Hyperkin RetroN 3 Video Gaming System, Charcoal

by Hyperkin

Product Features

• Two original controller ports for each gaming platform
• S-video and composite AV outputs
• Includes two wireless controllers (batteries not included)
• Compatible with original Nintendo, SEGA Genesis or Super Nintendo controllers

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003Y5AHPG
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,777 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Tap into the joy of your childhood with the RetroN 3 gaming system. Capable of playing Nintendo, SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo cartridges, the RetroN 3 is the only system you need to play thousands of classic games.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far the best clone system., November 7, 2010

By 

PSony - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Hyperkin RetroN 3 Video Gaming System, Charcoal (Video Game)

I got my Retron 3 today and it already replaced my Genesis and SNES. It's very lightweight and the build quality is definitely not up there with Nintendo or Sega, but it looks decent (the gray one, not the red one) and does what is advertised. It's very convenient to go from playing Genesis to SNES with just a flick of the knob instead of having to plug and unplug av cables, in addition to how much shelf space and power outlet space it saves.

On the NES side, there is composite video and dual mono output (s-video doesn't work on NES). For Genesis and SNES, there is composite video, s-video, and stereo audio output. Composite video on NES is ok, but it's very dark for Genesis and SNES. It's not really a problem since it's better to use s-video for Genesis and SNES anyways. Compared to composite, s-video output is very sharp and bright. Even the standard Genesis systems don't feature s-video output, so this is a very nice feature of the Retron 3. Since the NES side doesn't work with s-video, it is a bit annoying to have to plug and unplug the s-video cable to play NES games.

The Genesis sound is a little inaccurate. I noticed in Sagaia that the sound effects are louder than the music and a bit of the soundtrack is off key. Also, there is a little buzzing noise on NES and Genesis games. I can live with it. At least it doesn't sound totally butchered up like the Atgames Genesis clones. Most of my other games don't sound too different than on a model 1 Genesis. SNES sound is perfect. I don't know how accurate the NES sound is since I never owned one.

The packed-in wireless controllers are only good for NES games. For Genesis, not only are the A/B buttons swapped, but so are the X/Y buttons. Sometimes I forgot and pressed the wrong buttons. For SNES, L is C and R is Z, unlike what the box and the back of the controller suggests. These controllers don't work too well for games like F-Zero or Mario Kart where you have to use L/R and the face buttons at the same time. The controllers use IR so you have to point them at the system. I would have gladly paid more for RF controllers like the ones that are included with Yobo's FC-16 Go. I also noticed the problem with rapidly pressing a button or the dpad and not having all the presses registered. Also, the diagonals on the dpad aren't very good. This controller is totally useless for fighting games and beat-em-ups. Fortunately the controller ports don't have any problems so you'll want to use your original NES/SNES/Genesis controllers.

Also, the NES and Genesis cartridge slots have some sort of deathgrip. I have to press against the system so that I don't lift the whole thing while I attempt to yank the cartridge out. The SNES slot is surprisingly smooth and easy to insert and remove cartridges.

I've heard from other Retron 3 owners that Street Fighter Alpha 2 (SNES) doesn't work, but it works perfectly fine on mine.

Here's my game compatibility list:

Working:

Genesis:
Air Diver
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Alien Storm
Altered Beast
Art of Fighting
Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II
Battletoads
Battletoads/Double Dragon
Beyond Oasis
Bimini Run
Bonanza Brothers
Bubsy II
Budokan: The Martial Spirit
Burning Force
Championship Pro-Am
Chase H.Q. 2
Chiki Chiki Boys
Columns
Comix Zone
Crossfire
Cyborg Justice
Dashin' Desperadoes
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
Double Dragon
Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game
Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls
Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun
Ecco the Dolphin
El Viento
Elemental Master
Eternal Champions
Gadget Twins
Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Golden Axe
Golden Axe II (pack-in controller's Mode button doesn't seem to do anything, so you have to use original Genesis controller)
Gynoug (European)
The Humans
Jungle Strike
King of the Monsters
Lotus II: RECS
Lotus Turbo Challenge
Marble Madness
Mega Bomberman
Mercs
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat II
Ms. Pac-Man
Paperboy
Paperboy 2
Phantasy Star IV
Phelios
Pit-Fighter
Populous
Ranger X
The Revenge of Shinobi
Road Rash
Road Rash 3
Road Rash II
Rocket Knight Adventures
Sagaia
Samurai Shodown
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Shadow Blasters
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Maste
Sol-Deace
Sonic & Knuckles (and any lock-on combination)
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Classics
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Space Harrier II (European)
Steel Empire
Street Fighter II -- Special Champion Edition
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 3
Strider
Sub Terrania
Super Hang-On
Super Monaco GP
Super Street Fighter II
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force III
ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
Top Gear 2
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Urban Strike
Valis III
Vectorman
Virtua Fighter 2
Virtual Pinball
Whip Rush

