Best products from r/nes

You have a ton of options at varying prices. I'll try and list out some of them.

RF - Nobody should use RF, unless you have no other options.

Composite - Purchase a toaster style NES, a clone system or mod your toploader. The PQ on an HDTV will not be great and the picture will need to be upscaled on your TV, which also introduces some lag. This option is much better than RF, but much worse than RGB/HDMI. This option will cost anywhere from $20 - $80.

RGB - You can purchase Tim Worthington's RGB board and install it (or pay to have it installed). You can have this installed with a multi-out port (like an SNES) and this can be used in a variety of ways. You can attach an s-video cable to it or buy one of HD Retrovisions SNES component cables. This will give you a much better picture on your HDTV, but depending on how the handles 240p, it may still have problems. Definitely an upgrade from composite. This will all run you around $200 +/-. You can also use this mod to run through a Framemeister which will give you a very nice HDMI picture, but the Framemeister is expensive. That will run $500 +/- for everything, but you will get an HD picture on original hardware (and the mod). A great option, but expenisve.

HDMI - There are a few devises that run using HDMI. The Retron 5 is a nice, cheap option with a lot of features, including save states. This runs around $150. It can run a variety of different system cartridges and is a good option if you feel you might not be playing long term. The downside is that the cartridge slots are tight and many systems have been known to have defects. It also will not run a lot of pirate, homebrew games. Also, it technically isn't running on true hardware.

There is also an HDMI mod through Game Tech. This is the same board they use in the sold out Analog NT. This mod does everything you want, but it is frequently sold out, and with installation will run you about $200 - $300. It's probably closest to what you want done. I can't think of many downsides, besides availability and price.

The AVS is a system that has been developed by RetroUSB. It is an HDMI NES that promises to do everything that the HDMI mod does and a little bit more. It will play Famicom games as well and will run $185. It's going to have a lot of built in features and will play all NES/Famicom cartridges. Supposedly they are on a boat from China to the US right now and should be available for sale in 4-8 weeks.

Like you stated, the NES mini is being released this fall by Nintendo. No one knows how good the emulation will be, but it's a good legal way to play 30 of the best NES games. Also, the Wii eShop has pretty good NES emulation as well and the games can be purchased cheap. Used Wii consoles are all over the place for ~$40.

Emulation - I won't get too deep into what emulation is all about since it can be illegal, but it might not be a bad option if you are looking for a cheap solution at a low price point.

I hope that helps. Everybody has a different preference in how they want to play. I also think that a PVM or CRT is a great option for NES gaming, especially because it allows for light gun play and it will have no lag. And besides that, people are basically giving away CRT TVs.

Here are your options:

• Real hardware and an upscaler like the xrgb mini: Expensive, but does a much better job of upscaling than your TV will do. Basically, this means that games with tight timing will be more playable with the xrgb mini than with just a TV. For games like mega man and super ghouls 'n ghosts, I found the lag on my TV's upscaler made the games even harder than they already are.
  
• Use a clone system: The retron is probably the best in this area but I have 0 experience. The retron 5 is the latest. Make sure to check the reviews. There is also a portable super nintendo clone that can plug into a TV.
  
• Real hardware but modded with HDMI support: Also expensive and I don't think anyone has done this for the SNES yet.
  
• VirtualConsole on the Wii or Wii U: If you want to be legit you can buy some games from the eShop for about $4-10 depending on sales and title. You could also do a software mod to the Wii (or Wii portion of Wii U) and install emulators using the homebrew channel.
  
• Use emulators on a computer: Some people build a dedicated emulator machine using a raspberry pi but you could also just install an emulator on whatever computer you have. Higan is a very nice emulator if you go this route. I like the 8bitdo controllers. The USB only version is like 1/3 the price of the bluetooth version, but both versions can do USB. They are well made. I have the bluetooth version and I like it (and I'm very picky about emulation, controllers, etc. as I grew up with the original systems).
  
  I used emulators like higan until getting a CRT and rebuying real hardware (I wish I had my systems from growing up but they are lost to the ages). Now that setup is my preferred way.
  
  I hope that helps.

As others have stated, the NES Classic and SNES Classic consoles are for sale at pretty much every Walmart, Best Buy, etc. You can even use the free Hakchi program to put whatever games you want on them when you tire of the games that come on them but the NES Classic comes with all 3 Mario games released for the NES console and the SNES Classic comes with Super Mario World on it.

The NES Classic comes with 1 controller, SNES Classic comes with 2. You can purchase extension cables (that come in packs of 2) for like $10 that fit both consoles as the controllers for both are interchangeable. For $13 you can buy a bluetooth receiver to plug into the consoles (HERE) and use completely wireless 3rd party controllers or even PS4 controllers to play the systems instead of the wired controllers that come with them.

