NES Mini - Specs are OUT

I've been playing SNES games on Higan, Super Metroid mostly. I had forgotten there was a Mechwarrior game on SNES, it's not bad but nothing great either. The sequel (Mechwarrior 3050) was terrible, instead of being first person it's top-down view and when there are 2 players, they both control the same mech. One walks around and the other turns the torso and shoots, they shouldn't have even included that unless it was actually 2 mechs in the same level. The graphics look nice but other than that, it was terrible.

I remember really enjoying this game:



The graphics were very good for the time, everything very detailed. Also the open-world aspect was great and the exploration/combat was fun. When you enter a building, the game switches to an FPS view. I started playing it again but remembered the only way to beat the game is to complete EVERYTHING on the map and find all the raptor eggs, then it just ends. I remember not liking the way it ended, like it was very abrupt. Still took a while to finish though.

I think Jurassic Park is one title that should've been included on the SNES Classic, maybe they just couldn't get the rights to it. There was a similar Jurassic Park game for the original NES that the same studio (Ocean) made around the same time, which was interesting. They also made Jurassic Park 2 on SNES, it wasn't bad. Very different from the first one.

Also I remember Shadowrun, good game.

*edit* Oh yeah, I remember the Lion King game on SNES and Genesis actually being pretty good. It was made by Westwood Studios, who also did Command & Conquer.

I never knew that it was actually on PC as well. I looked it up, turns out when it first came out, most people didn't have PC's back then that could run it acceptably. Lion King was another game they should've put on the SNES Classic too. Again, maybe they couldn't get the rights to it.

Yeah, I can see that. Would've probably also made the price of the system higher.

*edit* I don't think I've ever played that Spiderman & Venom game, I'll have to look into that.

That looks like a pretty awesome system alright. I've thought about getting one of those systems called RetroN (from the same company who makes that handheld/portable SNES) but changed my mind after reading reviews about some of those aftermarket systems ruining game cartridges somehow.

And as for the 8Bitdo controllers, I was reading somewhere that they can also work with Xbox One and PS4 though it does take some work (maybe more so for Xbox One, since PS4 has bluetooth). The trick is though, there are less buttons on it compared to the regular controllers for those systems, so there would be some limitations for many games.

I tried to make Tekken 7 on Steam work with my SNES30 controller (was just gonna use LB and RB for LK+RK and LP+RP respectively) but it just wouldn't work due to the game having trouble detecting the D-pad, even with the Xpad utility being used for input. I gave up and just played it on my Xbox controller, may try to make it work again later.

Wow, that is nice. No wonder it's a little pricey but for that kind of functionality it sounds worth every penny.

Also I got the 8bitdo SNES controller working in Tekken 7. Turns out it's worked for actual fighting all along, just can't use it to navigate menus. I assigned RB to Rage Arts (special move) and LB is the equivalent of pressing all buttons together. What I really wanted to do was use the Select button for rage arts and RB/LB for other stuff but the select button seems to be reserved and can't be assigned to anything.

I just opened the 3DS XL and found that there's a small, but very noticeable scratch (about 3 mm in size) on the back of the unit. It's not on the screen, so it wouldn't affect playability. But still, it's $200... so I expect it to be like new.

I see that Dell doesn't process returns on individual items from the package deal (and there is no option to exchange it for replacements). So, with Dell, my only option is to simply return all of it. Way to go Dell, pawn off your flawed (possibly returned) 3DS's (and easily done if Dell so wanted, because none of these Nintendo consoles are sealed, unlike Apple hardware).

I suppose I could buy another 3DS XL from Best Buy and then return the scratched one to them. However, I noticed that they put serial #'s on the 3DS boxes and units, so that might not even possible if they're scanning serial #'s at the time of purchase.

I tested out a few of the games on the SNES classic. The emulation is pretty good, I beat a few levels of F-Zero (standard difficultly) and Mario Kart on my first run through (on SNES classic) pretty easily.

Blocky pixels with the default 4:3 mode (due to playing on a HDTV instead of CRT no doubt). The scanline mode smooths out the graphics pretty well (i think this will be my preferred mode on SNES mini). There's no noticeable lag and the controllers work well (short cords though).

