Who Am I?I'm a hardcore retro gamer who gambled $152 (139.99 +tax) of his own hard earned cash on a Retron 5 and I'm sharing my experience with you.
I pre-ordered a Black unit back in Sept 2013. That unit remains in Amazon limbo. The unit I'm reviewing on is a grey unit I picked up at a local store on 5/27/2014.
That's my back story. On to the review!
The 10 Systems Supported:- Famicom
- NES
- GameBoy
- GameBoy Color
- GameBoy Advance
- Genesis
- Master System (using a Power Base Mini or Power Base Converter)
- Mega Drive
- SNES
- Super Famicom
HardwareThe console is incredibly light and much smaller than I expected. It's about the size of an SNES. The plastic feels less durable than a Sega Genesis Model 1.
The cartridge slots are a mixed bag. The NES slot is a little loose and games can wobble in the slot. For me this caused issues for NARC. I have to wiggle it to get it to be recognized.
I didn't have any problems with the SNES or GameBoy slots. All GameBoy variants, Super Famicom, and Super Nintendo games are equally easy to work with.
The Famicom and Genesis slots can be very tight depending on the cartridge. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm going to rip the console or the cartridge apart when I take it out. At one point I thought my Retron 5 had become a dedicated Earthworm Jim machine because it did not want to come out at all. The Mega Everdrive was the hardest to remove. *spoiler alert* it doesn't work anyway so I'd recommend not trying to put it in to begin with.
The biggest problem with trying to pull Famicom or Genesis carts out is the fear that you'll crush the console while holding it down to pull the cartridge out. I would strongly advise against not putting any kind of pressure on the plastic trim between cartridge slots or you could easily damage the case.
When inserting cartridges it's best to apply even downward force. Do not wiggle the carts in from an angle. When pulling carts out, grab the right or left corner and pull straight up.
Do not wiggle games in and out.
Some folks are reporting damaged pins after a few uses. I've inserted and removed games from each slot over 100 times with no issues.
The dust doors protecting the slots seem sturdy enough but the lack of a dust cover for the GameBoy slot is baffling. You might be tempted to leave a GameBoy game in to keep the dust out but you can't because the Retron 5 does not (currently) allow multiple cartridges to be plugged in at the same time. In fact page 9 of the manual states "*do not insert more than one cartridge simultaneously, or risk damaging your Retron 5."
The manual is 20 pages (the book is much thicker because it's in multiple languages) and covers all the options and features. It also describes how to properly connect the Power Base Converter for playing Sega Master System Games. No complaints here.
The power adapter is multi region and comes with all necessary adapters. But the cord is only 3 feet long. Good luck plugging in without an extension cord.
Some retailers still claim that both HDMI and AV out are supported. This is not true.
The console is HDMI out ONLY.
It does come with a heavy duty 6 foot HDMI cable. No complaints here.
The USB charge cable uses two ends that are normally never seen on the same cable and not the standard rectangular end to plug into the console like every other USB cable ever made.
So don't loose the controller charging cable or you are screwed.ControlsTo me the included controller feels cheap and is a royal pain to use on most games.
Forget about precision platforming in Mario or pulling off even the simplest of moves in Mortal Combat like Sub Zero's Freeze move or Scorpion's teleport punch. I honestly have no idea what the hell they were thinking with this thing. Try doing the crouch jump through the wall trick to get to -1 in Super Mario Bros and you'll instantly see what I mean. The buttons themselves are fine. It's the thumbstick microswitch design that's the problem. You'll find yourself not between axis when you want to be (up and right for example) and not making the transition from one axis to another when you want to (like running left in Sonic then crouching to go into a spin while still moving or running and sliding under a boss in Mega Man III).
Back to build quality... Within the first five seconds of having the system out of the box I was thinking I better never drop the controller or it's toast. Seconds later as I was trying to plug in the console with its 3 foot power cable I accidentally dropped the controller from a height of 2 feet and the thumbstick broke on impact.
5 minutes out of the box and I broke it. Needless to say I was not happy.
After taking the controller apart I discovered it was just a snap in piece of plastic that had popped out of place. After snapping it back in place it works fine now.
