Customer Reviews

Retro Duo Twin Video Game System NES & SNES - Blue and White

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

IT works! The controllers are nice, although they aren't quite as heavy as the true SNES counterparts.

The Retro Duo Twin system itself is heavy and has excellent venting for heat control. It has played all my old games so far, including contra, super mario kart, mortal kombat, etc.

My major complaints are that the NES game cartridges are hard to eject (you have to really tug to get them free) and that some games seem like the colors and sounds are not 100% emulated (Super Mario Bros 3 for example.) This is mostly an issue with the NES part of the system, the SNES side of the Retro Duo Twin so far works flawlessly.

I bought this more for the nes side hoping that it would work better than my side loading nes that is broken. First I am impressed by the concept and the top loading design. First game I threw at it was lifeforce for nes and it worked right away without blowing on it or reseting it. After playing for awhile I noticed that a lot of the sound effects were off. A lot of them were higher pitched and the music seemed to labor at times and even miss whole notes completly. The game itself seemed to work fine but I just couldnt get over the sound difference. Needless to say I returned it and I got a nes2 toploader off ebay for a little more. Still a good product but not for those who want a true nes replacement, there is no substitute. Great Idea but not quite there.

The Retro Duo is awesome for people that want to replay all their old NES or SNES games but lack the classic consoles themselves.

This console plays pretty much every game cartridge I throw at it... including imports!* The Retro Duo is pretty compact compared to the classic consoles. Stack 3 NES games on top of each other and you basically have the size and weight of this. The 2 SNES controllers it comes with are also pretty light compared to the classics. The console offers your choice of either standard RCA (red, white, yellow) or S-Video TV connectors. The Retro Duo also has a small but functional cooling system. And before I forget, let me assure you that the Retro Duo does NOT conflict with the fragile save systems of NES games. Your Legend of Zelda file will be just fine.

Now, this console does have a few drawbacks. First and probably most important: it only has SNES controller ports. So all your NES accessories, like the Zapper, cannot be used with the Retro Duo. Also, there's no cartridge ejection. Remember how you'd flip the switch and out pops your game? Not anymore, you have to pull the games out of the system. For SNES games, no biggie; but the NES games are a pretty tight fit going in and out. The console supports S-Video, but that post-dates the NES technology, so if you use that rather than RCA connectors, NES games will be displayed black and white.

I bought this console because my previous NES and SNES were gone without a trace. This console fills the gap, but if you're debating whether or not to swap out your old NES and SNES for this, I would not recommend it. While this console is great overall, it cannot compare to the classics. But if you're looking to get into retro gaming, this offers a great start for the 2 consoles that hold legendary game libraries.
Remember to clean your game cartridges before playing on your new Retro Duo to help maximize both console and game life!

* EDIT: This console supports cartridges from the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (including PAL format), and Super Famicom consoles. It does not support Famicom cartriges.

I thought I'd never get to play all the old Nes and Snes games again without going into a hissy fit!! This Duo Retro Game works great so far. No problems and it looks cool too. I have the Black and Red one. The price was right at $40.00 Just remember, If you want a joystick or other controllers you need to buy the SNES Versions!!
They are coming up with a adapter to use with NES controllers, but not sure when. I would recommend this product!!

If you have any NES or SNES games, this is the unit for you. It is more convenient than having one of each unit. I realize that there are a lot newer game systems out there, but there are still a lot of people who like NES. If so, then this unit is for you.

I purchased this system in the hopes of getting a decent working NES system. The SNES slot was just a bonus for me and would allow me to keep my SNES in storage instead of continuing to use it. Here are the pros and cons I found.

Pros : It works. It seems to play SNES games more or less flawlessly. NES games also work, but not quite as well. The system is small and hooks up with regular cables, so you don't need to worry about a proprietary hookup to get it hooked up to your tv. It uses SNES accessories so you can use regular SNES controllers instead of the crappy ones it comes with.

