RetroFreak: New competition for Retron 5 with PCE/TG16 support

[PunkCryborg]

http://www.cybergadget.co.jp/retrofreak/

[NecroPhile]

Interesting, but I'll wait for retrofreak 2.0 with cd romu romu support. 

[ClodBusted]

Lol at that photoshopped RF to HDMI comparison picture.

[seieienbu]

Interesting, but I'll wait for retrofreak 2.0 with cd romu romu support. 

I've actually been waiting for a bit for one of these multi system clones to come out with optical media support.  Do you know something I don't or are you just making an assumption here...?

[NecroPhile]

I've actually been waiting for a bit for one of these multi system clones to come out with optical media support.  Do you know something I don't or are you just making an assumption here...?

I figure it's just a matter of time.  Once they support all the cartridge systems that people care about, they'll have to tackle CD systems if they want to keep selling more systems.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

http://www.retrocollect.com/News/cyber-gadgets-multi-console-system-retro-freak-set-to-rival-the-retron-5-with-added-pc-engine-t.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RetroCollect+%28RetroCollect+-+Retro+Gaming+%26+Game+Collectors+Community%29

"Although equipped with five different cartridge slots compatible with up to nine different systems, it would appear a newer system on the horizon is about to go one better. The newly announced Retro Freak from Cyber Gadget looks set to build upon the RetroN 5's foundations, offering further support for the PC Engine / TurboGrafx 16 and SuperGrafx cards too."

[ClodBusted]

http://www.retrocollect.com/News/cyber-gadgets-multi-console-system-retro-freak-set-to-rival-the-retron-5-with-added-pc-engine-t.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RetroCollect+%28RetroCollect+-+Retro+Gaming+%26+Game+Collectors+Community%29

"Although equipped with five different cartridge slots compatible with up to nine different systems, it would appear a newer system on the horizon is about to go one better. The newly announced Retro Freak from Cyber Gadget looks set to build upon the RetroN 5's foundations, offering further support for the PC Engine / TurboGrafx 16 and SuperGrafx cards too."

Fix'd.

[DragonmasterDan]

I figure it's just a matter of time.  Once they support all the cartridge systems that people care about, they'll have to tackle CD systems if they want to keep selling more systems.

Not only that, but adding a CD-ROM to a clone system fairly easily gives it the ability to play Turbo CDs and Playstation games as those are both fairly easy to emulate.

[MotherGunner]

About time a clone was in the works!

[Keith Courage]

I honestly don't see the point to any of these systems. If it's running emulation why not just hook a computer or a wii up to your TV?

[mickcris]

I guess its for people that want to use their original cartridges, but don't care about system hardware being original.  I can kind of understand, as I mainly do the opposite with original system hardware and flash carts.

edit:
Its for people like this guy:

[ultrageranium]

I have no sympathy for the development of such products. First they treat emu systems as a free disposable software pool to bootstrap their business (see Retron 5 abuse of difference software licenses). To some extent I would even say they also exploit the translation communities (ips support promoted by Retron 5) yet without any mechanism to link back to such communities or the patch author(s). Second they flood the gaming market with tricked players who are buying games thinking they're playing the real deal, whereas in fact, they are merely playing a ROM dump on an emu, not even a cheap SoC clone. It is a manipulative ersatz, not so different from the artificial shutter sound added to digital cameras to reinforce the illusion that this is still a working mechanical device.

[tknjin]

I just saw this earlier today, and am quite surprised they are making one with TG16/PCE support.  How well it will be, I dunno.  Although as most people have mentioned, lets see if they also do some form of CD support, or if they could have some kind of add on in order to play those cd games

[CGQuarterly]

I think these clone systems are incredibly dumb, as they take the downsides of playing cartridges and combine them with the downsides of emulation*.  But apparently I'm in the minority because just about every podcast I listen to now has at least one dude flapping his lips about his Retron.

*Using an Everdrive on the other hand takes the upsides of actual hardware and combines them with the upsides of emulation.

[CrackTiger]

I think these clone systems are incredibly dumb, as they take the downsides of playing cartridges and combine them with the downsides of emulation*.  But apparently I'm in the minority because just about every podcast I listen to now has at least one dude flapping his lips about his Retron.

*Using an Everdrive on the other hand takes the upsides of actual hardware and combines them with the upsides of emulation.

You perfectly described both scenarios as well as the difference between "hardcore" and casual retro gamers.

[MotherGunner]

I definitely can't wait to buy one!

[SuperDeadite]

No NeoGeo? fuck this shit

[esadajr]

throwing real carts on an emulator, no thanks.

[Otaking]

Happy Console Gamer just uploaded a new video about this

[TR0N]

Bump ! It's out now i was wondering if any body here had one yet.Sure it's just emulation but i'm tempted by it beside it being able to play pce i could use a console that looks good on hdmi tv's.Before any ones says buy a XRBG mini i still don't have the money for one.