Well, it works as designed.
The controller does not feel or play like it's worth $40. Especially when you can pick up a $40 - $50 PS3 controller that has both analog thumbstick and dpad controls and force feedback that is practically indestructible.
Another problem with the Retron 5 Controller actually is a bug in the software. When you try to map A and B (+ and -) in the custom profiles section it actually has the opposite effect. Whatever you map to - won't work unless you press + and whatever you map to + will not work unless you press -. This should be easy to fix with a firmware update.UPDATE 6/14/2014 Retron5 Application update 1.31 (build 1435) fixes this.For SNES, Genesis, and Game Boy the pack in controller being a bust is not a big deal. You can use any of your original controllers and they work great. But if you want to play NES with your original controllers and maintain your sanity there is something additional you will want to do....
For some reason they mapped Up+A+B to "Fast Forward" for every non Retron 5 Wireless controller in use for NES games. As the name implies it causes the game to go into fast forward when triggered. The problem is this is a legitimate button combo for several games including: Blaster Master, Ninja Gaiden 2, Ducktales and Super Mario 3. Just to name a few. At first this makes these games unplayable with anything but the Retron5 wireless controller.
Don't panic. You can use your original controllers to play NES games. But before you do you should reassign the hot key for "Fast Forward" to something you're not likely to press during normal gameplay. I reassigned mine to Select+Down.
In my opinion there should be absolutely NO hot key combinations out of the box. If there are then they should be completely removable if not desired! In this case you can't set "Fast Forward" to "none" the best you can do is reassign it.UPDATE 5/30/2014 Retron5 Application update 1.1 (build 1400) eliminates the default mapping (unless you already reassigned it. If you have already reassigned it, it is now possible to remove it altogether by going to Settings->Hotkey Configuration->Fast forward->Reset to default. Thank you Hyperkin for addressing this within 2 days of me mentioning it!Original controller support is good and I cannot sense any input lag during normal gameplay. Some on the Hyperkin facebook page insist there is lag inherent to the Retron 5. I respectfully disagree and emphatically state.
THERE IS NO USER PERCEPTIBLE INPUT LAG with the Retron 5. Folks will argue and flame me for saying so but here's the deal:
Not all HDTVs are created equal.
Make sure your HDTV is set to "Game" mode if it has one and turn off ALL special processing such as "Tru-motion, Super Resolution, Noise Reduction, etc." This works for most people. If you purchased a TV that does not allow you to turn off lag inducing features... I'm sorry.
It's worth noting the Retron 5 does not recognize a Sega Master System controller in the Genesis port. It also doesn't recognize an Atari 2600 or ColecoVision controller in the genesis port (people have asked, so I tried). It also won't properly recognize 1 of my 2 standard nes controllers (both of which work fine on my real NES). I haven't tested light guns yet. Hyperkin has said in the past that it "should work with an HDMI to CRT adapter". At some point I'll put that statement to the test and let you know what I find out.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the SNES mouse works just fine. Your Mario Painting days are far from over.
Any controller can be used to toggle through the menus. No matter what controller you use A is always accept. B is always "back".
Emulation & CompatibilityThe emulation is pretty damn good. From the nearly 400 games I and small team of other folks have tested only a few official titles are unplayable:
Balloon Boy / Funny World (unlicensed game)
Veggie Tales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple (GBA)
Talespin (Genesis)
None of the game genies work. This wouldn't be a big deal if the Retron5's built in Game Genie cheat support worked as advertised.
Now that the console is "Officially Released" you can download the cheat files here:
http://www.retron5.com/cheats/.
The good news is you can add your own cheats using an XML editor and this program to convert GameGenie codes to hex:
http://www.romhacking.net/utilities/23/The bad news is neither my codes nor the codes they provided seem to work at all. I expect this will be addressed soon in a firmware update.
None of the SD bashed flash carts I tried (SD2SNES & Mega EverDrive) worked. Hyperkin has made it clear they have no interest in supporting flash carts and the argument against it (piracy) is valid from a business standpoint.
Sonic and Knuckles works
but the lock-on feature to put knuckles in sonic 2 & 3 does not work.
