Retro-Bit Retro Duo 2 in 1 Console System - for Original NES/SNES, & Super Nintendo Games - Silver/Black

This system is awesome. Great for endless hours of NES AND SNES fun. Play many classic NES titles, Super Mario triliogy, Legend Zelda, Mega Man, Tutrles, etc. As well as SNES classic Super Mario World, A Link to the Past and Starfox. It uses the SNES style controllers, which does not allow use for the classic NES controller, or NES zapper. It is unable to play certain games: Battletoads for NES. The game hangs after level 2, though a cheat allows you to jump to level 3. Digger T. Rock: Legend of the Lost City plays title screen,but MANY in-game crashes and graphic glitches that, render it unplayable. For Duck Hunt NES Zapper cannot be plugged in. Does work with NES to SNES adapting cables that have accessory support. However, that NES Zapper only works with a CRT TV set. Maniac Mansion just doesn't play. Paperboy controller is not recognized. That's really it for NES which isn't too bad honestly. A much larger list for SNES. Most notably is Super Mario RPG, due to the NES PAL. Also ALL NES accessories DO NOT and CANNOT work unless NES to SNES adapter. That includes R.O.B. NES Zapper, Power Pad, NES Advantagem NES Max and Power Glove. Also the NES Game Genie does not. Also does not play Famicom games. Still, probably the best clone system of them all. Many clone systems struggle with Castlevania III. Works just fine on this. Star Fox is another many clones struggle with. Again not this one. Super Game Boy adapter works great. SNES game genie works great. Super Famicom games almost usually work. Retro-Bit RetroGEN Adapter Genesis to SNES Cartridge Adapter works great allowing Genesis games to play on i. System is not perfect. But much cheaper than getting a NES & SNES. Plays most games great.

This is a great little console. Its lightweight, doesn't take much space and is a sleek, good looking game system that gets the job done and done well. This in my opinion is the best clone system out there. The cartridge doors are firm and feel secure. The buttons to switch between off, 8bit and 16bit are very smooth and hassle free. The unit can be used with original SNES controllers, however I was pleasantly surprised at how good the 3.0 version's controllers feel and respond. Not to be confused with the controllers that come with the 2.0 version of the Retro Duo, those things are absolute garbage. As far as compatibility goes, I have yet to run into any majors issues. All the games I've played over the years of owning this system have been compatible but one, and this game was a ROM hack so that is to be expected. My only complaint with the Retro Duo is removing the games when you're done playing. The connector pins are very snug and make good contact with the game, increasing the chances of it playing correctly if the game is dirty and needs cleaned, however this makes if very difficult to remove them. If you are patience I recommend gently rocking the game side to side with one hand as you pull upwards and game will come out very easily. Do not be fooled by the people that tell you their game got destroyed or the pins ripped out because of how hard it was to remove. Take care of your games and do not just ripped them out of the system. Lastly nothing beats the classics on their original hardware, however if you're looking for a great replacement console or are looking to save the space and the hassle of switching from system to system then I definitely recommend this. I had an NES growing up as a kid but never a SNES. Having both in one is very nice and saves the cost of buying an original SNES by itself. I was able to pick this baby up at my local record store for about $45.

this little gem lets you play nes and s-nes games on one little machine. and when i mean little its little. doesnt take up much space as to have a nes and a s-nes next to each other. also there no worries on have to swaping wires around. i like the fact that it comes with a s-video cable along with the rca audio/video cables. s-video make the games look alot more clearer and sharper. the audio on the other hand can get just a tad bit scrachy but not enough to to annoy you. i use em on a surround sound system & it sounds just find to me. (might not even notice it if you hook em strate up to a tv or flatscreen tv) the controllers are in s-nes format with works just fine on the nes mode. and just incase you didnt read the spec's above it also plays japanese game's both nes & s-nes. this system is properly ventilated so there no over heatting issues what so ever. if you got alot of old nes games laying around as well as s-nes games this is the system for you if you want to go down memory lane. if you dont then you can just simply go to a thrift shop or a pawn shop & most likely you can get em for like doller a game for nes games or mabe 2-3 dollers a s-nes game. theres also alot of places on the net that you can buy these games from at dirt cheap prices. keep in mind that if you do decide to buy used or use your own games to play on this system that you will be carrying over the film (electronic dirt) thats still on thos game cartridges. luckly i ran into a tool thats also sold here on amazon called: Nes Snes N64 Security 3.8 mm Cartridge Opening Tool Bit. with this bit you are able to open thos old game cartridges & clean off the film that you might not wantting to go on you newly bought system. to me this is a grate buy if you want to take a trip back in videgamming old times.

