Thoughts on Everdrives?
Hi all,
First off let me make it clear that I am mostly a player, not a collector. The only original carts/physical copies I care about owning are games that I really, really love.
Not only do I not have much more space to expand my collection, but as a student I've been up to my neck in everything and don't have much additional income to spend on games.
I am thinking about replacing my NES, SNES and Genesis collections with everdrives. Have you had good experiences with everdrives? Do they glitch and have inconsistincies like many emulators? Most of all, does it feel like playing on an emulator or is it authentic? Are they worth the $100 or so price tags?
First off let me make it clear that I am mostly a player, not a collector. The only original carts/physical copies I care about owning are games that I really, really love.
Not only do I not have much more space to expand my collection, but as a student I've been up to my neck in everything and don't have much additional income to spend on games.
I am thinking about replacing my NES, SNES and Genesis collections with everdrives. Have you had good experiences with everdrives? Do they glitch and have inconsistincies like many emulators? Most of all, does it feel like playing on an emulator or is it authentic? Are they worth the $100 or so price tags?
Comments
I am thinking about replacing my NES, SNES and Genesis collections with everdrives. Have you had good experiences with everdrives?
Yes. I own EverDrives for almost every system for which they're made (the only one I don't have is the Master System one). Yes, to answer your later question, they're 100% worth it if (as I am) you're more of a player than a collector.
Do they glitch and have inconsistincies like many emulators?
No. There are a handful of games on each system that don't work. Usually that's because they use a special chip that can't be simulated by the EverDrive (e.g. StarFox, the MMC5 games on NES, Virtua Racing on Genesis). Otherwise I've had trouble with less than 1% of games, and for many of those a patch can be found.
Most of all, does it feel like playing on an emulator or is it authentic?
Authentic, with the exception of the extra sound channels on certain Famicom and Famicom Disk System games which may have noticeable inaccuracies. Everything else is spot-on, since the EverDrive is functionally equivalent to the original ROM chips. It's not "emulation" in any meaningful sense of the word (except for the sound channels I mentioned); lag, slowdown, etc. will all be identical to a real console.
Edit: there are a couple of off-beaten special chips that dont work, but it's mostly foreign stuff. here's the wiki for a full list of games with special chips: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Super_NES_enhancement_chips#List_of_Super_NES_games_that_use_enhancement_chips
(if you get the Super Everdrive with DSP-1 chip, all the DSPs 1-4 will work (which adds mario kart and pilotwings to the compatability list. If you get the SD2SNES, Mega Man X2 and X3 work as well, plus load times are almost non-existant when booting up a game)
But still well worth the money considering the $350-$400 (for both the Everdrive N8 AND SD2SNES) (depending on version and where you buy it from) is a fraction of what you'd spend on just a couple rare games to have the 99% of the library at your fingertips on REAL hardware!!!
One thing you can do with them is play all the translated and hacked games. I have also used mine to run test rom to check systems to make sure all is working.
As stated above there is chip differences so some games don't work but the ones that are 'normal' cartridge games will work 100%, the system doesn't know its a flash cart it looks exactly the same to the system when the pins make contact.
Do yourself a favor and do it, especially NES and SNES
How do you transfer the roms to the cart and is there a set up screen?
SD card, and yes there is a menu.
A lot of what's been said in this thread is reinforcing that decision.
What's the best place to order such a device, NA?
Originally posted by: NostalgicMachine
I don't currently own one, but I'm starting to see the appeal of it.
A lot of what's been said in this thread is reinforcing that decision.
What's the best place to order such a device, NA?
www.Stoneagegamer.com for us purchase (plus they have a nice presentation, clamshell or bitbox (disney vhs style case) case, etc
or directly from the source/creator in the Ukraine - http://krikzz.com/store/
takes about 15-20 days to get here
I don't currently own one, but I'm starting to see the appeal of it.
A lot of what's been said in this thread is reinforcing that decision.