SNES:
Darius Twin
Donkey Kong Country
Gradius III
HyperZone
Mario Paint
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 3
PilotWings
Sim City
Star Fox
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter II
Stunt Race FX
Super Bomberman 2
Super Double Dragon
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario RPG (I heard only version 1.0 of the game works, so mine must be one of them)
Super Mario World
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Nova
Super R-Type
Super Star Wars
Thunder Spirits
Top Gear
Top Gear 2
U.N. Squadron
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game

NES:
Batman
Pro Wrestling
Ring King
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3

Non-working:

Genesis:
Ecco: The Tides of Time
Virtua Racing

NES:
Dragon Warrior
Laser Invasion

Accessory compatibility list:

Working:
official controller (SNES)
Performance Superpad (SNES)
official 3-button controller (Genesis)
official 6-button controller (Genesis)
official 3-button Megafire controller (Genesis)
official/Majesco 6-button turbo controller; 6-button-style casing (Genesis)
official/Majesco 6-button turbo controller; 3-button-style casing (Genesis)
official 6-button arcade stick (Genesis)
Game Genie (Genesis)

Non-working:
official wireless controller (Genesis) - controller port spacing is different so receiver won't fit; might work with extension cables
Acclaim Dual Turbo wireless controller (Genesis) - same issue as above

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars In the end, It evens itself out...., March 3, 2011

By 

CookedXenon - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hyperkin RetroN 3 Video Gaming System, Charcoal (Video Game)

There are some upsides to this unit. It has S-Video for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo games and they do look better with it. There is also two bundled wireless controllers. Three systems in one, eliminating the need for all those power adapters and cables. It plays a ton of games just as well as any real system would. You can have three games in at once. Keeps thing tidy, if not weird looking.

There is also downsides to the unit. Bottom line, the video quality isn't as good as the originals were. They get close but its not as good. So the fact that you can get S-Video only makes it slightly better. The bundled controllers are just fine if your dead center with your system and not too far away. Get too far away or move from center. Controls will start to lag and often just downright stop working. The controllers quality itself is not bad, the d-pad is much better then it feels. Its responds well. The buttons all work fine as long as you have a good wireless connection with the unit. I thought I would hate these controllers much more then I did. They are limited because of the range but when in range, they do work well. Wired controllers are only slightly better because they don't go very far without extensions but they are fine tuned with the exact proper button layout that one would expect for that system.

I personally had trouble with the Nintendo portion. The connection seems very loose and poor. At first I thought it was the game. But eventually I put in just right to get it to work. But I gently moved the system and the picture began giving me a very weird, old school garbled look to it. I do remember the original Nintendo having issues like that occasionally. But this system, you could tell the big problem was that it was simply too loose. If you jostle it around, eventually it'll work. Then don't touch it or else it might give trouble. This might just be a problem with my unit because, to be fair, the unit is cheap. You can feel it, its a cheap import. Nothing about the controllers or the system seem strong. God forbid if I even gently step on one of the controllers, it'll probably break in a million pieces.

I was a little bummed out by the fact that you couldn't mix and match wired controllers with the wireless controller. If you choose to use a wired controller on a game. Only the wired ports work. The wireless controller simply ceases to work once you choose a wired controller. Vica versa as well, use the wireless controller, the ports won't work until you restart. I was hoping they'd be cross compatible. I can understand not being able to use the SNES controller with a Genesis game or a NES Controller with an SNES game. But they could have let the wireless controller cross-work with the wired controllers. Oh well. The only thing worse then one person trying to play dead center of the system, is two people trying to play dead center. Better hope that other player is a significant other or REALLY good friend, because they are gonna be right on top of you. Thats the only way. The controllers require two AAA batteries (not included). However they include a S-Video Cable (which pleasantly surprised me) along with the expected composite cable and power adapter.

But you know I still give three stars cause at the end of the day. Nintendo had infamous issues with bad connections (how can we forget the blowing into the cartridge and system to get games to work), The genesis had some of those isses too and occasionally the SNES would have a problem. On my system, I felt like the SNES was the best performer overall, best sound, best video, best build quality. Games always recognized immediately. The Genesis, occasionally it did give me a black screen. But usually it worked well. The Nintendo, like I mentioned before. Very finicky.