[Groover]

I'm not a fan of these. They are just emulators wrapped around useing an orignal cart and controllers. I'm sure this works for others. I would just use an emulator and a controller.

[retro junkie]

eBay, with a suggested price hovering around $300 USD, hmmmm.... I say no thanks. At that price, I will stick to original hardware. Clone systems seem too finicky, sometimes  not fully compatible. They have admitted that not all games play 100% correctly. That would cause me to be very cautious considering the amount of money they are asking. I would want someone else to purchase one and then tell me if my favourite games are fully playable. And it is interesting that it has support for Super Grafx, PC Engine, and Turbo Grafx 16. But at that price, I personally would expect to be able to play the Turbo CDs also. At the same time, I have a few clone systems and my experience with the systems are, low quality built and I do not expect the same durability as the originals. So a CD function would probably be very problematic. Might be the reason you don't see it on clone systems. Whether the price of admission is worth it, is totally dependant on the individual gamer. Personally I am satisfied with my gaming experience on my flat-screen and my PC Engine, Turbo Grafx consoles. I still have one old tube TV that I have dedicated to retro gaming. But that will not last as it is over 20 years old.

It would also interest me on how the hardware is being emulated, actual chips, android, or glop.

[ginoscope]

Be interesting to see how well it plays pce games but like most on here I'm a official hardware junkie.

I played for years on emulators and then started using real hardware.  There really is no going back in my opinion.  A good option for casual gamers.

One other thing this will do is drive up prices even more for turbo games.

[CrackTiger]

Bump ! It's out now i was wondering if any body here had one yet.Sure it's just emulation but i'm tempted by it beside it being able to play pce i could use a console that looks good on hdmi tv's.Before any ones says buy a XRBG mini i still don't have the money for one.

Retron 5: $300
XRGB3 Mini: $400

If you're fine with emulation, it's more convenient to get a small computer or android device and not waste time wearing out HuCards by sticking them in and out of a device which is just emulation. A TED would make the Framemeister cheaper in the short run.

Fake carts>Fake hardware

[elmer]

Bump ! It's out now i was wondering if any body here had one yet.Sure it's just emulation but i'm tempted by it beside it being able to play pce i could use a console that looks good on hdmi tv's.Before any ones says buy a XRBG mini i still don't have the money for one.

Retron 5: $300
XRGB3 Mini: $400

WTF is the point of this RetroFreak ... it's just an emulator with a cartridge interface???

If you want to run an emulator with HDMI output, why not buy a $35 Raspberry Pi 2 ... or the new $5 (yes, $5) Raspberry Pi Zero?

You can buy one heck of a lot of Controller-X-to-USB adapters with the money that you save ... and you'd be able to play PCE CD games, too.

[mickcris]

Bump ! It's out now i was wondering if any body here had one yet.Sure it's just emulation but i'm tempted by it beside it being able to play pce i could use a console that looks good on hdmi tv's.Before any ones says buy a XRBG mini i still don't have the money for one.

Retron 5: $300
XRGB3 Mini: $400

WTF is the point of this RetroFreak ... it's just an emulator with a cartridge interface???

If you want to run an emulator with HDMI output, why not buy a $35 Raspberry Pi 2 ... or the new $5 (yes, $5) Raspberry Pi Zero?

You can buy one heck of a lot of Controller-X-to-USB adapters with the money that you save ... and you'd be able to play PCE CD games, too.

it also will dump your carts.  might be one reason someone might buy it

[elmer]

it also will dump your carts.  might be one reason someone might buy it

Because lots of people want to spend hours dumping the carts that they have rather than downloading the complete set off the interweb?

I can see some owners doing a few for the novelty and "thrill", but surely that'll get boring very fast.

It seems unlikely to me that this is only going to be sold to people that have complete collections of carts for all those systems ... aren't they pretty likely to be downloading the ones that they're missing anyway?

[mickcris]

dont really know, but there seems to be some fairly high demand for these.  This is apparently basically a copy of the Retron5 with a PCE slot.  Tobias (Fudoh) got one and posted his first thoughts on it here if anyone is interested.

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=1148299#p1148299

[retro junkie]

After looking into this, investigating and finding out as to what the Retro Freak actually is, it seems to be a fancy way of getting into emulation. The system is only the small little brick that you can possibly just stick in your pocket and carry anywhere. The controller port is what is so big and it plugs into a usb port on the actual console. Whenever you insert a game cart, it dumps that game into its memory and saves it. You no longer need the game cart to play.

 

No thank you. Not interested. Actual hardware is my choice in gaming.

dont really know, but there seems to be some fairly high demand for these.  This is apparently basically a copy of the Retron5 with a PCE slot.  Tobias (Fudoh) got one and posted his first thoughts on it here if anyone is interested.

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=1148299#p1148299

Just read the post there. Input lag? Having a love of shooters, I cringe to think about it.

[elmer]

Tobias (Fudoh) got one and posted his first thoughts on it here if anyone is interested.