UPDATED 6/14/2014 Update 1.31 (build 1435) adds lock on support for everything but sonic 2Together with some folks from the Retron 5 Community I have compiled a compatibility list. If you want us to try to something that's not on the list leave us a comment on this post and we'll see what we can do. The list is constantly updated as our collections expand and new firmware's are released. Some games even have links to Retron 5 gameplay footage we've recorded.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/tn3xCad0cVguOzw81367Tfg/htmlviewSo far we have encountered very few games that will not load or play at all:
The Legend of Zelda - 5 screw gold cartridge (it turns out my cart is physically damaged and I'm lucky anything played it)
Tailspin (works on my RDP and Sega Model 2 does not get detected at all when plugged into the Retron 5)
Balloon Boy / Funny World (works on my RDP and Sega Model 2. The cartridge is an unlicensed game from RealTek)
According to posts on Hyperkin's facebook page Unlicensed RealTek games are a problem in general.
UPDATED 6/14/2014 Still broken with Retron5 Application update 1.31 (build 1435)I've encountered one game that has a game breaking emulation bug:
Veggie Tales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple (GBA) - Graphics glitch so bad when the screen scrolls that the game is unplayable.
UPDATED 6/14/2014 Still broken with Retron5 Application update 1.31 (build 1435)Mega Man X (SNES) is playable in spite of some lingering bugs that are game breaking.
At launch (firmware 1.0) save slot copying from cartridges was very quirky. Everything from saves not copying to some saves (Gameboy and NES) actually being wiped out. But save support has been dramatically improved with firmwares 1.1 (build 1400) and 1.31 (build 1435). Thankfully this area continues to improve with each update. Check the compatibility list for game specific details.
Even while busy with E3 Hyperkin has been swiftly responding to major issues with firmware updates. This is a good sign. Megaman X and Cheat support will likely be fixed soon.
GraphicsThis part is somewhat subjective but I will try to speak to the facts.
Except for two issues I noted in the emulation section and in the compatibility list all games I've tried so far are faithfully reproduced.
Super GameBoy games play colorized like they would on the Super GameBoy itself. The Super GameBoy borders are not displayed.
GameBoy DX games play colored like they would on a GameBoy Color.
Regular (black and white) GameBoy games that played in color on a GameBoy color or GameBoy Advance (thanks to clever hacks by Nintendo) only play in black and white on the Retron 5.
Across the board some games look better than others on a 55 inch LED TV. The ones that look good and the ones that look like garbage might surprise you.
Super Mario Land 1 for the Original GameBoy blew me away. There is so much fine detail that we never saw on the small blurry screen it's breathtaking. Doom for the SNES on the other hand... Looks like absolute garbage. If you really must play Doom on the Retron 5 play the GBA version. I swear to God it looks much better.
For every console the colors are true. Some Game Boy Advanced games seemed a bit washed out. But closer inspection revealed those games were washed out on the original hardware as well. For example Super Mario World for the GBA.
The Retron 5 gives plenty of video options. You can force it to output the true resolution which can make the ugly games look better but they will also be much smaller. In case you're wondering SNES Doom looks horrible regardless of the resolution.
Frame rate feels right. Not a scientific statement I know. Especially with some folks insisting "there is input lag". I say again "
No there is not! Try another TV if you can't fix the first one you tried!"
Update 6/16/2014 A user on the Hyperkin page has posted a video demonstrating lag on his display using an Original SNES vs the Retron 5. You can check it out here: http://youtu.be/Fh6dQt22Bt4. I am in the process of setting up my own test to attempt to reproduce his findings and to eliminate the 1 person using two controllers margin of error.I saw no perceptible display or input lag after I made sure my TV was set to "GAME" mode for the HDMI input I use for the Retron 5. I do have a formal test rig I plan to use to test for input and display lag. For now all I can say is I can easily pull off the SMB world 1-3 1-up trick with the turtle on the stairs and the SBM 3 never ending goomba pipe 1-up trick. These would be next to impossible pull off with input lag.
Aspect ratio is preserved by default, leaving black bars to the left and the right of the gameplay area. But you can set it to stretch (fill the whole screen) or zoom (crops top and bottom) or even the original resolution. Whatever is to your liking.
