I want to get back into collecting for older consoles. Should I get a Retron 3 or a Retron 5?

I want to get back into collecting for older consoles. Should I get a Retron 3 or a Retron 5?

Retron 3 pros:

-I could use a Super Gameboy on it.
-I can get it in the color of my choosing.
-It plays the actual games rather than loading the roms and saves onto the system
-I can use stuff like everdrive on it.
-I can pick it up for a third of the price (though it plays far less consoles, and having to get another super gameboy for it diminishes the savings somewhat.)

Retron 5 pros:
-Saving the save files from some of my old consoles permanently sounds like a good idea.
-Plays GBA, Master and Famicom games as well.

As an aside, how hard would it be to get into collecting Amiga games?

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Well if you don't wanna play games emulated, Retron 3 seems like your best bet. Even if you want to play famicom or GBC/GBA games (since they wont work on a SGB,) I think there are converters for them. For Amiga games I really don't know since i'm not an expert in microcomputers.

I have a retron 5 and never use it. The loading roms sounds good but it's fucking busted. A lot of the times it reads bad and I've had games where it cannot write the save back onto the cart. If you want an all-in-one like that and you aren't opposed to spending some decent cash get one of these. I've heard people who hate the retron like this. Unfortunately you'd need to buy a Famicom-NES converter to play NES carts.

sorry forgot link

play-asia.com/retro-freak-premium/13/708vvv

Get a real console instead of that knockoff shit.

Just buy the old consoles. It's not like they're expensive.
As for Amiga, the games came in cardboard boxes, so it's about as hard to collect for as pre-Gamecube Nintendo. You'll have more luck in Europe, because PC gaming from that era was much more popular there. Get an Amiga 500, mod it with a PAL/NTSC switch and get the 512kb trapdoor RAM. If you want a flashcart of sorts replace the floppy drive with the Gotek USB Floppy Emulator, you can get Amiga versions off Ebay.
The Amiga 1200 is also an option, but I don't have one so I can't help you there.

what is the retron, is it an emulator machine or does it have actual hardware?

Retron 5 is illegal because it violates selling non-commercial software and is also just a shitty version of Retroarch with a bunch of overhead from Android.

Everyone is going to rag you for getting a Retron cause of muh accuracy but the truth is if you are wanting to get into retro video game collecting then a Retron is a good start. When I started getting into collection I bought a Retron 3 but It really isn't worth it over the Retron 5. The Retron 3 has some pretty bad Genesis and SNES sound reproduction. Just make sure you get some original controllers cause the Retron 5's controller are horrible.

I've been very unhappy with every retron system I've used. I really don't recommend them simply because they either break, the software is shit, or the results are lackluster. It is far better to go with legit hardware, and if you are not a collectorfag, a flash cart.

Yeah hyperkin's stuff is just kind of crap I bought a SupaBoy as well and the thing is terrible. The screen is horrid and the d-pad nearly hurts to use. It's also very cheaply made and feels flimsy as hell.

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we sell them at my store and they break all the time. customers return them constantly, we got to the point where we open every single one, fully charge it, make sure it works before we put it out for sale. We still get returns. Hyperkin makes convenient, cheap components like AV cables, power adapters, NES pin replacements, but their actual consoles? Stay away. The Retron series of systems is a nightmare. Go legit, you're best off with a nice CRT, good AV options, and the official, original hardware.

Paying for a well made emulation box that works well has some nice features and can take actual cartridge is something cool that I would pay for. Unfortunately the Retron is not that.

Neither. The Retron 3 is cheap garbage and the Retron 5 uses stolen Retroarch emulators and has issues running and saving games. The Super Retro Trio is the best clone system, being like a Retron 3 but good. But doesn't using an aftermarket system defeat the purpose of playing the original games? If you're not going all the way, just use a Wii as a cheap emulation box.
Master System and 32X games work with Genesis Everdrives. The Genesis is actually backward-compatible but needs the Power Base Converter to make MS games fit in the slot.

what the fuck is a genesis. you mean the
M E G A D R I V E ?

Aren't the Retron consoles basically emulation machines and not hardware clones?

Plebs. the lot of you.

But they are emulators.

Going to Nip land in a month or two.

What should I pick up apart from qt3.14s. Is there a resale market I could make a small profit off? I live in Australia, so the prices for consoles and games are insane, but not sure about the import market.

Look into the Vita if you don't have one already. Lots of limited editions, and you can get weeb games if you're interested. It's region free.
There's also the Wonderswan and Neo Geo Pocket Colour, but I don't know much about their libraries.
AFAIK the DS is region free as well. I'm sure there are Japan-only games worth getting.

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I'm not into weeb stuff nor can I speak moonrunes. Though, if I see a cheap N3DS, Wii/U or Vita, they're coming home with me no doubt.

I should check in with 4/vg/ to see what firmwares I need for Wii/Vita, but I'm afraid of the mess on that site now.

The Vita needs firmware 3.60. If you get one earlier you can upgrade to 3.60 but it's a little convoluted. It's nothing involving modding the console, just using a program to get files on the Vita. Also you'll need henkaku.xyz/.
No idea on the 3DS/WiiU but you can hack the WiiU's vWii mode and run Wii homebrew like Nintendon't. You need a copy of Brawl. No idea if they've patched that though.
Just remember that the 3DS/WiiU are region locked. A Jap 3DS only plays Jap games unless you bypass the lock, so get a 3DS with older firmware. Anything older than 11.0 should work, but double check first.

