FC Twin ... Anyone here have/used one?

[TheValeman]

Have a look at this for those who don't know what it is ....

http://videogamecentral.com/blog3/2006/11/new_system_for_the_super_nintendo.html


The reviews seem quite positive .... 100% positive for SNES and only sound based issues with NES due to not being mono etc.

I dont have either system and was thinking this could be good for covering both in one go. However, if anyone has used one let me know your thoughts on it.

Cheers

[Snowcone]

Wow, that rocks. If you wanted to retain an NES or a SNES I'd say that is the way to go. Looks just my later rev SNES.

[KaiserWAVE]

You might want to check out this
http://www.goldenshop.com.hk/AI-trad/N64_htm/n-tristar.htm

It's somewhat hard to find and not quite as sexy as the FC Twin, but if you're just looking for a possibility to play SNES and NES carts it might be useful. A frined of mine had one once and it worked just fine. But as I said, the FC twin is both much sexier and easier to find (and the $50 price tag doesn't hurt either).

[satoshi_matrix]

Hey! TheValeman! You stole my tagline!  Isn't there some rule against that?

Nah I kidd.

There are some issues I would want to address through before buying one of these.

1. The quality of the unit and controllers. Is the case and the controllers real light, cheap and plasticy? If so there's a high probablity that the boards inside are of similar quality. Beware of crap.

Over the years since I was a kid I have bought 3 toaster NESes, a NES2, five various famiclones and most recently an authentic Famicom. Due to my intimite knowledge in all of this hardware I think it would be fair to say I have a good grasp as to what works well and what doesn't, and in the case of Famiclones I'd always be careful.

That being said, Famiclones have come a long way in the past few years since they became legal (at least to the point Nintendo can no longer sue companies who manufacture them) but quality of construction is still a concern.

2. If you have enough SNES game carts to make this worthwhile. I have an SNES, but as you might have already guessed I'm far more into the NES. If you don't really need SNES support, there are better ways to get NES games a home. More on that later though.

3. The whole site there seems more like an advertisement than a review. I'd be wery of trusting them entirelly. Note that they don't show the video oupouts of either the SNES or the NES in their review.

4. Compatibility issues. Keep in mind that there is a very slim chance that this thing would play all your games. Hardware clones often times simply emulate the effects of dedicated chips in the orignal console through one chip that does other tasks as well. The most famous and extrme example of this is the NOAC, or NES on a chip. It basically takes ALL of that hardware found in the toaster NES and duplicates its actions.

5 Lastibility/duribility. This kind of fits in with construction, but I felt it should be on its own. What would happen if your system dropped? A controller thrown? Does the system have a reset button or do games easily slide out? There are things you should address first before considering forking over $50 (which is a lot for a Famiclone, even if it is also a Super Famiclone. If you'd like more info on what NES hardware I suggest, I'll post again.

[TheValeman]

Yeah ... I searched on Google and saw a couple of different reviews other than the one from the shop selling them and they all appeared favorable.

As far as SNES compatability goes ... it appeared 100% in so much as it even ran games with dedicated co-processors like Starfox and some other racing game ... both of which wouldn't run on my old long since dead PAL SNES with convertors.

NES seems to have an issue with sound. Original mono output to the stereo results in inaccurate sound. However as I've never owned a NES I couldn't say how bad it is compared to the original.

It can use any SNES controllers so I'd just replace their controller with an original if need be. And it has a reset button 

I just think for someone without either unit it makes a nice all in one unit with one less set of cables and clutter around the TV.

[satoshi_matrix]

Then it sounds like it would be perfect for you. I'd still be wery of support Super Mario RPG Yoshi's Island and Starfox are among games notious for not running on Super Famiclones but in the same way that Famiclones have become leaps and bounds better than they were five years ago so has Super Famiclones it would seem.

The best NES I have is actually not one made by nintendo at all, but a Famiclone called a Yobo FC Game Console USA Version. Why is it good? There are several reasons. Back in 2004 one of the many many asian famiclones appeared in North America called the NEO FAMI. It was a small sleek and extrmely light (we're talking less than 2 pounds!) and compatible with all Famicom games. It also included an adaptor to allow it to play American 72 pin games. There were a few problems with it though. The controllers were of poor quality and have the pin allignment of the Commodore 64 and Sega Genesis, not of the NES. Also, while it played NES games, they had to be facing the wrong way to work and it seems frankly wierd.

A year later, a revised version came out with "USA VERSION" written on it. Not expecting much (espically since it was only $20) I bought it anyway. To my surpise it far surpassed my expectations. The Yobo FC Game Console differs from the NEO Fami in a number of ways:

-The Neo Fami was all black and it looked......um.....well......like crap. While the FC Game Console is the same design, it comes in a few colours, the best looking being the one I have: red and white Famicom inspired design. Looks slick.

-It has a 72 pin cartridge connector instead of a 60 pin. This means it can accept American NES carts without an adaptor. At the same time, it scarifieces the ability to play Famicom games. Luckily I have an adaptor for that too so its no biggie. The connector is good quality and negates all the NES hardware flaws of blinking screens and such.

-Its two controller ports are NES shaped, making them compatible with ALL NES controllers! This is the first Famiclone I've ever seen to do this and it makes a world of difference.

-The system has gold plated AV ports giving it the absoulte highest quality picture avalible for the NES. I'm just waiting for the Famiclone that offers component video support!

If youd like I can post some pics. Pics always make the world go round.

[TravistyOJ]

Hey guys!

I just got my FC Twin in a couple of days ago.  I am reviewing it for RetroBlast, so it will be up there shortly. 

I won't go into great detail with it right now, but it is a pretty awesome system.  The build quality on the console is pretty good, but the controllers are pretty bad.  Luckily, you can use official SNES controllers on it.  There are some obvious downsides like, no NES zapper games, but for the most part, this system is awesome bang for the buck. 

As for compatability, I have tried tons of games and haven't yet found a game that didn't work.  The SNES sound and NES video processing are near perfect.  The only quirks are the NES sounds a little different, not bad, just different, sounds like its emulated.  It may be a way to work around patents that still exist (not all have expired).  And there is a weird issue for the SNES where when you first turn it on, and only a nintendo logo is displayed, the logo looks smeared, like when there isn't much on the screen it looks like it has high saturation.  But when you are playing a game everything looks fine.  (I saw this same issue on 2 TVs)

Anyway, it's awesome.  I am going to be putting it through its paces over the next couple of days, and hopefully be done with the review this weekend.  I can answer any questions you guys might have. 

[satoshi_matrix]

If anyone's looking for a Famicom, I highly recommend Ebay. There's a few Koreans who buy refurbished, AUTHENTIC 1983 model 101 Famicoms gut them of their old RF transmitters and replace them with fantasically working AV cables. The Famicom still has those damn 3 foot controller cables, but it means being able to play Akumajou Denetsu, hear its awesome audio in not only mono but stareo as well and have a much sharper image. With an adaptor, it also playing NES games a lot of fun being able to hear the audio in stario.