NES Classic CLONE -- Bootleg NES Mini Review

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I said, the day they said they were going to stop making them, if they stop, someone else will step in. Turns out these guys made one first, but is it any better or worse?
Here's where I got mine. Shop at your own risk. www.aliexpress...
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John Riggs
4010 Summitview Ave
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I'm always accepting donations for broken games for Open Cart Surgery. If I can fix the game, I'll give it away at a future convention in your honor.
I can't include everything in an unboxing video, but I'll try. If you do send anything, include a note if you'd like a shout-out.
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Intro music via / audiosprite87

[@TheEricEsoteric]

The shell looks decent enough. Might have to get one and throw a Raspberry Pi in it since I couldn't find a NES Classic.

[@TacticalPower88]

Eric Esoteric Just buy a NES style PI shell.

[@lancelange9377]

The NES style PI shells i've seen are pretty hideous.

[@TheEricEsoteric]

I agree. If someone is making ones that look nice, I haven't seen them.

[@CommodoreFan64]

This looks like it would be a nice shell once you cut out the vent slots at the top, and add a slim 80mm fan for some solid air flow as the PI units tend to get a bit toasty when in cases like this.

[@lancelange9377]

That is actually pretty decent. By far the best looks NES pie case i've seen. Thanks for the link Dan!

[@jordangates6285]

OPEN IT UP!!! I bet you that its a cheap famicom clone with a 500 in 1 cart built in.

[@andygaming1109]

yeah open it

[@pyramidhead0420]

Jordan Gates milk & nuts?!?!?!?!?

[@mg6506]

(chanting) open it! open it! :D

[@roykettenis4965]

its a system on a chip no card i side

[@MrGencyExit64]

I've seen that exact 500-in-1 cartridge in other clones, it comes as a standalone bootleg. No reason they can't just embed that into a ROM and solder the thing of course, but the bootleggers are bootlegging each other it seems :)

[@JohnRiggs]

This also marks the first time I ever ordered anything from AliExpress now that they've lifted the shipping back in Washington state.

[@CommodoreFan64]

I've ordered a few times from AliExpress, but one order on a pair of $5 earbuds( Venture Electronics VE MONK Plus)everyone was talking about took so long to come in the mail I forgot I had even order them lol!

[@armezjackson699]

Now, its time to get that GB Boy Color. 😆

[@josealvarado1938]

John Riggs: RIGG'd Games your TV. is hd, hdmi or rct?

[@MrJ0mmy]

im from new zealand and bought lots of stuff from aliexpress over the years

[@mmelgoza1983]

Got the LoZ OoT Master Quest off of Ali. Works like a champ! Thanks John!

[@theelfkilla]

If you ever wanted to use Classic Nintendo controllers on your Sega Master system, now you can with these controllers.

[@SageX85]

Kaiser Jose thats the standard port for many nes/famiclone systems. It wont work, different circuit and pinout.

[@vivisect53]

Yep, does nothing in a Sega or Atari system. I tried my Odessey 2 and the games freaked out and controlled themselves a bit.

[@forevercomputing]

Not a PAL adaptor. It's a European adaptor also used in other countries. We do not use these in the UK at all. We use a BS1362 3-pin plug. Every plug must contain 3 pins.

[@zedig6580]

It comes with another plug that is from our country

[@west-texas9806]

I bought this the other day for $15 new. It's not the best but it kind of reminded me of the old Fami clones from the early 2000's

[@OldSchoolGaming4Life]

So glad I was able to pre-order both the Classic Edition in August last year, on Target's website, and the Famicom Mini from Amazon Japan, at their MSRP. I'm all for these custom Rasberry Pi machines filled with classic retro games, but I'd be pissed off if I couldn't obtain a legitimate NES Classic Edition, and Famicom Mini.

[@emmettturner9452]

Most Famiclones use that kind of controller connector. The controller cords probably aren't routed correctly through the posts inside the controller (even RetroBit and Tomee do this).