The little tab that holds the controller port cover to the SNES mini unit could break easy (the tab is very thin plastic). The power & reset buttons feel cheap... it seems like they won't last as long (vs. if the quality were a bit better).

So the software & emulation are good and the hardware isn't meant to last. In summary, I wouldn't recommend paying a dime more than retail for it.

I initiated the return process through Dell. I decided it's not worth it, especially given that I had to purchase 3 extra games I don't really want and would have to go through the hassle of selling.

I believe the SNES classic should be easy to find after Christmas. I predict massive returns after people open their SNES classics on Christmas morn and find the hardware quality lacking. But even if I'm incorrect and it's still not easy to find one after Christmas, oh well.

Then I ordered the 3DS XL: Samus Returns Edition from Gamestop (imo, a true limited run item and more likely to hold its value).

The Switch looks like a good console. Nintendo appears to be doing a better job marketing it than their last console (WiiU... wasted potential due to poor marketing and dumb name for the console that likely confused customers.. a number of them probably thought it was just an enhanced Wii).




SNES classic isn't terrible (the emulation is pretty good), but it's definitely over-hyped.

Obviously, classic consoles like SNES mini are more geared towards casual gamers and less tech inclined people who don't know how to use PC & emulators.

imo, the ideal setup for playing games on a TV rather than PC monitor, would be a media center PC or Raspberry Pi, which allow custom configuration of image quality and aren't limited to games from just one classic console. The "Retro Freak" console I mentioned earlier is the only product I've seen that comes close to doing that (and saves retro gamers from the effort of having to build a media center PC or Raspberry Pi).

fyi, the Switch comes with 32GB microSD card internal storage for storing games. Maybe not enough storage (depending on how many digital download games you buy for it).

When pricing microSD cards for the 3DS XL, this Samsung 128GB microSD was the best value I found.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XWZWYVP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

256GB cards are available (and 512GB probably soon, if not already available) , but ($ per GB) they're very expensive compared to 128GB cards... at least, if you get one with recent specs and decent read/write speeds like the card linked above.


Edit/correction: I just read the system specs and the Switch's 32GB storage is internal storage (not a microSD card). It has a microSD slot for expansion, so whatever size microSD card you buy is on top of the 32GB (eg. 32GB internal storage + 128GB microSD).

This is different than the 3DS XL, which simply comes with a 4GB microSD card for storage and it has to be physically swapped out for larger microSD card if you want more storage.

That's probably due to scalpers scooping up most of the stock of SNES classics the minute stores get them in.

venturebeat.com/2017/10/23/september-2017-npd-super-nes-classic-was-the-top-selling-hardware-in-september/

Even though SNES classic sales surpassed Switch, I bet a much higher % of Switches sold actually found a place in gamers' homes (rather than sitting in scalpers' stockpiles).

What's even more interesting (from the above article) is that Switch is outselling the PS4 and would be the #1 selling console atm, if not for SNES classic.

Of course, PS4 still has the largest user base of current gen consoles, and Sony's no doubt raking in the $'s from # of games being sold.

Yeah, I noticed on Ebay the (average) prices keep dropping. Nintendo must be producing tons of SNES classics (as evidenced by it being the #1 selling console atm). By increasing supply, Nintendo is making it harder for scalpers to make a profit. It's not the same as the NES classic, where so few were made and it was easy to make 300% or more profit per NES classic resold.

Word to the not so wise (scalpers), get out while you're still ahead (or before you suffer greater losses).

Evidently, some of the "NES Classic" scalpers caught wind that Nintendo is re-releasing the NES classic next summer, because they (the scalpers) are now trying to unload their excess inventories (prices are way down from what they used to be, on Ebay).

As far as I'm concerned, the NES classic scalpers can eat their losses and, if I buy one, I'll wait & purchase it at full retail ($59.99 - at a Best Buy, Target, or Gamestop).

It's probably a sign of things to come and hard lesson for SNES classic scalpers (i.e. lower your prices and dump your inventories now, or risk suffering losses by holding on to your inventories too long... I'm guessing the deadline will be within a week after Christmas, since that's when demand dies down).