Thoughts on the Retron?
I just won a Retron 5 for $70 on ebay with two third-party SNES controllers and five games. It's even from a place near me (I recognized the name on the sticker of one of the games, hah). I figured it would be a great way to save the hassle of coaxing my NES to work, and it would be awesome to be able to play games for all those other systems on it.
But does anyone else have one, and what are your thoughts on it? I thought about a Retron 3, since I mainly play NES and SNES, but the HDMI out was a nice selling point for me.
But does anyone else have one, and what are your thoughts on it? I thought about a Retron 3, since I mainly play NES and SNES, but the HDMI out was a nice selling point for me.
Comments
So yeah... awesome if it works.
Firmware here: http://retron5.in/?src=d82c8d1619ad8176d665453cfb2e55f0
Hopefully yours works. Mine won't detect SNES controllers properly. It pisses me off to no end. My original Retron 5 worked great, but I had to send it in to get repaired. I've gotten a refurbished one and a brand new in box one (from Hyperkin) and neither one functioned properly.
So yeah... awesome if it works.
I'll make sure to test everything I can. I'll see if the shop near me has any famicom or other out of region games I can test out on it so I can check those.
You will love it! For about 6 months....
Oh? What... happens after six months?
My only advice is that 1) opinions will be polarizing 2) Upgrade the firmware FIRST before trying 3) Form your own opinions.
Firmware here: http://retron5.in/?src=d82c8d1619...
I'm reading up on updating the firmware now. Is there any danger to trying it before updating? Or is it just not as good?
You will love it! For about 6 months....
Oh? What... happens after six months?
Some units stop working after some time or they
Originally posted by: KeenBlade
Originally posted by: NESfiend
You will love it! For about 6 months....
Oh? What... happens after six months?
Nothing. I've used mine at least once a week since a few months after it came out. Anyway, if any of the slots are tight (have a 'deathgrip' on the carts), just dab some vaseline on those slots and they'll loosen up, zero damage to the system.
You will love it! For about 6 months....
Oh? What... happens after six months?
Nothing. I've used mine at least once a week since a few months after it came out. Anyway, if any of the slots are tight (have a 'deathgrip' on the carts), just dab some vaseline on those slots and they'll loosen up, zero damage to the system.
Nice. I've heard about the deathgrip; wouldn't have thought to try vaseline.
Originally posted by: KeenBlade
Originally posted by: cirellio
My only advice is that 1) opinions will be polarizing 2) Upgrade the firmware FIRST before trying 3) Form your own opinions.
Firmware here: http://retron5.in/?src=d82c8d1619ad8176d665453cfb2e55f0
I'm reading up on updating the firmware now. Is there any danger to trying it before updating? Or is it just not as good?
The only danger on staying on the stock firmware is you may lose cart gamesaves when trying to write saves back to the physical cart.
If that doesn't worry you, it's still worth doing anyway because some games won't work straight-out-of-the-box. They've improved compatibility, speed, bootspeed, compatibility with other products, etc. a lot with the firmware updates so it just makes sense to do so first and avoid headaches.
At this point aside from a few multicarts, the only game in my library that won't work properly is Gargoyles for Genesis.
Aerial Assault (SMS), Zany Golf (GEN), and Banana (FC) also don't work for me, but I'm a huge supporter of the Retron 5 and the benefits far outweigh the detriments. I've had two for a couple years and have had no significant issues with either of them.
Can I trade you mine that doesn't let me use SNES controllers for one that does?
You will love it! For about 6 months....
Oh? What... happens after six months?
Everyone I know who has had a retron loved it from the beginning, but around 6 months later they start to have issues. In some cases, retron 5 becomes retron 3 because 2 of system types stop working. Sometimes controllers give out. I had a yobo that was essentially the same as retron 3 in 1 and it was the same story -fine for six months ended up in the trash. It's all cheap crappy hardware.
With retron, if it came with wireless controllers, id strongly recommend getting controllers that plug into the system. Those wireless controllers are really finicky.
Originally posted by: NESfiend
Originally posted by: KeenBlade
Originally posted by: NESfiend
You will love it! For about 6 months....
Oh? What... happens after six months?
