NES/SNES Classic Editions

[Big McLargehuge]

It's still a pretty lame situation, though. They're still only occasionally giving out small quantities of new stock piece-meal such that it gets immediately snapped up after a few minutes.

I really want one, but I still haven't been able to get it, unfortunately. I haven't been able to get myself to stalk websites or wait in line or anything, though.

Yeah, they certainly aren't plentiful and I still haven't seen a single one in a store. The only reason I was able to find one is because I started following @Wario64 on Twitter and happened to be on Twitter as he posted about it going back on Amazon. Within 5 minutes it was gone again.

I'm happy I was able to get one at retail price, but I'll stop well short of praising Nintendo for the way they've handled distribution.

 

[guinness]

Yeah, they certainly aren't plentiful and I still haven't seen a single one in a store. The only reason I was able to find one is because I started following @Wario64 on Twitter and happened to be on Twitter as he posted about it going back on Amazon. Within 5 minutes it was gone again.

I'm happy I was able to get one at retail price, but I'll stop well short of praising Nintendo for the way they've handled distribution.

They had about a half dozen at the Best Buy in Missoula a couple weeks ago, which is surprising as we're a relative backwater. I thought about getting one, mostly from a collectible standpoint, then I remembered $80 could buy a bunch of games I didn't already have, and I had already crossed that line in the sand with emulator boxes.

Nintendo just can't strike when the iron is hot, but it's better than the NES classic, that dumpster fire turned me off completely with their classic reissues.

 

[Afino]

Playing Secret of Mana with my 7 year old definitely qualifies as parenting/life goals.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I've been having lots of fun on mine. Outside of Super Mario World, I've absolutely loved Yoshi's Island artistry through it's hand-drawn animation and colorful setting. What a terrific game. It's a perfect side-scroller with a psychedelic touch that I think was deliberate. There's a level where these sorts of white puff-balls are floating everywhere and if you touch one of them, the screen distorts and begins to move like a slow wave, Yoshi's eyes are bulging out of his head and his movements are slowed. The controls are superb as well, with a nice variety of moves and the sets are tremendous in their playfulness.

 

[Patty Ice]

I saw one randomly at Target about a week ago (only one left)...but I decided to be an adult and make better use of my money with groceries so my family could eat. It was painful letting fall through my fingers though, if I'm being honest.

 

[syz]

I saw one at a usually-extremely-busy EB a couple of days ago, as well, but I was in there around the same time they get their shipments for the day.

 

[Shareefruck]

For anyone who has one of these, and is disappointed by the filters available, by black bars, and by how blocky, pixelated and ugly everything besides maybe the Mario games look (especially the Donkey Kongs and Super Mario RPG), I would strongly recommend customizing your device using that Hackchi2 tool, running everything through Retroarch using global command parameters, and making use of the customization available.

It's easy to be mistaken that cases like Donkey Kong and Super Mario RPG look so rough simply because they haven't aged well, but in reality, it's because CRT TVs made them look better back in the day (and the built in CRT filters don't do that justice).

I've been fiddling with mine for a while now and I've finally gotten it the way that I want it.

Mild Anti-Aliasing 2X(smoothed out pixels)
+ Mild Bilinear blurring
+ Light scan-lines (I kind of stumbled onto getting this to look/feel right and can't reproduce it though)
+ No black bars on the top or bottom (also experimented with stretching the screen just enough to make the black bars on the side thinner without making the image look deformed)
+ Ability to return to the home screen w/ the controller by pressing down and select

Everything looks silky smooth now (the Donkey Kong titles especially), at least from a normal viewing distance, and surprisingly, I seem to have hit the sweet spot where it hasn't affected performance too much. Not much sharpness lost, either (the blurriness of the default CRT filters are brutal, IMO).

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

For anyone who has one of these, and is disappointed by the filters available, by black bars, and by how blocky, pixelated and ugly everything besides maybe the Mario games look (especially the Donkey Kongs and Super Mario RPG), I would strongly recommend customizing your device using that Hackchi2 tool, running everything through Retroarch using global command parameters, and making use of the customization available.

