Pandora Box DX for VERTICAL SHOOTERS / 516 Games [King of Air 2 Review]

In this King of Air 2 review, we look at how well this Pandora Box DX off-shoot performs. The King of Air 2 is a dedicated arcade board for TATE / vertical games. It shares many attributes of the Pandora Box DX, including a super-secret resolution, which we cover in this review.
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#arcade #retrogaming #gaming

[@arcadeguyceej6805]

Incredible stuff, friendly! I love seeing people go in-depth on the Pandora Boxes! They're great little boards for their price point.

[@WickedGamerCollector]

Awesome ! ... never seen this one.. thanks for the video buddy ! 😄

[@TeamPandory]

It's not exactly an easy one to pick up and play, due to needing JAMMA. - Still possible, provided you like spaghetti ;-)

[@udojanssen51]

Kijk,Dit is n keertje wat anders dan alleen maar mortel combat,streeft fighter en nogmeer van die bras,wicked

[@Bo_Knows_Tecmo]

That looks beautiful. Reminds me of a mini cps2 board. If I am remembering correctly. Love vertical shmups.

[@TeamPandory]

Yep. It's alright. I'm sure we'll be able to do some magic with this in the future ;)

[@josetrochez5982]

Great video and demo thank you! I just bought one for my vewlix F and I love it!

[@TeamPandory]

Good to hear 😊👍

[@russellmyers934]

No CGA support on the KoA2? Even though it's JAMMA.

[@TeamPandory]

Insane... But there is a 'kind of' cga support

[@russellmyers934]

@@TeamPandory And that is what?

[@TeamPandory]

@@russellmyers934 @7:20

[@user-jq1iq4kg8l]

Can this play on a vertical cocktail arcade so that it flips back and forth for each players turn (2 player)?

[@TheRealDonnyJepp]

"Now Miss Pacman, is a circle"!!!🤣

[@TeamPandory]

But it's hip to be square

[@bryansimeral1926]

Any status on Pandory upgrade for this? I just bought a DX and now I'm regretting not seeing this first...being a mostly vertical game fan. I love what you're doing for retro gammers!

[@TeamPandory]

With a DX, it is possible to play these games in TATE. Both myself and the programmer currently have family commitments and work which take up a lot of time- any time away from that is committed to this project.

[@bryansimeral1926]

@@TeamPandory Absolutely...family always comes first! What does TATE stand for?

[@TeamPandory]

@@bryansimeral1926 TATE means "standing" or "vertical" in japanese.

[@jskjellman]

@EmuChicken excellent review, even the wicked one himself couldn't have done better. ;) Great box, great features, misconfigured cores (I'm assuming this is causing the screen tearing) what more could one ask for. Out of curiosity, since this appears to have the DX firmware underneath would Pandory allow us to fix the screen tearing and still use the vertical aspect ratio?

[@TeamPandory]

Maaaybe... Will keep you posted once we've done more testing.

[@jskjellman]

@@TeamPandory I await with bated breath 😉

[@davehaley]

Where can I find the stand alone USB trackball you are using in the video TIA

[@TeamPandory]

I've added a link to the video description. Hope that helps

[@Joe_Bertling]

Great Review!!!! High Score save possible?

[@soportetecnicomanduweb5421]

tengo una pandora home y en la pantalla solo sale algo asi pandora games os austar-l01 y estoy buscando la firmware

[@kkuchin]

want to build a cabinet on this board. There are two questions about the control panel. How many buttons are used in games? three will be enough? And are there many simultaneous games for two players? or is it easier to make a panel for one player and add a trackball? Thank you in advance

[@tartgreenapple]

Very few simultaneous games.