Everyone I know who has had a retron loved it from the beginning, but around 6 months later they start to have issues. In some cases, retron 5 becomes retron 3 because 2 of system types stop working. Sometimes controllers give out. I had a yobo that was essentially the same as retron 3 in 1 and it was the same story -fine for six months ended up in the trash. It's all cheap crappy hardware. With retron, if it came with wireless controllers, id strongly recommend getting controllers that plug into the system. Those wireless controllers are really finicky.
Wow, that's scary. I really enjoy playing Game Boy and GBA on there the most!
Fingers crossed that everything keeps working great. I guess I've already beaten the odds by quite a bit from what you're saying.
Actually, since people don't like them maybe I should try to buy one off someone here.
Originally posted by: Philosoraptor
Aerial Assault (SMS), Zany Golf (GEN), and Banana (FC) also don't work for me, but I'm a huge supporter of the Retron 5 and the benefits far outweigh the detriments. I've had two for a couple years and have had no significant issues with either of them.
Good to know. I still need to pick up the GG/SMS adapter.
Since that adapter is still pretty new, maybe they will get Aerial Assault working in the future.
Aerial Assault (SMS), Zany Golf (GEN), and Banana (FC) also don't work for me, but I'm a huge supporter of the Retron 5 and the benefits far outweigh the detriments. I've had two for a couple years and have had no significant issues with either of them.
Good to know. I still need to pick up the GG/SMS adapter.
Since that adapter is still pretty new, maybe they will get Aerial Assault working in the future.
I have a Power Base Mini and that works fine on my Retron 5. I don't know if you mean you don't have one at all or not... but I know that one functions at least.
Aerial Assault (SMS), Zany Golf (GEN), and Banana (FC) also don't work for me, but I'm a huge supporter of the Retron 5 and the benefits far outweigh the detriments. I've had two for a couple years and have had no significant issues with either of them.
Good to know. I still need to pick up the GG/SMS adapter.
Since that adapter is still pretty new, maybe they will get Aerial Assault working in the future.
I have a Power Base Mini and that works fine on my Retron 5. I don't know if you mean you don't have one at all or not... but I know that one functions at least.
Hm, I misread the post, was thinking he was talking about the Game Gear version of Aerial Assault.
I bought one for testing my boards on, and now it sits in my garage. I couldn't find a single TV in my house where the lag was low enough for any game to be playable. The lag was so bad from that system! I have an AVS and an HDMI modded N64 and NES, and all of those systems work perfectly on all my TVs, but the Retron 5 was literally not playable. It was like a quarter second delay from a button press to the action happening on screen. Terrible.
Yeah, the delay in the Mega Man games was pretty bad, less than I was getting from hooking up my toaster NES to the TV via composite! With that said, the system itself is supposed to be lagless, so I think what's happening is within the emulation software within. I've heard good/better things about newer firmwares (less complaints, anyway), so while I mentioned the lag in my last post, I'm reserving absolute judgement at this time since I've heard word that it's been mostly, if not completely, worked out.
I bought one for testing my boards on, and now it sits in my garage. I couldn't find a single TV in my house where the lag was low enough for any game to be playable. The lag was so bad from that system! I have an AVS and an HDMI modded N64 and NES, and all of those systems work perfectly on all my TVs, but the Retron 5 was literally not playable. It was like a quarter second delay from a button press to the action happening on screen. Terrible.
Yeah, the delay in the Mega Man games was pretty bad, less than I was getting from hooking up my toaster NES to the TV via composite! With that said, the system itself is supposed to be lagless, so I think what's happening is within the emulation software within. I've heard good/better things about newer firmwares (less complaints, anyway), so while I mentioned the lag in my last post, I'm reserving absolute judgement at this time since I've heard word that it's been mostly, if not completely, worked out.
Can't say I looked into any firmware updates for it. I bought it pretty much when they launched, and after about a couple of weeks I put it away. Maybe I'll have to do some more research on it...sometime.
Originally posted by: darkchylde28
Originally posted by: Retrostage
I bought one for testing my boards on, and now it sits in my garage. I couldn't find a single TV in my house where the lag was low enough for any game to be playable. The lag was so bad from that system! I have an AVS and an HDMI modded N64 and NES, and all of those systems work perfectly on all my TVs, but the Retron 5 was literally not playable. It was like a quarter second delay from a button press to the action happening on screen. Terrible.
