The Hyperkin SupaBoy has already been revised once - resulting in 2016's SupaBoy S - but the company isn't done with the machine yet. The SupaBoy SFC is the latest variant and brings with it some notable upgrades.
The most welcome is the ability to toggle between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratio by holding down the brightness button. As we noted in our review of the SupaBoy S, the picture was stretched to fit the widescreen display, making games look a bit odd. Hyperkin has taken this feedback on-board and come up with a solution for the new model. A proper 4:3 screen would have been preferable - the first model had one - but we imagine the move to a 16:9 panel is related to the fact that these are available cheaply, whereas very few devices use 4:3 screens these days.
The second big change relates to the buttons - they're now multi-coloured to match the scheme sported by the Super Famicom and European SNES. We might be biased here - we're from the UK - but we vastly prefer this colour scheme to the purple and violet buttons of the North American SNES.
Elsewhere, there's a 3.5mm headphone jack, adjustable brightness, two SNES controller ports, AV output and Hyperkin's patented "Pin Perfect" cartridge slot technology:
Pin Perfect™ technology ensures gameplay isn’t interrupted even if you shake or bump the machine. The cartridges slot into the SupaBoy in a satisfyingly secure way and – given that you’ll be taking the SupaBoy and your games on the road – it’s a great addition to this portable console.
The console will accept carts from any region. You can pre-order the SupaBoy SFC from Funstock now, ahead of its March 9th launch. Expect a review the moment we're able to get our hands on one.
[source funstockretro.co.uk]
Comments 46
At last, real SNES buttons.
Isn't that Pin Perfect technology only a 'thing' because they messed up the pins on the Retron 5, with their vice like grip? Can't believe they're making it into some marketing spiel! The original hardware had 'perfect' pins too!
Such a beautiful object. Do I need it though? That's what my wallet is asking.
Oooooh....!!!
Shiny !!
Is this thing region-free?
@thesilverbrick
Yes.
You can play BOTH SNES (USA) & Super Famicom (Japan) games.
Even can play Any GBA games if you use GBA to SNES Adapter.
I'm interested. Looking forward to the review. The screen not being 4:3 is big turnoff for me though. I hate these black bars on the sides. The degree of annoyance depends on the screen size though I might have to see one of these in person before I can decide whether to purchase.
Edit: The screen size is 4,3 inch, which is half an inch smaller than the 3ds XL upper screen. I'm afraid that won't cut it for me.
@GravyThief Hey, at least it communicates to the potential consumer that their product should be more reliable.
The original SNES was never designed to be moved during operation, a handheld on the other hand is.
@RupeeClock true, but don't they have this same spiel on their other SNES HD console thing, which isn't portable? I might be mistaken, but if they do then clearly it's a nonsense 'feature', on that anyway
Yes, reap in the cash before switch VC
I have the original SupaBoy and like it quite a lot. It plays Everdrive flash carts too.
I'm tempted to upgrade to this new version, but I prefer the purple SNES buttons of my original model.
@SuperWeird
Oh, btw...
How big is the size of SupaBoy monitor size ?
Is it bigger / smaller than 3DS XL Monitor size
I didn't know this was even a real thing, but holy crap, I want one! Lol.
No joke just a few days ago I found an old SNES and 6 or 8 games in my dad's office closet... but it wont work! This came along at just the right time!
It's a cool idea, but they really should use a proper 4:3 screen. At least this one is switchable. Even making the device's bezels hide the dead portion of the screen would be better in my opinion. I see myself picking up one of these someday, but probably still not for another revision or two - though I've been saying that since the first revision.
As far as compatibility and design goes, I had to say this system is probably the best portable SNES handheld ever made. With the aspect ratio option added, it's a good buy especially since it could play any games from any regions anywhere. Games that didn't work on the first model SupaBoy like Super Mario RPG, Kirby Superstar, Mega Man X3, and Kirby's Dream Land 3 now works on this with no problem. The many few downer are that as bright as the screen is, it's still a cheap low res screen, perhaps worst than that of the GBA SP2 screen as turning the brightness to high on there makes the graphics blurred a bit whereas turning it low makes it hard to see just like the Retro Duo Portable.
