The Retro Duo: Return of the Clone System (Review)

So it finally arrived today in the mail, so I'm going to give you the low down on how sweet this badboy is. It cost me $55 with shipping from an EBay dealing, sadly I wanted the white one, just like everyone else. Yet they were out, so I settled for the "Sith" model, being Black and Red. Also, to make this occasion sweeter, I decided to purchase Final Fantasy II & Star Fox, just to over sweeten this sugar-coma of Retro goodness



You open the flap and it shows you what's inside. How thoughtful! Two controllers, AC Power Supply, AV Cables (Which has the S-Video cord attached to it! Double bonus!)



So here it is, with me, your beloved and friendly neighborhood EGA Mod, Mega! Majestic pose was needed for this photo shot, it's the most advance NES/SNES Hybrid clone to date!

Upon opening the box, the first thing that came to mind is, "WHOA, this sucker is TINY!" It's smaller than the normal SNES and the FC Twin! It's width is about 6 inches and length is 6 inches as well. Tiny and compacted, but man it packs a punch!

The controllers, look pretty cheaply made, but very durable. The D-pad feels funny and takes a while to get used to, yet don't worry. If you don't like them, you can use the original SNES controllers, if you can find them, for a sweeter feel NES games have to use "Y and B" as "B and A" positions. So if you're using B and A like an original NES game, you'll quickly learn that Mario can't run unless you're holding down Y instead...since B and A will be jump.

Video quality? Pretty sweet by far, but one thing many have told me about the NES side not being able to play in S-Video mode, is a lie. You CAN play NES & SNES games in S-Video mode! Double killer! Downside, when I put the NES games in normal AV mode, it looks like the brightness went on a rampage and it's too bright.

The Sound chip? SNES side is FLAWLESS! All the cool echo effects from Star Fox remain and Secret of Mana & Final Fantasy 2 are superb!

NES Side however, ups and downs. The Up side, all the original NES sound effects are SPOT ON. The Background Music on alot of games...don't really sound as perfect. You'll recognize the Mario theme in a heart beat, but as the video review from the other gentlemen said, it's due to the MIDI style. It tries hard to play the song right, I give it that. Yet you'll hear like a high pitch instead of a low pitch (Almost as if the music was reversed...) EXCEPT! Some games play the background music flawlessly! Which happens to be Konami's JACKAL and Capcom's famous...MEGA MAN 2! Sound effects and music were dead-on! Remember, when playing Mega Man 2....CRANK THAT VOLUME UP BOYS AND GIRLS! Nothing is finer than hearing Metal Man, Bubble Man, or Wood Man's stage in full blast!

Demonstration time!




Yes Cecil, you have arrived! Great timing as well! Final Fantasy II in S-Video mode.



STAR FOX in S-Video mode. NOTE: This is the first and ONLY SNES clone that can play StarFox! the FC Twin CANNOT!



Super Mario Bros. in S-Video



Super Mario Bros. in S-Video (Hey pay no attention to the dresser draw below, it only contains Genesis games and too many controllers for many of my systems...the Retro is up here on the TV.... )



CASTLEVANIA 3: Dracula's Curse =3! Pure Heaven here Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the FIRST and again, ONLY NES Hybrid clone that CAN play this game without any hell to pay! The NEX Messiah, FC Twin, the FC Super Loader, the Yobo NES clone...any of those ugly machines...CANNOT PLAY this masterpiece!
The Retro Duo can do it with flying colors and ask for seconds baby! A true milestone for these programmers!




And finally, this one is for my special friend, Ms. Mai Valetine. I never forget my best friend Yes, your (and mine) beloved, CastleVania 2: Simon's Quest works like a charm on the sweet Retro Duo!


SO! Overall, how do I feel this system turned out? Definitely, an 8.5 out of 10.

I have NEVER seen a system perform so well! Plus, there's more in for you, if you love importing SNES games! Like I said, this badboy is the first to play European, Japanese, and USA Super NES games without any nasty converters sticking out! How incredible is that? The NES side, has to be US NES games only...however I'll have to find out if PAL NES games work on this badboy...I'm sure they do...I just need to find one

Thank You for your review. I have been eyeing this particular system on eBay. And judging from your review I will definitely pick one up. Hey, and I like the "Sith" colors. I guess you don't have a Yoshi's Island handy to try out?

Looks like I'll be getting one soon, too!!

And don't complain about the black!! It's much better looking than white. The whole white Wii/iPod look is over. Black is always the best color.

CreepinDeth said:

Looks like I'll be getting one soon, too!!

And don't complain about the black!! It's much better looking than white. The whole white Wii/iPod look is over. Black is always the best color.

Click to expand...

:lol black is cool... but I don't think the whte look is over. It goes in waves... when white is out for awhile, then black and other colors are in and vice versa. When many dull colors are in, they go out for more vibrant and bold colors.

†B†V† :hat

That's a classy looking little thing. It would replace my top loading NES quite nicely. Where can I get it!?

Ebay at the moment.