The removal of the pesky joypad cable has to rank as one of the most important advances in video game tech. For far too long were we resigned to dealing with tangled wires that shackled us to our games consoles, forcing us to sit within a range dictated by the length of the cable itself (Super Famicom owners will feel this pain acutely, as the lead on its controllers was super short).
Thankfully, in recent generations we've seen pads physically disconnect from their consoles and allow you to sit where you want in the room and not have to fight a jungle of wires whenever a friend comes over for some local multiplayer. The trade-off is that these pads now require their own power source, but hey - that's progress for you.
This technological leap has now been retrofitted to vintage hardware. 8Bitdo and Analogue - two companies committed to keeping old-school gaming alive - previously worked together on a Bluetooth adapter for the NES, and they've now produced something which is arguably even more exciting - a receiver which works on the 16-bit successor to that machine, the SNES.
The SNES Retro Receiver is a diminutive little device about the same size as the joypad plug on your traditional wired SNES controller. In the packaging you get the unit itself and a USB cable, which can be used to turn the device into a Bluetooth dongle you can use with your PC. This small cable will also be used to apply firmware updates to the device in the future, should they be forthcoming.
As you might expect, the Retro Receiver plugs into one of the joypad slots on your machine (for two player action you'll need a second receiver). Pushing a button on the front of the unit triggers the pairing mode, allowing you to connect a wide range of compatible pads. While 8Bitdo encourages you to use its excellent range of controllers - the SFC30 is our choice, for obvious reasons - you can pair pretty much any Bluetooth pad; we managed to get the Wii U Pro Controller connected in seconds and that functions perfectly.
It's an odd experience being able to play a SNES game without any wires getting in the way; your brain sort of freaks out, desperate to feel that familiar tug of the cable when you move the pad around. While your memories might require some realignment, you'll never look back after using one of these devices with your SNES. It of course helps that 8Bitdo's controllers are of incredible high quality so the experience is perfect, but naturally your own enjoyment may vary depending on what Bluetooth pads you have to hand. Dig one out that has decent build quality and you're unlikely to find any reason to grumble.
As is the case with the NES version of this device, we can foresee the SNES Retro Receiver becoming a near-essential purchase for retro gaming fans. Just remember to buy two if you're keen on local multiplayer - anyone you play with is sure to get jealous if they're forced to use a wired pad.
Thanks to Play-Asia for supplying the SNES Retro Receiver used in this review.
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Comments 16
No score?
i just got the 8bitdo nes30pro and i love it. the analog sticks are crap but everything else about it is wonderful. perfect for all nes/snes games and passable for 64 games.
A neat idea, but if you're playing on an LCD or LED TV you want to minimise any input lag as much as possible and this device will just make things worse. Probably would be fine for a CRT though. Is having a cable really that bad for retro gaming?
I don't see the appeal - I always want to play old consoles with their respective controllersto get the ultimate retro feeling.
Thanks for the review! Does this work with the Retron 5?
@NintendoPete with the nes30pro i have noticed no lag at all. there may be some but if so its so minor it does not effect gameplay.
@SanderEvers Er, that's what this does...
@RetroBillyT You can use 8BitDo's SFC30 directly with the Retron5, after a firmware update. I don't know for sure if this works for their other controllers though. If you want to connect a WiiU Pro Controller to the Retron5 with this receiver though i'm not 100% sure if that works.
@Deanster101 True, I'm sure after turning off all the flatscreen enhancers and filtering there would still be some lag. Best leave the job to a CRT or a 1st gen lcd flatscreen.
Besides, you can only play Duck Hunt on a CRT ¯(ツ)/¯
I've just taken the plunge and ordered a controller and receiver, hopefully the controller doesn't feel too different from my original Super Famicom ones.
It's a neat little gizmo.
Hmm, interesting. I wonder, would this work with a WaveBird GameCube controller?
@BulbasaurusRex That controller isn't Bluetooth.
Seems cool, I may need to pick one of these up someday.
See, it's this kind of thing that reinforces my belief that systems like the NES Classic Edition and the almost-certain-to-happen SNES Classic Edition really should come with dual-function wired/wireless controllers. You'd likely use them wireless most of the time, purely for convenience, but you could also plug in the wire to charge them and play fully wired (just like the Xbox One controllers); and some of the more hardcore old-school gamers might prefer to always play with them wired to ensure there's no input lag. To me, that's kind of how you have to do video game controllers in this day and age if you're doing things right.
And, to be clear, it should work very much like this receiver, where it lets you not only use the official SNES Classic Edition dual-function wired/wireless controller but basically any wireless controller that uses the same kind of wireless tech—just because.
I'll say it again, I want Nintendo to really go for this kind of thing if it ever gets around to doing a SNES Classic Edition, because it could turn from being a cool novelty into something genuinely special, and especially if it does the few other things I'd like to see too:
http://www.inceptional.com/2016/07/23/heres-what-i-want-from-a-snes-classic-edition/
Adquiri el 8btido, lo probe en la consola snes con el mando ps4, funciona perfectamente; luego coloque el 8btido en la consola Supaboy hyperkin en la cual se lageo el adaptador y no enlaza el bluetuoh con los mandos......hay alguna solucion????....gracias
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