To be honest, the primary concern for me is space and money. I used to have an NES, SNES, Genesis and Game Gear, but I sold them as a teen when I stupidly thought "Well, I have so many PS, PS2 and PSP games now, as well as all my PC games, and I can just emulate everything from that generation easily, so why hold onto it?"

I miss having a collection. For me it's not about monetary value, though that is a debate for me. For instance, I definitely want to own a copy of Little Samson, but I never intend to sell my stuff and the only reason I want the games is to play with others, so does it matter whether I get the real thing for 60 bucks if I'm lucky, or buy a repro for 6 bucks?

I'm also not a completionist. I don't want complete libraries for anything. There are hundreds of games on the PS and PS2 (the systems I primarily collected for) I don't own, but have no interest in owning (all the sports games for example) I started collecting GB and GBC games, and that "collection" was complete in a couple of months, and ended up only being like 30 games.

For me the criteria is like this: ~The game holds nostalgic value to me. ~The game is extremely good and should be part of any collection for this system as a "best of" showcase. ~The game is really weird or odd in some way that makes it a fun conversation piece. ~The game is part of a larger series collection which would be incomplete without it.

When I have a ton of space and money, I'd certainly love to have one of those set ups where there's a huge entertainment center with a series of consoles all lit up on display, and part of my dream set up includes one of those functional NES pad coffee tables, but for the moment this is much more economical.

I currently own zero cartridges for those old systems (other than the GB/GBC ones) if I get a new original NES, then that's all I can collect for. I'll work my way through the cheaper ones in a couple months, then get a couple mid-range ones every month, then get one expensive one a month until I'm done, and then start over on either the SNES or Genesis. There's only maybe 30 games I want for the NES.

For the moment, because I checked and the price seems to have dropped dramatically, I'm leaning towards just starting with a Retron 3 so I can collect for three systems. Picking off the less expensive games for a year and seeing what I can find at flea markets will keep me pretty satisfied.

There's a dozen other systems I'd like to collect for as well. Vitual Boy's the perfect example. I only really want four games for the system. Two are dirt cheap, one is a little bit pricier, and then you have the one game (Jack Bros.) that people try to sell for hundreds of dollars. I don't have any interest in owning a copy of Waterworld or Mario Tennis.

I don't see why you wouldn't just get an actual SNES with a flashcart or just stick to emulators on PC/Wii/whatever.

If you want an emulation box get a single-board computer or an old laptop, otherwise original hardware.

ATTENTION EVERYONE
THIS PROPERLY READS AS THE FOLLOWING:

protip: you can get every single one of youre "classic" games for free.

I forget which firmware patch is the latest stable firmware patch, but basically the stable firmware patch on the Retron 5 makes it a reliable option for playing all those older games in good resolution and color. I even played some repro carts on that thing like Mother 3 and they worked too and looked great. Save states are especially handy with older JRPGs so I'd definitely grab a Retron 5 just for that alone, and being able to natively take screenshots of the game is pretty cool too.

I like that I can use the controller mapping to play every game on it with an SNES controller since that's the most comfortable one to play with IMO. Overall since installing the stable firmware patch for it it's worked great with all of the games I've tested. The only repro carts I have that didn't work were some Fire Emblem fan translated carts, but you can always just play those with online emulation or a temporary SNES for it.

I've tested about every sort of game I could for it and the Retron 5 does work very well, I even tested the original Phantasy Star that was released on the Master System (with the power base converter Genesis add on). You can play pretty much any older era game plus GBA games with the thing, and unlike the Gamecube Gameboy adapter kit you don't need a boot disc which is prone to scratching and wear.

The Super Game Boy cart is useful for what it is, but unless your SNES is modded for component video output or you have a way of S-Video working with your HDTV, then the Retron 5 is the best option for playing your older games and them looking good without washed out display & colors. Just like the PS3 being able to natively emulate PS1 games and present them in much higher quality than the original PS1 output ever could, even outputting better than a PS2 with component cables and no need for physical memory cards.

Just get an original console with a flash cart you faggot. And the retron systems are trash that use outdated emulators you can get for free.


Ignore this faggot.

You might as well just get a hacked Wii with Virtual Console WADS and emulators.

I'm aware.

I have them for free.

Now tell me, can I invite someone over, sit them on my couch, show them my "collection" of… rom files… and then sit them in front of my lovely television on the couch and hand them a controller plugged into a system on which all of these games can be played that'll give them an authentic feeling, won't involve navigating through an embarrassing text menu on a flashcart or a ghetto set up involving connecting my laptop to my tv? You know user, I'm talking about for socializing. You understand socializing right?

…Oh.

Don't bother, most of Holla Forums wouldn't know (or care) how to socialize if they were handed a book on it.

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Yeah, I'm sure they would rather see your embarrassing Chinese emulation machine instead.

I'm pretty sure that like every "console" emulator, it has shitty sound emulation for the Genesis.

Well, if you want to spend that much money on a strategy that might help you socialize (or it might not), go ahead. A RetroPie might be cheaper, though.