[@DownMemoryLaneParis]

Hi, first of thank you for the vidéo. Second, you mention there is a spécial DX mode, being horizontal... does it include the street fighter you play ? And can it be player through usb pads ? So it is confortable

[@stuartreid4228]

great review,just discovered Pandory, WOW!,now I'm looking to upgrade my game elf vertical and looking for a perfect gorf , can you please tell me if this board is able to run gorf with all the sounds and no slow down? thanks

[@TeamPandory]

It runs Gorf, but I'm not familiar enough with Gorf to know where slowdown is, or what sounds to expect. Will need to give it another seeing to

[@stuartreid4228]

@@TeamPandory mostly if it supports the mame samples that have the speech and the most slow down is evident when you play the galaxian level it drops to 5 fps! at the start of the wave

[@Dyltone]

@stuartreid4228 Did you ever pull the trigger on replacing the Vert Elf?

[@stuartreid4228]

@@Dyltone no, never tried

[@lmtliam]

No CGA video from the JAMMA connector when in King of Air mode, which is the exact reason someone would want one of these, for a vertical cabinet? What a waste of time!

[@Pitbull0669]

Hey Would A USB spinner spinner work in that track ball port the same way?

[@TeamPandory]

I reckon so... If I had one I'd give it a test for you.

[@Prjm87]

Weird the donkey Kong sounds work on this version of the Dx but not the family version

[@fatbelly2438]

highscore has top of letters cropped off

[@TeamPandory]

That's where they cut costs

[@TheMasterBlasterJ]

I can't seem to get any USB trackball to work. Any suggestions?

[@timbowers839]

Which USB trackball are you using?

[@dronesrus7436]

I Thing "Space Invaders" ist a horizontal Game, isn't it... ? Or is there a vertical Version of this Game....?

[@TeamPandory]

adb.arcadeitalia.net/dettaglio_mame.php?game_name=sicv1&search_id= Nope, the arcade version is most definitely vertical :-)

[@co0ter1]

Is there any benefit/need to add a fan to the heatsink?

[@TeamPandory]

Not for this board. It's extremely low power, and very unlikely to throttle / overheat.

[@thecuresmith8361]

High score saves?

[@johnnys99]

How does it play with 8 way joystick ? Games such as qbert ?

[@TeamPandory]

It plays as you think it would do. Up down left right as the directions.

[@tartgreenapple]

KOA2 is for 4-way games.

[@mins2midnite]

When you say you can change the resolution by holding settings and "turning on", what does turning on mean, exactly? Do you mean unplugging the system and plugging it back in? I'm on a vertical arcade style case.

[@TeamPandory]

Holding the settings button in, while powering up (or "turning on" the power to the cabinet) Hope that helps 🙂

[@mins2midnite]

​@@TeamPandory Thank you.

[@mins2midnite]

​@@TeamPandoryso now that I've got it successfully switched, I'm interested of course. 😂 How can I go about making this playable? What are the possibilities?

[@mins2midnite]

​@@TeamPandory the reason I ask, is because I have it currently installed on a vertical arcade system. What can I do to play it horizontal?

[@samuelepini9630]

Does it work with a CRT monitor?

[@AWDDyno]

So i am running the jamma koa2 in an upright cabinet (replaced an old 60:1). I am running the lowest resolution with a VGA converter box (which is terrible, but sounds like it could be eliminated) to retain the old school monitor . I can not for the life of me get this to boot in dx mode. I have downloaded the pandory tool. I have tried every resolution possible and still only the 516 games. any advice would be appreciated. I am new to this but have learned so much from you! Thank you!

[@TeamPandory]

The CGA / Lowest resolution you need is only available from video output via the JAMMA edge.

[@AWDDyno]

@@TeamPandory Thanks! Rewired and got the DX menu finally! Except the screen is 90 degrees off :( and the main menu that used to let me select vertical cabinet is gone. can i change this up in the pandory xml file to correct it? Screen is 100 times better now!!!!

[@TeamPandory]

@@AWDDyno Yes, the DX menu is horizontal. Pandory will allow you to run the games in TATE (edit the pandory.xml), but currently the menu is locked in horizontal.