What's the best place to order such a device, NA?
www.Stoneagegamer.com for us purchase (plus they have a nice presentation, clamshell or bitbox (disney vhs style case) case, etc
or directly from the source/creator in the Ukraine - http://krikzz.com/store/
takes about 15-20 days to get here
Thank you, sir! Bookmarked!
Yeah if I would go back in time and tell my childhood self that every NES, Famicom and Famicom disk system game would fit on a little card as small as my pinkie nail that goes in one cart, I'd probably shit kittens lol
Do yourself a favor and do it, especially NES and SNES
Well, the SD2SNES is obviously the one to get for SNES (superior in every way) but luckily Krikkz makes/sells those too and they are available everywhere Everdrives are.
Originally posted by: mike87
Can u save on a everdriver?
You bet! It'll create the save files for you too. You can also transfer save files back and forth between emulators and the EverDrive, in case you wanted to do a section of a game with save states, or capture screens from a certain area. Heck, if you have a retrode or something like a CopyNES you could dump the saves from your original games and transfer them over to a flash cart if you wanted, returning to them long after your original battery dies.
I can definitely see the appeal of the Everdrive, and think that it would be a delight for those that are strictly gamers. For collectors though, I see little point. I own 95% of the Famicom library, so I much prefer just digging through my stash and playing the real thing to downloading a rom onto a card and then playing it via the Everdrive. Then again, I also always preferred real books to Kindle / Nook...
I think though that some day there will be a point where convenience overtakes collectability / owning the physical media of games, at least in my mind. At that point, I think the Everdrive would be a viable replacement.
If you are limited with your money, and are not addicted with physical media, I think the Everdrive would suit you well.
Originally posted by: tracker465
I own an everdrive for Famicom, but I rarely use it. Maybe I have used it five times, max. I got mine mostly for fooling around with rom hacks I make.
I can definitely see the appeal of the Everdrive, and think that it would be a delight for those that are strictly gamers. For collectors though, I see little point. I own 95% of the Famicom library, so I much prefer just digging through my stash and playing the real thing to downloading a rom onto a card and then playing it via the Everdrive. Then again, I also always preferred real books to Kindle / Nook...
I think though that some day there will be a point where convenience overtakes collectability / owning the physical media of games, at least in my mind. At that point, I think the Everdrive would be a viable replacement.
If you are limited with your money, and are not addicted with physical media, I think the Everdrive would suit you well.
I'm with you on this, but I think we're the minority here.
Times when I use my everdrives: during development, at social gatherings, RPG translations.
I know with the Everdrive MD, it actually hid bugs during development that once they were put onto their own designated cart, the game would crash consistently on powerup, so that's enough to make me play on physical carts for most games.
Interested in playing recca.
Plus with emulating it I don't have to mess with menus,rom transfers to the cart,etc it's just download and save the rom to the rom folder and play it.
Not saying an Everdrive isn't worth it,I can see the allure....it's just that emulating on my laptop is easier and quicker in my opinion and definitely cheaper.
can you play famicom roms on an everdrive n8?
Interested in playing recca.
Yes, definitely. I play Famicom roms all the time, even FDS roms. Really nice for that. It can play all the versions, plus the regional exclusives.
Just adding to the adoration. I love my Everdrives (Famicom N8, SD2SNES, GB Everdrive) to death. I've cooled off on collecting for the SNES, except for certain games, due to the high prices and couldn't be more pleased to just use the flash cart (I do have the games it doesn't support). I still actively collect for NES, but I rarely use the real carts; it's so convenient to leave the N8 in the system and not have to worry about taking something down off the shelf--plus, it cuts down on wear for collection pieces.
can you play famicom roms on an everdrive n8?
Interested in playing recca.
I've cooled off on collecting for the SNES, except for certain games, due to the high prices and couldn't be more pleased to just use the flash cart (I do have the games it doesn't support). I still actively collect for NES, but I rarely use the real carts; it's so convenient to leave the N8 in the system and not have to worry about taking something down off the shelf--plus, it cuts down on wear for collection pieces.
Seeing more and more of that all the time. It will only become more prevalent as prices go up.