I will start off by saying that I have owned this system originally as a child and was thrilled to know that you could buy a 3rd party "new" system that could play NES and SNES games. Unfortunately for anyone who has purchased this system or wants to, it will be a short lived high. As most of the reviews point out this system is light, cheap feeling, and junk. It truly feels like a 20 buck system except its twice that on average. Remotes to me felt alright but functionally I really couldnt test them as the driver/emulator in mine was malfunctioning. Tried numerous equipment checks to make sure my setup wasnt to blame given I was using RYW splitter/ 1080p upscaler into my tv........but sadly it wasnt that. Went straight to tv with this thing with different AV cables even to root that out. Ultimately you can tell the hit or miss nature of it just by hitting that reset button and watching the screen come up with different artifacts/haze/bars/static each time and one in ten you get a nice picture. Unlike some reviews I actually had clear sound although when the video would stutter the sound would cut in/out but was the most consistent for functioning. Last gem of the system but one not really the nail in the coffin but a safety concern was that there was some sort of short in the AV cables provided as I could feel the current through the video cable when plugged in and I promptly replaced it with my own during testing. Ultimately I beg you to not to purchase this and find an original or mini and eat the extra cost. Its not worth the cheap feel and even if you get one that works 100% just pick it up like a good book between both hands and squeeze it and ask yourself "is this going to last me more than a year?".......but dont do it too hard because you'll crack the system.

First the positive. The best thing I can say about this system is that it plays SNES games pretty close to perfectly. Even Super Mario RPG worked which seems to be pretty hit or miss on a lot of these clone systems so right off the bat this gets major props for SNES compatibility. The inclusion of S-video is a nice option but on my HDTV I actually thought it made games look slightly worse so unless you have an older TV set this probably isn't a big plus though it isn't like you have to use it so the inclusion of S-video isn't a minus either. Also, the unit is compatible with original SNES controllers so you can actually control games as they were intended. The included controllers felt a little cheap but I actually didn't use them so as far as I know they might be perfectly good. In regards to NES playback things get a little bit more dicey but I'd still call this the best clone that I've used for NES purposes. Once again, compatibility is great and even Castlevania III worked which as far as I know doesn't work on any other clone systems. Also, major props to Retro-Bit for doing a good job of mapping the buttons of the NES to the SNES controllers. Some other clones I've used map A and B on the NES controller to A and B on the SNES controller which just ends up being awkward. The Retro Duo Twin instead maps A and B to Y and B (the two left most buttons on the SNES controller) and this ends up being a much more natural feeling placement than other systems have. It's a nice little touch. Some of the NES games that I can confirm worked on my unit are: Super Mario (1,2, & 3), Castlevania III, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2 & 3), Super Dodge Ball, Super Tecmo Bowl, Rainbow Islands, StarTropics (1 & 2), Rad Racer, Contra, Super Contra, Zanac, Kirby's Adventure, Kabuki Quantum Fighter, Goonies 2, and Robowarrior. Now for the negative which also mainly relates to the NES half of the unit. It's hard to describe but the NES sound just isn't "good". This unit doesn't seem to have the problem of other clones where the sound is off key but it is almost a little muffled/staticy. I wouldn't call it "bad" as some other reviews have but the problem is certainly there and I think it's just personal preference as to how much it will annoy you. A lot of music and sound seems to play back with no problem but certain sound effects and tunes seem to not play as clearly as they should. Very unusual problem. Keep in mind that this only seemed to be a problem with the NES sound as the SNES games sounded just right to me. Second, the color on the NES looks very faded. Things look like they're displaying in the correct color but it's all a bit lighter looking than it's supposed to be. This seemed to be a uniform problem and all of the games I tried displayed this issue. Also the construction of the unit itself feels a bit flimsy. Nothing was broken and everything seemed to work as it was intended but the unit just doesn't have a real sturdy feel to it. Still, it seems like as long as you take care of the unit it should hold up fine. Still, even with the negatives, I think this is a pretty good device. The SNES side is great and even with the problems present the NES side is fine for casual gaming. It definitely didn't stop me and a friend from having a few good games of Super Tecmo Bowl. It is also encouraging that this is the third hardware revision of this unit so it seems that Retro-Bit is actively trying to make improvements and it shows because I'd rate this above any of the other clones I've tried. With a little bit more work it seems like they'll have the NES side working perfectly and I wouldn't hesitate to give a potential future fourth revision a try especially considering the reasonable pricing on these things (another reason I won't knock it too much for the flimsy construction).

Works Great! For original cart's anyways.... Idk hardly anything about these ..like new "aftermarket" carts ppl are making an selling nowadays. I hope so... Cuz I just bought one of those that's the SNES English version of Clocktower..it's coming from Hong kong..ugh..fingers crossed guys. Will update if possible!!