[@captainlupiter5526]

My mom got me this for christmas, i turned it on and instantly knew it was a bootleg

[@CarbonKnights]

I can't believe it has Contra 8 AND the Ninja Gaidem trilogy! So stoked to play them lol

[@camstrams2343]

Great review. At least there’s somebody who’s doing review that actually enjoys their offbrand NES. 👍

[@EJayNine]

I know you hate people saying "stick a raspberry pi in it" but this would be awesome, that UI needs an upgrade and the ability to add your own games.

[@Nickboy-791]

I remember waiting on buying the NES classic because I thought the price would go down, I was hilariously wrong. I blame nintendo's incompetence with understanding basic supply and demand. Not making that mistake with the SNES classic.

[@DankSi]

Found one that someone apparently abandoned, still new in box!

[@pungisotu]

Cool, baby!

[@mayravixx25]

I was actually one of the lucky few to get the real NES Classic Edition.

[@maxinsano7376]

I have a famicom 400 in 1 bootleg with chip n dale 3 (heavy barrel) and I love it! Im totally making repros of it!!

[@jillmarie3841]

LOL “chip. and dale 3” was The game “jackal” but with freaking chip that’s hilarious

[@ThoseGuysPlay]

Thanks for doing this! Its easy to see that this isn't the real deal from the outside, but its good to show how bad the interface is when you load it up. -Matt

[@3DGECASE]

4:48 "Hot Blood Wrestle" must be one of the Kunio-Kun games, as the following "Hot Blood Story" must refer to "Downtown Hot-Blooded Story" (a literal translation of the Japanese name for River City Ransom, one of the series entries). That means "Hot Blood Soccer" is "Hot-Blooded High-school Dodge-ball Club: Soccer Edition" (Nintendo World Cup, the original "Hot-Blooded High-school Dodge-ball Club" was Super Dodge-Ball). No clue what "Hot Blood March" could be.

[@wallacebrandon]

Would be neat to fit a Raspberry Pi inside.

[@keithjohnson8636]

John you scare me sometime when look at the camera. I feel like you can see me and you don't approve.

[@keithjohnson8636]

8:11 mark

[@jesusrenteria9378]

I got one that I think Chinese or Japanese games it also has a lot of American games. It has 620 games on it. There are some games that I was hoping to be on it but they weren't on there. I paid $50 not to bad.

[@triggerhappynumskull]

I've been waiting for someone to make a video on these since spotting one on eBay. Cheers john!

[@OctoberFallsToPieces]

We got this style controller ports on Famiclones in Russia in 90's, and we played all this hacked and bootleg versions. We called it "Chip and Dale on the War"

[@Willom]

02:02 that's a EU adapter. Here in the UK we use a 3-pin plug. I don't know if it's different in Ireland or northern Ireland.

[@aftershowers4665]

my mom bought one of these just because it has snow brothers on it, it is pretty nifty, i really like the controllers

[@steammachine3061]

for 20 bucks you cant go far wrong. even if the controlers are turds you still have a decent looking shell for a pi build. theres no way i would pay scalper prices for a mini nes when the games are so easily emulated anyway. the real irony is it would be cheaper to buy an original nes than it would the mini. theres been bootleg mini versions of the famicom doing the rounds on chinese sale sites for a good while. i actually preffer the famicom look to the nes

[@CommodoreFan64]

The only thing I don't like about the Famicom mini clones I've comes across on eBay is the fact the controller cords are permanently attached, and even shorter, but otherwise I like the look better overall myself.

[@irolaan292]

1:55 PAL is a coulor encoding system for analogue tv. What you show is a power cord adaptor for North-america/Europe plugs!

[@theirishman9617]

Nice review , I am thinking of getting one just to check out that Famcom Transformers game.

[@SparksNZeros]

Great video John, it's weird how these things have been around for YEARS but only now do they decide to actually make them look similar to a nes instead of a crazy toy xD Just some info: The controller ports are called called DE9 or D-Sub 9 ports, they have 4 common wiring standards, Atari (which Sega used for the SG1000, Mastersystem and Megadrive), MSX Computers, Commodore Computers (Which were largely compatible with Atari) and Kempston (Which was used by lots of 8 bit computers like the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad however those computers had adapters that used other standards too so it was certainly not the default). Also the plug adapter is the German standard not the UK one.