[@andrewhannay]

How does this compare to Air Attack 3 that you reviewed previously?

[@TeamPandory]

This has USB ports - so extra controller options outside the JAMMA connection. At stock there is a bilinear filter on the KOA2, making the Air Attack look better (very crisp), but once you add Pandory it can remove that. KOA2 has the better spec, and is preferred when Pandory is installed, but at stock I'd choose the Air Attack 3 as it's cheaper and has the finer graphics.

[@andrewhannay]

I have the Air Attack which is good if you like just vertical shooters (I would rather a larger choice), however the one game I wanted it for (Image Fight) plays absolutly awful with low frame rate and choppy sound. Any chance you can run Image fight on the King of air and do a video just for me 🙂

[@alejandroaguilar9038]

ALSO which trackball did you use ??? i tryed a kingston and Nogo

[@TeamPandory]

We used the ones that were reviewed in the previous videos.

[@SavedByZero]

I recently picked up a unit with a 60 in 1 PCB. How do the Pandora boards stack up? The UI appears to be a vast improvement and with the Pandory update I imagine the fidelity will be much better as well.

[@TeamPandory]

Not tried the 60 in 1, but I'm pretty certain the Pandora box units are more powerful than the 60 in 1. What are you wanting to get exactly? A replacement for a vertical CRT?

[@SavedByZero]

​@@TeamPandory The cabinet is a Centipede cabaret vertical that was gutted and converted to LCD (yes, those are screams from the purists! lol). The JAMMA harness remains, with a trackball, a joystick and 3 buttons. Combined with a VGA scanline generator, the 60 in 1 is workable but I plan to swap out the display to a 4:3 panel and consider replacing the PCB with a Pandora, PC, RPi or MiSTercade. The King of Air 2 looks to be step up without much of an overhaul - more games, better UI and increased configurability.

[@TeamPandory]

@@SavedByZero in that case. Yes ! With cga you'd be limited but as you've changed up the monitor, this is a pretty decent upgrade. Just make sure to use our tool to remove the bilinear blur.

[@SavedByZero]

@@TeamPandory I didn't realize the version that addresses this issue for the King of Air 2 is out. You guys are good! :)

[@TeamPandory]

@@SavedByZero Hakuna Matata 🙂

[@BScott7220]

so it cuts off high score and the very bottom of the screen in vertical mode?

[@TeamPandory]

@@BScott7220 install pandorydx , fixes this

[@retrojohngamer8058]

what power supply do i need for the KoA2?

[@TeamPandory]

You'd need an arcade style power supply that gives power through the jamma edge. Check AliExpress for one they're everywhere. +12v +5v and ground rails need to be there, tho.

[@SavedByZero]

Ok, so I picked up one of these bad boys and backed up the SD card to get prepared for some Pandory goodness. I tested standalone in 640x480 using a USB adapter to make sure that the backup copy worked and the the unit boots, but into DX mode in high-res. Is it possible to have it spin up directly from USB into KOA2? I'd love to be able to sneakernet the tweaks rather than replace the SC card on the board itself.

[@TeamPandory]

The KOA2 should be in KOA2 / vertical mode, unless either 1. it's connected via CGA / JAMMA edge (for video out), or 2. it's a hybrid DX/KOA2, that needs a special board to select to rotate or not. Once Pandory has been installed, you can simply rename the pandory folder to anything else, and it'll essentially disable the fixes.

[@SavedByZero]

​@@TeamPandory Ok, thanks. I'm using VGA output and Pandory hasn't been applied so it must be the latter. I'll register, run the tool and see how it goes.

[@energyzer_bunny1913]

Does the CGA (240p) resoution only work in DX mode? Or does it also work in KoA2 mode?

[@TeamPandory]

Only in DX mode (horizontal)

[@energyzer_bunny1913]

@@TeamPandory Also, I always thought there was an option to turn off the bilinear filter in the settings. So the "Quality Optimization" setting doesn't actually turn off the filter right.