It's easy to be mistaken that cases like Donkey Kong and Super Mario RPG look so rough simply because they haven't aged well, but in reality, it's because CRT TVs made them look better back in the day (and the built in CRT filters don't do that justice).

I've been fiddling with mine for a while now and I've finally gotten it the way that I want it.

Mild Anti-Aliasing 2X(smoothed out pixels)
+ Mild Bilinear blurring
+ Light scan-lines (I kind of stumbled onto getting this to look/feel right and can't reproduce it though)
+ No black bars on the top or bottom (also experimented with stretching the screen just enough to make the black bars on the side thinner without making the image look deformed)
+ Ability to return to the home screen w/ the controller by pressing down and select

Everything looks silky smooth now (the Donkey Kong titles especially), at least from a normal viewing distance, and surprisingly, I seem to have hit the sweet spot where it hasn't affected performance too much. Not much sharpness lost, either (the blurriness of the default CRT filters are brutal, IMO).

Which programs (Hackchi and Retroarch) allow you to customize the graphics to make it more clear like that (AA and whatnot)? I have no idea what global command parameters are...

 

[Shareefruck]

Which programs (Hackchi and Retroarch) allow you to customize the graphics to make it more clear like that (AA and whatnot)? I have no idea what global command parameters are...

Hakchi2 is the prerequisite tool/interface that lets you interact with and customize the machine in the first place (or add games to it). Retroarch is an emulator add-on that can be added to the system using Hakchi2, and used in place of the emulator that runs the games by default on the system. If you use Retro-arch, that add-on gives you a ton of options to go in and toy around with the input/video/sound. Once the games are successfully loaded w/ Retroarch, you can bring up a menu while you're in a game by pressing start and select at the same time, and that menu will give you access to options and configurations liking changing the aspect ratio/dimensions, re-mapping your controls, and adding picture shaders like Anti-Aliasing or scanlines (you have to experiment with them and be selective though, because most of the ones that are typically used on computers make the games run too slowly).

Global parameters are just a configuration/setting in Hakchi2 that allows you to enter commands for the machine to follow. Once you've added the Retroarch add-on using the tool, if you enter a command like "--Retroarch" to it, it will tell the system to stop using the default emulator and use Retroarch to load all the games.

You can find videos on Youtube for first how to start using Hakchi2 to interact with the system/add games, and then once you get that working, you can find more videos for how to install and use Retroarch on it. These two parts are a lot simpler than it sounds.




I don't remember if the actual shaders (like Anti-Aliasing) are built into Retroarch or if you need to add them manually. If they're built in, it's easy, but if not, it's a tiny bit more involved. Just get the two steps above working first, though. Let me know if you need help after that.

Edit: Apparently, you may not be able to use custom borders or the rewind feature if you use Retroarch, so keep that in mind if that's a deal-breaker for you. Personally, I find those features pointless anyways.

 

[Shareefruck]

What the filters look like on my TV...

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Hakchi2 is the prerequisite tool/interface that lets you interact with and customize the machine in the first place (or add games to it). Retroarch is an emulator add-on that can be added to the system using Hakchi2, and used in place of the emulator that runs the games by default on the system. If you use Retro-arch, that add-on gives you a ton of options to go in and toy around with the input/video/sound. Once the games are successfully loaded w/ Retroarch, you can bring up a menu while you're in a game by pressing start and select at the same time, and that menu will give you access to options and configurations liking changing the aspect ratio/dimensions, re-mapping your controls, and adding picture shaders like Anti-Aliasing or scanlines (you have to experiment with them and be selective though, because most of the ones that are typically used on computers make the games run too slowly).

Global parameters are just a configuration/setting in Hakchi2 that allows you to enter commands for the machine to follow. Once you've added the Retroarch add-on using the tool, if you enter a command like "--Retroarch" to it, it will tell the system to stop using the default emulator and use Retroarch to load all the games.

