Topic: SNES Mini

@DarthNocturnal Ouch... That would most certainly rule out making the trip to pre-order anything (for me), then. Just imagine taking the time to do that, only to find that all pre-orders are already taken...

So, if that would be the situation over here, then I would only go there if I also had some other business to take care of, so that way, it would at least be a useful trip, and not just one to "hopefully" be able to grab a pre-order. And even if you do manage to secure one, you'd have to make another day trip to pick it up... (assuming they're not willing or able to send it to you)

But online is of course always an option for all of us, so luckily we still have that if there's no game shop in the direct vicinity.

Guess I'm lucky to be a yank living in Amsterdam, then. Not as big a city as any of the big ones found in North America, but still more than big enough to house dozens of game shops, and I literally live a 20 minute walk away from the city center, which is also where I pre-ordered my NES Mini, so I would normally not need to spend more than between 1 and 1,5 hours at most.

Hi everyone, so I've had my SNES Classic since launch and I absolutely love it, but by now I'd love to add some new games to it like Chrono Trigger and Terranigma. Problem is, I have no experience with modding or emulation in general. So to those of you who've added games to the SNES, do you think a newbie like myself could handle it or would it be too much? Any specific tips or guides you'd recommend for me as well?
Thank you in advance!

I haven't tried to hack the SNES mini, but if it's like the NES mini (and you only plan to add more SNES games) then it's super easy to do it. Almost ridiculously so.

I think Thanos posted some tutorials a few pages back.

Yeah, only tricky part is custom borders, since you have to use something like FileZilla and go into the SNES Classic's file system.

@ilikeike Yes, it's quite easy, as long as you follow instructions to the letter. On page 19 of this topic, I've posted instruction videos and from that page on, just browse through the rest of my comments for some more tips and advice.

And just watch those videos once or twice before you do the hack, and then do the hack while simultaneously watching the video again, so you can just pause the video after each step that the tutorial takes you through.

@Joeynator3000 Haven't touched the custom borders part myself. I'm fine with the standard ones, so that doesn't interest me personally, but if I'm not mistaken, those are actually included in the additional RetroArch mod, so no need to use FileZilla or whatever, unless you want to add your own borders.

But I'm guessing you can also add these to the custom borders folder from the RetroArch mod, once that's installed.

That's what I meant, adding your own borders, since I'm an anime fan...I have some borders with my favorite anime girls on it. xp
But yeah you have to do a few things in the system's files first to make it work.

@ThanosReXXX Awesome, thanks so much for the tips! I'll be sure to check out those videos and comments. Now I've got myself a good Memorial Day project!

@ThanosReXXX Quick question, any specific requirements for the USB cable I use to connect the SNES to my computer? Can I use the cable that came with the console, or do I need to use a different one?

The included one should work just fine as far as I know.

See, Nintendo was nice enough to include everything you need.

@ilikeike Use the one that came with the SNES Mini. I've actually been modding mine when I have a few minutes spare throughout today. Mostly plan sailing. Having to tweak a few things here and there now.

My advice would be to keep the number of games you add to something like 50. If you use and like to have space for save states on each game, I would also avoid unchecking the save space mod in RetroArch (it is the top check box when you drag the zipped RetroArch cores file into Hakchi2). I didn't at first and added 63 games and have had errros such as C4 (error when creating save states) and C8 (error when trying to turn off the system when in the menu).

Both I seem to have fixed now by reducing the number of games, keeping only 25 on each Page (a setting within Hakchi2) and removing that save space mod.

Everyone is going to want to tweak Mod build to suit their needs. I'm very much in the middle of all this now, just giving you a heads up in case it helps.

Next thing I may try aside from tweaking my 50 games to the ones I really want for the foreseeable future (easy to add and remove games once you are up and running) is the custom borders.

@thanosrexxx Do you know how I can use any extra borders without using FTP?

@ilikeike No, you can simply use the cable that came with the console. After you've watched those videos, and the whole process (well, "whole"... it can be done in under 15 minutes) doesn't seem overwhelming to you, then just give it a go. Following the steps just as they appear in the video, nothing can go wrong.