[@TeamPandory]

@@energyzer_bunny1913 No, AFAIK there has never been a bilinear filtering mode switch. Quality Optimization switch is usually here, to turn on / off the ugly HD filter- but it's grayed out, so we cannot change the option. It looks as though it's set to OFF, but it's clearly present in Commando and Donpachi.

[@AshWilliams-v3e]

Awesome

[@averagejoe3dworld]

Does it switch from vertical to horizontal by holding down B button like the dual dx 3000?

[@lucagil64]

Good morning, when I turn on the King of air 2 the warning appears "no tf or sdcard" could you upload your image please so I can put it on a new sd card?🙏

[@mins2midnite]

I turned mine down ALL the way to the lowest setting. Noisy AF. I haven't messed with the settings yet, but is there a way to turn off the cycling that happens when sitting on the main menu. It cycles down the list every few seconds, making a ticking noise each time.

[@TeamPandory]

Install pandorydx. Removes clicking, smooth filter, and gives you attract mode for games. 😊

[@jormajoo]

The roms folder has some additional vertical games as psychic5 for example. Any way to get those visible in the koa2 menu?

[@arcaderacer586]

Can you hook up a usb keyboard and access the mame cheats menu by pressing the tab key for the KOA 2?

[@alejandroaguilar9038]

Help having trouble adding roms to this version of Pandoras Box

[@TeamPandory]

You can only add roms if you use the KOA2 in DX mode (CGA low res)

[@alejandroaguilar9038]

@@TeamPandory ok i have the means to do that will it show in vertical and do i just drag a bunch of roms to a usb stick?

[@stephenh3153]

I bought one of these just recently in the hope of being able to play heaps of vertical arcade games in TATE (vertical) orientation on my Sony PVM... unfortunately, it turns out it can only output 240p in the Horizontal Pandora DX mode, and none of the vertical games are available at this resolution. This is very disappointing as to simply include the option to play the games non-rotate (where you rotate your screen instead) would have meant this could be the perfect horizontal and vertical multi for those with original CRT screens. Does anyone know of a multi which will allow all the shooters to be played at 240p native to a CRT?

[@TeamPandory]

Check Pandory Jailbreak 1.11 ... We've not yet got the menu to set to vertical, but the games we can rotate.

[@stephenh3153]

@@TeamPandory That's great news. Thanks for the follow up on this! :-D

[@nathaniel2794]

How bout the high score saving, says it does it automatically but does it work?

[@TeamPandory]

It'd depend on the system and emulator. Not all games will do it, but if it's a compatible one (guessing some MAME ones), it'd write out a file to save the memory and then bring it back on load... If that doesn't work you could always use save state to keep them scores.

[@Pitbull0669]

Any idea if you can use a Crt with this pcb?

[@TeamPandory]

... did you even watch the review ? 😂 We cover CGA 15khz which outputs in horizontal mode / Pandora box dx ... If you mean VGA, then yeah it should work fine as a Tate system. Recently we've added rotation settings to pandory for both this and the dx.

[@Pitbull0669]

@@TeamPandory yep typo and ty

[@ericmiller3708]

I wish Viper Phase 1 was on that board.

[@AshWilliams-v3e]

Hey bro can you do a list of cheap wireless controllers

[@TeamPandory]

Maybe... We'll see to that when I find a few decent ones that are ... Cheap... And Wireless ;-)

[@brainfodder3233]

Wireless and cheap hmmm just don't? Remember the cost includes the internal rechargeable battery!

[@frankp500]

Can you add games using the USB stick such as MAME arcade games?

[@TeamPandory]

Only in horizonal DX mode

[@frankp500]

@@TeamPandory Really? You can't add MAME arcade games such as 'Elevator Action' to this box?

[@TeamPandory]

... Only in the horizontal mode, at the low resolution or CGA. It is what it is.

