nor is it a major issue with the system, it's one little thing -- bluetooth. The supplier of the bluetooth device in the system and controller supposedly refuses to submit the schematics/designs to the CE board for approval for some mystery(at the time I was told like 2 months ago, maybe it isn't one now) reasoning. Until that supplier decides to act like adults and do whats needed people who have to work with the CE are SOL unless they import.

Why doesn't Hyperkin use another supplier for Bluetooth that would better suit it's needs?

[YoshiM]

If you already have an Ouya, the Retron5 might not be something worth buying. It depends on your physical cartridge collection size and your devotion to physical media. I've found that the Retron5 and Ouya are very similar devices and the main reason to go for the Ouya is if you'd rather just play virtually any game via the ROM file or want to instead put in the cart and play that. The Ouya does more and costs less, but the Retron5 feels more "authentic".

Just some food for thought before you plop down the money to buy a Retron5.

Well let's think about this. Controllers are a big thing for me and not using the original controllers is a deal breaker. I tried using the Classic Pro or the Ouya controller (which is not that grand) and it doesn't feel good in my hands. To match the number of connectors that the RetroN5 has, figuring $10 per USB cord per controller (being optimistic on cheap prices here) so that would be $60. Then I need a USB hub which can go for what, $10 to $20 for a decent one? Let's say $15. I'm at $75. Factor in the price of the Ouya at $100, which I paid rounded up for ease of math and we're at $175 TCO for the hardware. Even with just figuring the adapters-I'm more than halfway to a RetroN5. Granted you could say I made out like a bandit with all the ROMs but then again there's that copyright thang.

I like physical media. Heck I listen to albums and tapes more than digital music from my iphone or computer. To insert a cartridge and then use the original controller, the one I've used for over twenty years-feels great. The ceremony is something that cannot be imitated by digital.

Tonight my plans fell through and I was able to get the RetroN. I love it! The cart slot is a little tight but that will loosen over time. I turned Overscan on and played some SMB and other than a singular graphical goof with the coin indicator, it was nearly perfect. The music, which was fast on the Ouya, was at the proper speed. My play was not hampered by delays or anything- it responded like I was on the original hardware.

This is gonna be fun! I can finally pull my. Blaster Master cart out and play it to completion!