You can find videos on Youtube for first how to start using Hakchi2 to interact with the system/add games, and then once you get that working, you can find more videos for how to install and use Retroarch on it. These two parts are a lot simpler than it sounds.




I don't remember if the actual shaders (like Anti-Aliasing) are built into Retroarch or if you need to add them manually. If they're built in, it's easy, but if not, it's a tiny bit more involved. Just get the two steps above working first, though. Let me know if you need help after that.

Edit: Apparently, you may not be able to use custom borders or the rewind feature if you use Retroarch, so keep that in mind if that's a deal-breaker for you. Personally, I find those features pointless anyways.

I was able to figure out the Retroarch menu system to the games that I added, but couldn't figure it out for the pre-existing games on the system.
I realize you need to add '--retroarch' to the end of the command line. But for the 'Original games' box in Hakchi, I don't get a command line. Do I need to install my own ROMs for all of the original games too?

 

[Shareefruck]

I was able to figure out the Retroarch menu system to the games that I added, but couldn't figure it out for the pre-existing games on the system.
I realize you need to add '--retroarch' to the end of the command line. But for the 'Original games' box in Hakchi, I don't get a command line. Do I need to install my own ROMs for all of the original games too?

You don't need to add the command line argument to each game individually. You can enter "--retroarch" in Settings -> Global Command Line Arguments, and that will use it for all of them, including the original games.

Also, sorry I didn't catch this earlier, but I noticed recently that the regular emulator performs better than Retroarch, and it's noticeable on a few games (especially Yoshi's Island specifically, for some reason).

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

You don't need to add the command line argument to each game individually. You can enter "--retroarch" in Settings -> Global Command Line Arguments, and that will use it for all of them, including the original games.

Also, sorry I didn't catch this earlier, but I noticed recently that the regular emulator performs better than Retroarch, and it's noticeable on a few games (especially Yoshi's Island specifically, for some reason).

Thank you! You've been very helpful for providing advice.
Is it easy to add custom shaders? So far I've just changed the resolution and turned on Bilinear Filtering. I see shaders can be added as well, is there any website that provides a bunch of good ones?
I also tried to add Sega Genesis games, with ROMs that ended with the extension .bin, but they didn't work. I'm guessing that file type is incompatible?
Thanks again!

 

[Shareefruck]

Thank you! You've been very helpful for providing advice.
Is it easy to add custom shaders? So far I've just changed the resolution and turned on Bilinear Filtering. I see shaders can be added as well, is there any website that provides a bunch of good ones?
I also tried to add Sega Genesis games, with ROMs that ended with the extension .bin, but they didn't work. I'm guessing that file type is incompatible?
Thanks again!

In order to get games from other consoles to work, you need to install the additional cores for the consoles the same way that you installed retroarch (Modules -> Install Extra Modules --> genesis_plug_gx, for example). You should already have them appearing in the available list if you extracted "retroarch_with_cores.zip" into the /hmods folder.

When you select a core, there's a description box in the right side that tells you what console it's for and what you need to change the command line for the individual game into, in order to use it ("/bin/md <romname>" for example). Do that, re-sync your games, and it should work. Genesis games were only playable for me (as in not too laggy) when I didn't have filters, btw. Ironically, more demanding Neo Geo games ran smoother for me.
--
Regarding shaders, I think retroarch_with_cores.zip comes with some, so get that to work first. To use them, get to the in-game retroarch menu, go to Quick Menu -> Shaders -> Shader Passes and set that to 1. Then go to Shader #0, and selecting that will let you browse for the file to load. You should have access to "retroarch\etc\libretro\shaders\" somewhere in the filesystem, so select one of those shader files. Then go back and change "Shader #0 Scale" to 2x, and choose "Apply Changes", and it should work. (You can also tweak the shader's settings in "Shader Parameters")

FYI, that directory exists on your computer in "/user_mods/retroarch.hmod -> retroarch", and that's what gets copied into the system when you install the retroarch mod. You can access that directory and add additional shader files by using file compression software like 7zip, and then you can uninstall/reinstall retroarch to get it into the device.

