Retro-Bit Super RetroTRIO Console NES/SNES/Genesis 3-In-1 System – Red/Black

I’ve had one of these on my wishlist for almost a year now, and I finally broke down and ordered it when I saw the price dipped below $50. Some of the bad reviews had given me pause from pulling the trigger when it was in the $60 range.First off, this unit is lightweight. I can totally see how people would think it “feels cheap”. It kinda’ does. This is a problem I suppose if you’re going to be hard on your unit and not careful (I wouldn’t leave it out with small children around). But ultimately the exterior doesn’t need to be super durable and heavy I guess as long as the interior components are fine and kept safe. I do agree it feels “cheap” in a way.I have controllers and games for all three of the NES, SNES, and Genesis, and all three have worked very well so far. Occasionally I’ll come across a game cart that doesn’t work on the first try, but that’s not necessarily the hardware’s fault as I have the same problem with my actual original consoles. There can be confusion sometimes as to where you should have the front switches set to regarding the controllers, but some playing around will usually get you where you need to be (usually this weirdness shows up with trying to do NES games, for me at least).Regarding the 2 included controllers, they’re lightweight like the main unit and they do the job. They’re not the best things ever or anything, but they’re fine. The one weird thing I noticed is that when loading my original NES Contra cart, I could not get the Konami Code to work, no matter how many times I tried on the included controllers. So I plugged an original NES controller in and tried it, and it took the code on the first try. You can have your original NES controllers plugged in at the same time as the included controllers though, so I just put the code in on the original and then went back to using the included ones. Not a big deal really.Regarding the inputs, the included RCA/composite and SVideo both work fine. I used the SVideo to connect to a modern 19″ LCD flatscreen and it worked fine, but of course looks a little funny — not because of the connectors but because they always do on modern TV’s. When I instead used my composite-to-coaxial converter to plug it into my old-school 19″ CRT TV, the games then look *great* like they should. Make sure you keep an old school non-flatscreen TV around to use with this and it improves the experience greatly.This thing plays everything it should though. Just take care of it, and be careful any time you insert or remove a game cart from the slot, and you should be just fine. I get the feeling a lot of the people complaining about the slots harming their carts really just aren’t being very careful in the first place. Make sure you use both hands for the process. It’s just the common problem of using top-loader carts.I feel kinda’ silly now for waiting to get one though. I’m very happy with it thus far and it has reduced my clutter considerably. No more needing to have my individual consoles out taking up space (that we honestly don’t have). It also looks nice, in my opinion (the black and red model anyhow). At at a $50 price point or lower (if you’re really lucky) you get a lot of bang for your buck from this thing.I gave it 4 out 5 stars, only docking the one star because I do agree with many that the plastic could be heavier duty, but if I could I would give it more like 4.5 out of 5 stars (but Amazon won’t let me). In the future I’d like to see RetroBit make their units and little heavier-duty, but that’s about the only complaint I can find .

I decided to buy this after finding out that the Retron 5 only rips ROMs out of games and plays them through emulation. I am relatively new to the old school gaming market, but I have used it frequently and found some likes and dislikes about the system. I wont go into too much detail seeing how there are plenty of true dedicated reviews to this console, but I wanted to list what I think is important to note about the Super Retro TrioLikes:1. has multiple different controller ports, meaning I am not stuck with just the controller the console came with and can change in between the SNES controller, an NES controller, and a Sega genesis controller.2. The reset button and the overall design of the console feels very sturdy and doesn’t feel very cheap3. I have not found a game that does not work on this system as of yet. However, as I’ve said before I’m relatively new to the old school market so I don’t have too many games just yet. Although, from what I hear Castlevania 3 does NOT work on this system.4. The dust covers for the ports are spring loaded and very niceDislikes:1. This may sound personal, but when the system first arrived I had a hard time closing and opening the little dust cover on the front of the console meant to hide the ports when not in use.2. Does anyone remember the tale of Goldilocks and the three bears? well the NES port feels a little too loose, the genesis port is too tight, and the SNES port is juust right. I haven’t had a problem with any games not playing on the system because of this, but it does feel like a delicate operation to take some games out when I’m finished playing with them.3. Now, I use a composite switch box that doesn’t rely on S-video since my TV only has one AV out, but from what I’ve heard you cant leave the S video cable plugged in if you wanted to play anything but Sega games.To conclude its a great system and is better than trying to hunt down and/or restore an old system in my opinion . I also want to recommend to anyone who buys this to leave the system unplugged when you are not using it. This may or may not be true, but i strongly believe that the AC adapter that comes with it is not strong enough to be left over night plugged in, which may cause the systems that are left plugged in constantly to short out.

