It’s been one helluva long time since I played a game with just two buttons.
As some of you may already know, there is a bit of a wild up-trend occurring in the world of collecting/gaming at the moment. For the last four years or so, the market for video games and systems from the late 1980s and early 1990s has started to pick up some ridiculous speed. I’ve returned to it only recently, and even I can see the changes in prices and availability over a short time. This might be a fad, fueled by collectors that keep falling for the same old crap (“If I buy and hoard ‘X’, I can put my kids through college!”), or this could just be a symptom of the Gen Y-ers joining their predecessors in yearning for a simpler time, or retro gaming might be on its way to a time-honored trend of geekdom. Don’t ask me, I just work here.
While games are getting a little tougher to pick up — as we transition from finds at garage sales and thrift stores to specialty and online stores — the game systems have gotten a major boost. Even for those who have their vintage systems still in working order, the idea of buying a new production version, or even better, an upgraded version with added compatibility and features, is a great way to enjoy your games while not wearing down your already decades-old hardware.
One of these options is the very fun and affordable Retro-bit Duo system. Available in a couple color options and including two controllers, the Retro Duo allows you to play both your NES and SNES catalogs cheaply and easily, as well as Genesis games with the addition of an adapter. I actually picked this up as an intended gift for somebody and ended up having to get another one.
As I mentioned, the Duo comes with two SNES-styled controllers, but you can also use your vintage system controllers, which I kinda prefer at least until I find some decent bluetooth or wireless ones. I forgot how much I hate cords. But as far as use goes, everything in the box works nicely and intuitively. You have two separate ports for the appropriate games, four ports for the appropriate controllers (though SNES ones work for both systems), and a three-position power toggle for OFF, NES, or SNES.
After establishing everything works properly, I decided it was time to run this thing through the gauntlet: For a mini retest review, I brought out the ugliest retro reptile I could think of: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES.
Sure, age is certainly a factor, but there are few games that I loved so fondly as a kid that now are so damn hard I want to ventilate them with my .45. Holy crap. This game was always a challenge, but this is waaaay worse than I remember.
TMNT is basically a side-scrolling platformer that lets you take the turtle of your choice through six levels, with a little Turtle van car-pooling to get to the various stages. It was released by Konami back in 1989. It’s worth noting that while you could snag this title off the Wii virtual console for a little while, it’s now long gone, so if you’re looking for a chance to play it again, get hunting.
I would like to blame the Duo for my terrible turtle-ing skills, like somehow I was better at it with my NES, but after trying a few different controllers and such I can tell you that’s not the case: I just suck at it now. The Duo does a great job of recreating the original experience, and the graphics look better than I remembered, likely getting a little boost from the S-video components (old school co-ax is also an option).
I have to admit, I only gave the about an afternoon’s worth of playing before calling it quits on level 3. I think I’m going to come back to it once I get a little more of my NES skills back. But as far as an exercise in nostalgia goes, it’s hard to knock it: this is the original TMNT game. Unlike the arcade version, which I also loved and was released for the home consoles later, the original Konami game was not a side-scrolling brawler, but a multi-layered adventure game that incorporated a surprising amount of hunting and strategy to get through. It’s similar to games like Adventures of Link in the combination of top-down map crawling and dungeon crawling side-scrolling.
The Retro Duo has offered me an easy way to relive the classic years of gaming, and so without a doubt if that holds any allure for you, I recommend getting it. It might also mean hunting old video games on your toy rounds — I hate to admit it, but I’m enjoying that too. As for the classic TMNT, I dare say as a Turtles fan or just as a game fan in general, it’s one you have to own. Just remember, you were a lot better at this stuff 25 years ago.
Get yours at Amazon!