One final thing, compatibility, heres the problem. Its very hard to tell if the game simply isn't compatible, if the game is dirty/broke or if the system connections are the problem (like my nintendo portion). The results are usually the same, the game won't start. So you have to really go through a process of elimination. Don't just pop in game, it doesn't start and automatically you think, oh its not compatible. It may just need some cleaning, it may need to be pulled out and reinserted, maybe it just didn't like up properly the first time. You gotta try different things first. But its a fact, there are games out there that do not work on all the systems. Check forums check reviews, check everywhere before throwing your money on a game that may not work. Thats the biggest reason to buy the real systems over a clone. Perfect compatiblity. It'll work, it may take some doing to get it to work. But everything SHOULD work in the end. Thats something that these clone systems can't claim. They aren't perfect compatibility.

If you want to compare this to other clone systems, the general consensus I gather, is there isn't a better system out there. It does everything well in terms of video and audio playback. It even gives you the wired controller option which most clone systems do not. It has S-Video for the videophiles. So in the end its a good product, not very expensive. You can buy an old school system with better build quality but its old. Its more apt to conk out one day. You can buy this system and its new but the build quality is poor. So it might die just as soon. I don't expect this to last forever, thats for sure.

Everything equals itself out in the end. There is no magic answer, no way for PERFECT retro gaming enjoyment. I think its worth the money.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive RetroN 3 Review by Lo' Down, December 18, 2010

By 

Lorenzo Ruiz "lodown505" (Clovis, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hyperkin RetroN 3 Video Gaming System, Charcoal (Video Game)

I've had a hit-and-miss experience with Famiclones and other hardware that emulates old video consoles. My original FC Mobile was wack, the FC Mobile 2 was awesome, the Retrogen is great, the FC Twin was cool, and the GenMobile was absolute trash. Literally, it broke a day after I got it. And then I got the FC16 Go, and now I never play it. The cables got all mixed up and batteries are expensive. But enough of that banter. THIS SYSTEM, the RetroN 3, picks up for me where the FC Twin left off. (I know, the FC Twin was designed by Yobo and the RetroN 3 was designed by Hyperkin, I can read).

The system features the ability to play NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis games on one console. You already know that. One thing you DON'T know is if it's worth buying. Well, that's why I'm here. I purchased this system after I do what I do before I purchase any system, and that is watch as many reviews as I can. But due to poor internet service I ended up buying this thing on a gamble. The games work surprisingly well, there are only a few sound and color issues, and it fits nicely underneath my TV entertainment console! The bad part is the controllers. Throw them away as soon as you get them, unless you don't have any of the original controllers for the original systems.

The turbo on these controllers is slower than me tapping the button as fast as I can. You have to point the controllers directly at the system to get them to work, and they tend to lock up every once in a while, but only for a second. So my suggestion is find some original controllers. That's the biggest bonus of this system!

Now let's talk sound. The NES sound is great, but you can tell the difference between this system and the original NES's sound if you pop in a game like Mega Man 3 or Super C, where there are unique sounds or music effects like echoes or bends. Like the system has a bit of trouble reproducing them properly, but no biggie. As long as the graphics are on par, which they are. :)

The Sega Genesis's graphics are crisp. If you set the TV color to match the NES (to make those games look right), then the Genesis games will be a bit dull unless you adjust the color for them and the same problem exists for the SNES. Streets of Rage 2 played only one channel (one of two stereo channels), so it wasn't too bad but it could be better. It's like listening to it with one headphone or speaker. The games I tried all booted up nicely and work fine!

Now, SNES. I haven't tried it with an original controller yet, so I've been stuck with those trashy controllers that came with the system. The games read fine and start up like they should, but the sound is WAY overblown. Like the volume is turned all the way up, and sometimes gets distorted. You can solve this problem by having your TV volume down and gradually raising it.

There are a few things I should note, however: There's a little switch on the back of the console that says O/J. When i first tried to pop in a Sega Genesis game I was greeted with a screen that said that the game would only work in an American system. So make sure when you get this system you switch the lever to O, because if it's on J it'll assume you're playing PAL games. Which means you can play import games, apparently! Haven't tried it yet, probably won't get to.

Another thing. The NES compatibility kinda bothers me. All but one of my games worked properly. That game was Final Fantasy. For some reason, it erased my file and when you start up the game, everything's green and you're in an airship. When you get into a battle, the game goes black and freezes. I'm not sure why that is, but just thought I'd bring that up. Maybe it's an individual problem and perhaps your copy will work fine, but I don't know for sure. Dragon Warrior (NES), Phantasy Star IV (Genesis), and Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES) all worked awesome. So did Star Fox!

So that's my review of the RetroN 3. I would give the system five stars because of its superb handling and the fact that it allows use of the original systems' controllers, but i minus a star because it includes controllers that aren't worth a darn. So make sure you invest in controllers--I bought a cheapie NES controller from here and it works out excellently, so don't be afraid to blow a few bucks on an aftermarket controller that has bad reviews. Most of those people just expect the NINTENDO logo to be stamped on them, and so they hate. lol