That is your best option. Brand new hardware, HDMI to hook to your new 4K tv. NES Classic has the 1 Mario game you want, 2 more you'll play later, 27 non-Mario games and the ability to add the entire NES library to it if you wish. Ditto for the SNES Classic when you want to play Super Mario World except you can't put all the games on the console at one time when you tire of the 20 games that come on the system due to the games being larger. You can only put a few hundred at a time. I keep 80 on mine with the roms for every single SNES game made saved on my computer so I can change them out at will because I like keeping all my games on the main menu screen, no folders.

Ninja Gaiden is a great game but SUPER hard to beat. It's classic NES where you memorize where each baddie comes from because it is always the same. But as you go and reach a new level, you have to begin memorizing again but die too soon. So much trial and error. Contra is super fun if you use the Konami code. Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start during the opening screen. Then you get thirty lives and two continues which also give you 30 more lives. But playing it without the code is pretty rough. Doing the code with a friend and not having to worry about random deaths is the best. One of the best NES games ever in my opinion.

Ninja Gaiden:
https://youtu.be/6t2YvyLqw3c?t=90

Contra:
https://youtu.be/2mWZlNOzdv8

Some games that I absolutely love: Mario 3, Jaws, Life Force, Mega Man 2 (it's the best one in the series), Zelda, Metroid, Bionic Commando, and Gunsmoke.

Side bar: If your NES acts up and gets sick of playing games you can replace the 72-pin connector inside the toaster but it is a pain. Also, don't blow on your games; the moisture in your breath only aids in oxidizing the contacts. Nail polish remover/rubbing alcohol on a q-tip is the way to go. Nevertheless, I got sick of fixing my system (it is VERY rarely the cartridge that is the problem) so I bought this giant piece of shit.

http://www.amazon.com/8-Bit-Entertainment-System-Nintendo/dp/B0161N7J2G?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00

It works perfectly. I was shocked and still am. And the controllers are actually legit.

Thats what I got for now. Love your youTube vids. Keep it up.

-reid-

As the other user stated Lineage is the new Cyanogen mod. The TL;DR is people tried to commercialize Cyanogen mod and Cyanogen OS was the result. Many of the original people who worked on Cyanogen were straight up kicked off the project after this and many others left. Cyanogen crumbled. Lineage rose from the ashes and will likely never follow the same route.

As far as a solid unlocked android phone (this will depend on your carrier of course), I have two recommenations for you, and this is as an extremely active Pokemon Go player so we're not talking terrible budget phones that can't run anything. I have a cheap option and a more expensive one (only slightly) both are unlocked and support Lineage!

1 - Xiaomi Mi A2. This one is a semi cop-out as I only have the now discontinued Mi A1, but a friend does have one and it largely is the same short of some minor updates. It will run on most carriers in the us and is a solid pre-unlocked phone at only $200. Personally I do still recommend the Mi A1 as it has a 3.5mm audio jack and SD card capability but those are key things for me. It's still a pretty stellar phone at the low price. The last perk of this phone? no custom OS needed, it comes on Android One, which is a program Google started for more budget phones. Phones running Android One are very, very near a perfect stock image on Android, this one containing only 1-2 additional apps that you can barley notice, so you don't even really need to flash a new OS on it if you don't want to.

The more expensive option:

2 - The Pocophone F1 - Also works on most carriers in the US is only a cool $300 and really knocks it out of the park, having the internal hardware of most flagship phones from other providers it kicks ass. Complete with the option for dual-sim or a single sim with an SD card, and having a 3.5mm audio jack this is probably the single best bang for your buck. It has MIUI and Lineage won't be officially supported for it until later this year (but it has been confirmed that it will be). Sporting almost every feature except NFC and not containing an OLED screen (among a couple others) are pretty much the only faults of this phone (aside from MIUI, but thats why Lineage exists ;)

It even has a phenomenal and better front camera than the Galaxy Note 9, and a back camera that is just as good. I would keep your eyes on this phone in the future. I've just ordered one myself last week!

See a full comparison of detailed specs of the 3 phones I've mentioned in this in-depth informational/review post here!

Honestly, do yourself a favor and just import the $400 USD XRGB Mini from japan, and be really happy with it.

I spent close to $180 USD on 3 different scalers and they all looked as bad (and in one case functioned much worse than) as the internal scaler already in my LG HDTV. The colors were universally over saturated, the settings were all essentially uneditable, the blur was generally bad enough to almost look like a "bloom lighting" effect in modern games, and they seemingly universally have problems syncing "240p" (from PS1 games especially) over YPbPr component.

