The Retro Duo is a game console developed by Retro-Bit and distributed by Innex, Inc. It plays game cartridges for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

and

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

. It plays North American, European and Japanese games.

S-video S-Video (also known as separate video, Y/C, and erroneously Super-Video) is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video, typically at 525 lines or 625 lines. It encodes video luma and chrominance on two separate chann ...

is compatible when playing SNES games. The console is not licensed by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

and it's not fully compatible with every game released for the two game systems, but the majority of games function properly. While it has only been released in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, it can still be used in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

with a power plug adapter. The console is compatible with official and third party SNES controllers. Reviews of the Retro Duo have praised its compatibility for games many other clone consoles struggle with (due to hardware issues) such as '' Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse'' on the NES, ''

Star Fox ''Star Fox'' is a rail shooter, space flight simulator, and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto and developed and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic a ...

'' on the SNES, and the

Game Genie The Game Genie was a line of Video game accessory, video game accessories that allowed players to alter codes transmitted between ROM cartridge, game cartridges and a video game console, known informally as a cheat cartridge. Developed by Codemas ...

cheat cartridge. The Retro Duo is also compatible with the

Super Game Boy The is a peripheral that allows Game Boy cartridges to be played on a Super Nintendo Entertainment System console. Released in June 1994, it retailed for in the United States and in the United Kingdom. In South Korea, it is called the Supe ...

device. The Retro Duo was released in four different color schemes: white/blue, silver/black, black/red, and a red/gold limited edition version. The 3.0 release fixed many issues with the previous 2 versions, including the compatibility with '' Castlevania III'', and came as a red/blue Mascot edition.

Compatibility

List of known incompatible games:

Nintendo Entertainment System

* '' 720°'' (NTSC) * '' Battletoads'' (NTSC) (game hangs after level 2, though a cheat allows the player to jump to level 3) * '' Digger T. Rock: Legend of the Lost City'' (PAL) (plays title screen, in-game crashes with graphics glitch, rendering it unplayable) * ''

Duck Hunt is a 1984 light gun shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The game was first released in April 1984 in Japan for the Family Computer (Famicom) console and in North America as an ar ...

'' (

NES Zapper The Zapper is an electronic light gun accessory launched within the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America on October 18, 1985. It is a cosmetic redesign by Nintendo of America's head designer Lance Barr, based on Gunpei Yokoi's , ...

cannot be plugged in; works with NES to SNES adapting cables that have accessory support, but the NES Zapper only works with a CRT TV set) * ''

Maniac Mansion ''Maniac Mansion'' is a 1987 graphic adventure video game developed and published by Lucasfilm Games. It follows teenage protagonist Dave Miller as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend Sandy Pantz from a mad scientist, whose mind has been ensl ...

'' * ''

Paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th cen ...

'' (NTSC) (controller is not recognized but there is a hacked version that works; it's usually listed on pirate multicarts (400 in 1 or 500 in 1)) * '' Rolling Thunder'' (works with Retro Duo 2.0 and above)

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Most or all the PAL games listed below are not playable on a real NTSC Super NES (even with its security chip disabled). Their inclusion here does not reflect incompatibilities between the (NTSC) Retro Duo and a real NTSC Super NES. * '' ActRaiser 2'' (NTSC) * ''

Batman Returns ''Batman Returns'' is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters (screenwriter), Daniel Waters. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman (1989 film), Batman'' (1989) and th ...

'' (PAL) * '' Donald in Maui Mallard'' (PAL) * ''

Donkey Kong Country ''Donkey Kong Country'', known in Japan as is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare (company), Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' ...

'' (PAL) * '' Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (PAL) * '' Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' (PAL) * ''

EarthBound ''EarthBound'', originally released in Japan as is a 1994 role-playing video game, role-playing video game developed by Ape, Inc., Ape Inc. and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the second e ...

'' (NTSC) (minor incompatibility; antipiracy check will activate, and will cause increased enemy spawn rate; highly playable) * '' GP-1: Part II'' (PAL) * '' Illusion of Time'' (PAL) * '' Kirby's Fun Pak'' (PAL) * '' Lethal Enforcers'' (PAL) * '' Out of This World'' (NTSC) (screen border flashes, sprites either load distorted or not at all) * '' Plok'' (PAL) * '' Pilotwings'' (PAL) (minor incompatibility; moving target platforms blink and sometimes produce a mirroring effect; minor screen flashes and haze; highly playable) * ''

Secret of Mana ''Secret of Mana'', originally released in Japan as is a 1993 action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sequel to the 1991 game ''Seiken Densetsu'', released in North Ameri ...

'' (PAL) * '' Starwing'' (PAL) * '' Stunt Race FX'' (PAL) * '' Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts'' (PAL and NTSC) (Stage 3-2 boss is invisible and Stage 4 is completely black except for enemies, player and a few certain platforms - unplayable) * ''

Super Mario All-Stars ''Super Mario All-Stars'' is a 1993 compilation of platform games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It contains remakes of Nintendo's four '' Super Mario'' games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the ...

'' (PAL) * ''

'' + ''

Super Mario World ''Super Mario World'', known in Japan as '' is a 1990 platform game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The player controls Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach and Dino ...

'' (PAL) * ''

Super Mario Kart is a 1992 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The first game in the ''Mario Kart'' series, it was released in Japan and North America in 1992, and in Europe the following yea ...

'' (PAL) (plays, but graphics are extremely glitchy) * '' Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars'' (software revisions 1.2 and 1.3) * ''

Super Metroid is a 1994 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third installment in the ''Metroid'' series, following the events of the Game Boy g ...

'' (PAL) * ''

Terranigma is a 1995 action role-playing game developed by Quintet (company), Quintet for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), with mangaka, manga artist Kamui Fujiwara acting as the character designer. The game tells the story of the Earth's re ...

'' (PAL) (trips the antipiracy check, like every other clone to date) * ''

Zombies A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore ...

'' (PAL) Controllers / Accessories (compatible with NES to SNES cables but only ones with accessory support) *

R.O.B. R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) is a toy robot accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was key to the NES's launch in October 1985, as a redesign of the which had been launched in July 1985 in Japan for Famicom. Its short li ...

* Power Pad * NES Advantage * NES Max *

Power Glove The Power Glove is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Power Glove gained public attention due to its early motion control mechanics and significant marketing. However, its two games did not sell well, as it was ...

Retro Duo Portable

Retro-Bit also has a portable version of the console. The Retro Duo Portable, was released with a black case on 23 January 2012, and later with a red case on 25 September. The Retro Duo Portable is capable of playing Super NES cartridges via a large cartridge slot in the back. The Retro Duo Portable also supports NES, Genesis, and Game Boy games with an appropriate cartridge adapter for each system.

References

{{Reflist
Retro Duo: Nintendo NES and SNES Hybrid
Backward-compatible video game consoles Unlicensed Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clones Unlicensed Super Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clones Seventh-generation video game consoles Products introduced in 2008 Retro-oriented video game consoles

Compatibility

Nintendo Entertainment System

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Retro Duo Portable

See also

References