[@frankp500]

@@TeamPandory This box is sold on Amazon and it is really only for vertical games 516-in-1 and it states that you can add games to it. It really isn’t even for horizontal games. I bought it and I’ll let you know when I try it for vertical games, If not then it is going back to Amazon!

[@SatoshiMatrix1]

I recently bought a King of Air 2 from diyretroarcade. To my surprise, although listed as the King of Air 2, it arrived completely branded as a Pandora's Box DX from the label on the unit to the manual to the main menu when it's booted, yet it is indeed the King of Air 2 in terms of it's actual rom list. Does the Pandory CFW for the standard Pandora Box DX work with the King of Air 2/Vertical Pandora's Box DX? All of these games have an awful bilinear filter applied making the games look soft, even on a VGA CRT monitor, and Capcom's Commando in particular seems to have some sort of software-rendered shader applied on top of that, making it especially ugly. If Pandory CFW doesn't currently work for the King of AIr 2/Vertical Pandora's Box DX then is there any plans to get that working? I actually care about CFW for this tate DX box more than I for the yoko (horizontal) DX box.

[@TeamPandory]

On intial testing for FR1, we actually couldn't get KoA2 working with the crack. However, in the editing phase of this very video, we tried the recent FR1 release, and it... Worked?!? Vertical DK and Ms.Pacman, pixel perfect! But FBA still seems to have that ugly HD filter on. We don't have the DX 516, but as you said, it seems to be nearly identical outside the skin being used. I assume it has 1.3 displayed at the bottom right when you load the games?

[@timhewett4082]

Hi Pandory I purchased a IO 3d+ Pandora game box a while back and wondering if there is an easy way to properly calibrate games? Currently street fighter for example has controls all over the shop and not playable. Any insights?

[@TeamPandory]

We find the street fighter games work far better on FBA rather than mame... You could try reinstalling or checking out the stock FBA games rather than mame.

[@KING_KONK]

I can only get the CGA output to work with the dx version and not the King of Air 2 version. Do you know how to crack this resolution output?

[@TeamPandory]

Unfortunately not- We mention that in this review... BUT it is possible to use PandoryDX on both the KoA2 (for VGA / HDMI), which enables sharp pixels and attract mode- and then when in CGA, you can use Pandory to rotate the games you wish. The menu will still be in Hori, though

[@brainfodder3233]

@2:34 wow that girl in the blue bikini is so gorgeous! 🤣 Joke, aside from that, looks like it needs some TP love.

[@RetroandGames]

Sorry, can you tell me why there is no "Equites" in vertical games? I also tried to insert the rom of the mame in the card but it does not read it. Do you have any advice? Thank you

[@TeamPandory]

Trying to add games to the vertical menu is currently impossible, sorry. :-(

[@bigmacfullerton7870]

Can I swap this out with a 60n1 game board? And if so how do you fix the blurry and jumpy screen? That would be a deal breaker for me

[@TeamPandory]

Only if you have a VGA / hdmi video for your monitor. You can use pandory to get rid of the blur.

[@bigmacfullerton7870]

@@TeamPandory It’s an Arcade1up so I believe it’s VGA. I already have the LCD converter with the 60n1. I’m sorry I’m clueless when it comes to this stuff. What exactly is pandory and how does that work?

[@FlashGameplays]

Greetings I really need help I'm from Mexico and tried to buy a VERTICAL AIR KING 2 pandora.... ebay, alie express, ML ang got some money back now I have 3 because they SENT ME a Pandora DX with Air King 2 sticker... Do you have a 100% trustfull link to buy this vertical one without getting scammed? Or anyway to transform a Pandora DX into a vertical one? Thanks in advance!

[@TeamPandory]

How did you plug up the machine? Like in this video, if you connect via JAMMA edge, you have a Pandora DX. For King of Air, you need to use the HDMI or VGA connection

[@FlashGameplays]

​@@TeamPandory I'm using a converter for CGA-VGA since my arcades are candy aero city with crt monitor, plugging VGA and jamma.