Thanks! It's interesting to see Tobias posting about his hobby somewhere that he isn't seen as the Devil Incarnate. 

From his description it sounds like the emulator that the RetroFreak guys are using doesn't do a particularly great job.

[GohanX]

I think this is pretty cool, but I don't think I'd spend more than $80 on one.

[CrackTiger]

Tobias (Fudoh) got one and posted his first thoughts on it here if anyone is interested.

Thanks! It's interesting to see Tobias posting about his hobby somewhere that he isn't seen as the Devil Incarnate. 

From his description it sounds like the emulator that the RetroFreak guys are using doesn't do a particularly great job.

I forget the backstories, but others have talked about how he has burned bridges all over the internet, even before he started bootlegging PCE games.

[TR0N]

Bump ! It's out now i was wondering if any body here had one yet.Sure it's just emulation but i'm tempted by it beside it being able to play pce i could use a console that looks good on hdmi tv's.Before any ones says buy a XRBG mini i still don't have the money for one.

Retron 5: $300
XRGB3 Mini: $400

If you're fine with emulation, it's more convenient to get a small computer or android device and not waste time wearing out HuCards by sticking them in and out of a device which is just emulation. A TED would make the Framemeister cheaper in the short run.

Fake carts>Fake hardware

Only reason i'm tempted is convince that's all.Standard retro freak set go's for $179.00 it's not $300.00 and yes i have more then pce.Genesis,famicom and snes as well.Sure i still have a CRT but it won't last forever at this point.I still find the XRBG to be pricey currently.I wouldn't have a problem that the retro freak is emulation at all.

[TR0N]

eBay, with a suggested price hovering around $300 USD

There over priced on ebay while sites such as nin-nin-game.com and play-asia sell for less.

[martinine]

These would be so enticing if there were clone chips, etc. in the case, but if you want a decent emulator, just plug in a cpu or wii homebrew. I wonder what the cost breakdown would be, or even if there would be a market for a PCE/Turbo clone that used some hardware instead of emulation? It probably wouldn't be hard to make that chipset run SNES and NES games as well.

Either way, a friend of mine bought the last Retron, and the build quality is junky. I was seriously afraid the cart slots were going to ruin the contacts on my carts.

[Bloufo]

Either way, a friend of mine bought the last Retron, and the build quality is junky. I was seriously afraid the cart slots were going to ruin the contacts on my carts.

That's not the case with the revised models.

Top of system is hard plastic now, it doesn't bend with any pressure.
Better more durable metal on the cart pins (which in turn loosened the grip).

[akamichi]

I managed to pick up one of these.  It's an interesting piece of hardware.  It may not be for everyone especially If you already have an XRGB-mini with an Everdrive or some other similar solution.  I'd say this thing is mostly for people to consolidate their physical space while using original carts and accessories.  It just depends on the person I suppose.

Plugging in your own carts is pretty neat but after dumping them to SD, there's no point in ever using the carts again.  Since you can download full ROM sets and play them from SD, there's no real reason to have the cart dumper.  I like having it though.

Based on some of the dumps I've done, it seems that the dumps are encrypted and keyed to your specific console.  I didn't dig much into it, just making that assumption.  I'm probably very wrong.  At least, it wasn't possible to load dumped carts on an emulator on my PC.  I can only assume they wouldn't work on another Retrofreak either.  That's just more reason to not mess around with dumping carts.  The console recognizes dumps and downloaded ROMs equally from what I've experienced.

I can't comment much on the emulation quality.  I just don't use emulators that much.  Everything I've tried runs good enough.  Cyber Gadget maintains a list of games with problems.  It's not that big of a list considering the number of games total.

A nice feature is dumping your save games onto the system and re-uploading them to your original cart.  I haven't tried uploading back to any carts, but I did successfully dump many of my GBA saves to the system.

I also tried some homebrew games and translations via IPS patches and they worked as expected.  I think the patch feature is pretty nice since the console will apply the patch for you.

If anybody has any questions about the Retrofreak, I'll answer the best I can.

- akamichi

[CGQuarterly]

Where the hell is an XRGB Mini $400? I paid $315 for mine off of Amazon.

[BlueBMW]

I love the xrgb mini.  Even with an XM29 at the ready I still tend to play retro stuff through the xrgb.  It seems silly but it does that good of a job scaling.  Plus the meister mode scanlines look pretty convincing.

[CrackTiger]

Where the hell is an XRGB Mini $400? I paid $315 for mine off of Amazon.

Some Japanese distributor.

[RyuHayabusa]

This looks interesting but you'd still be better off just hooking up a PC up to your TV. I have an HTPC that I built years ago hooked up to my 51 in Hitachi that I use for emulation. There are so many games that you still can't play on the Retro Freak like Neo Geo, MAME, Laserdisc, Atari, and all CD games like TG-CD, Mega CD, Saturn, etc. Don't get me wrong, it looks like a cool piece of hardware but at the moment, until it can play CD games, I'll pass.