[@Oldskool4Life]

put a raspberry Pi in it and you're done 😎

[@Emceemur]

I've watched your vids and you even received one of my dead cartridges through CaptNRetro. How was I not subscribed to this channel? Well now I am. Interesting stuff right here. And yes WTF with the upside down HDMI ports?! My heavy duty cords don't twist like that! They are right side up going to the TV of course and flipping the plug feels like Im twisting an arm! And the NES mini weighs all of 2 ounces so it literally flips over against the strain of the cable!

[@braveheartbob3473]

i remember the day I rented the 31-in-1 games for the old NEW back in the 80s I thought i was gonna have days and days of fun, whne in reality there were only half a dozen so-so games on there.

[@kevinsmak]

Thanks for the video I saw another one that is out now that has 620 games and the reviews are 5 stars. I think a lot of people didn't like this one because it's missing a lot of the good games like Zelda and regular Super Mario (from what the reviews said). Excited to try one out since they stopped making the other, and getting the Super Nintendo one in the future =)

[@jefferylinder8299]

I bought a 620 game one for my middle son and we have enjoyed it :)

[@javanfrench]

Yeah I got this and I was excited. I looked at the games list and was very disappointed that they didn't even bother with some of the game clones so I want a video telling me how to get actual NES games onto it, not the cheap remakes.

[@dw5000jf]

Was unsure if I was gonna get one until I saw it had the likes of "hot blood story, pika chu, abscondee and pon pon volley". Sold!

[@dallase1]

A/V out only is Better then HDMI only out. People who don't have a HD TV can't play a HDMI out only but if you have A/V out you can use a HD TV or Regular TV.

[@mathewbeckley9022]

Dallas Dal ....it's 2017

[@sabin1981]

Fun vid, man, thanks! I'm super curious about the internals - I wonder whether it's one of the budget NES SoCs, or perhaps something more? Like a hackable/moddable emulation set. Wonder whether you can adjust the internal ROMs, clean up the crud and maybe insert others.

[@nateallen9734]

Just skimmed through your video but does it have Super Mario Bros. loaded and working? Thx.

[@davidsherman7326]

Shoot, I was hoping you'd play "Hello Kidy."

[@chrisgoetz3816]

For real though. If I had this as a kid wjen I had my NES I would have loved it.

[@leozar69]

Wow I'll stick to my classic NES mini. I added all the missing games, and also added some games from other consoles/handhelds 👍👍

[@hunterkrovac]

I think I got an updated version of this too at a Mall. They now have 650 games on it for about 40 bucks.

[@garbagecan7847]

My grandad got one of those. He didn't even realize it was a clone until he turned it on a few days after he got it.

[@ItsMisterBluray]

Port 2 is the one works, the power button is the right button.

[@fromthedepthsofreddit278]

i bought one and love it

[@mayraocasio2314]

i enjoy your content. please keep the info and treasure hunts coming. you always take me back to my childhood

[@retrosektor]

on Aliexpress you can buy 60 pin / 72 pin cards with 500 games same game list. Controlers look okey

[@JMFSpike]

Well, if you really, really want an NES Classics Edition but can't afford the real deal, this knock-off doesn't seem too bad of a deal. They definitely cheaped out on it, but since it has tons of games and comes with 2 decent controllers I'd say that makes up for it. Might be worth buying if you can get it for fairly cheap.

[@JMFSpike]

I guess so, but this is slightly closer to playing the real thing, and some people are picky about these things. What I really love is how there are many different options for playing older consoles these days. People take that for granted, but you really only had one option back in the day. You pretty much had to get some version of the real console and have the real actual games. No flashcarts, no emulation, no digital downloads. Even consoles with backwards compatibility was extremely rare.

