HD Retrovision - A Kickstarter Interview

We spoke to HD Retrovision about their now 'Live' Kickstarter project - its goals and expectations, and why its so important to support retro gaming systems of days gone by.

Tell us why you choose to work on a Sega & Nintendo retro gaming product - rather than a new generation console accessory?

We grew up on these consoles and they're the reason we're gamers today. It saddened us to see them threatened by the lack of support on modern TVs. 

Who are the products designed for?
The products are really designed for anyone who wants a simple, affordable, yet high quality solution to playing their old consoles on new TVs. It's true other solutions exist, but they can be expensive and messy, or require people to have hardware skills they don't have.

What was is about the Genesis and SNES that makes it so special?
The games on those consoles represent the pinnacle of gaming to us in a lot of ways.

The games had enjoyable story lines without hours of cutscenes, and designers were focused more on awesome gameplay than making the game have movie-quality graphics. They also feature some of our favorite video game music of all time. I still hear the Desert Strike theme in my head regularly.

How important are playing games for you when you making a product like this?
Very important. We've tested our cables across on many many games to make sure we don't run into anything unexpected. It's really the only way to know if you're going to run any issues if someone plugs a Sonic 3 into a Sonic & Knuckles into a Game Genie.

How has your background and experience contributed to the development of this Kickstarter?

Besides being avid gamers, we're both electrical engineers and mathematicians by training. This has contributed to us being very precise and methodical in our development of the cables. 

Tell us a bit about the technical details to feature in the product?

The concept behind our cables is not new, but the implementation is radically different. Through careful engineering, we are able to fit our custom electronics into a tight, enclosed space without an additional power source. This approach lowers the cost and headache compared with competing solutions, which we hope will give more people access to high-quality retro-gaming.

Left - composite video, Right with component from HD Retrovision cables

What are your favourite 5 Genesis games of all time?
Streets of Rage, NBA Jam, Kid Chameleon, Toejam & Earl, Earthworm Jim

What are your favourite 5 SNES games of all time?Megaman X, Chrono Trigger, Super Castlevania IV, Shadowrun, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 

What does retrogaming /gaming mean to you?

It's the a link back to our childhood. Retro-gaming brings us back to an era where some of our best memories were formed, often while playing these games with a good friend or sibling.

Back the Kickstarter here: 

JXD The Android Gaming Tablet

 

In this day and age we are all for collecting all the classic games and playing them on the original consoles with the original controllers.  That is the best way to play retro games, the nostalgia is there with the feel and the touch of the machines.

Pushing in a cartridge into the slot on the Sega Master System, pressing the power button on your Nintendo NES console or even pumping coins into an original arcade cab.  These are all the things we remember of gaming as kids and still love to do, but in the present day this is not always possible for everyone and we like to preserve our machines and games of old and keep them in good condition plus access a range of games at any one time.

But wait........our delivery from Funstock.co.uk landed. So without delay we opened it up to see an Android tablet ..." But wait ........this had analogue joysticks and a D-pad!  We now had in our hands the JXD S7800b !

So this is an Android tablet built for retrogames....we are quite impressed!  The console holds well in your hands and is light too.weighing only 500g! Your thumbs lay ontop of the joysticks just right and still leaves your fingers to be hitting the L1 and R1 buttons curved into the corners of the console!  The tablet has all the buttons you'd expect from modern handhelds and they are all positioned correctly which will suit most games and gamers!

It has Android OS so this tablet is easy to navigate with the D-Pad or even the touch screen (yes touch screen!!) The Google Play store app is supported so you can download your Gmail or any other Android apps that take your fancy, even the retro games which are available are easy to access.  So this being just like your Android  phone (without calls) you can also surf the internet with pure ease using WIFI

No beating around the bush, this is a very fancy multi emulator in a branded tablet - but JXD have done this very well.  As we all know downloading ROMS can be annoying but the JXD makes this simple.  The console comes pre-loaded with a cloud app that puts your games into genres and categories for you.  All you have to do is simply choose your game and press download! Its that easy.  The 8GB of storage gives you tons of space for games and if you want more for movies or such there is a memory card slot too. The JXD is pre set to play Megadrive, SNES, Famicom, Gameboy, DS,GBA, MAME, PS1, N64, Arcade and  better still the DREAMCAST!!! 

Of course you can download more emu's for other consoles and formats (if you know how to do that sort of thing) and we are told the JXD also supports Speccy, Amiga, 32x and Atari Jaguar!!

One of the best features of the JXD is the screen it comes in at a massive 7" and is bright, responsive and colourful which makes the games llok great! If you wish to have more definition you can plug this badboy into your HDMI on your TV and go Large!!!  The speakers sit either side of the console giving you good stereo sound.  There is a 2.0 megapixel camera on the back and also one on the front if you want to take selfies, there is also an excellent Key Mapping feature if you download Android games that use touch screen controls, but you do have the option to use these on all games....we don't!

Battery life is good, we have been playing Crazy Taxi most of the day and with its 5000mah battery you can play for quite a while!   There is not much else to say about the JXD you just haver to play it for yourself to experience it.  This is a great retro meets modern gaming console with added emu's to get you started. There are even a few bundled games on there to get you going!

Like any emulation system -it plays emulated games, this means sadly that not all games play perfectly or have sound, but this you'll experience across a number of systems anyway. The majority of roms across a range of systems worked. Some didn't so we moved onto the next game - easy.

Watch the Official Trailer below or visit Funstock.co.uk to snap up your console (don't forget to use the code GYL at checkout for 5% off!!!)

When Retrogaming meets modern technology

The retro-bit Super Retro Trio arrived in the post this morning. Sick of the delays with the RetroN5, I cancelled my preorder at the weekend after the word got out that the console would not be reaching the UK before September and found this alternative in stock at funstock.co.uk at the very tempting price of £69.99 a full £50 cheaper than its competitor.