Regarding additional shaders, the ones I was playing with can be downloaded here. Be warned that a large percentage of them not only make the game painfully slow, but the retroarch menu as well, which can be super annoying to change back.

The one that I was using for anti-aliasing in the screenshots above is "glsl-shaders/anti-aliasing/shaders/aa-shader-4.0-level2/aa-shader-4.0-level2-pass2.glsl" (after applying changes, you should go back to Shader Parameters and toggle the anti-aliasing weight to the lowest number and apply changes again, otherwise it looks weird). The other anti-aliasing ones are too slow.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

In order to get games from other consoles to work, you need to install the additional cores for the consoles the same way that you installed retroarch (Modules -> Install Extra Modules --> genesis_plug_gx, for example). You should already have them appearing in the available list if you extracted "retroarch_with_cores.zip" into the /hmods folder.

When you select a core, there's a description box in the right side that tells you what console it's for and what you need to change the command line for the individual game into, in order to use it ("/bin/md " for example). Do that, re-sync your games, and it should work. Genesis games were only playable for me (as in not too laggy) when I didn't have filters, btw. Ironically, more demanding Neo Geo games ran smoother for me.
--
Regarding shaders, I think retroarch_with_cores.zip comes with some, so get that to work first. To use them, get to the in-game retroarch menu, go to Quick Menu -> Shaders -> Shader Passes and set that to 1. Then go to Shader #0, and selecting that will let you browse for the file to load. You should have access to "retroarch\etc\libretro\shaders\" somewhere in the filesystem, so select one of those shader files. Then go back and change "Shader #0 Scale" to 2x, and choose "Apply Changes", and it should work. (You can also tweak the shader's settings in "Shader Parameters")

FYI, that directory exists on your computer in "/user_mods/retroarch.hmod -> retroarch", and that's what gets copied into the system when you install the retroarch mod. You can access that directory and add additional shader files by using file compression software like 7zip, and then you can uninstall/reinstall retroarch to get it into the device.

Regarding additional shaders, the ones I was playing with can be downloaded here. Be warned that a large percentage of them not only make the game painfully slow, but the retroarch menu as well, which can be super annoying to change back.

The one that I was using for anti-aliasing in the screenshots above is "glsl-shaders/anti-aliasing/shaders/aa-shader-4.0-level2/aa-shader-4.0-level2-pass2.glsl" (after applying changes, you should go back to Shader Parameters and toggle the anti-aliasing weight to the lowest number and apply changes again, otherwise it looks weird). The other anti-aliasing ones are too slow.

Wow, awesome, thanks for the detailed advice. Really appreciate it! Can't wait to toy around with the settings now.

 

[karnige]

Wow, awesome, thanks for the detailed advice. Really appreciate it! Can't wait to toy around with the settings now.

yah just add the right console. it's super easy. I got everything user the sun now.

 

[Bocephus86]

Every time I notice this thread get bumped, I check the local stores for one of these; my local best buy got 4 last night & I went at opening to grab one. To think, the other day I was thinking about taking a chance on Amazon (recent reviews I found ranged from "exactly as advertised" to "knock off version" for 110). But now I have a legit one for 80 dollars.

And you guys might be proud: I thought about grabbing 2 so I could sell one or give one to a friend but I caught myself and said "How frustrating was it for you trying to get one? Are you gunna do that to the 4th person that shows up today?" and held off.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Currently on my first run of Zelda. How the hell did anyone get through this thing without a walkthrough? Jesus f***ing Christ. Fantastic game, though. The patience some people had, though.

 

[Drytoast]

Currently on my first run of Zelda. How the hell did anyone get through this thing without a walkthrough? Jesus ****ing Christ. Fantastic game, though. The patience some people had, though.

The industry does far too much hand holding now a days and the player doesn't have to problem solve at all.

I hate it.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

The industry does far too much hand holding now a days and the player doesn't have to problem solve at all.

I hate it.

