Tag: Hardware Review
Hardware Review Can You Really "Make Your Own Switch Pro" With This $100 Dongle?
We go hands-on with the Marseille mClassic
The debate about the existence of a 'Switch Pro' rages on, with reports suggesting it would be announced this year seemingly being disproven by the arrival of the more modest Switch OLED Model. However, the promise of 4K gaming has clearly struck a chord with the general public, and in an effort to fill the
Now updated with impressions of the final retail firmware
This review was originally published on August 11th 2020 and has been updated to factor in our impressions of the SNES, Mega Drive and TG-16 Element Modules, as well as their respective controllers. This review now also takes into account the final retail firmware for the Polymega system...
Hardware Review Genki Shadowcast - A Solution In Search Of A Problem
No TV, no problem?
With a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign behind it, the Genki Shadowcast has every right to be seen as a must-have accessory for Nintendo Switch owners. Indeed, its status as one of the world's smallest capture cards makes it eminently noteworthy, and it comes with some other cool tricks which might not be all that obvious...
No magnifying glass needed
Recently we've been getting quite a bit of use out of our classic handheld systems. It can be a lot of fun to jump back to your original Game Boy or Game Boy Color to play one of the first Pokémon games, or to see how high of a score you can line up in Tetris. If you're playing with a standard non-backlight screen you may...
Hardware Review PowerA Fusion Pro - A Customisable Pro Controller Rival With A Steep Price
Swap shop
Despite being available the same day the Nintendo Switch hit store shelves back in 2017, the official Pro Controller remains the interface of choice for the many people who prefer to play docked – and with good reason. It's a comfortable controller with decent battery life and support for a robust range of features – including HD...
Hardware Review 8BitDo Pro 2 - The Best Switch Pro Controller Rival Has Evolved
Play like a pro
8BitDo has a long and enviable reputation when it comes to third-party accessories, having produced some of the best controllers we've seen in the past few years. A short while back it released the superb 8BitDo Pro+, a Switch Pro Controller rival that mixed the design language of the SNES and PlayStation pads to create one of the...
Hardware Review The Retro-Bit Prism HD Is Another Great GameCube HDMI Adapter
With an added bonus...
HDMI output on the GameCube has been around for a while. Back in 2018, we got the rather rough-and-ready GC Video Plug 'n Play 3.0, which did the job but came in a rather ugly 3D-printed case. Shortly afterwards there came the EON GCHD adapter (and, not long afterwards, its
Hardware Review MiSTer FPGA - A Tantalising Glimpse Into The Future Of Retro Gaming
Hands-on with the DIY wonder box
There's really never been a better time to be a retro gamer. Thanks to digital stores, micro consoles and DIY emulation boxes, we now have access to decades of gaming content – most of which can be played on our modern-day HD televisions without having to invest in expensive custom AV cables or dust off original...
Hardware Review 8BitDo's Arcade Stick Grants That Coin-Op Feel To Your Switch
Spare change not required
While analogue control is the preferred means of interacting with console games in 2020, there are many cases where good, old-fashioned digital input is still best. Whether it's a game like Tetris which requires responsive control in the four cardinal directions or a title like Street Fighter II which simply calls for a...
Hardware Review Sega Astro City Mini - An Esoteric Way To Mark 60 Years In The Business
Coining it in
2020 has been a pretty rough year, but one of the things that has given us a little bit of happiness during the past 12 months is the fact that Nintendo's one-time rival Sega is celebrating 60 glorious years in the business. During this period, we've seen prototypes, played games that were
Hardware Review Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. - A Gorgeous Object That Leaves You Wanting More
Time to shine?
Looking back on the history of Nintendo as a maker of video games, it's clear that the Game & Watch line was a significant step; not only did it allow Nintendo's core developers to hone their skills with snappy, engaging titles, it also gave them the opportunity to evolve their hardware talents, coming up with innovations such as...
Hardware Review Game Gear Micro - Go Home Sega, You're Drunk
What is this, a Game Gear for ants?
It's fair to say that Nintendo's erstwhile rival Sega shocked everyone when it announced that it was creating a teeny, tiny version of its Game Gear handheld to celebrate its 60th birthday. Actually, we should back up a little there; the fact that the company was choosing to refresh a classic system wasn't...
Hardware Review That Animal Crossing Pad That Looks Like Tom Nook's Face? It's Pretty Good
"I'll be there with bells on!"