Regarding the filters:
The ability to add scan lines sounds nice
but currently they are way too subtle. On my couch 10 feet away I can't barely tell the difference with scanlines on vs off.UPDATED 5/30/2014 Retron5 Application update 1.1 (build 1400) tweaked the scanline feature a bit and it looks much better now. Thanks again Hyperkin!For eye candy the h2qx filter is the best of bunch. It removes the most jaggies while keeping edges crisply defined.
You will want to be sure overscan is turned off or your gameboy games will have their edges cut off.
UPDATED 6/14/2014 Retron5 Application update 1.31 (build 1435) now calls this "Display Overscan" and you want it turned on.With regards to slowdown and flicker... Folks, emulators have spoiled us. Some emulators posses the ability to remove graphical issues the original systems were prone to. Things like image breakup and slowdown.
The Retron 5 does not appear to posses this ability (yet?). Games like Blaster Master will slow down in the same places and for the same reasons as it does on a real NES. Sprites in Double Dragon and Battletoads breakup from time to time just like they do on the real systems.
If you want the authentic experience the Retron 5 is trying hard to give it to you. If you want all the roughness we dealt with in the past but have long since forgotten about smoothed over maybe you'll get that in a future firmware.
SoundThe enhanced sound is amazing. I love the sound from the Retron 5 with the same intensity that I hate the controller.
Some of these games you have to hear to believe. For every game the sound was at least as good as the original. But most often better. I have sound and bass enhancement on. Land an uppercut on an opponent in Mortal Kombat 2 and the subwoofer will shake your floor.
Just as God intended.
The Streets of Rage trilogy sounds amazing. So does Blaster Master, Journey to Silius, and Kirby's adventure. Every game I tried sounded pretty good. But the games I mentioned in particular have been notorious for giving clone systems a hard time. The Retron 5 handles them with accuracy and respect.
Lastly Sega Master System games (played through a Power Base Converter) play with full FM Synthesis emulation. Good stuff indeed.
SummaryThe main strengths of the Retron 5:
1) The sound is amazing across the board.
2) The Emulation is pretty solid.
3) Firmware updates are being released regularly addressing the biggest issues with the system. Hyperkin seems committed to continuous improvement of the Retron 5.
The main issues with the Retron 5:
1) The controller. This is a hardware design issue. If it bothers you like it does me. The only solution is to use original controllers. My advice to Hyperkin is bite the bullet. Let us use our PS3 or other Blu Tooth controllers. Even my 11 year old son doesn't want to use it.
2) Not recognizing some games, inconsistent save game support, and (just a few) graphical glitches. Many of these are being fixed (or have been already via firmware updates) and this is where the choice to go emulation rather than system on a chip is paying off big for Hyperkin.
3) There is a hardcoded hot key combo for NES games when using a non wireless controller.UPDATED 5/30/2014 fixed in Retron5 Application update 1.1 (build 1400)So given all the above is it worth it?For $100 hell yes. If you are locked in with a pre-order at $100. DO NOT LET IT GO!
At $140? I would have said no on launch day but I have to say yes now. The Hyperkin is hitting hard with firmware updates. While one could (rightly) argue many of these tweaks should have been known and addressed before launch it's good to see Hyperkin is wasting no time addressing issues.
The core emulation is pretty spot on. Games that typically have problems with clone systems like Battletoads (NES), Starfox, and Donkey Kong Country play flawlessly.
I think it's worth stating that if the $40 premium is at all due to the pack-in controller I think Hyperkin should seriously consider selling future Retron 5s for $100 without it.
For more than $140? Hell no. The scalpers on ebay (and even New Egg now) charging over retail price are ripping you off and you should give them hell for it.
The bottom line is at an MSRP of $139.99 the Retron 5 is a solid investment that should improve over time and with a few firmware updates. Especially if you don't have the original consoles or they've long since died. It's not a perfect console but it's the closest thing I've found yet.
If you've already got all the original consoles, game genies, a game action replay, game saver plus, a soldering iron, and plenty of tabbed batteries to keep your saves going you should probably hold out for the Retron 6.
