While the Nintendo wasn’t the first company to make a plug and play console featuring pre-loaded games, it’s easily one of the most items with fans paying a premium to get their hands on the item.
For a few years now, a few companies have tapped into this market making various consoles that let you relive some of your favorite titles without needing to hunt down the cartridge or even own a console. The biggest issue is that most of the items on the market are pretty mediocre to terrible with only a few standing out above the rest, as many of these companies tend to half ass what could of been something good.
Retro-Bit who isn’t new to the game and better known for their RetroDuo/Retro Trio consoles (which let you play Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis cartridges without needing to plug in multiple consoles) is releasing the Super Retro-Cade during this holiday season. Boasting 90+ titles from Capcom and Data East featuring both Arcade and Home Console games. This looks like a cool item to get with games like Final Fight 3, Mighty Final Fight, Mega Man 2 and 3, Knights of the Round, and Strider to name a few.
Right now, the Super Retro-Cade is on my radar but I do have some warranted concerns on the product. First, late last year Retro-Bit launched the Retro-Bit Generations which while it looked good on paper, had some really big issues that made some games almost unplayable and got some pretty bad reviews. Bad emulation, horrible lag issues, bad sound quality, and even terrible games like a Flappy Bird rip-off added to try to increase the total number of games really hurt what could have been a good system. Hopefully, Retro-Bit learned from their past mistake because if they can deliver, this can be one of those must-have gifts for the holidays especially for people who want that “official” arcade experience.