Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Famiclone Update #5








Here we have the FC Mobile from Hyperkin.
It is exactly what it looks like i.e. a portable NES/Famicom. Back lit with a 2.4" LCD screen. Mines Red but it also comes in black.

AV cable and instruction manual are included along with the normal set of buttons and a handy headphone socket. 2 built in speakers. Sound quality is fine. It takes 3 AA batteries.
Hyperkin clones are usually of fairly good quality and this one is no exception. The screen is bright and clear and the buttons are responsive.
Takes NES cartridges. Not sure if it's PAL or NTSC? A lot of NES carts are non region specific anyway. It's made in China.

Not many problems with it. Carts are a bit of a tight fit and the large size of NES carts means that they wobble about a bit. I have a few portables and this is a problem with them all. But it's a minor complaint.
On the whole then it's pretty good for NESing on the go. Reasonably solid build.
Cost was about £15 with the normal extortionate shipping fees from the USA.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Famiclone Update #4




Here we go with another bizarre one from my collection.
This time it's the X-80000! Probably made in a sweatshop somewhere in China. There is no indication anywhere on the packaging to suggest where it originates.

'Cunningly' disguised as a XBox 360, it even comes in black and white. At least that's what the packaging would have you believe.

It includes 2 controllers, light gun, AV cables and a 9 volt power supply. It's 120w so needs a step down converter here in the UK.

Takes Japanese Famicom cartridges. I've tested a few and it seems to work OK.
It also has an amazing 58000 built in games! It doesn't as usual but does in fact have 53 repeated ad infinitum. The usual assortment of games ranging from the great, the average and the appalling. Circus Charlie seems to be a particular favourite of the makers as it pops up under different names about every 6 games or so.

All similarities with Microsoft's beast disappear rapidly when you try and use the thing.

It's the lightest console I've ever seen. The controllers are also the most unresponsive pieces of crap I've ever come across on a Famiclone (and I've got a lot of Famiclones). They also have the usual set of buttons, including 2 shoulder buttons, which serve no purpose whatsoever.

Other irritants are that the AV cable is about 2 feet long (just).
The big green X on the front is amusing as it's lit with a Red bulb which sort of defeats the purpose.

On the whole then it's not great but has a reasonable selection of games. The box is nice too.

Cost was about £20 from an eBay seller in the USA.