I was only able to return 2 of the 3, so it ended up costing me about $60 to investigate these options.

Finally, after a month of waiting for different products to ship and testing them out with all 10 of my consoles, I just decided to get the one that every resource I could find says is the best.

The difference is astounding. Everything looks razor sharp, even the S-Video connections coming from my Saturn look so good I haven't bothered getting the RGB cable or a larger SCART switch box to accommodate adding it.

I love this device so much, and with the new life it has breathed into my retro games, I am getting much more enjoyment out of this than a XBONE/PS4 would have, for about the same money.

I read an article that equated collecting retro games, the original consoles, the proper cables, and doing all the proper mods for RGB and everything to people who collect immaculate timepieces. They aren't buying them to tell time with. They appreciate them for the fine, precision pieces of equipment they inherently are. Because the whole process really is beautiful.

If you appreciate this hobby in this way, (especially if you currently own more than, say 4 or 5 consoles, hint: if so, you probably do) then you owe it to yourself to get a Mini.

If you just like to play some retro games every now and then, just get yourself a freeware frontend like OpenEmu and an SNES->USB adapter like THIS ONE.

Honestly, Anytime I go on vacation or over to people's house for dinner I bring this setup in my laptop bag (which provides a quick and easy setup via HDMI), and usually people are like "NO WAY!!" and we end up playing retro multiplayer games all night.

Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game is always a big hit. As is (and I know I'm on /r/NES right now, but ) the original Mario Kart for SNES is always hilarious as well. Battlemode will forever be fun.

Not sure what your idea exactly is for cheap but here is a couple of older pictures of how my game room is set up and stuff is displayed in case it gives you any ideas. Also I keep my games alphabetically organized and CIB close but separate from cartridge only. The displays used for the games, figures etc were on sale for around 130ish each IIRC from wayfair.com. The ladder style display used for my Dragon Quest and Blizzard plushies was from Amazon for like 80 or so.

​

https://imgur.com/jZPFdTG

​

https://imgur.com/prp8p2b

​

https://imgur.com/9dlsYrI

​

https://imgur.com/Tr364VI

​

https://imgur.com/YPC8aIY

​

https://imgur.com/Vv1KeTb

​

https://imgur.com/yACjCCw

Here is an Amazon link to a similar ladder type like what I have. Might be a little smaller though.https://www.amazon.com/Casual-Home-176-53-Bookcase-Espresso/dp/B0047T6JU0/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1540400305&sr=8-11&keywords=ladder%2Bstyle%2Bdisplay&th=1

​

My Multimedia cabinets for everything else, little more expensive than what I paid but here is a link. I'd suggest just checking for multimedia displays though as you can find a lot and most are relatively fairly priced! Look on Amazon, even Best Buy website has some. I checked Target originally but they tended to be a bit more expensive.

https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/zipcode-design-multimedia-storage-rack-zpcd2017.html

​

edit: Personally I like the shelving type I got as it is easy to arrange it in sizes that work for me, plus for the NES carts doesn't waste a lot of extra space :)

​

Deep clean your games.

To do this I would recommend a deep clean. These games have 25+ years of dust build up and corrosion from people blowing in them. And simply dusting it out might not be enough.

To deep clean the games you will need to open them up this can be accomplished with a 3.8 security bit screwdriver. You can get those here from amazon for a few bucks. After it’s opened gently remove the chip and wipe out the inside of the cart with some isopropyl alcohol to remove any dust inside and set it aside. Then move to the game contacts these are the gold slips at the bottom of the game. Dip a q-tip in the isopropyl alcohol and firmly scrub the contacts until the q-tip stops getting a dark color. Use as many q-tips as you need.

After that there should still be some alcohol on the contacts. Use a pencil eraser on the contacts and firmly rub off any hunk that might have built up. I found the pink rectangular ones work best.
Next take a magic eraser and buff out the last of anything remaining on the contacts. Do this to both sides and then take a paper towel and some alcohol and gently rub off any dust or eraser markings left behind. Let everything dry for a minute or so and the put the game back together.

If doing that doesn’t solve the issue it’s a problem with the 72 pin connector. Turn the NES upside down and use a Phillips head screw driver to remove the 6 screws on the bottom so you can lift the top off. After that remove the silver heat shield there are 2 screws on the left 2 at the back and 3 or 4 on the right side. Once that’s off blast the insides with compressed air to get all the dust out that has built up. After a good dusting remove the tray and 72 pin connector there are 3 screws on either side with the middle screw being longer then all the other screws. Side the tray foreword and up to remove them pull the 72 pin connector off the back.

