Being an entirely digital system, games are mathematically scaled (as they are using emulators on your computer) to be in 720p and they look absolutely fantastic. HDMI is the only video output the system provides. Given the fact that it plays every region of games, you can play the RetroN 5 anywhere as long as you have a TV supporting HDMI. The system provides an interesting bluetooth controller that I’ll delve into later, and a power adapter with interchangeable plugs so the system may be used worldwide. The basic idea is that you load a ROM (ripped from your cartridge to system memory only for the length of time that the cartridge is inserted), set your controller, and play. The RetroN 5 works just like any emulator you may have tinkered with on your computer in the past, only with a five-second power button requirement. But how does it hold up? Pretty well, actually. That’s ten formats, fifteen including PAL regions, all playable on one machine in nostalgia-defyingly crisp HD.

The console itself plays cartridges for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Super NES, Super Famicom, Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom, the entire GameBoy era of formats, and through the use of an adapter, Sega Master System. By dumping the game’s ROM to the system temporarily, you’re provided all of the conveniences of emulation (save states, controller mapping, cheats, patching, etc.) without having to start all over again or dealing with the legal gray area that is PC emulation. Think of it as an emulation machine for your TV that plays your old games and then some. This article was later published on Įarlier this year, Hyperkin released their long-delayed ‘next gen’ clone console, the RetroN 5– a system that boasts the ability to play games from five different types of cartridge digitally in HD. This article was originally published on my personal website,

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