The cheaper price tag, however does mean less in the way of features. No save states or built-in cheat systems, no HDMI output. I wasn't interested in the former, and I can live with AV/S-video through my SCART connector. So what do you get for your money? Here's what the official blurb says:

Supports NES/SNES/MEGADRIVE/GENESIS

Compatible with original and third party controllers

Includes 2 controllers

AV / S-Video connectors

AC Adapter

PAL / NTSC / PF / NJ Region Switch

What you get is quite a nice looking console, it feels a bit light and cheap but hey – it was cheap! I have the silver and black model, there is also a red and black version. The top of the unit sports 3 cartridge slots from the back coming forward – NES, SNES and Megadrive/Genesis, in front of these are a reset switch and a power/slot selection switch.

On the front a push releases the cover for the controller ports, here you can plug in original controllers 2xNES, 2xSNES and 2xMegadrive/Genesis. The 2 included controllers plug into the 9 pin Megadrive ports but are shaped like SNES controllers just to keep you on your toes! ;)

The bundled controllers are actually very decent and for that reason will probably see a fair amount of use, the buttons and d-pad give a very similar feel to those on my original controllers. Also behind this front cover is a selector switch for the controllers in use and a region switch for Megadrive/Genesis games for those with region protection. As mentioned there is a cover/door so you can unplug your controllers and close it up to keep things looking all neat and tidy when not in use.

Finally round back there are the DC in socket, S-video and A/V ports. The provided power adaptor has a US plug but does not require a step down converter and an UK adapter was provided for me.

My TV had some issues with the video signal through the A/V (this is not exclusive to the SR3 – I've had this issue in the past) so I use a cheap A/V+S-Video to SCART adapter and it works fine for me.

Now, the big question – compatibility! I don't have a huge pile of carts to test especially on the Nintendo side of things so here's what I have tried all work unless otherwise specified.

Megadrive:

M6 cart (Sega Soccer, Columns, Super Monaco GP, Revenge of Shinobi, Sonic, Streets of Rage) so far played Sonic, Revenge of Shinobi and Super Monaco GP

World Class Leaderboard

T2 The Arcade Game

Golden Axe

Streetfighter 2 Special Champion Edition

Genesis:

Lemmings

NES:

Track and Field 2 (PAL version)

SNES:

PGA Tour Golf (PAL)

Starwing (PAL) 

That's all I've tested on it so far I'm afraid, I need to acquire some more NES and SNES games to try out but it seems to be fine with every Megadrive game I've thrown at it. There is also a Super Retro Advance Adapter (sold seperately) that allows you to play GBA games as well.

In conclusion I'd say it's really good value for what you pay, it looks nice and doesn't look out of place under the TV, the controllers are decent, it might not have all those fancy features or HDMI but it is available now and cheap enough  to be worth a shot.

You can buy your own RetroTrio console here at Funstock.co.uk

Thank you too Jamie Gunn (@highlandboarder) for his time and review! 

Sega Ultimate Console - Handheld pocket rocket!

Handheld gaming has long been immensely popular – ranging from the classic original game boy, to the super-fun Neo Geo pocket, or the kooky Nokia N-Gage – but in recent years, sales have fallen for handheld devices, leaving developers to ponder where it all went wrong. With the recent release of the PS Vita and 3DS, many have suggested that we have over-complicated gaming.

Do we really need touch screens, accelerometers and dual analogue sticks? 

Do these flashy features really add to the gaming experience? 



Welcome to the stage the opponent other handhelds, the Sega Ultimate – a simple, cheap handheld that plays a number of your old favourites. An interesting idea, but does it live it up to expectations? Read on...

This little baby is a Sega Megadrive packed into a very portable handheld shell, which is as stylish as it is robust. Packing a 2.8” screen that is bright and sharp, this handheld has you covered for every outbound excursion – but can also be hooked up to your TV at home for a more old-school feel.

The controls are simple, as you would expect to find on a handheld, but they are well made and offer good tactile feedback, so you can stay in control even in the midst of a Streets of Rage button mash frenzy. The speaker is surprisingly loud and clear, though I found myself using the headphone jack more often than not – especially on public transport.

Battery performance was excellent, giving you more than enough juice for your average day to day needs. A battery indicator lets you know how much you have left – a nice touch, and one I certainly wouldn’t have expected at this price point.

Another great addition is the SD Card slot on the back, which allows you to download more games if you’re not satisfied with the 20 that come pre-loaded (though the list has been selected with good taste, if you ask us).

Once turned on you are greeted with an easy to navigate 3-page menu. Two pages are full of Sega Classics, such as Golden Axe, Streets of Rage and Sonic the Hedgehog, while the next page is for your SD Card games. If you own the original titles and have tried emulating Sega, or any other old-school games, on your phone before, you will know that is a frustrating experience at best.

Equally, while the original is awesome for us RETRO gamers - Sega Ultimate console is a very good way to enjoy the games you loved from your childhood or share with your kids and friends, as something you can really afford to buy.

If you want to take the Sega experience out of the living room, or if you simply want to enjoy these classic games again without breaking the bank, The Sega Ultimate is right for you. This handheld packs a serious punch, and hasn’t been relieved from duty for even a minute here at GamesYouLoved.

Without a doubt, handheld manufacturers could learn a lot from the Sega Ultimate, which gets the important things right – great games, great portability, at a great price. 8.5/10

You can get the SEGA Ultimate from Funstock's website. GamesYouLoved viewers get 10% off the price by using the code: GYL10

Click here to buy:

http://www.funstock.co.uk/sega-megadrive-arcade-ultimate-portable-games-console?tracking=517a8acf7ac6a