(Part 2) Best products from r/snes

I have:

Retro Bit Retro Duo v2

This is the first clone I ever got, back in 2009. The other widely available options at the time were the Yobo FC Twin and the Yobo FC 3 Plus. I chose the Retro Duo due to it's high compatibility on both the NES and SNES side. It was one of the few NES clones that could run the NES Powerpak, and it was one of the first SNES clones that could run Super Mario RPG. The FC 3 Plus could also apparently run Super Mario RPG, but it had terrible proprietary controllers that used the Sega 6-button layout, making SNES and NES controls backwards. The Retro Duo has S-video and composite output, though the picture is a bit darker than a real SNES. The controllers are fine, but like the console, they're made with a slick "mirror" plastic that smudges easily. Plays NTSC games only.

Retro-Bit Retro Duo Portable v2.0

Got this one in 2016. I thought the idea of a portable SNES was neat. I chose this one over the Hyperkin Supaboy and the atrocious Yobo FC Twin Go because I thought it had the best form factor. Plus it included a NOAC NES cart adapter, so that was a plus. Also included a plugin controller port and composite output cord. Screen is okay, about on par with composite video. Plays NTSC games only.

Super Players Entertainment System

Got this one in 2017. It's design is based off of the Super Famicom Jr. or SNES mini, like a lot of SNES clones (poor Lance Barr never sees a dime). The controllers it comes with are garbage. The consoles itself is really good. S-Video and composite output. Also had a region switch, so it can play both NTSC and PAL games. Strangely, it displays PAL games in black and white. I don't know if this issue is with all of these units or just mine. I'd understand if it was connected to a consumer TV, but I have it hooked up to a Sony PVM-20L5, which plays PAL consoles just fine. Fun little fact, this particular brand of clone has been around for years, and for a time was inexplicably branded with an Indiana Pacers logo. I find this funny because I'm from Indiana.

Pound Challenger

Got this one in 2018. First HDMI Chinese clone I've got. I wrote the first review for it on Amazon, and included a video displaying the input lag and video artifacts it displays over HDMI. So check out that review for more details. Long story short, it's a decent clone. Composite and HDMI output. Also has a region switch, so it can play NTSC and PAL games.

Argo Super 16 Bit

This is my most recent clone, and also my favorite. Why? Because it's one of the first SNES clones ever made. There's very little information about it online and it's almost a lost piece of gaming history. It's the European release of a Super Genius SNES clone released in 1994. This same clone was also released in Brazil as the Chips do Brasil Super Prosystem 16 before Playtronic officially released the SNES down there. Shout out to u/sagosen for hooking me up with one all the way from Norway.

It's got a solid build quality and some decent turbo controllers. Composite and RF output. Region switch, so it can play both NTSC and PAL games. PAL games display fine, but NTSC games are in black and white (the opposite of the above mentioned Super Players issue). Runs everything fine except for S-DD1 chip and SA1 chip games (probably due to the console lacking a CIC chip). S-DD1 games run, but the graphics are scrambled. SA1 games just display a black screen and don't run at all. It's worth noting that S-DD1 and SA1 ROM files run fine on the console when running on an SD2SNES.


And speaking of backup devices. I've got the SD2SNES, SD2SNES Pro, Super Powerpak, Super UFO Pro 8 (SD version), and Game Doctor SF7 (shout out to u/MuricaPersonified for hooking me up with that one). They all work fine on all of the SNES clones I have. Though admittedly, it's not practical to use a Game Doctor with the Retro Duo Portable. And again, like I said before, all of these clones use basically the same hardware and have the Contra 3 color palette issue.

So yeah, I hope I elaborated enough for you. I've also got 5 legitimate SNES/SFC consoles, as well as the Analogue Super NT, but those are different beasts all together.