Cons : I went through two systems and Amazon Customer Service had me do a refund instead of sending me a 3rd system to try. (Amazon Service has been exceptional through this all just for the record). My first system arrive and worked well, but there was some static banding that really annoyed me in the video signal. I figured It had some bad connection on the inside, so I returned it and got a replacement. Two days later I tested the second one. This one had the same banding, but I found that hooking up with just the rca video cable instead of s-video reduced this static. I decided at first to keep the system and just tolerate it. But then I tried some NES games. I found the NES slot to be extremely tight. It was difficult to get games back out of the system. Finally, I tried Castlevania and the game didn't work. I had to pull it very hard to get the game back out and when I did the pins in the NES slot had pulled out of the slot.

Conclusion : It does work and seemed to work well before the NES slot broke. The difficulty in getting the NES slot to cooperate has steered me away for the time being.

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.

This is the best thing that has happened in the video game industry. A company that keeps the classics alive. The Retro Duo Twin Video Game System is a must have for any video game player. What is next? A console that comes with multiple controllers and has multiple cartridge/cd/dvd/bluray inputs built into it to allow any video game? Nice!

Well, had it for about a week now and everything works fine, seems to be a solid machine. Being able to play both NES and SNES is a plus.
Sure the new systems are great, but getting back to the good 'ol Nintendo is a fresh breath. Great games like Mario, Double dragon, and Mortal Kombat just can't be beat. The best thing is, if you lost broken or just gave those old games away, thanks to Amazon, you can get them real cheap, used of course.
Brings back some great button smashing memories. If you have kids, good thing is they'll enjoy it just as much, and you don't have to worry about them destroying your more expensive game consoles.
Grab one, you'll be glad you did.

The Retro Duo is a light little console, just barely over an inch thick and not hardly registering on my bathroom scale. This lightness, when compared to a real NES or SNES might make it feel cheap, but it certainly gets the job done.

As an SNES it is quite satisfactory. It plays games well, and when I plug in my authentic SNES controller I can scarce tell the difference between the two, and the ones that ship with it are a close approximate. The only thing I don't like about them so far is that the D-pad is a bit stiff... but I've already switched mine out for the real thing. Supposedly a few games don't work, but I don't own any of those... all the cartridges I've tried seem to play fine, about a dozen and some. The cartridges don't quite slide in as smooth as the real thing, but no problems.

This console, however, is a much weaker approximate of the NES. A lot of people complain about the sound quality, but I find its rather close on most games. The more immediate problem is the connector itself, which is EXTREMELY SNUG on NES carts. A great deal of force is needed to separate most games from the connector. Oddly enough, for how tightly the card fits into the connectors, the actual cartridge rests loosely on the console housing, make it quite easy to "jiggle" the cartridge while its connected. This makes getting a precise connection on these old games rather difficult, with the slightest breeze coming along and garbling the graphics or worse, crashing the game. Once you get them in there though, they seem to play well. I've only tested Dragon Warrior and Genghis Khan so far, both seem to play fine.

The Verdict:

As an SNES substitute, this will suit you just fine, especially with genuine peripherals. Your old carts will play in this machine without worry. It's a bit of a hassle to get an NES game going in one of these, but it is possible... and odds are by now your real NES isn't faring much better. Anyone with access to a genuine SNES could probably pass this one up, as its obvious that it is the unit's primary function. I'd give the NES half a bit more play time, but quite frankly I can't decide whether I'm addicted to Genghis Khan or I'm just a little bit scared to try and pry it off so I can get Ice Hockey in. Hopefully the unit will last as long as my impervious SNES carts seem to want to.

+Works great as SNES
+Accepts SNES peripherals
+Reasonably priced compared to used units
+Comes with two SNES controller knockoffs
-NES connector puts a deathgrip on the cartridge
-Wobbly NES connector makes it tough to get games to play right
-NES graphics and sound look a little grainy on high-def TVs
-Dpads are a little stiff on the controllers