[@dragonfruitymmanuelngo4642]

But in other hand. They made Famicom Mini Classic Knockoff.. i bought it on the internet not on aliexpress.. On Lazada Philippines.. Famicom Mini Classic Knockoff is Made by the Same Company who made NES Classic Edition Knockoff

[@vinodtewari951]

Riggs is awesome as always. One day he will get his game room when his kids are older. But regardless quality videos bro. Love the content. 👍🏾

[@bruceaskew2107]

i knew it bro... my hd cord is upside-down on mines as well 😭😭😭,,💯 good eyes

[@CaseyGarnerGaming]

THANK YOU! YES I noticed it was upside down, and I am OCD about it, it drives me nuts

[@gamingcomics9711]

I bought this in a desperate attempt for an nes classic

[@Madhava1977]

Fun while it lasted for 20 bucks from china. Owned for 3 months. Only 4 hours of play and the unit just sropped working. Opened it up, no visible problem. What a shame. Probably should have kept the $65 original with the 3 year walmart warranty .

[@bkay3653]

John. I saw the game wisdom twice. Lmfao Jesus Christ this bootleg is pure comedy.

[@theneonchimpchannel9095]

I have a similar system with 620 games. I'd love to add or swap games. Apparently it's quite easy with the real ones. But it would be some awesome to play my own hacked roms on something that looks like a mini version of the NES. I've personally only made 1 so far, "Donkey Kong Junior's Magical Mystery Tour" in which he has to rescue his mother (Wrinkly Kong from Donkey Kong Country) while fighting off naked mini Marios and broken flying Daleks.

[@anattempttomakecontent776]

I found one of these in an abandoned house but the controller has 4 buttons on the right side A,B (normal) TA, and TB like dafaq

[@davidsmith6997]

Hey Riggs I love the videos I just watched the bittboy one I ordered one today and can't wait for it..I have one of these NES clones like this and s SNES clone it's pretty much the same games but with a few different ones I'm a sucker for this stuff lol

[@theroyalmemes8611]

the nes is back with bootlegs returning from the 90s to right now

[@abymondesir23]

It's actually pretty good bootleg and is fun

[@BOYD1981]

The UK doesn't use a two prong plug like that so you'd actually need another adaptor on top. We use a 3 prong grounded design (although ground is not a requirement for all electronics), typically thought of as the safest plug design there is. Tom Scott did a very good video about it. Personally I never use the power supplies shipped with cheap Chinese electronics as there are no safety standards.

[@uroborous01]

i wanna gut the bootleg amd put a rpi3b in there and route some usb plugs to the front. yadda yadda ideas and stuff.

[@kwasiwilliams5014]

Lol ima buy this just for the 2 Nintendo controllers. It will be fun playing genesis with those controllers.

[@pungisotu]

Did it work?

[@hugofernandes8559]

China does what Nintendon't! :v

[@thebipolarbear1]

Hugo Fernandes Magalhães word lol

[@carpediem4887]

Hugo Fernandes Magalhães good one

[@epsileth]

If anyone wants this, use epacket shipping on aliexpress/alibaba, so you get basic tracking info.

[@LiberalPeaceKeeper]

I have a NES Classic Edition clone, and it has 620 games.

[@brandoncalin8183]

I have a memory card with every NES, SNES game ever made in my Wii. So I don't need one of those.

[@thebipolarbear1]

Next month we'll have snes classic clone lol i was going to camp out for a snes but screw it , i got a wii with homebrew. Hackers do what nintendont

[@XeonProductions]

I had such a horrible time trying to get the NES/SNES classic versions that by the time I finally saw them in stock I no longer wanted one.

[@suicide19915]

it's ports for multiple different Ataris and multiple different Segas.... not specifically 2600

[@suicide19915]

also Intellivision 2 used them I know for sure... aside from those idk, I only know what I have.

[@witnesszer0]

hot blood story is river city ransom

[@CommodoreFan64]

I was gonna say that as I ran across that ROM several years back when I got an NES ROM set off the Pirate Bay for my homebrewed Wii, and Android phone which I've sense updated to a better more complete set of ROMS with no funky bootleg titles for the games.

[@CommodoreFan64]

to answer the first part of your question I don't use a VPN, and have had no issues, but your results may vary, and to answer the 2nd part you are own your own I no longer have that link, and links change, plus I would not give you a link like that anyways if I did have it sorry.

[@pungisotu]

Downtown Nekketsu Mogotari.

[@MinorTwlightGhost0]

Any chance of you opening the system to see if it possible to add a pin connector to play other games?