[@TeamPandory]

@@FlashGameplays ... Rather than use video from the JAMMA edge, use the VGA port.

[@FlashGameplays]

@@TeamPandory I’m new on this: I tested switching resolution on my Astro City and Air King Mode is working in jamma 3 times a screen Tried on my aero city due to a friend installed a converter and seems doesn’t turn the pandora with out using the jamma, now I need to learn what to do with just cga si ce he cut some cables to install.

[@matthewhaynes7375]

So can this output 240 cga? Or only in horizontal? And I can just hit the button to run horizontal in cga and has a good amount of games?

[@TeamPandory]

CGA / JAMMA edge video output has DX with 3000 games in horizontal.. Pretty much

[@michaels-h5539]

@Team Pandory , I heard a little bit more about the Pandory tools the other day and I think they mentioned that one could rotate the screen of the Pandora boxes. I wanted to ask you, if that tool allows one to do such rotation. Do you think it's there any advantage between buying one of these Vertical Pandora boxes by default or buying the standard horizontal model and then using Pandory tools for rotating the screen?

[@TeamPandory]

That depends. At cga 15khz they have a horizontal dx menu, but in vga they differ mostly in either vertical koa2 menu or dx in horizontal. In that regard I think the dx may offer more games, but will need to recheck.

[@michaels-h5539]

@@TeamPandory So with the Pandory Tool, and for example the DX version, we could put in Tate/Vertical mode the games when they are launched but not the menus you mean?

[@TeamPandory]

@@michaels-h5539 yes

[@foxvader1]

I tried changing the resolution, as you showed but I think it only works on VGA. We’re you able to get it to change on HDMI? I really don’t like the FUZZY look (you described) it looks terrible. Thanks

[@TeamPandory]

Make sure you're subbed to the channel and await the next Pandory release for a nice surprise ;-)

[@foxvader1]

@@TeamPandory Can you confirm the resolution change on HDMI vs VGA? Is this surprise a general one or with respect to the King of Air 2 board ? Thanks

[@TeamPandory]

@@foxvader1 in general for 3A boards, they have hdmi stretch the screen to the maximum dimensions, and vga in a 4:3 style aspect... Unfortunately both have a bilinear filter that makes the screen lose its sharp pixels.

[@foxvader1]

@@TeamPandory that’s sad as this board has so much going for it. I might have to return and go with the 412-1 elf board as the screen looking crisp is important to me. Thanks for the information.

[@TeamPandory]

@@foxvader1 we reviewed the air attack 3 which is actually preferred at stock - but I'd wait for the new pandory... We fix the fuzz !

[@michaelwoo8752]

I set mine up and the screen was upside down, anyone else has that problem? can the screen be adjusted. I hook mine up to an arcade one up ms pacman vertical monitor. I use the same setup with the 60 in 2 and the screen was OK.

[@lvstream720]

The thinf about Pandora's boxes. You buy new releses and they keep adding all the same games you already have

[@princevinny0073]

😀😊😅 oh gosh this is a great iteam :D

[@kalu56]

mmh nice review (missi how it works on a 15khz crt, because the standard pandora sucks bad), for a casual player this kind of product is ok but if you want a nice and almost perfect emulation use a raspberry or windows pc with 15khz output.

[@luisbaez9278]

How did you boot it up to the DX mode?

[@TeamPandory]

It's at the lowest resolution setting, primarily used for output on the jamma edge. Hold settings button while turning on.

[@luisbaez9278]

@@TeamPandory thank you

[@keonscorner516]

3:33 516

[@michaels-h5539]

How does the low resolution (240p) look on a standard monitor? Do you think it's usable or not really due to how bad it appears?

[@TeamPandory]

Same as the DX. It's a DX at stock... No vertical King of Air 2 at low resolution

1943 💔

In some games c button is turbo fire.

Also you can check if Galaga have the explosion sound