To give you a more detailed answer, here's what you'll need:

• A soldering iron, like this one
  
  
• CR2032 battery holders (I've used [these] (https://m.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-Plastic-CR2032-CR2025-Cell-Button-Lithium-SMD-Lead-Battery-Socket-Holder-/111611684009) successfully in the past)
  
  
• CR2032 batteries (you can find these at just about any grocery store)
  
  
• A 3.8mm Gamebit bit or screwdriver depending on what you already have
  
  
• Some good heat resistant gloves probably
  
  
• Not required (I've so far done all of my own replacements without this) but definitely helpful: a "helping hand" like this one
  
  
• Patience
  
  If you're at all worried about doing this, I can tell you that, having no prior experience to soldering, I've successfully replaced batteries on 8 of my own carts without damaging any of them. You can do it!
  
  

1. Start by taking the two 3.8mm Gamebit screws out of the front of the cartridge and removing the plastic shell. Since you have the board out, now would also be a good time to clean it and the plastic. Use soap and water on the plastic (letting it dry thoroughly) and isopropyl alcohol on the board's gold contracts (where it plugs in).
   
   
2. Heat up your soldering iron by just plugging it in, resting it on its stand, and leaving it for a few minutes. IT WILL GET VERY HOT, DON'T TOUCH IT. To test if it's hot enough, just put your hand near it. You should be able to feel the heat coming off it if it's warm enough.
   
   
3. Begin removing the old battery. Locate it on the board, then find the two corresponding points on the back of the board where it connects. Also, take note of the polarity of the connections; the tab that runs from the top of the battery down is the positive end, the bottom is the negative. Start heating one of the contacts while pulling up on the battery away from the board (this is where those gloves and helping hand come in handy) Once you've got one end out, go for the other one.
   
   
4. Take your battery holder and (if you're buying the ones I linked) bend the tabs so they're perpendicular to the holder itself. I used tweezers to do this. Be careful not to bend too much, or you may snap the metal tab off! (I've done that more than once...) Once you've done that place a fresh battery in the holder
   
   
5. Now comes the hard part: putting the new battery holder in. Remember the orientation the old battery went it, and orient the new one in the same fashion. If you forgot how the old one went in, the two tabs are actually different sizes, so you shouldn't be able to put it in the holes if you've got wrong. Proceed to heat the solder under one of the tabs until it flows again and slide the tab into it. You may have to alternate back and forth to get it in fully, but by the end the holder should sit flush against against the board
   
   
6. Place the board back into the plastic and screw the screws back in. One note about bigger boards (like the Yoshi's island cart you have): some plastic pieces may interfere with the board when you put it back in. One thing you could consider doing to remedy this is using a file to scrape away some of that plastic if you don't mind doing that to a cart or (preferably) the holder. Also something to note, Yoshi's Island and other Super FX carts have metal tabs on the plastic of the cartridge that act as a ground by touching the outside of the cartridge slot. If this isn't placed back properly, your cartridge may not boot, so that's one thing to check if that's the case after reassembly. Now, congratulate yourself. You've done it! Give yourself a pat on the back and get back to gaming. Good luck with 100%! :)

Heyyyy /u/G_FREDDY, I knew your TV model looked familiar! I was helping you with similar questions in /r/n64. You're basically going to have the same amount of luck with your SNES as you will with your n64. Both primarily output 240p resolution, with the exception of certain n64 games that used the expansion pack to output 480i.

Your Sony will almost certainly display both systems, and will definitely be playable. It just won't look as good as it would on an old TV, or if you fed the systems through an expensive scaler. There are definitely things you can do to improve your experience without breaking the bank or sacrificing your HDTV though.

S-Video will vastly improve the signal your systems send to your TV, but modern TVs don't have it. You can get around this by getting yourself an S-Video to HDMI converter

A step up in quality would be getting RGB output from your systems, and using HD Retrovision's SNES component cables to plug directly into your TV. You'll have to watch their site like a hawk though. They just finished shipping out to Kickstarter backers, and will be selling through their online store relatively soon...and I guarantee their stock will disappear quickly! These cables won't work on the N64 right away, but if you get your n64 modded for RGB they will work wonderfully. If you haven't bought your N64 yet, you can probably find one already RGB modded on eBay, or you can send it out to be modded if the serial number is correct.

