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Sean
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Feb 13, 08 - 8:10 pm
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If you were a child of the 1970’s and 1980’s like me then you probably remember the Nintendo (NES) Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo gaming systems.
Who knows, you still might own working systems and have a ton of game cartridges like I do as well.
Well for the people who don’t have the original console systems anymore, there’s something new out on the market to help you remember your old school gaming days: The Retro Duo.
Basically the Retro Duo from Innex is a tiny console that accepts both NES and SNES cartridges. Rad dude! and as of today, I’ve got one all to myself… muhahahaha.
The Retro Duo features S-video out as well as standard AV video (Red, White and yellow RCA) cables. The S-video only works on the SNES games since S-video wasn’t around when the original Nintendo came out.
The Retro Duo’s controller looks and feels like the stock Super Nintendo controllers which is pretty cool, however I prefer the original SNES controllers that also work with this system.
Talking with the folks at Innex, they have a dongle in the works that will allow the original NES controllers and also the Zapper light gun to work with the system. Awesome!
One advantage the Retro Duo has over some of the other NES/SNES clones is its ability to properly play the original Starfox, which looks and plays just as I remembered it.
I’m still doing a lot of testing but so far from what I can tell, the Retro Duo accepts Super Famicom (Japanese games - no adapters needed) and PAL Super Nintendo games.
It also plays all dragon quest NES games, SNES Kirby Superstars, SNES Mario RPG and every NES game I currently own.
A lot of the other clones don’t play every NES or SNES game. One game in particular is Castlevania III - but guess what? The Retro Duo plays it with perfect sound and colors. Take that FC Twin!
The only game I can see an issue with is Paperboy. It loads up but I can’t seem to control the paperboy on the bike but it does work on my original NES.
So far the double duty console looks like a pretty nice product, especially for anyone who still has plenty of retro titles on hand (like me) and isn’t already in possession of similar products like the FC Twin.
The Retro Duo comes in two color schemes: black with red accents and white with blue accents. I prefer the white and blue model.
I’m really enjoying this console so far but I’ve got a lot more games to test, so I’m sure in the coming days or weeks I’ll have more to post about. Until then, back to gaming for me 
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Gaming, Nintendo, Toys & Gadgets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
6 Comments
Nintendo NES and Super SNES Hybrid wrote on June 25th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Retro Duo NES and SNES emulator - SlashGear wrote on June 25th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
[…] [via Planet Sean] […]
Mike wrote on July 28th, 2008 at 7:59 am
Well so far so good. I bought one about a month ago and it works wonderful “so far “. My question is if one of the slots stops working, where do I turn it in to get it fixed? and how much would it cost me?
Also it be cool if there were different colors like green and grey, green and white, all gray like the original, black and blue, etc.
One more thing, what about a cleaning kit for both slots to clean where the tapes go?
Katt Fox wrote on July 29th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Does this console play the American SNES games, I know Australia has different kind of SNES. Does it work with Super Mario Bros SNES, Zelda Link To The Past, and Super Mario All Stars and the Donkey Kong games? Anyway, my problem was I have a SNES but I lost the AC adapter and had no luck at buying a new one anywhere?
Srite me soon, Katt
Sean wrote on July 29th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
@Mike: If you purchased your unit new, they come with a warranty. Innex is the company that produced the Retro Duo. I linked to them in my post, so if you have issues or a cartridge slot stops working, contact them directly. From my experience so far, these consoles are built pretty solid and you shouldn’t have any issues.
Sean wrote on July 29th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
@Katt: Yes, the Retro Duo plays American Super Nintendo games and it does work with all the titles you listed. I’ve personally tested those games as I have them in my collection.
As for needing an AC adapter for your SNES, you can find them on eBay for less then $10.00 USD.
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