Peripheral maker Stoga has released a series of Animal Crossing: New Horizons-inspired wireless controllers for the Nintendo Switch. These aren't the first Animal Crossing-style pads we've seen – PowerA has
Hardware Review Terraonion MODE - The Ultimate Upgrade For Your Saturn And Dreamcast?
Ditch the discs
Following hot on the heels of the GC Loader, Terraonion's MODE – which stands for Multi Optical Disc Emulator, in case you were wondering – looks set to shake things up for Sega collectors as it allows you to supplant the optical drive on either your Saturn or Dreamcast and replace it with solid-state storage, such as Micro SD...
Hardware Review Genki Covert Dock - The Perfect Travel Companion For Your Nintendo Switch
And its smaller than a Switch AC Adapter
Around this time last year, product developer Genki fired up a Kickstarter campaign for a fairly ambitious Switch Dock/AC Adapter that could fit in the palm of your hand: the Genki Covert Dock. The makers felt that the large and bulky dock like the one that comes with the Switch was unnecessary and so they...
Hardware Review Should You Ditch Your GameCube Discs For The GC Loader?
We go hands-on with the system's ODE option
Back when cartridges were the main means of distributing video games on home consoles, the prospect of optical media was a technological revolution of sorts; these shiny discs promised greater storage at a cheaper cost (not that the consumer always saw the latter benefit), and carts were considered to be...
Hardware Review Evercade - Can A 100% Physical Media Console Really Work In 2020?
A throwback to the good old days of the Game Boy
A digital future for gaming is all but assured, as much as we fight against it tooth and nail. Just as movies and music have embraced digital distribution, gaming is slowly but surely following suit – which is what makes a product like Blaze's Evercade so interesting. This new handheld system lacks...
Hardware Review PC Engine Mini - Still An Acquired Taste, Even After 30 Years
And we wouldn't have it any other way
Konami – which is now the custodian of the PC Engine brand following its purchase of Hudson Soft in 2011 – is perhaps a little late to the party with its take on the ‘micro-console’ concept that kicked off with the Nintendo Classic Edition a few years back. Since then, we’ve seen SNK, Sony and Sega a
Hardware Review C-Force Is Back With Another Portable Switch Screen, And We've Had A Go
A step-up from the C-Air?
Last year, we took a look at C-Force's C-Air portable monitor, a 4K panel which was light and thin enough to carry around in your rucksack. While there were a lot of things we really liked about the screen, it suffered from some unfortunate issues, such as being tethered to a dongle the entire time and image ghosting...
Hardware Review Live Your Life As A Giant With The Tiny 8BitDo Zero 2 Controller
Update: Available today in North America
What's more fun than playing some of your favourite games on the Switch? If your answer is something along the lines of 'struggling to hold the controller', then you're in luck, as 8BitDo has finally come around to producing a follow up to their dinky Zero controller in the form of the imaginatively-titled...
Hardware Review Race Away With Mario Kart Pro Mini & Deluxe Racing Wheels
Move over tilt controls
Racing games can be great fun, but you know what can make them even better? Playing them with a replica steering wheel (and no, not the ones you sink your Wii Remote or Joy-Con into.) Just ask anyone who’s been to an arcade and played something like Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, Crazy Taxi or one of the many Cruis’n games...
Hardware Review Hyperkin Admiral - Wireless N64 Controller Goodness
Cut the cord
Anyone who's ever crammed around a TV with a Nintendo 64, GoldenEye 007 and a few friends will know the struggles that the short cord on the N64's controller caused. Few companies have tried to remedy this in the past with controller extensions – and controllers that just don't hit the mark – but no one has really succeeded...
Hardware Review SNK Neo Geo Arcade Stick Pro - Better Than The Capcom Home Arcade?
UPDATE: 20 hidden games revealed!
After the initial flurry of interest in micro-consoles – triggered largely due to the release of the excellent NES and SNES Classic Editions – we've seen some pretty left-field entries into this niche sector of the hardware market. SNK's Neo Geo Mini added an
Hardware Review Go-tcha Evolve - The Pokémon GO Plus Killer
Auto-catching and step tracking
Accessory maker Datel has had two attempts at making the ultimate Pokémon GO companion device: the Go-tcha and the Go-tcha Ranger. Both mimic the functionality of the Pokémon GO Plus (and the later
Hardware Review Capcom Home Arcade Is The Most Ludicrous Micro-Console Yet, And We're In Love
Winner stays on?