The TV out feature for some reason is garbage though (not because I play it on an HDTV either), I bought one and when plug into my CRT TV, the pictures will show up but with saturated colors and low audio. This is not the case with the previous SupaBoy S model that I bought last year, though that one can't be revert to 4:3 on the system, it's TV feature works just like a typically clone SNES console does with colorful graphics that pops and crystal clear audio. However this only applies when playing on a CRT TV, by plugging this through an AV to HDMI converter to an HDTV, it will show the proper colors, graphics and audios. Why it works like that on an HDMI converter on the HDTV and not the CRT TV is very odd. Anyways other than those few disappointments, portable wise this thing is awesome and if playing Super NES on the go is the only thing you care about here than this new SupaBoy SFC may be for you.
If I had to give it a rating out of 10, it's definitely an 8.5/10.
@thesilverbrick From the original piece: "The console will accept carts from any region"
@SuperWeird
How is the quality of this thing? Does play most all SNES games? How's the battery life? I am intrigued by this, even though I have a Switch I can take along as a handheld. I'm still waiting for the VC to show up on Switch but who knows if/when it will show up. Plus there are tons of great games that didn't appear on the Wii-U or even the Wii VC. Since I am older and have since raised kids and now have a grandkid, I have sold off all of my retro games and systems over the years but the SNES is still my favorite console of all time.
@thesilverbrick Yes it is, you can play both North American and Japanese cartridges via NTSC mode or EU and UK games through PAL mode.
@SuperWeird If you want, you can just buy a cheap clone SNES knockoff controller with the purple buttons, open this thing up and replace the SFC buttons with those. They should be the same size perhaps so replacing them is no problem.
@AlexOlney
boo. are the x/y buttons on the non NA controllers concave like the NA controllers were. From that pic it looks like at least this one has all convex buttons.
Perfect Pins is ok and all, but I rather have Pixel Perfect screens. My OG Supaboy screen is horrible, constantly showing the wrong colors. I plug it into the TV and the colors are as they should be.
I could never return it since I received it as a Christmas gift.
@AlexOlney but can it play super mario rpg? I had the old version on my cart but i googled a little and was shocked at the fact it can't play mario rog or starfox. That was a deal breaker
@retro_player_22
Btw, is there any way to play Famicom games with Supaboy SFC ?
I mean, Famicom to SNES adapter ?
@Anti-Matter but can it play super mario rpg and starfox? The old version did'nt
@Anti-Matter The OG Supaboy has screens that are quite a bit smaller. I can show you a comparison in a bit
@elcheleivan
Um... i have no idea.
Still haven't owned Supaboy SFC , so i can't answser. Sorry...
@elcheleivan I don't think so if the others didn't.
@Anti-Matter There's no way to play NES and Famicom games on this system portably, the Retro-Bit RetroPort adapter works on it but only through TV Mode and you still need a Famicom converter to play Famicom cart with it.
About time they sorted the 4:3 thing. Forcing all games to be played in 16:9 was the oddest choice for the original model. Is it that hard to get hold of 4:3 screens these days? I guess the widescreen ones are cheaper.
@Damo Whoops, sorry, I missed that. I suppose that’s what I get for only skimming the article.
@retro_player_22 Thanks!
These portable retro consoles are intriguing.
The button color is good, always reminded me of skittles lol. The one thing I don’t understand though is why the NA SNES has the superior convex/concave buttons, and why they never show up anywhere else, even on revisions. It would be the best of both worlds.
Now I’m in!
And this explains why the other versions have been plummeting in price on Amazon.
@flummerfelt The RetroDuo Portable has that, it's a SNES clone portable that feature the Super Famicom color buttons but the Y & X buttons retain their concave style just like the North American controllers.
Not only that but they also made a SNES controller that has the Super Famicom colors but still kept the Y & X as concave buttons. Only thing is that it looks cheap but still a good controller overall.