[@user-vh7wq7qb1x]

This is not software emulation thing. This is cheap chinese NOAC-famiclone with standart for our countries 9pin connectors... And yes this Chip & Dale 3 game is actualy have a phisical release here in form of standalone cartridge. It's hack of "Heavy Barrel" with hacked sprites of main charecters and enemys. ))) Also we have some odd-thing like darkwing duck 2!!!! (Hacked "Contra") ))) Thanks to china for our childhood in first couple years after USSR! ))

[@MrMetalclay]

Heavy Barrel is one of my favorite NES games and they destroyed it, sort of lol.

[@deckerdf]

This is NOT a bootleg it is a counterfeit there is a big difference in terms.

[@richfiles]

Yeah... With all that quick skimming, I read "Tenagehu Tant" as "Teenage Taint". For a moment I was like _Whhhaaaaaat!!! Hoooleee Shiiiiii!!!_

[@RetroCabeza]

Hot Blood Soccer sounds fun. I'd play that :D

[@spectre9792]

At the very least, you can gut it, spray paint it, and make a RetroPi case out of it... (just a thought...)

[@RetailArchaeology]

How long did it take to arrive after you ordered it?

[@JohnRiggs]

I ordered it on May 5th so about two weeks.

[@J.A.Z-TheMortal]

It doesn't have Punchout! :(

[@TipsterLIVE]

I just did a video on this too. Its not bad for the price. Just not perfect.

[@markracer3281]

I would buy it for 20 clams just to throw a Pi into it:-)

[@genderfr3ak]

Have you ever played the Dpad Hero games? It's like Guitar Hero for the NES, made in 2009. Great homebrew game, really.

[@cuddleslapine]

usually the 5, 6, 7, 8. "part" of games, like in the case of Contra here is just Contra - but from stage 7, stage 8...

[@garlandinman4849]

heavy barrel was the chip and dale 3.

[@ludmoser2877]

I just got one and I knew something was wrong with it mine also has a lot of the same games but now I know it is a bootleg

[@drallab06]

I see that super ghouls and ghosts for snes in the background

[@aarongilchrist8723]

He is so confused when the buttons are switched lol!

[@Xx1SailorScoutxX]

I wonder since it uses a Mini USB for power, if it can be connected to a PC and it will be read as a USB flash drive? If so, then I may have just found my NES Classic alternative!

[@adamjames2254]

It's actually not bad for the price. I've been having fun with it. Has a lot of decent games. Even some of the hacks are enjoyable. Just stay away from double dragon 4. Oh... My.... God....

[@ucproductions5810]

Yesterday I bought one at a mall. They're still being made.

[@dergrunepunkt]

For USD20 is awesome just for the case and the controllers to do a retropie

[@surfzombie2626]

Gut it and put your raspberry pi in it.

[@mg6506]

I like your review of this bootleg compared to the other one I saw. Let us know if other controllers work with it ^_^

[@tonicparty1541]

kinda interested to see if those controllers would work ou tthe box in my amia 1200 for emulating nes games on that. always wanted a nes, but growing up i played a lot of these types of devices. some good, some bad. the c64 one was my favourite, i thikn designed by jerri elsworth.

[@MoejiiOsmanTV]

20 bucks? That's pretty awesome.. Since Nintendo doesn't want my money maybe the Chinese can have it ...Oh wait I have an old school NES no need for an emulator

[@MoejiiOsmanTV]

Seriously tho 20 bucks isn't bad..

[@boozab99]

I wouldn't be sure to buy a famiclone.

[@UenoLocker54]

Better than the official one.

[@jannevaatainen]

Great library of games indeed!

[@stardust4ever]

Where did you buy this? I have an original NES Classic, but this is funny. $20 is nearly as cheap as the 72-pin multi-in-1 carts anyway.

[@bestoutrunner7070]

I just got one of these it has 500 games, composite and wii ports.

[@Zestypanda]

Search name or link?

[@bestoutrunner7070]

amazon marketplace at nes classic edition. composite don't work on my TV.

[@Zestypanda]

If you only have HDMI then it won't work, I would return it because it is not what you ordered.