Decent retro all in one game console to buy?

blazermel

Hi all. I'm a complete novice to the gaming world so I'm looking for some advice. I'm thinking of getting my boyfriend a retro games console for part of his Christmas present as a novelty but I've no idea where to start.

I've seen the Sega mega drive one but from reviews I've read they don't seem too positive. The other option is was looking at was the Nintendo snes mini console, can anyone advise on a good buy?

There seems to be a lot of less known retro consoles around online but the games supplied don't seem at all familiar to me.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

CiDeRmAn

I might know a guy selling a Retron5....

o1s1n

Any idea what his consoles were when he was growing up? That would be a place to start.

Inviere

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I might know a guy selling a Retron5....

Interesting, I know a guy who'll want one in about six months.....:o

readyletsgo

You could look into getting a Retropie (raspberry pi3) with an 8bitdo SNES controller. There is a good bit of setting up in it tbh. But once done, you have all your retro systems on one little nifty box.

Or you could get him a Retron5 as mentioned above and buy the games, which, tbh, is better.

You can use original controllers with the Retron5 too.

Inviere

readyletsgo wrote: »

You could look into getting a Retropie (raspberry pi3) with an 8bitdo SNES controller. There is a good bit of setting up in it tbh. But once done, you have all your retro systems on one little nifty box.

Or you could get him a Retron5 as mentioned above and buy the games, which, tbh, is better.

You can use original controllers with the Retron5 too.

I wouldn't advise a Pi for anything above the 16bit systems, hell, mine struggles with Sonic 1 and scanlines at the same time on the later levels! For N64, the Pi is way out of its depth, imo. Emulation often gets a bad wrap, but personally speaking, and this is directed at no-one, it's because many people make an absolute arse out of doing it. Emulation, when done properly, with the right display settings, the right emulator, the right config, etc, would blow most all-in-one systems away. All you need is a half decent pc, retroarch, launchbox, half decent gpu, and some time & effort, then you've the best emulation setup possible.

It's a kicker that the emulation forum wasn't greenlit, where people could have contributed guides, shared settings, advise, etc. It just doesn't feel right having emulation in this forum

CiDeRmAn

Inviere wrote: »

I wouldn't advise a Pi for anything above the 16bit systems, hell, mine struggles with Sonic 1 and scanlines at the same time on the later levels! For N64, the Pi is way out of its depth, imo. Emulation often gets a bad wrap, but personally speaking, and this is directed at no-one, it's because many people make an absolute arse out of doing it. Emulation, when done properly, with the right display settings, the right emulator, the right config, etc, would blow most all-in-one systems away. All you need is a half decent pc, retroarch, launchbox, half decent gpu, and some time & effort, then you've the best emulation setup possible.

It's a kicker that the emulation forum wasn't greenlit, where people could have contributed guides, shared settings, advise, etc. It just doesn't feel right having emulation in this forum

Grrrrrr

super_furry

If you're looking for an emulation box you can't do better than the Nvidia Shield TV.

Inviere

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Grrrrrr

I know, sorry It's a bit like putting stock car discussion in the vintage car forum, it's never going to take off because the regulars have a largely different approach to how they enjoy their cars. Emulation really needed its own forum, even a subforum of A&R would have worked. Anyhoo!

blazermel

Thanks all for the replies. He would have had a Nintendo growing up, so that's why I'm leaning towards the Nintendo snes mini. I'm afraid some of the tech chat on your suggestions has gone completely over my head 🙈 what sites would be good to look for some of the consoles that's been suggested? I'd ideally want something with very little set up, he wouldn't be into his video games now so it's purely a nostalgic novelty gifts I want to get him.

Inviere

An all in one system? Look up Launchbox paired with Retroarch

Andrew76

blazermel wrote: »

Thanks all for the replies. He would have had a Nintendo growing up, so that's why I'm leaning towards the Nintendo snes mini. I'm afraid some of the tech chat on your suggestions has gone completely over my head �� what sites would be good to look for some of the consoles that's been suggested? I'd ideally want something with very little set up, he wouldn't be into his video games now so it's purely a nostalgic novelty gifts I want to get him.

I think the Snes mini is your best bet then - zero setup and has some great games on it ready to go. No idea what stock levels are like though.

Sure if it re-kindles his love for retro games then he can look into alternative systems (original or emulation) down the line.

blazermel

Andrew76 wrote: »

I think the Snes mini is your best bet then - zero setup and has some great games on it ready to go. No idea what stock levels are like though.

Sure if it re-kindles his love for retro games then he can look into alternative systems (original or emulation) down the line.

Perfect. Now to try and track one down!! Thanks for all the replies.

Shefwedfan

Sorry to jump on thread but just wondering what is the crack with these things? see them advertised everywhere

https://www.tomtop.com/p-t1376-1-eu.html?currency=EUR&Warehouse=CN&aid=gplaiecd&gclid=CjwKCAiAx57RBRBkEiwA8yZdUFlx9NSkfz0Q_yrXzJ_uGzuJivLhEWYc2QyRua6xNKXAdA75o3ZC0BoCRhoQAvD_BwE

eddhorse

Its cheap for a punt, possibly a Raspberry Pi Zero, hard to know at that price.

readyletsgo

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Sorry to jump on thread but just wondering what is the crack with these things? see them advertised everywhere

https://www.tomtop.com/p-t1376-1-eu.html?currency=EUR&Warehouse=CN&aid=gplaiecd&gclid=CjwKCAiAx57RBRBkEiwA8yZdUFlx9NSkfz0Q_yrXzJ_uGzuJivLhEWYc2QyRua6xNKXAdA75o3ZC0BoCRhoQAvD_BwE

I read a review on these a few weeks back and for the life of me I can't find it.

Basically it said, for the price it's not a bad stocking filler. You can buy it here too https://www.dealrush.ie/offer/403898/ty-direct , prob faster postage but a little more expensive including postage cost of €5.

Now, it says 500 games, a LOT of these will be rubbish tbh, but maybe 20 or 30 would be worth the overall price.

Gonna get one for my nephew, he's 8 so it'll keep him busy over the next few months.

As for your link above, I did buy the Famicom version for myself, only €19, prob get it in January but sure, nice to add to my collection

readyletsgo

I found the 'review'
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/11/random_youve_seen_the_nes_classic_now_check_out_the_coolbaby_hdmi_hd_video_game