They need colored, concave X and Y buttons.
@Anti-Matter It's smaller than the 3DSXL screen, darker, and has poorer viewing angels. It's cheap but works.
@rdrunner1178 It plays every SNES game I've ever tried (I own them all), even plays special chip games like Mega Man X, StarFox, Mario Kart, etc.
For battery life, the original version lasts for 2-3 hours. The 2nd model lasts much longer, I think it has a 10 hour batter life, although the screen size on the 2nd model is stretched, whereas the first model is accurately at 4:3. I don't know the battery life of this new 3rd version.
Regarding quality, it's a bit of a gimmick but it works in its own charming way. The speakers on the original version are not as loud as they could be, and a little scratchy at high volume (the 2nd version fixed this issue). The screen is small and cheap, but functional. It's definitely better than the At-Games portable screens, but it's still a bit dark and offers poor viewing angels. Otherwise the buttons, dpad and overall build feel pretty good. Plastic is cheaper than what you'd get with a Nintendo product, but not bad for a third party clone. It actually feels comfortable to play. The TV out feature is cool, although picture quality is not amazing. Plugging in and using authentic SNES controllers is sweet. It's not the best SNES clone out there by any means, but it's certainly the most novel.
And that's the best reason to buy this - it's a fun novelty. If you're serious about SNES gaming though you will probably end up investing in a better clone (or the actual original console). SupaBoy makes a cool portable though either way.
If the SupaBoy had of been released during the heyday of SNES this thing would have been extremely popular.
@SuperWeird
Great! Thank you for the info.
@Henbush Ain't happening
@Damo
<engage pedantic mode>
It's not actually "patented "Pin Perfect" cartridge slot technology", it's Patent Pending. There is a significant difference.
</pedantic>
Now i'll shamble off to my nerd-cave; have a good weekend!
I briefly had an S. The build quality seemed pretty poor. My screen came pitted and the second controller port didn't work at all. So if you buy this, I'd say immediately test out all the items to ensure that they work. Seems hit or miss if you get a perfectly functioning one.
The screen was really disappointing too. It has like a 10 degree sweet spot where it looks decent. I found that sitting in an office chair and looking slightly down it looked alright. Relaxing in a couch looked pretty bad because of the angle. If you get off angle the colors will wash out badly and black levels disappear.
Other than that the controls felt better than the RDP V2 to me, so I can see how people would think if they had a well functioning one they would think it was better. Maybe just luck, but the RDP V2 didn't show any quality issues to me. I did find myself more bothered by the 16:9 than I thought I'd be, but this system remedies that.
@Anti-Matter how about European / Australian cartridges?
It would have been perfect if this had a HDMI output. With this revision, it seems to be all the SupaBoy is now missing.
Dear Nintendo Life,
I protest.
How can such an amazing website have such a bad taste for design? Brazil, a country known for its amazing designer skills, also believes a combination of purple, a square container and, how should I put it? 60Hz, perhaps? is vastly superior to a toybox.
Please repent and mend your ways.
daniruy
@Anti-Matter @thesilverbrick the console is region free for all NTSC and PAL games. There is a switch on top to change the clock speed to match the games you are playing.
It does work with Super GameBoy 1&2 and the Sufami Turbo, SNES cheat devices and flash carts (For playing SNES games).
You can not use the GBA or MegaDrive/Genesis adapters in portable mode as they need to have a screen to connect to bypassing the Super Nintendo's own video out port. There is no way to get these video outputs into the SupaBoy.
I imported one of these from Amazon US at the SFC models launch.
That had a bent pin in the middle of of the cartridge slot. So "Pin perfect technology" my arse. So they sent me a placements. This one didn't work providing only blue screen even with a fully charged battery.
Amazon then refused to send me another unit sighting that the back they had was bad and removed their selling from the site for a week but still allowed other sellers to have their ones on there.
With the UK release date set for the 9th of March I have now ordered one from a UK supplier that I trust.
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