Good luck!

Just ran into this conundrum myself. Bought a SNES Classic and wanted to get a wireless controller for it: This one to be exact. Unfortunately it was lag-tacular, (probably a 1/4 second delay, but enough to be irritating on platformers like MegaMan X and Super Metroid).

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Returned it, and picked up this and this instead. The difference is night and day, and the controls are super snappy and responsive. Picked up the regular SNES adapter version as well and it works like a charm too.

You need a set of these. I transplanted my joycons into these and the D-pad on the left Joycon is an absolute game changer. It works as well as an official Nintendo D-Pad (and better than official if you're comparing it to the Switch Pro Controller.) It feels similar to a GBA SP D-Pad.

The transplant requires a try-wing ("Y" head) screwdriver size 00 and a phillips ("+" head) screwdriver size 00, but it's not hard to do if you're ok with tiny screws.

My recommendation if you do the transplant though: Use the middle plate from your original joycon (the part with the zL or zR button attached) instead of the replacement one. While the front and back replacement shells are great, I found that the zL/zR buttons were too loose for my liking when I had them attached to the replacement middle plate. The springs for those buttons also tend to launch themselves out into the unknown when you try to remove the buttons from the plate... It's best to just keep the original middle plate and avoid that headache entirely.

>There isn't a 2.4g solution for SNES (or Super Nt) right now. The only receivers that plug into original hardware ports are Bluetooth.

What about this


8Bitdo SF30 2.4G Wireless Controller for SFC Classic Edition

People online claim it works with the super NT


Edit, after looking through the comments, it isn’t compatible with the original Snes, but the mini classic snes only, thanks for saving me a return .. I assume the super NT functions just like the Snes,

I started making new labels for my collection a few weeks ago, and it is a bit of a pain. If you're not interested in spending a lot of time and money getting labels perfect, I recommend going to retrogamecases and paying the $5/label there. If you're still interested, here is my process:


There are no good sources for high quality label scans that I know of, so I generally make them myself in photoshop using a heavily modified version of this template. The same guy has a European style template as well, but I cannot vouch for its accuracy. Fortunately there is a good source for cover art, which is the cover project. Generally you can make a decently accurate label using the cover art here. Sometimes you need to fudge around with photoshop to remove logos or other stuff that is sometimes on the cover.


For printing, I use an inkjet printer with high quality glossy sticker paper that I then laminate and cut with a scrap-booking cutting machine. After it is cut I can remove the adhesive backing along with the back layer of laminate, and it looks very close to a real SNES label. This particular sticker paper is very unforgiving, so make sure your sticker is even before touching the cartridge!

If there is anything you would like more detailed information about, let me know and I would be glad to help.

Thanks for the suggestion. I do like being able to access the SD card without taking the cartridge apart. My thoughts are just that the way it sits makes it hard to remove. I think it's easy to see in the photos that it doesn't stick out of the cartridge very far.

Another option for those interested in "SD card stealth" would be an MMC micro SD adapter like this:

http://www.amazon.com/microSD-Adapter-Reduced-Size-MultiMediaCard-EverDrive/dp/B00AZEUCZY/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1412300200&sr=8-8&keywords=mmc+adapter

It appears that on the website it is listed as supported:

"Supported SD/MMC up to 32GB"

http://krikzz.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=51

I had one of these Interact Pro Pad (it stopped working) and it was such a great controller. It's larger than the stock SNES controller, and the button response and D-pad feel great.

It's gimmick was that it had preprogrammed moves for the popular fighting games (so you could hit one special button and do a dragon punch).