You can bend the pins back up or boil it to clean it if you don’t want to buy a new one or really care about having all Nintendo parts ( if so let me know and I’ll explain how to do that as well), but I personally usually just replace it at this point. If you don’t really plan on using your NES very often you can get a basic 72 pin connector on amazon for $10.00. If you play it often you might look into upgrading to a Blinking Light Win it’s more expensive but it’s designed so you don’t push down on the game and loosen the pins so it should last much longer and it will circumvent the region lock chip. Personally I love mine.

I think that’s everything. Let me know if you need to know anything else. Good luck with the repairs

My friend did the same thing. He was getting a divorce and clearing out his house and posted on FB free NES, few games, 2 NES advantage controllers (one in the original box never used and still in the plastic) and multiple boxes from previous games he no longer had. The only thing missing was the power supply. I was super stoked and ordered one online. Plugged that baby in and got the blinking red light. I cleaned the games, blow the fuck out of them, stuffed one on top of the other and I could only get Contra to work briefly and it was all pixelated and crappy display. My heart was broken and I sadly packed it all up and put it in my basement.

6 months go buy or so and I find a store in my mall that repairs and sales retro games. He was like here replace this connection component on the motherboard and you will have a new system, cost $15. Bought it and swapped it out and I was back to a new system!!!

So I would suggest doing the same and always clean the cartridges with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol to remove any oxidation.

This one will fix the actual design issue and you may never have to swap out the 72 pin connector again.

https://www.arcadeworks.net/blw

This is the original replacement, it is cheaper, but over time you could experience the same issue where the pins stretch and don’t make contact.

https://www.amazon.com/Connector-Nintendo-System-Bulk-Packaging-entertainment/dp/B002DLOM6C/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=OHU19SUAITHR&keywords=nes+72+pin+connector+replacement&qid=1551190926&s=gateway&sprefix=nes+72+&sr=8-4

And here’s a cleaning kit that does well.

https://www.amazon.com/1UPcard-Video-Cartridge-Cleaning-Nintendo-NES/dp/B00S7HYEKK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=ET82QFTGL1X4&keywords=1up+card&qid=1551191045&s=gateway&sprefix=1up+&sr=8-1

Oh and retro gaming can and will become an addiction. I now own Atari 2600, NES, SNES, N64, Gameboy (orig) a ton of games and peripherals for the systems. And wait when you find home brew games and there is a company that made a brand new game and I sponsored on Kickstarter and will get the game this year.

https://youtu.be/3qgjKb0ecBs


Good luck! And have fun!

I mean, I basically outlined it in a previous post here. Take a clean cloth and some isopropyl and work it in to the connector.

Some people use an old credit card or something like it and wrap the cloth around it and work it down in to the connector where games get inserted. You could also use an old toothbrush instead of a card and cloth. You could also use something like this.

Then take a small regular screwdriver (like for eyeglasses) and gently lift the pins uniformly across the whole connector. Also clean the contacts where the lower pins sit on the motherboard with isopropyl and a few q-tips to make sure you lift any other nasty bits off the board.

The single best thing you can do once you get the connector cleaned is to clean ALL of your games with isopropyl and q-tips. Try not to put dirty games in clean connectors.

Just went back to check. I was incorrect on a few things bookwise. Winsor McCay was American, not French, and it wasn't a graphic novel but actually a weekly full-page newspaper cartoon.

Looks like this is your best bet if you want to see it all, or else [this](
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Slumberland-1906-1907-Comic-Anthology/dp/1449576974/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1486416948&sr=8-4&keywords=little+nemo) is a considerably cheaper but less comprehensive collection.

Otherwise just search for comic collections by Winsor McCay and find one that suits.

Movie-wise, this is the drug-fueled plot-loose movie based on the newspaper cartoon.

Hope that helps!

It sounds like there might be a short in your RF switch. If the RF out is working properly on your NES, all you need is something like this (and an RCA cable).

Edit: you can downvote all you want, but if the RF switch works when it's held at certain angles, that's a pretty clear sign that there may be a short in the cable. If you have a more helpful suggestion, REPLY... your downvote helps nobody

There are a couple actually. There's the Innovation Super 8 and the Gamejoy FC adapter. There's also the Retro-Bit RetroPORT, which is exactly the same as the Gamejoy FC Adapter but with 72 pins for NES carts instead of 60 for Famicom, so you'd need a 60-72 pin adapter. Personally, I think the Super 8 is the better adapter. It has slots for both cartridge types, it maps the controller B and A buttons to Y and B (which is way more comfortable, and what SNES-NES controller adapters map them to), and it has a better NOAC, even though it's nearly 20 years old now. The only real downside to both adapters is that they have composite only video.