Gamers of a particular age will know all too well the allure of amusement arcades back in the '80s and '90s. This was a time when the most technologically advanced titles weren't found in the home; instead, the bleeding edge of the industry was found in arcades, packed with the latest and greatest offerings from the likes of Sega,...
Hardware Review Retro-Bit's Bluetooth Sega Pads Are Perfect For Retro On Your Switch
Remote control
Not a week seems to pass without news of yet another new wired or wireless controller for the Switch. We've had SNES-themed ones, Sega-styled ones and even ones that try to offer the perfect platform for one-on-one fighters. There's cle
Fight club
The evolution of video games and the controllers we use to play them has resulted in the humble D-Pad becoming something of an afterthought for many hardware makers; that situation has arguably reached its zenith in the Nintendo Switch, which – in its default form, at least – doesn't even have a proper D-Pad. Analogue input has long...
Hardware Review Should You Import The Japanese Mega Drive Mini?
Better pads and the Tower of Power, but is that enough?
The Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Mini is pretty special – as you'll know if you've already consulted our exhaustive review. Packed full of retro goodness and blessed with a lineup that contains some of the system's most desirable titles, it's proof that Sega is finally taking the 'micro-console'...
Hardware Review Nintendo Switch Lite - Half A Switch, But That's More Than Enough For Some
Smaller, brighter, slimmer, stronger?
Given its penchant for iterating and refreshing its hardware, the arrival of Nintendo's Switch Lite feels inevitable rather than surprising. What's perhaps a little more unexpected is how this new machine gleefully jettisons the key element that the original console was arguably sold on – its ability to...
Hardware Review The Terraonion Mega SD Is A Truly Next-Gen Flash Cartridge
Carts and CDs, all on one device
Love them or loathe them, flash cartridges are here to stay. From their early origins as a basic means of loading up ROMs on authentic hardware, we've seen these often misunderstood products grow in both scope and stature – and Terraonion's Mega SD could perhaps be considered the zenith of the conc
Hardware Review The Genesis / Mega Drive Mini Finally Does Sega's History Justice
Mega Drive me to the store
Miniaturized consoles are nothing new to Sega as it was releasing them long before Nintendo’s Classic NES and SNES consoles took the spotlight. The plug-and-play systems it produced in collaboration with AtGames usually car
Hardware Review You Don't Need The SNK Neo Geo Samurai Shodown Mini, But You'll Want It Anyway
Less a console, more an objet d'art
You might think that Nintendo has embraced the 'Classic Mini' craze with gusto thanks to its NES and SNES Classic Editions, but the company's efforts in this field pale in comparison to that of SNK, which has been pumping out miniature hardware with extreme prejudice for the past year or so. First, we had the Neo...
Hardware Review The EON Super 64 Gives Your N64 HDMI Output, But Is It Really Worth $150?
Plug-and-play HD for your Nintendo 64
We're big fans of EON here at Nintendo Life. The company has already produced some amazing GameCube HDMI adapters in the form of the GCHD and GCHD Mk II, both of which harness the console's digital output to give a crisp picture without the need for pesky internal modification. However, for its next trick, EON...
A brawl in the family
For a system that's no longer in active production, the Nintendo 64 has sure seen a lot of new controllers recently. We reviewed the Tribute64 pad not so long ago, and now it's the turn of the Retro Fighters Brawler64 – a pad that was crowdfunded on Kickstarter as a "next generation" offering for Nintendo's much-loved 64-bit...
Hardware Review Retro-Bit Tribute64 - A Fine N64 Controller, And Perfect For Smash On Switch
But which version do you buy?
It's fair to say that the Nintendo 64 controller was a groundbreaking release. While it wasn't the first games controller to showcase analogue input, it was the first to be shipped as standard with its host console and therefore became the first taste of this now-ubiquitous control method for many players. The N64 pad...
Hardware Review 8BitDo M30 - The Best Retro Controller On Switch
And it works with the original Mega Drive, too
8BitDo has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. In the beginning, the company wasn't taken totally seriously by a select few who saw its line of clone NES and SNES pads as little more than cheap facsimiles of the real thing, but following a
Hardware Review Retro-Bit's Sega Genesis And Saturn Pads (Mostly) Hit The Right Spot
Just like you remember?
Fans of retro gaming who will accept nothing but original hardware are in a difficult spot in 2019. Systems from the '80s and '90s aren't getting any younger, and as time goes on, failure rates are only heading in one direction: up. These classic systems are robust, but they weren't built to last forever, and it's par for the...