If you can get one for $15-20 or cheaper, it's a great controller.
https://www.amazon.com/SN-ProPad-Super-Nintendo/dp/B00157RKFU

I'm not sure why you're going to put away your NES? You just need to get yourself a nice TV with more inputs. I can't recommend THIS tv more highly. The clarity is amazing. I have it up on a couple of milk crates so I have enough room underneath for my NES, Dreamcast, SNES and, in pride of place, my Atari 2600!

Yep, especially when you see the Super Famicom box art

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Famicom-Box-Art-Collection/dp/0993012965

> Have you thought about setting up a small PC instead? or even a long HDMI cord from your main PC to TV.

That's what I'd recommend, too. I've tried a ton of SNES emulators, and the nicest experience I've had in terms of features, compatibility & graphics was Mednafen through the Mednaffe frontend, using my iBuffalo repro of the SNES controller + turbo.

A converter like this would work, but I wouldn't expect the picture to be godlike:

http://www.amazon.com/Tmvel-HDMI2RCACVS-Composite-Converter-Blue-Ray/dp/B009A6PJKQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1419053295&sr=1-1&keywords=av+to+hdmi

Or you can always use a capture card like a dazzle and play through amarec or another capture software, but there's a little bit of delay.

I second the Buffalo controller, although the branding on mine says iBuffalo. The D-pad feels good and I like the SFC colored buttons...and it's cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/BUFFALO-BSGP815GY-Classic-USB-Gamepad/dp/B06XWD8QQJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502537126&sr=8-1&keywords=ibuffalo

For me, I would rather get the Super Famicom box art book.

While more of a coffee-table book, I really enjoy the artwork on SFC games.

If you happen to have the Snes mini controllers you could pair them with this adapter. https://www.ebay.com/p/ELECOM-Game-Pad-Converter-USB-Wii-Classic-Controller-1-Port-White-Jc-w01uwh/4011375434?iid=254115309300&chn=ps

I'm personally not a fan of the Buffalo USB pad as the dpad is raised higher than an original snes controller which feels worse to me. The edges on it are unreasonably sharp for some odd reason so if you happen to play games with fast inputs (fighting games) your thumb is absolutely going to feel the difference.

If you're in the market for a good dpad controller, in general, I can't recommend the hori fighting commander enough. It's incredibly comfortable and has compatibility with a lot of games right out the gate.

https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Commander-PlayStation-Officially-Licensed-4/dp/B01GVOFIAA?th=1

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It could possibly be that your cord is bad. Amazon sells replacement ones for 5 dollars. Considering Nintendo used the same AV cord for 3 generations they're pretty easy to get a hold of. http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-AV-Cable-Bulk-Packaging-Super/dp/B000035Y6B

Third party replacement cables are cheap. This one is $5 http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-AV-Cable-Bulk-Packaging-Super/dp/B000035Y6B/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

For a few dollars more, you can get one with S-Video out http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Gamecube-Audio-Video-SVideo-Cable/dp/B000NBWRBQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1404327120&sr=1-3&keywords=snes+svideo

Or maybe I should invest in something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Tmvel-HDMI2RCACVS-Composite-Converter-Blue-Ray/dp/B009A6PJKQ/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_0_0 to convert the signal to HDMI ...

http://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-AV-Cable-Bulk-Packaging-Super/dp/B000035Y6B

$4 and you get an RCA cable.

Switch boxes are nice, but are going to cost you more, and don't they usually just switch the signal, not convert the signal? As in, RCA in = RCA out? I am not sure they will change the signal to another type unless you buy a specialized box.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009A6PJKQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Buy one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B06XWD8QQJ/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile

I use the ibuffalo and have had no issues.

https://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-iBuffalo-Classic-Gamepad-BSGP815GY/dp/B06XWD8QQJ/ref=asc_df_B06XWD8QQJ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198073349027&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4110013098749193117&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9022590&hvtargid=pla-350939793558&psc=1