@Lroy No, I'm afraid not. I was never interested in that, so I've never looked into it. I know that there's an extra option for borders in the RetroArch mod, so perhaps you can find that in the playlist of the same guy that did the other videos. And of course you could always send him a message. Or look on Reddit or GBATemp forum pages...

@Lroy Using the alphabetical folder option will cure a number of errors when installing more (than a certain number of) games. I only have the original games front and center, and all the other ones in alphabetical folders. I have 186 games in total on there, and I have tested them all: not a single error.

@Yosheel @ThanosReXXX @Lroy Thanks for the advice everyone! I've successfully modded my SNES Classic. I only added one game for now (Chrono Trigger) just to get the hang of it, but now that I understand the process I'll get more adventurous. Sometime I'll probably work on Retroarch and custom borders to make it my retro dream machine, but for now I couldn't be happier. Thanks again!

Congrats, enjoy.

I heard Chrono Trigger doesn't work well on the Classic for some reason...

Well I've played about two and a half hours of CT on the SNES Classic and I haven't encountered any issues so far. Save states, rebooting, in game saves etc. all work fine. Maybe it was an issue with earlier versions of hakchi? Idk. I'll post if something goes wrong.

@ilikeike You're welcome again.

And the issues could indeed be with earlier versions of hakchi, or it could be due to the fact that the built in emulator isn't 100% compatible with all games. For that, you will need to install the snes9x emulator that is also a part of the RetroArch mod. If you only want SNES games on there, do the RetroArch mod, and select the save space option and the snes9x option.

Besides that, I've found that errors can also occur if you have too many games on the front page of the menu, so that is why I chose to divide all my games up in alphabetical folders, which is also an option in the menu of hakchi. And besides it being less error prone, it also makes it more easy to view titles, since you have fewer games to scroll through per folder and the label on the folders tells you exactly which games are where.

@ThanosReXXX Just did a little research, and the issue was indeed with early versions of Hakchi2, which corrupted the ROM's preset ID and introduced some audio errors. However, the current version of hakchi2 has corrected all these issues. And I've already got Chrono Trigger in a separate file from the front page and I plan to put additional games there as well, so hopefully I won't have any issues there. Later on as I add more games I'll probably alphabetize my folders.

I'll definitely work on Retroarch at some point. I think I saw a video of Retroarch on a SNES classic running Playstation games? Is that even possible? If so, that's absolutely amazing.

@ilikeike It is possible, and it can run a host of other systems as well. But for systems like the PSX, you do need an HDMI cable with a USB adapter connected to it, because of the space limits of the Mini, so you'll need an external drive to be able to add such large files.

I myself keep the system purely SNES, though. It's a SNES Mini, not a Neo Geo, Sega and PSX Mini...
Breaks the illusion for me, and it would also be odd to have to play these games with the wrong controllers.

And RetroArch is easy as pie: just start up the hakchi mod on your PC, drag and drop the RetroArch file onto your game list, and then select the two options I mentioned, and that's that. Flash everything to the Mini, and you're done. The Mini is now 100% compatible with any and all SNES/Super Famicom games from all regions.

One additional tip: once you've arrived at your ultimate setup, with all the games and features you like on the Mini, make a backup and store it on a USB stick or burn it to a DVD, so you'll always have a spare when something goes wrong, and your original kernel will also be in there, if for whatever reason you'd have to reset the console to default and do the mod again.

@ThanosReXXX I think I share your opinion on the console. It is the SNES mini, after all. The thought of making it a retro paradise is certainly tempting, though, and I've been itching to try out some PS1 RPGs like Suikoden and Breath of Fire III...

Thanks for the RetroArch tip. I'd read somewhere that it was tedious to set up, so it's good to hear it's actually easy to use on the SNES. Once I've got my dream setup I'll definitely back it all up. I'll probably finish Chrono Trigger first (the game is just as good as everyone said it is) and then I'll work on perfecting my console.

Once more, thanks for all the tips. Never thought I'd be able to mod a console without immediately bricking it, so I couldn't be happier!