Nearest gamestop to where I am is 8 miles away. With our lunchtime traffic I could make it to the store on time, but never make it back before the hour is over.
SNES Mini
- Thread starter DeathKnight
- Start date
Nearest gamestop to where I am is 8 miles away. With our lunchtime traffic I could make it to the store on time, but never make it back before the hour is over.
OverclockN'
Well-known member
Site shows both my local GameStop and Walmart have an SNES classic in stock. Guess I'll stop by after work and see if it's true.
OK signed up for that thingy. Thanks, will give it a try.
Meteor_of_War
New member
Good luck, I'm sure you'll get one eventually.
Finally got one! This was sheer luck and completely random but I was going to the movies at an upscale mall in my city. My girlfriend and I were two hours early so we ate dinner and had some time to kill when I remembered they had a Gamestop. So I figured "meh, worst they can say is they don't have any" and when I walked in I asked the guy at the desk and he said "You are in luck, we have ONE left."
He explained that it was really dumb luck that I was there at that moment for the one they had left because they only get TWO in every 3 weeks and they always sell out on the day of the shipment (which is random). I guess I was just in the right place at the right time. He ask me if I was going to sell it online, I said "Hell no, I'm going to play it!".
He explained that it was really dumb luck that I was there at that moment for the one they had left because they only get TWO in every 3 weeks and they always sell out on the day of the shipment (which is random). I guess I was just in the right place at the right time. He ask me if I was going to sell it online, I said "Hell no, I'm going to play it!".
Meteor_of_War
New member
Pr3tty F1y
Active member
Nostalgia helps a lot, unless you otherwise like games of that era or current Nintendo games.
However, after replaying Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on my SNES Classic, I went right to playing through Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS and it was an overall awesome experience.
Meteor_of_War
New member
Nostalgia is the main reason these things exist, for sure.
At the same time though, i believe there's no denying a lot of the SNES games are timeless great games. I do know one guy who never played the SNES as a kid and bought one of these and has been loving it.
At the same time though, i believe there's no denying a lot of the SNES games are timeless great games. I do know one guy who never played the SNES as a kid and bought one of these and has been loving it.
Elysian
SCAATSJW
The stock games are fantastic, if you like retro style games or retro games on other systems then you'll love a lot of what's on the SNES classic. I never played these games when the SNES was out either, but did play them via emulation for years.
{0}Salamander{0}
New member
I bought a SNES mini last night for £65 at a local retailer in the UK.
My thoughts are;
Takes a bit of time to boot up. When I turn the thing off, you have to wait for it to actually power down and the light to go off before you can re-power it back on again.
I like the CRT filter, I have enabled that. I did notice a bit of graphical slow down when playing Mario World, is that normal?
The pads seem ok, though to me don't feel as well made as the originals. One pad seems really "clicky" and not great, the other one feels a bit better and has a slightly spongier feel to it which I much prefer. I dont own the NES classic so I have only heard about the cable length, however even these pads are pretty short. Modern TVs are overall much much larger so people sit back further, so I would have appreciated another metre of length.
The game choice seems pretty good from the get go, lots of classics on there. I have already modded my console, adding about another 25 games to make it near 46 in total (most of which I actually own the original carts for).
One negative aspect, I can sense a slight "lag" in the input. Does anyone else feel this? I press left or right and the input seems to take longer to respond than it should...?
My thoughts are;
Takes a bit of time to boot up. When I turn the thing off, you have to wait for it to actually power down and the light to go off before you can re-power it back on again.
I like the CRT filter, I have enabled that. I did notice a bit of graphical slow down when playing Mario World, is that normal?
The pads seem ok, though to me don't feel as well made as the originals. One pad seems really "clicky" and not great, the other one feels a bit better and has a slightly spongier feel to it which I much prefer. I dont own the NES classic so I have only heard about the cable length, however even these pads are pretty short. Modern TVs are overall much much larger so people sit back further, so I would have appreciated another metre of length.
The game choice seems pretty good from the get go, lots of classics on there. I have already modded my console, adding about another 25 games to make it near 46 in total (most of which I actually own the original carts for).
One negative aspect, I can sense a slight "lag" in the input. Does anyone else feel this? I press left or right and the input seems to take longer to respond than it should...?
Meteor_of_War
New member
The slowdown in Mario World you mentioned might be due to the CRT filter being enabled, try without it. Not sure though.
The controller feels almost exact to a brand new original SNES controller to me. Of course it will feel slightly different, as they were manufactured nearly 30 years apart from each other. But they are close enough IMO that it doesn't really detract from the experience. As for cable length, yeah its short. There's lots of good aftermarket extension cables though that are relatively cheap. I bought a couple.
The lag you feel is normal. Its one of the big drawbacks to these new Classic consoles and why nothing beats playing on the original hardware!! All you can do is minimize it best you can by choosing a low lag HDTV, directly connect to it (not through any AV receiver first), and make sure all extra modern TV features are disabled.
The controller feels almost exact to a brand new original SNES controller to me. Of course it will feel slightly different, as they were manufactured nearly 30 years apart from each other. But they are close enough IMO that it doesn't really detract from the experience. As for cable length, yeah its short. There's lots of good aftermarket extension cables though that are relatively cheap. I bought a couple.
The lag you feel is normal. Its one of the big drawbacks to these new Classic consoles and why nothing beats playing on the original hardware!! All you can do is minimize it best you can by choosing a low lag HDTV, directly connect to it (not through any AV receiver first), and make sure all extra modern TV features are disabled.