Some pretty harsh negative reviews here.. It appears some people have received defective units.. My experience has been good. The system works well and plays all the games I insert. The controller ports are great and the controllers themselves aren’t to shabby.. I did buy controller extension cords which help.. I love the fact that you can use any controller for any game. I normally play everything with SNES controllers. My only problem is the lack of an eject button. I’m pretty sure the NES slot is becoming damaged.. The Retron 5 is clearly superior but more then twice the price.Update: The NES slot is now damaged. It’s hit or miss but for the most part NES games no longer play

I just got it a week ago. Lots of pros and cons. It’s not quite like playing a game on the real hardware. So I thought I’d do my review as a “good, bad, and ugly” sort of thing:GOODThe controllers – The two controllers that came with mine weren’t SNES controllers with Genesis plugs as you might see in other reviews either here or on the web. They are SNES through-and-through. The button layout, the feel, and the plug is SNES. They work with the Genesis and NES, too. NES games play great – much like Super Mario All Stars on the SNES, the B button is remapped to Y and the A button is remapped to B. They feel just like they should. I can easily crack skulls in Super Street Fighter and navigate Super Mario World with ease.The compatibility – not only is this thing compatible with *almost* every NES, SNES, and Genesis game ever made, it’s also compatible with lots of extras. it works with my Super Game Boy and it works with the Mega Everdrive X5, Super Everdrive, and Everdrive N8. It also works with the Zapper if you have a CRT TV. LCD does not work with light guns, and that’s just something to live with.The system – it’s compact. It replaces three systems with a single TV input and a single AC adapter. The controllers are universal. It’s nice.The picture quality – RCA and S-Video are nice. All three systems produce sharp images through S-Video and RCA, especially RCA.BADThe compatibility – I listed this as a good, but there is a bad side: it does not have expansion ports. No Sega CD compatibility, and no Sega 32X compatibility. If you have these add-ons, you need a real Genesis 1 or 2.The controllers – If you want a button layout for the Genesis, you need Genesis controllers. The controller tries its best, but it maps ABC to YBA, and XYZ to LXR. The shoulder buttons are just weird for Sega 6-button games.The picture quality – the Genesis and NES look weird on S-Video. There is a “jailbar” effect on Genesis games where S-Video is almost too sharp. Definitely stick with RCA.The sound – The SNES sounds pretty decent, if not perfect (Final Fantasy III sound effects are definitely off), but the NES and Genesis sound like a drunk. Stuff gets out of tune, certain sounds are way too loud, and it’s just not how you remember it. I confirmed these feelings by hooking up my old Genesis and NES (something I had hoped to avoid with this little wonder-box) and playing the same games.THE UGLYThe picture quality – I’m not enthralled at all with the image quality. There’s a very serious greenish tint. It’s especially bad on the NES. Instead of Dr. Mario fighting red, blue, and yellow germs he’s fighting red-ish, mostly-blue, and very-green germs. TMNT Arcade really blows out the green. You’ll need to adjust the tint of your set.The sound – did I mention how weird it is?OVERALLThe initial impressions were very positive. And if you’re getting this to replace a dead console or get a quick retro-fix you may not notice what’s off. But if you’re interested in playing these games just like they were 20-30 years ago, you might want to look at original hardware. The worst of it is the green tint and weird audio, and I could overlook the rest.