Yeah, the delay in the Mega Man games was pretty bad, less than I was getting from hooking up my toaster NES to the TV via composite! With that said, the system itself is supposed to be lagless, so I think what's happening is within the emulation software within. I've heard good/better things about newer firmwares (less complaints, anyway), so while I mentioned the lag in my last post, I'm reserving absolute judgement at this time since I've heard word that it's been mostly, if not completely, worked out.
That's a little concerning, since I've been playing Mega Man 3 recently. I'll be sure to test that one out when I get the system and compare with the firmware.
I bought one for testing my boards on, and now it sits in my garage. I couldn't find a single TV in my house where the lag was low enough for any game to be playable. The lag was so bad from that system! I have an AVS and an HDMI modded N64 and NES, and all of those systems work perfectly on all my TVs, but the Retron 5 was literally not playable. It was like a quarter second delay from a button press to the action happening on screen. Terrible.
Yeah, the delay in the Mega Man games was pretty bad, less than I was getting from hooking up my toaster NES to the TV via composite! With that said, the system itself is supposed to be lagless, so I think what's happening is within the emulation software within. I've heard good/better things about newer firmwares (less complaints, anyway), so while I mentioned the lag in my last post, I'm reserving absolute judgement at this time since I've heard word that it's been mostly, if not completely, worked out.
Can't say I looked into any firmware updates for it. I bought it pretty much when they launched, and after about a couple of weeks I put it away. Maybe I'll have to do some more research on it...sometime.
I was in the same boat, I bought one right after they came out and ThinkGeek had it on super deep discount on Black Friday that year. I noticed the lag pretty quickly, then noticed that Super Metroid wouldn't work and ended up upgrading the firmware at that point in order to get it running. The lag was slightly better, but still very noticeable on any serious actions games that I'd played before. I didn't notice it as much with Genesis or Game Boy carts, so it could specifically down to lag somewhere in the NES and SNES emulators. When I busted it out to test the PAL compatibility of my TV right before the AVS launched, I looked to see if there had been any updates and saw that I'd apparently missed 2-3 big ones and saw some threads in various placing talking about how the newer updates made a night & day type difference in performance on the system. Might be worth checking out given how versatile the system is otherwise.
Apparently the "jailbreak"/custom firmware that was briefly available loaded a different version of RetroArch that was supposed to be absolutely lagless, but as that ship has sailed, we may never know how true that was. It apparently showed that the system was capable of being a fantastic emulation machine, but the person who cracked the system that signed each firmware update stopped providing the service pretty quick (probably after a C&D letter and/or threat of lawsuit) and nobody has stepped up to take his place.
Originally posted by: KeenBlade
Originally posted by: darkchylde28
Originally posted by: Retrostage
I bought one for testing my boards on, and now it sits in my garage. I couldn't find a single TV in my house where the lag was low enough for any game to be playable. The lag was so bad from that system! I have an AVS and an HDMI modded N64 and NES, and all of those systems work perfectly on all my TVs, but the Retron 5 was literally not playable. It was like a quarter second delay from a button press to the action happening on screen. Terrible.
Yeah, the delay in the Mega Man games was pretty bad, less than I was getting from hooking up my toaster NES to the TV via composite! With that said, the system itself is supposed to be lagless, so I think what's happening is within the emulation software within. I've heard good/better things about newer firmwares (less complaints, anyway), so while I mentioned the lag in my last post, I'm reserving absolute judgement at this time since I've heard word that it's been mostly, if not completely, worked out.
That's a little concerning, since I've been playing Mega Man 3 recently. I'll be sure to test that one out when I get the system and compare with the firmware.
I personally didn't run into this problem. I was able to beat four of the Mega Man games (so far) with no noticeable lag or problems, however I cannot seem to beat Battletoads or Punch-Out on it, so if your HDTV is low-latency and has a Game Mode, I think you should be fine for 99% of the library.
Even if you do end up with some noticeable lag, it's frankly excellent for games like RPGs that don't require immediate input response.