12Bass
New member
The SNES has a slow CPU and many of the games have slowdown on original hardware; if so, the emulation faithfully replicates it.
I still have a Sony Trinitron CRT and it remains the best way to experience older games. Nothing beats real 240p scanlines! Personally, I found Nintendo's CRT filter too blurry and think it looks better with the blurry bilinear filtering disabled (though still not quite authentic). See here: https://www.reddit.com/r/miniSNESmods/comments/75jxvj/snes_filters_hack_did_someone_get_it_working/
BTW, mine was hacked within a few hours after buying it. IMO, hacking it and installing Retroarch really opens up the possibilities for the unit.
https://hakchiresources.com/2018/11/26/hakchi2-ce-community-edition-v3-5-2/
Lag comes from different sources, mostly the emulator and the display. SD CRTs have essentially zero lag, whilst modern flat panels can add a few frames of lag, making old-school, reaction-based, games feel sluggish. FWIW, I've found the SNES Classic's Canoe emulator is fairly minimal in terms of added lag when using my Panasonic plasma in game mode (which should help to reduce lag with most modern televisions).
As for the cables, some people have opted for a long HDMI cable as a solution.
I still have a Sony Trinitron CRT and it remains the best way to experience older games. Nothing beats real 240p scanlines! Personally, I found Nintendo's CRT filter too blurry and think it looks better with the blurry bilinear filtering disabled (though still not quite authentic). See here: https://www.reddit.com/r/miniSNESmods/comments/75jxvj/snes_filters_hack_did_someone_get_it_working/
BTW, mine was hacked within a few hours after buying it. IMO, hacking it and installing Retroarch really opens up the possibilities for the unit.
https://hakchiresources.com/2018/11/26/hakchi2-ce-community-edition-v3-5-2/
Lag comes from different sources, mostly the emulator and the display. SD CRTs have essentially zero lag, whilst modern flat panels can add a few frames of lag, making old-school, reaction-based, games feel sluggish. FWIW, I've found the SNES Classic's Canoe emulator is fairly minimal in terms of added lag when using my Panasonic plasma in game mode (which should help to reduce lag with most modern televisions).
As for the cables, some people have opted for a long HDMI cable as a solution.
Meteor_of_War
New member
I also connect mine to a Panasonic plasma in game mode (all extra features turned OFF) and the lag is hardly noticeable, unless you're trying to beat Mike Tyson. Comparably, when I go to my brother's house and he has his connected to his new 4k HDTV and through a fancy AV receiver the lag is unbearable. I had him try connecting directly to his TV and it was a huge improvement, but still more lag than my Panasonic plasma.
Yes I agree CRT is still the best way to play these games,. Which is why these Classic consoles, and emulation in general for that matter is no threat to genuine retro gaming. I also have a Sony Trinitron and love it, but to be honest the actual best way to play is on a PVM with RGB mod for the NES, and for the SNES a proper RGB SCART cable. I've been lucky enough to try a PVM for gaming once at a friend's house and it was amazing.
I should also add though, I got the Hi-Def NES mod done and its pretty much just as good as gaming on a PVM visual quality wise. You just lose that nostalgia feeling of the CRT TV.
Yes I agree CRT is still the best way to play these games,. Which is why these Classic consoles, and emulation in general for that matter is no threat to genuine retro gaming. I also have a Sony Trinitron and love it, but to be honest the actual best way to play is on a PVM with RGB mod for the NES, and for the SNES a proper RGB SCART cable. I've been lucky enough to try a PVM for gaming once at a friend's house and it was amazing.
I should also add though, I got the Hi-Def NES mod done and its pretty much just as good as gaming on a PVM visual quality wise. You just lose that nostalgia feeling of the CRT TV.
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I just recently got that same case for my SNES mini
Bought it during Amazon's Black Friday sale.
12Bass
New member
My SNES has an S-Video mod but hasn't been modded for RGB (yet). However, mostly I use my Wii outputting 240p via component cables, which is plenty sharp. My 27" Sony has been tweaked up for color, geometry, etc... so it looks as good as I can make it. From what I gather, PVMs have a somewhat different look than consumer Trinitrons, with some difference of opinion as to which is better; they are also limited in size, with 20" maximum. I did enjoy my dual 21" Trinitron computer monitors for years before they both stopped working and got recycled.
The Hi-Def NES looks cool, but the scanlines are not very realistic, IMO, which is a huge part of what made 240p gaming so special (and blocky/no-scanline 240p on an HD screen looks awful, IMO). That said, I've found some excellent shaders recently, like the zfast CRT shaders, which look more realistic (when used with an emulator).
Meteor_of_War
New member
Actually the first model of the SNES does not need a mod for RGB as it has it natively, F.Y.I. Just needs the proper RGB SCART cable. The model 2 SNES however, does not have native RGB. The easiest way to get a near-RGB output from the SNES without messing with SCART is to get the HD Retrovision component cable which is awesome.
As for the Hi-Def NES mod and scanlines, well I agree no scanlines looks crap. The sprite art of the games were designed with scanlines in mind so having them enabled is essential. However there are settings in the options menu to get the scanlines to look pretty close to proper and line up correctly on an HDTV. Aside from the several different style options it allows, the most important thing to do is set the height scaling to 4x so they at least line up properly:
Of course its still not going to replicate the nostalgic authenticity of real scanlines on a CRT, but its a small sacrifice to enjoy gaming with the sharpness and screen size of an HDTV.