The Retro duo attempts to give a bit of nostalgia to those seeking to play older games. While I feel that it works well enough to play these games, let me break down my thoughts. Pros- Plays both Super NES and NES games. Its nice to have one system to play both types of games and it is easy to switch between the two systems. No having to tweak the NES carts to get them to work properly. Remember when you had to “blow” on your games to get them to work? Well, this system boots right up with no need to fiddle with it to get them to work. Game rendering looks great! The colors and sounds remain pretty close to the original systems. Cons- (phew! Here we go…lets try and get through these without breaking a sweat!) The controllers are garbage…and I mean garbage. Cheaply made for starters and the buttons don’t work properly. When I bought the system, one controller’s down button would not work. I had to ability to duck or crouch…ok..so annoyed I plug in the second controller in hopes that maybe that it was just a defect, but nope! This controller would let you hit the down button, but would also respond with the right direction as well..so you’d always go at a diagonal. I figured this was just shoddy craftsmanship and the system still worked well..so to fix this I bought original SNES controllers to remedy the issue only to find out that the system wouldn’t work properly with them! Seriously. I would plug the controllers into my system and the buttons would be jacked and then plug them into an original SNES system a few feet away and they would work perfect! Ugh! Frustrating. The system is cheaply made- As you probably guess from what I thought of the controllers and how cheaply made I thought they were, you’d then assume that the rest of the system is cheaply made as well. Its made out of a very lightweight plastic that would easily break if you pressed it to hard or dropped it. The system has no “eject” button so when you want to take your cart out, you have to man handle the system to get them out (which might end up damaging your prized games..just so you know). The top loading is nice, but without that eject button, its horrendous. Aside from how cheaply made it is, I’ve had this system for about a year and with all my systems is well cared for, yet the SNES player won’t read games any more. I’ve tried all of my carts, but they won’t work. The NES portion still works, but not the SNES. So my only thought is that it just gave out. In Conclusion- I’d save your money and buy the real system and not this imitation. I had high hopes for this system and while it has good intentions…in the end it cannot replace the real thing and how could we ever expect it to when its this poorly made.

This console claims to play NES and SNES games and I've found it to do so well. I've essentially bought it so for a few reasons. I have a big CRT TV in my garage I'd like to play NES/SNES (my consoles are inside) and I'd love to preserve my original consoles. After doing a painful amount of research I had learned that the retro duo was the most compatible out of the current lineup of clones. They all seem to have a fatal flaw and in this case it had been said that the NES sound was a bit wacky. Almost like the sound is distorted from being over driven. I had actually bought the parts needed to "fix" the sound on the NES side. I'm not sure if later version 3.0 models we're revised but the sound for the NES sounds pretty clean and very close to the original. No mod needed. I'm more than satisfied with the NES performance. I actually pulled my apart and the NES on a chip is much different then the pictures I had seen online. It appears they have improved it although I did notice that Castlevania III no longer works. The SNES side is wonderful. You would be hard pressed to find irregularities on the SNES capability. You know what else is pretty cool about this? It uses SNES ports and this has a benefit to the NES side as well. Both the NES and SNES used the same gamepad controller chip. If you're handy with wiring you can pick up an NES and a SNES extension cable, cut them open, match the colors and splice it back together to make yourself an adapter to use an NES controller. The included controllers are not bad and can get you by but I'd recommend you round up the originals for sure. The game slots themselves tend to really hug the cartridges. Especially the NES. The fix that I ended up with was to just keep my game genie in the slot so I'm not wrecking the console itself. You should really make it a point to find the originals but this clone console is not bad! EDIT: I decided to do a side by side comparison of Super Mario Bros. and Kickle Cubicle. The Retro Duo is spot on. Sound and all. I also decided to create an NES to SNES adapter so that I could plug in an NES controller. Fortunately, the SNES gamepad has the same gamepad microcontroller as the NES except that it has two of them to drive the extra buttons. This means they are essentially the same. I purchased a Retro-Bit SNES 6-Feet Extension Cable and an NES extension cable also by retro-bit. The wire coloring differs from the authentic NES/SNES wiring. Here is how they are laid out: NES extension cable Pin # / Color 1 brown 2 orange 3 black 4 red 5 yellow 6 blue 7 green SNES extension cable Pin # / Color 1 green 2 blue 3 yellow 4 red 7 black Here is how you need to wire them together: SNES Side / NES Side green / yellow blue / orange yellow / black red / red black / brown That's all. Now you can use a NES controller to play your NES games with the retro duo. Source of NES/SNES pin layout: [...]