NES Classic Mini

[CochiseCowbell]

I'm looking to get my new step-son one of these for his upcoming 12th birthday. I figured this would be a good way for us to spend some time together. Then maybe he'll pick up one of the numerous books I've got him or give Chess another try. I like the concepts of shorter game times, no on-line play, chatting with random 20 yr olds in Timbuktu, leader boards, etc. I know a lot of these games (plus more) are available on the Switch, but he doesn't need another thing to carry around that he can become glued to.

I've read some of the reviews and the biggest issues seem to be the short controller cords and the inability to add more games. There's some kind of knock-ff that supposedly has 600+ games, but I'm not so sure about that.

Do any of y'all have any experience with these? Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks, in advance. I'll hang up and listen.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

There are extension cords

For the controllers. You can make one out of a Raspberry Pi if you have minimal computer intelligence (I got one from a friend), and you can load every Nintendo, Sega, etc game on it, but it is a very easy to wipe the memory clear if you accidentally turn it off improperly. Of course, if you made it yourself, you can remake it easily. The NES mini is the way to go for simplicity.

 

[Lawdawg.sixpack]

Grab 2 wireless controllers. The cords are miserably short.

 

[DogStuckAtUM.sixpack]

Going to second Raspberry Pi. Plus if y’all build it together, it would provide good bonding time.

 

[JacksonDevilDog]

Go to YouTube and mod your NES mini. You can go to YouTube, watch a video, and load up to around 700 NES games for it. It takes a little time, but worth it.

 

[Hugh's Burner Phone]

Don't buy the knockoff. I did that the first time and what you end up with is the same game on there 15 times and some games you never heard of. Also, came across more than one where nothing is in English. Had some where the selection said Donkey Kong, but it was something completely different. Stick with the original.

 

[aTotal360]

If ya'll have a Switch, you can get a handful of old games for $35 year with a subscription. Tecmo Bowl is in the mix but not Super Tecmo Bowl.

 

[Car Ramrod.sixpack]

Grab 2 wireless controllers. The cords are miserably short.

I second the wireless controllers. You can buy cable extensions but they are a pain in the butt.

 

[MSUDC11]

Not sure if this interests you or not, but if you’re willing to fork out some extra money for a Nintendo Switch, the online service (like $5 month) includes access to old NES and SNES games, and similar ones to what you would get on an NES or SNES classic. I used to have an SNES classic but traded it in because it became redundant now that I have a Switch. Plus with a Switch you obviously have access to the newer games too.

 

[eckie1]

We have one at my house....

I'm looking to get my new step-son one of these for his upcoming 12th birthday. I figured this would be a good way for us to spend some time together. Then maybe he'll pick up one of the numerous books I've got him or give Chess another try. I like the concepts of shorter game times, no on-line play, chatting with random 20 yr olds in Timbuktu, leader boards, etc. I know a lot of these games (plus more) are available on the Switch, but he doesn't need another thing to carry around that he can become glued to.

I've read some of the reviews and the biggest issues seem to be the short controller cords and the inability to add more games. There's some kind of knock-ff that supposedly has 600+ games, but I'm not so sure about that.

Do any of y'all have any experience with these? Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks, in advance. I'll hang up and listen.

As you said, the game selection is limited and there’s no way to add more games. But, it depends on what you like. It has the original Zelda (all-time Classic), Punch-Out (only difference is Mr. Dream, not Mike Tyson), Metroid, Excitebike, every Super Mario Brothers Game, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Castlevania (1 and 2), Galaga.... several others, but the ones I listed are my favorites.

Regarding the wireless remotes.... I have one and it works fine on some games, but NOT Punch Out where you have to be lighting quick. We got an extension cord for one controller then I bought another controller from Amazon that is even longer. They both work great!

Overall I’d recommend it.... my son and I spent the 4th of July weekend playing Zelda and we both beat Gannon! Great times! Although, not having RBI Baseball, RC Pro Am and other great games sucks.... I’d love to play those again.

 

[BlueRidgeMtns]

My buddy has a Wii that's modded so it has tons of NES & SNES games. All of them seem to work pretty great.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

That’s what I did. I took our old Wii out and modified it and downloaded all the NES and SNES games I used to play.

 

[11thEagleFan]

We have one at my house and we love it. Get the controller extension cords for sure. It has 30 games on it, and the library hits the highlights. Only complaint is that it has Super-C instead of the original Contra. Otherwise, you get Super Mario Bros 1-3, Zelda 1 and 2, Castlevania 1 and 2, Ninja Gaiden (our favorite), Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Dr. Mario, Excitebike, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon 2, and more. If you would’ve had all those games when you were a kid, you would’ve been a legend.