I understand the sentiment, but that game without some hints would just be torture. To be fair though, not the most patient person with video games in general. That sort of stuff goes over my head and figuring stuff out for hours in video games feels counter-productive to me. Would rather spend that time figuring out/thinking about other forms of art I'm more interested in.

 

[Drytoast]

I understand the sentiment, but that game without some hints would just be torture. To be fair though, not the most patient person with video games in general. That sort of stuff goes over my head and figuring stuff out for hours in video games feels counter-productive to me. Would rather spend that time figuring out/thinking about other forms of art I'm more interested in.

I remember id be bustin out the graph paper making maps and shit to help guide me through various games.

You didnt know what game designers were gonna theow at ya because nothing was a cliche and everything was new.

It was a very exciting time to be a gamer so wasting hours and all nighters in one game explorer was t out of the question.

 

[Shareefruck]

I understand the sentiment, but that game without some hints would just be torture. To be fair though, not the most patient person with video games in general. That sort of stuff goes over my head and figuring stuff out for hours in video games feels counter-productive to me. Would rather spend that time figuring out/thinking about other forms of art I'm more interested in.

Which part in particular did you have trouble with? I remember getting stuck trying to navigate to the Dark castle a lot (because of the mirror logic).

I think a lot of the appeal is exploring the world between objectives and trying to see what cool things you can pull off with the environment after each significant power-up, and if you don't get that need for discovery, I guess it can be tough. I agree with BVG that the indirectness of that stuff creates a sense of mystery, curiosity, and satisfaction that is lost with modern games. One thing I love about that stuff is that even after you get everything, you're left with an unresolved sense of "maybe there's still something else there" whenever you look at environments and backgrounds, and as a result everything feels a bit more alive.

Also, have you played Super Metroid? That one's just incredible, and perfectly encapsulates that feeling.

 

[Shareefruck]

Also, I wanted to randomly point out what an intensely addictive, competitive, panic-inducing, and fun game Tetris Attack is (especially two player). Essential for anyone looking for games to add.

Probably the best puzzle game I've played.

Wild Guns is another one that's overlooked but among the best to come out on the console. Better arcade-style co-op experience than Turtles in Time or Sunset Riders, IMO.

 

[Bocephus86]

Played a bunch this weekend; crazy how memories will come flowing back. I probably haven't played Super Mario World in 20ish years and all the secrets flew back to me... I didn't remember what they did (for the most part) but I remembered the secret exits. In the donut kingdom (I think, second one), I accidentally went the "Secret" way from the Ghost house first thinking that was the real way...

Best 80 bucks I've ever spent. And I've only played some street fighter (which I'm now terrible at...), Mario & F-zero. Really looking forward to Kart, Donkey Kong & Zelda. Never played much of the others as a kid so then I might try Mario RPG or Kerby, haven't decided.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Which part in particular did you have trouble with? I remember getting stuck trying to navigate to the Dark castle a lot (because of the mirror logic).

I think a lot of the appeal is exploring the world between objectives and trying to see what cool things you can pull off with the environment after each significant power-up, and if you don't get that need for discovery, I guess it can be tough. I agree with BVG that the indirectness of that stuff creates a sense of mystery, curiosity, and satisfaction that is lost with modern games. One thing I love about that stuff is that even after you get everything, you're left with an unresolved sense of "maybe there's still something else there" whenever you look at environments and backgrounds, and as a result everything feels a bit more alive.

Also, have you played Super Metroid? That one's just incredible, and perfectly encapsulates that feeling.

The first time you enter the dark world was one for me. How do hell are you supposed to know to use the mirror in a particular corner to head back to the light world? Also - and these are a bit more embarassing - but having to light the lamps to battle the 2nd boss gave me a headache as did throwing items into the small lake and tell the truth to the fairy to receive upgraded items.

And I've only tried Super Metroid and found it difficult too. Will eventually get around to it. I intend on beating every game on the console unless I really despise the games. So far I'm through Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country. I found the latter fun but rather repetitive set-wise and the bosses are far too easy.