Retron 5 Compatibility

[retroone]

I had recently picked up a Retron5 and it has worked with every game I had thrown at it. Except Blaster Master(NES), Super Mario Bros./ and Duck Hunt(NES) and Bases Loaded for the NES. These games work fine on my NES Control Deck. Is it my copy of the game or the Retron 5. I am running Version 1.5 of it's OS. Also Game Genie for the NES doesn't work.

[slim87r]

The physical copy of Game Genie will not work on the Retron5, however the Retron5 has a built in Game Genie. I think it will be a while before we see 100% compatibility if ever. Someone has created a Google Doc spreadsheet for Retron5 compatibility.  Not quite complete, but could be very useful as people fill in the blanks.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/tn3xCad0cVguOzw81367Tfg/htmlview#

[retroone]

Is there any possible way to enter your own codes into the Retron5 itself?

[slim87r]

Page 16 in the manual:

CHEATS: The RetroN 5 comes with support for cheat codes that can be accessed and activated at any time during gameplay. If cheat codes are available for the currently inserted cartridege then from the cheats menu you may toggle individual codes on and off.
NOTE: The cheat codes are available as database files that must be downloaded separately and copied to your SD card - they are not bundled with RetroN 5 itself.

So it looks like you have to get the codes from your PC loaded onto an SD card and load it to your RetroN 5 from there.

[retroone]

I have that all updated but is there any way to add Game Genie Codes like IKAAAE or STAGEO for Mario?

[slim87r]

It doesn't look like it. Updating your OS is not the same as loading database files onto the system. I am pretty sure updating the OS doesn't give you codes. You need to get the codes onto an SD card like I said in previous post and load them to your console. I haven't done it myself, so your best bet on how to do it is Google.

Edit: I am not too familiar with the system, so it might be possible to do it. Just mess with the system for a while going into everything. It might be in an area that you wouldn't expect. But yeah, Google helps.

[retroone]

I do though, I have all the latest updates from the Retron5 website on my SD Card which stays in the system

[slim87r]

I just found the following in a review on this forum. It might be of help:

Emulation & Compatibility
The 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.

[dashv]

Hey fellas, I'm the guy that started the compatibility list. It's being actively maintained by several good folks now.

I can personally vouch for Blaster Master working so it could be your cart needs more cleaning.

I've also discovered that some of my games have broken tabs like this:



Look carefully and you'll see the tab on the left is broken.

These games work in my front loading nes but not in my Retron 5 (without some wiggling).

I took a good cart and can show you side by side what's going on.

There are two plastic tabs inside the cart shell that hold the board in place:



If either tab breaks like pictured above your cart will seem to be fine. The board is no longer stable but the amount it can move is practically undetectable until you open the cart.

The nes front loading mechanism either doesn't push the board out of place or the connector might simply be more forgiving about how the pins need to line up.

On a top loader like the Retron 5 however the board will almost always slant like shown in the picture. This slant is enough to misalign the pins causing your game to not get detected correctly.

Regarding the Game Genie...

The latest game genie codes work in the latest firmware but they are separate downloads.

You can edit the cheats file directly. Word of warning: it's huge. Too big for notepad.

You really need an XML editor with a search function.

I also wrote a follow up to my initial review here:
http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,5017.msg63885.html#msg63885

I plan to write another one before the end of August.

[turf]

Hey fellas, I'm the guy that started the compatibility list. It's being actively maintained by several good folks now.

I can personally vouch for Blaster Master working so it could be your cart needs more cleaning.

If either tab breaks like pictured above your cart will seem to be fine. The board is no longer stable but the amount it can move is practically undetectable until you open the cart.

The nes front loading mechanism either doesn't push the board out of place or the connector might simply be more forgiving about how the pins need to line up.

On a top loader like the Retron 5 however the board will almost always slant like shown in the picture. This slant is enough to misalign the pins causing your game to not get detected correctly.

That's a good point.  This is why my Clu Clu Land wouldn't work in my NES-101.  That baffled me for a while.  I just thought some games just weren't compatible with it. 

[retroone]

Hey fellas, I'm the guy that started the compatibility list. It's being actively maintained by several good folks now.

I can personally vouch for Blaster Master working so it could be your cart needs more cleaning.

I've also discovered that some of my games have broken tabs like this:



Look carefully and you'll see the tab on the left is broken.

These games work in my front loading nes but not in my Retron 5 (without some wiggling).

I took a good cart and can show you side by side what's going on.

There are two plastic tabs inside the cart shell that hold the board in place:



If either tab breaks like pictured above your cart will seem to be fine. The board is no longer stable but the amount it can move is practically undetectable until you open the cart.

The nes front loading mechanism either doesn't push the board out of place or the connector might simply be more forgiving about how the pins need to line up.

On a top loader like the Retron 5 however the board will almost always slant like shown in the picture. This slant is enough to misalign the pins causing your game to not get detected correctly.

Regarding the Game Genie...

The latest game genie codes work in the latest firmware but they are separate downloads.

You can edit the cheats file directly. Word of warning: it's huge. Too big for notepad.

You really need an XML editor with a search function.

I also wrote a follow up to my initial review here:
http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,5017.msg63885.html#msg63885

I plan to write another one before the end of August.

Thank you. With enough fidgeting I got to work for my next review. 

[thebargainbinhobo]

I would like my name to be added to the Google Doc for testing the games.

[bigbossman]

The physical copy of Game Genie will not work on the Retron5, however the Retron5 has a built in Game Genie. I think it will be a while before we see 100% compatibility if ever. Someone has created a Google Doc spreadsheet for Retron5 compatibility.  Not quite complete, but could be very useful as people fill in the blanks.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/tn3xCad0cVguOzw81367Tfg/htmlview#

Originally, I had reservations about the Retron 3 when I bought it, but never had any issues with it. I started playing the Super Famicom & Sega Mega Drive games, which works perfectly in the Retron 3. That's what got me interested in playing foreign games. The physical Game Genies for SNES, Genesis, & NES all worked, which was great because I love hacking my retro games. The Pro Action Replay for SNES & Sega Genesis also works too. As for playing regular Game Boy Games, if you use a Super Gameboy, it works perfectly. At the time I also had a Game Genie for the Game Boy. I had to physically modify it so that it could fit into the Super Gameboy cartridge slot, but it works too.

When they came out with the Retron 5, I was excited about it, but when I started watching reviews of it, I was less than impressed. I don't like the fact that it doesn't play certain games & the fact that it doesn't play the physical versions of the Game Genies is a deal breaker. I would also have to believe that the Retron 5 also doesn't work with the Pro Action Replay cartridges too. Even if it has an internal cheat system, it isn't the same as plugging in the Game Genie & finding random codes that have weird & crazy effects.