I've read many video game history books, they all have this anecdote in them but none have any real proof. However, the NES originally launched in New York City and Nintendo had to make the promise to stores they'd buy back all unsold stock. So that does help support the claim a little.

btw, Game Over is an awesome read.

Ok, the absolute cheapest way to record gameplay is probably buying a used DVD recorder from a thrift shop. You can get them nowadays for $5-$10 (especially look for DVD recorders that also have a VCR built in, they often get priced even lower for some reason). Then you'll need some blank DVD-Rs, which are like 10 cents a piece in a spindle. Basically, what you do is take your output from your AV switch into the DVD recorder, then the recorder outputs to TV. Record to discs then rip the discs on a computer when you have the footage you want. This ripped DVD video can then be used in most video editing programs, or just straight put online, etc. That's actually how the large majority of AVGN episodes got gameplay footage, incidentally.

The downside is having to deal with discs and the extra time involved in ripping, you also can't livestream with this setup. It can be nice to have the burned DVD as a backup though.

Second cheapish option, use a USB capture card to your PC and composite splitters. Basically, you buy a good USB capture card for about $30: I-o DATA USB connection video capture GV-USB2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428BF1Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_WycSzb8SNAZ9C

There is a cheaper device, like $10 to $15, called EZ Cap, but the more expensive one has much better quality.

Then you buy AV splitters for under $10 like these: Cable Matters 5-Pack, Gold Plated RCA Split Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0141KPHR0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ECcSzbXKPBG3B

Though annoyingly you'll need 6 of those little things, not 5. You'll also need two extra sets of those red/yellow RCA cables, possibly one very long one depending on where your computer is located.

Essentially, you plug the output from your switch into those little splitters, then run one RCA cord out of them to the TV, and the other to the capture device plugged into your computer. Then while you play on the TV, you can record on your computer.

Downside of this method, splitting the cable can result in a bit dimmer video signal, depending on how your TV handles it. Also, extra cable has to be dealt with, and if you don't have a computer nearby may be impossible.

Hope that makes sense. It's a bit of a pain, but not crazy expensive at least.

I don't know enough about it to say, but I do know that a lot of the third party replacement adaptors aren't the same voltage/amperage. They will sometimes work "ok" but there's going to be less of a tolerance.

The official ones output 1.3A 9V vs (for example) this random replacement https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001S2VT6I that provides 350mA. Supposedly, according to internet posts here and elsewhere, the NES draws 800-900mA max.

I don't know specifically about the NES, but I think it's entirely possible that in some cases a game could play fine but when there were a lot of sprites/CPU calculations then games could glitch or even shut the system down. Likewise some games might do processing at the title screen that causes it.

Save your money and keep the original, take it out, clean it up well and use a pin or needle to bend the pins back so they are all uniform. The 72 pin that came with the NES is higher quality than the replacements are. While your in there disable the 10NES lockout chip and almost every game will work the first time. There are several tutorials on how to do both of these on youtube or google. Additionally your going to want to clean up your dirty games before putting them in a clean 72 pin connector. Some buy a cheap bit that will eventually be lost but for about the same price can buy [this set from amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BEZY2I6/ref=oh_details_o09_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and work on most oldschool consoles / games. :)

I was wrong! Apparently there is one that's within your price range, manufactured by Gamerz Tek. Thanks to /u/accaris for their comment in /r/retrogaming for the heads up/correction!

With that said, it really looks like a direct copy of the Retron 1/Retro-Bit RES, so I have to wonder if it is a direct clone of those systems, but with the appropriate mod pre-applied during the manufacturing stage to ensure compatibility right out of the box.

The Cheap 3 in 1 power supplies are bad and can damage you systems. Just look at the comments on this one.

So my best suggestion would be that you go to your local thrift-store and go through their bin of cords and find a Power adapter that outputs 9V @ 1000Ma or (1 Amp) and go from there. I have found so many power adapters this way, its ridiculously easy to do. Many old phones used the same voltage as the NES and the same plug. I wish you luck and remember, be careful.

Get one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428BF1Y/

Then look up some tutorials on YouTube for setting up OBS Studio.

If you want to play on a separate TV while you record (which I'd probably recommend), get one of these as well: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010EIK6K6/

You'll also need some male-to-male RCA cables: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07846GW8H/

If you want to split the NES' mono audio to both channels: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000068O4Y/

did you try replacing the connector?

http://www.amazon.com/Connector-Nintendo-System-Bulk-Packaging-Entertainment/dp/B002DLOM6C