Also, to my cousin Chris (a member on this board), you “borrowed” Kung-Fu 30 years ago. Give it back, you bastard.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

I looked into this Raspberry Pi thing throughout the day & it doesn't look as difficult as I first assumed. I was thinking soldering, etc.

I'm probably going to go this route by buying one of the kits with all the cords, including a housing, etc. And like DogStuck suggested, we'll "build" it together.

I'm probably not going to go whole hog with it, to the point of WiFi. Too much of his life is already online. However, since we're building it, we can always upgrade/modify it later.

This will be "our" thing...since baseball didn't work out. Damnit, we had a summer full of plans to take in local minor league games, watch on TV, and making the trip to Dudy Noble. Man, 17 Covid with a wooden spoon!

Rant / long post over.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

ETA: I'll work out how it can track him later.*

 

[Dawg1979]

As you said, the game selection is limited and there’s no way to add more games. But, it depends on what you like. It has the original Zelda (all-time Classic), Punch-Out (only difference is Mr. Dream, not Mike Tyson), Metroid, Excitebike, every Super Mario Brothers Game, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Castlevania (1 and 2), Galaga.... several others, but the ones I listed are my favorites.

Regarding the wireless remotes.... I have one and it works fine on some games, but NOT Punch Out where you have to be lighting quick. We got an extension cord for one controller then I bought another controller from Amazon that is even longer. They both work great!

Overall I’d recommend it.... my son and I spent the 4th of July weekend playing Zelda and we both beat Gannon! Great times! Although, not having RBI Baseball, RC Pro Am and other great games sucks.... I’d love to play those again.

you can mod it. you unplug the power cord from the wall plug/usb, and plug that in to a computer with the power off. hold down the reset button for 3 seconds, then press and hold the power button. it puts it in a mod mode. look up how to mod your RetroNES, it will walk you through everything. add 700+ games. takes about 10 min to get started and 30 sec for each game.

 

[Dawg1979]

also, the only issue with the wireless remotes, is a delay. there is about a 1/8th of a second delay. no big deal on some games, but Mario 1, 2, or 3 is damn hard.

 

[civildawg88]

https://slickdeals.net/f/14209580-c...w-power-supply-40-free-shipping?src=frontpage

You’re welcome

 

[Brazilian Gaucho]

I'm looking to get my new step-son one of these for his upcoming 12th birthday. I figured this would be a good way for us to spend some time together. Then maybe he'll pick up one of the numerous books I've got him or give Chess another try. I like the concepts of shorter game times, no on-line play, chatting with random 20 yr olds in Timbuktu, leader boards, etc. I know a lot of these games (plus more) are available on the Switch, but he doesn't need another thing to carry around that he can become glued to.

I've read some of the reviews and the biggest issues seem to be the short controller cords and the inability to add more games. There's some kind of knock-ff that supposedly has 600+ games, but I'm not so sure about that.

Do any of y'all have any experience with these? Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks, in advance. I'll hang up and listen.

I took one of the PlayStation classics and modded it. I now have every NES, SNES, N64, SEGA, PlayStation, and arcade game ever made on a 256G flash drive that plugs into the back of it. Def worth the couple of hrs it took to download it all. Have played it more than my PS4 or Xbox1 since I got it.

 

[eckie1]

Thanks for that suggestion!

you can mod it. you unplug the power cord from the wall plug/usb, and plug that in to a computer with the power off. hold down the reset button for 3 seconds, then press and hold the power button. it puts it in a mod mode. look up how to mod your RetroNES, it will walk you through everything. add 700+ games. takes about 10 min to get started and 30 sec for each game.

Just got done playing some R.C. Pro Am and RBI baseball!

 

[Dawgg]

Third on the Raspberry Pi with the RetroPi software. Built one with my son (10 at the time) and he takes a lot of pride in the fact he “built” it.

We used PS3 controllers. They’ll connect wirelessly.

 

[Chesusdog]

Adding games is easy. Google Hackchi.

 

[Dawgology]

Don't buy the knockoff. I did that the first time and what you end up with is the same game on there 15 times and some games you never heard of. Also, came across more than one where nothing is in English. Had some where the selection said Donkey Kong, but it was something completely different. Stick with the original.

This. I bought a knockoff just to see what it was like and it literally killed my LED television.