Retro Freak

[haloofthesun]

Anyone have experience with one? I'm considering getting one to replace my second busted Retron 5. I'm tired of dealing with bent pins, fighting the inevitable death grip with dielectric grease, and failure to read working carts. I suppose I got my money's worth out of the Retron 5, but only because they replaced my first one for free.

I can't find much info about the Retro Freak as it stands today, only reviews of it at the time of release, so I don't know if there are any longterm issues with it, other than the console itself seems to "feel" cheap, in the same way that the Retron 5 always felt like it was going to smash into pieces when just gently touching it. I don't see a barrage of complaints about it like you do with the Retron 5, but since it's primarily a Japanese console, that would be why, I guess. I don't mind the price point, really, as long as it works well.

Also, I've never imported a Japanese console before, so... this probably sounds stupid but, is it safe to plug into an outlet? I'm in the US, and I know that here our voltage output is higher than Japan's. I don't want to fry the console. Do I need some kind of power converter?

[kingrat101]

Yes! I have the retro freak and have had it for a while, still works great. I dont have much experience with other clone consoles so I cant comment on if it feels cheaper than a retron 5.
Japanese consoles will work fine in the US. European machines you have to use a step-up(down?) convertor.
As far as the Retro-freak goes, try to get one with the controller adapter as the one that is included isn't great, you may also need to get an NES to famicom adapter, that can be a little tricky to find. Also a micro SD card for updating the software. I've been pretty happy with mine, it's cool to use translations and install games to it, the emulation seems pretty good to me.

[haloofthesun]

Thanks for the info!

Yeah, I was going to get the controller and NES adapters, too. And fortunately I already happen to have a micro SD. 

[oldgamerz]

I don't have a retro freak but I would however recommend a Retron 2 but only if you have an old CRT television since their is no default HDMI port, at least in the one I own. The Retron 2 only plays (NA) NES and SNES cartridges

I got a Retron 2. it's great! it is also lightweight but it seems to be a good alternative to the  Old Regular NES and Super Nintendo consoles in my opinion

I would not want to buy a Retron 5 because keep in mind, somethings take a backseat, with quality when you get these too good to be true. Miracle consoles for cheap. the Retron 2 is supposed to play (NA) SNES and (NA) NES and you can even use the original controllers with it. I got the nice looking white model and it's what I prefer because the black Retron 2 looks ugly to me

I know I'm a bit late but

I don't know anything about the Retro Freak but You can find A Retron 2 for about the same price as an official Super Nintendo or Regular Nintendo NES.

here is the white model, but it's harder to find even on amazon
https://www.amazon.ca/Hyperkin-RetroN-Gaming-Console-Grey/dp/B0093FQ9KI


best review of this product, maybe the black models are better

First, the good:
It plays SNES and NES games.
It's cheap.

The bad:
1) The sound quality of NES games is "off". Some of the games I've tested have a distinctly different sound on some of the instruments, making the game sound "wrong".
2) very cheap plastic shell. It weighs almost nothing, and the cartridge slots have a death grip on the carts similar to other cheap clone consoles.
3) it seems to have an issue with some NES games. For example, my copy of Ghosts and Goblins boots to a black screen, but will play after you hit reset. This doesn't happen on any other NES unit I have.
4) another audio issue is sound distortion. When it's a bright screen, both SNES and NES, you hear a static sort of buzz sound from the TV speakers.

Overall, this unit is fine if you're giving this to your nephew to play on his lousy 19" CRT in the basement, but if you're looking to relive your childhood just spend a bit more money and buy a better console.

[byron]

Japanese consoles will work fine in the US.

For a while... US/JP power converters are cheap. really not worth slowly burning your console up to save the few extra bucks you would spend on one.

[haloofthesun]

I don't have a retro freak but I would however recommend a Retron 2 but only if you have an old CRT television since their is no default HDMI port, at least in the one I own. The Retron 2 only plays (NA) NES and SNES cartridges

Nah, I have an actual NES and SNES so I wouldn't bother with a Retron 2 since that offers nothing for me. In my current setup, I don't have room for all of my retro consoles out which is why I'm looking for a condensed alternative, otherwise I'd just use the real thing.

Japanese consoles will work fine in the US.

For a while... US/JP power converters are cheap. really not worth slowly burning your console up to save the few extra bucks you would spend on one.

What would you recommend?

[byron]

This is just the first one I found Googling "100v power converter."

Anything like this is probably fine. 200W is way more capacity than you need.

For all this effort though, I would just use emulators on a computer hooked up to the TV. All these retro thingies are just the popular free emulators in a plastic box.

[haloofthesun]

Can't really get a computer over to the TV in my current setup. Space is pretty limited. Plus for the kids just having a console they can just turn on and play is easier than teaching them how to set up and use emulators since they're young. The cost of this is not too far off from buying a cheapo computer, which is what I'd have to do, but the convenience and more compact nature of a console makes it more appealing. Plus I don't want to go looking for roms for everything. I'd rather just play the games I own.

[oldgamerz]

Can't really get a computer over to the TV in my current setup. Space is pretty limited. Plus for the kids just having a console they can just turn on and play is easier than teaching them how to set up and use emulators since they're young. The cost of this is not too far off from buying a cheapo computer, which is what I'd have to do, but the convenience and more compact nature of a console makes it more appealing. Plus I don't want to go looking for roms for everything. I'd rather just play the games I own.

If I were you I would just stick to consoles gaming for the younger children. Plus as I said before on this site, ROM's are really not all that great, on PC. sure most of them are free to download and use, but some of them can have issues, plus you can sometimes get malware on your computer. from using a lot of a pirated game ROM, And even with Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware software you are still not safe from a lot of unknown malware, because those programs don't find everything.

and a lot of Malware will do things to your computer you don't want to deal with, like being locked out of files, a frozen computer that will do nothing after you boot it or become vary slow. (etc), plus I ran across a Mike Tyson Punchout ROM once that was Impossible to pass a certain character. The "Hippo King"

In short I used to download ROM's but I no longer do.

(edit) I got some Atari ROMs for my portable device on an SD card but that is it, and I only got them because they were legal from AtariAge Forums