Hardware Review 16Bit Pocket MD - An Unexpectedly Decent Portable Mega Drive
Time to put that Sega Nomad into storage?
This year, Sega will release the Mega Drive Mini, its own take on the retro console craze which Nintendo has done rather well out of in recent years with the NES and SNES Classic Editions. However, it's not the first time that the SNES rival has been
Hardware Review Insurrection Industries Carby - GameCube HDMI Support On A Budget
Yet another HDMI adapter, but this one doesn't cost the earth
Keen readers of the site will know that we're always on the lookout for ways to make vintage hardware look as good as possible on modern-day TV sets. Years ago, we dabbled in the world of scanline generators such as the SLG3000, and more recently we sang the praises of the OSSC, a device...
Hardware Review EON GCHD Mk-II GameCube HDMI Adapter - The Best Just Got Better
New and improved
When it comes to getting the best possible image quality out of your retro console of choice, you usually have to jump through a few awkward (not to mention expensive) hoops. That was certainly the case with the GameCube until very recently; the best way of running the system in the past was via Nintendo's own SCART (if you're in...
Hardware Review To Enjoy The New BittBoy, You'll Need To Get Your Hands Dirty
Games not included
If you cast your minds back a short while, you'll recall that we reviewed the BittBoy Portable Video Game Handheld, a dinky little Game Boy clone that came packed with 300 NES games, many of which were pretty dire – not to mention legally questionable. Despite this, we couldn't help warming to this truly pocket-sized portable,...
Hardware Review HORI Switch Battle Pad GameCube Style Controller
Just in time for Smash
The release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is just around the corner. With it, the perennial revival of the greatest controller of all time is upon us. As usual, Nintendo has brought back the GameCube controller to please the most hardcore of Smash fans, and alongside it, multiple third-party manufacturers are offering up their...
Hardware Review 8BitDo GBros. Adapter - Use Your GameCube Pad Wirelessly With Smash Bros. Ultimate
GBros. before Smash Pros
As the launch fo Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on Switch looms – like a wonderful, long-awaited birthday – ever closer, a great many fans of the series will have one burning question on their minds: Can I play it with my trusty and dependable GameCube controller? As we've known for a while, the answer to this question is,...
Troubled over which version to pick? We're here to help...
The 'classic console' market is getting pretty busy right now, what with the NES Classic, SNES Classic and PlayStation Classic sure to keep the tills ticking over this Christmas, and the
Hardware Review Krikzz Joyzz Wireless Sega Mega Drive Controller - Perfection Comes At A Price
The best wireless option for Sega fans
If you're a keen follower of the modern-day retro gaming scene then you'll no doubt have heard of Igor Golubovskiy, better known as Krikzz. Over the past few years, Krikzz has built up a solid reputation thanks to his superb line of flash cartridges which cunningly allow you to play ROMs on vintage hardware...
Hardware Review Flip Grip: The Dream Peripheral For Shmup Addicts
Going sideways
While the Switch's hybrid nature and versatile Joy-Con controllers are key selling points for many owners, for a special sub-set of players the console's real hidden weapon is the fact that it can be used in portrait mode and therefore provide the perfect platform for classic vertically-scrolling shooters – of which there are plenty...
Hardware Review Poké Ball Plus - The Most Imperfect Perfect Accessory You Could Imagine
Balls up?
Nintendo – perhaps unlike any other games company – understands the connection between video gaming and the physical world. That might sound like a rather silly statement to make as every firm involved in the making of interactive entertainment has to consider how the player will interact physically with the game itself, but with...
Hardware Review AAXA S1 LED Mini Projector For Switch - Brighter Than The Competition, And 720p, Too
The OJO Projector has a serious rival
The portable nature of the Switch has created a perhaps unexpected demand for super-compact and mobile LED projectors, and we’ve already seen the OJO Projector come and go in all of its 480p resolution goodness. While OJO is hard at work on a successor which, it says, will improve on its likeable first...
Hardware Review EON GCHD GameCube HDMI Adapter
Another mod-free HD option for Nintendo's famous box
While the world waits for Nintendo do something - anything - constructive with its enviable back catalogue of games on its latest console beyond giving us a few dusty old NES titles, there's a burgeoning community which aims to harness the power of vintage hardware to experience the best titles...
Hardware Review The Retro-Bit Go Retro! Portable Is A Rose-Tinted Disappointment
Even Capcom and Data East can't save this one
We've seen plenty of home console revivals recently, like the NES Classic, SNES Classic, Neo Geo Mini and – coming later this year – the
