I've never owned a clone console before, the Retron 1 was the first I ever bought. I figured I'd buy it because of it's small footprint and the fact that I can just easily store it away when I'm done playing it.
Well, not even a month has gone by since I bought it and the cartridge slot pins have already bent on me to the point of where they are unusable, and it just would not let go of my copy of Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt/Track & Field
But once I did get it out, the pins got bent so bad that no other game I owned would work anymore except for the 3 in 1 SMB game, but even that has stopped working now. So I guess that's it for me when it comes to clones (except for the AVS, I still want to get that)

Just check out how bad the pins had become:
http://imgur.com/a/1KzPX...

So yeah I just basically tossed it in the recycle bin

I've never been fond of the clone systems, it's really no surprise one went feral.

You get what you paid for like my grandfather always said

it does have a death grip, but i've had good luck with mine so far. sorry to hear your experience has been different.

Not all clone systems are bad. Ones with a single chip ASIC design are the best ones to stick to. Anything running a software emulator belong in the trash.

I thought the retron 5 was generally well received though.
 

I have a Retron 5 at my second house. I thought it would be best to get something like that so I don't have to keep multiple systems up at various houses and I can just take only the games with me.
I feel it almost takes the enjoyment out of playing if you use a fake system. Its great that it can play lots of foreign games, but after that i lose the enjoyment.

I dunno, after using an AVS on an HDTV, I find I can't ever go back to the original NES.
 

There now exists a nes cartridge which kills consoles. So if you really want to give this retron what it deserves then try this cart out in the link below. Believe it or not, but the nes death cart actually does have some uses.

http://nintendoage.com/forum/mess...

So is every other retron.

LOL! No. This couldn't possibly be more wrong. The older component level clones with clone CPU and clone PPU (interchangeable with real components) were MUCH better. Products like the Dendy were pretty good.

NOAC based systems like the Retron 1 are absolute garbage. Every one of them shares the same compatibility problems. The same horrible audio/video problems.

AVS, Analogue Nt, and Retron5 are the only non-NOAC "clones" available brand new today. And even those all have problems. All the other clones available new today are shitty NOACs. Every one -- including the OP's Retron 1.
 

http://nintendoage.com/forum/mess...

I've seen that on YouTube, where the creator kills an original NES front loader. It was hard for me to watch and angered me. I wouldn't mind using one of those on a pos clone console like the Retron 1 though  
 

Nnooooo... 




"You Maniacs... You blew it up! Goddamn you all to hell!"
 

The emulator clones are every bit as shitty as the NOACs, just different kind of shitty. Most notably nothing homebrewish will ever run on them.

And AVS / NT Mini which run on FPGA, should never be classed with craptacular ARM stolen EMU boxes like the Retron5 and RetroFreak.

I pre ordered the Retron5 and sold it few weeks after. Didnt know it used emulator cores like a dummy. I can use one of my multiple modded systems if I want emulation. Made a profit on ebay for it though.

eh it was designed for people who wanted to play super mario for 5 minutes for nostalgia then put it in the closet and forget about it. for $15.00 not worth getting. not suprised to see one falling apart.

That cart that kills consoles was made by one of the members here. I am pretty sure there is even a thead.

I find it crazy that there are actually a good amount of fans out there of the Retron 5 and praise it. It seems like their knowledge of both real retro consoles and emulation is nil and that the Retron 5 is some kind of miracle box. Ugh, if only they would just do even a little research, they'd find so many more better options on the first page of google.

But I suppose the Retron 5 is good enough for those casual retro gamers out there looking to play their old cartridges without having to go through too much hassle.

 

I'm considering selling my Retro Freak, and it's infinitely better designed than the Retron5.

I was just thinking of the Retro Freak. I've seen youtube reviews of it, and yes it does look vastly superior to the Retron 5. Why are you thinking of selling it though? Doesn't it let you copy your legit game carts to it so that you wouldn't have to keep inserting them? That alone makes it far better than the Retron 5, not counting all the other great things about it.

 

Yeah, it's a great little box but I've got too much crap as it is and I'm trying to get away from emulation boxes. I'm a bit short on dough as well, and I can just play all those games through my original consoles + flash carts.

I'll be posting it later this week...

Yeah, they're pretty cheaply made. Not too big of a surprise.

When I first got back into gaming, before I was a collector, I bought some famiclone system to play games on. It was junk. Even had to use a Famicom to NES adapter to play the games. The thing lasted about a year until it just stopped working altogether. I get the same feeling with the old retrons. They weren't made to last at all.

Is the AVS really a "clone"? I thought it was something else entirely. It does play all NES games and is HD. I know that the Analogue uses authentic NES and famicom parts, so it's not a clone per-say. Not sure why anyone would want a clone when you can get the AVS or Analogue, though the latter is expensive!

By the strictest definition, yes it is a hardware clone.

It is not using original NES chips or boards. It's using a single FPGA type of chip to "clone" the hardware of the NES chips. The reason people are reluctant to call it a clone is that clone consoles got a bad reputation using the cheapest NOACs and having sorry build quality. And affection for Bunnyboy to actually put out a decent hardware clo... uh, replicator.

Analogue's newest NT Mini uses an FPGA similar to the AVS. So that's technically a ... replicated fascimilie?

It's a clone.