Subor Mega Drive Portable (Famiclone handheld)

** This was originally posted on my toy blog, Random Toy Reviews

By now most retro video game collectors and enthusiasts know that Nintendo's patent on the old 8-bit video game technology has expired. For some time now various companies have been making different variations of consoles using Nintendo's 8-bit platform. Some have been better than others (Messiah's Generation NEX comes to mind as being one of the better clone systems), some of them are down right garbage.

I myself use a Hyperkin clone system to play my NES games for a few reasons. 1) Its size. The thing is tiny, about the size of a few CD jewel cases stacked on top of each other. 2) It was cheap. I think I paid maybe $20 for it 10+ years ago. 3) Its reliable. I've owned many "toaster" NES consoles and even replacing the 72 pin connector would only go so far in reliability for me. I like the top loader version, but the lack of AV inputs still makes me scratch my head.

When I decided to branch out into the world of collecting Famicom games, I looked at the various Famiclones as they are called to see what was the best option. I looked at the Generation NEX as well as some of the consoles manufactured by Hyperkin and Retro-Bit. I ultimately went with a genuine Nintendo Famicom AV console I scored for a great price direct from Japan. A little later I even added the Disk Drive add-on. All set now, right? Well kind of.

After watching several reviews online of the portable Super Nintendo handhelds, I wondered about a portable Famicom. Was there such a thing? Sure enough there are several entries in this category, none of the official though. No surprise there. After trying to do my home work and find something that was of a half decent quality AND find something that I could afford using my eBay budget, I landed on a handheld manufactured my a company called Subor...or Zhongshan Subor Educational Electronics Co., LTD. Man that's a mouth full!

This handheld (I believe) is officially called the Subor Mega Drive Portable, SB-Z12. Not sure why the Mega Drive name is included as this only plays Nintendo 8-bit Famicom games. I was able to purchase this direct from Hong Kong via AliExpress.com. For a mere $30 bucks shipped I'm now the proud owner of a working, portable Famiclone system!

The system was shipped to me in a small cardboard shipping box. No outer packaging whatsoever. I saw the same system recently being sold by a seller on eBay and his had some decent looking packaging, so I'm not sure what gives here. For what I paid I really can't complain though. In the shipping box was the console, instruction manual and a cord that allows you to connect the console to a TV. The console operates on 4 AA batteries and of course these were not included.

Upon opening the box I was surprised at how small, yet how big the thing was. Remember the very first Game Boy and how small, yet big/chunky it was? The system itself measures approximately 6 inches long, 3 inches tall and 1 1/2 inches thick. Yeah, it's not that little. However even with batteries installed, it's not that heavy.

On the face of the system you'll find a 1 1/2 x 2 inch color LED screen complete with 4 button directional pad on the left and Select, A & B buttons on the right. The two small buttons are Start/Pause and Reset. Some reviews complained about the small Reset button being located so close to the A & B buttons, but in my use with the system I haven't come near accidentally pushing the Reset button during game play. Underneath the button layout are two small stereo speakers.

On top of the system is the On/Off switch on the left and the A/V out port on the right. The cartridge slot itself has a dust cover flap that completely covers the 60 pin connector inside. This is one of the features that I really liked. The door features a spring and smoothly disappears when a cartridge is inserted.

On the bottom of the system is a stereo headphone jack on the left and the volume control knob on the right.

Another nice feature that surprised me was found on the back. There are 3 little indented finger tip grips if you will on each side of the system. While not covered in rubber or anything like that, it does make it a little more comfortable gripping the device. So far the longest I think I've played a game in one sitting was about 45 minutes and never did my hands start to cramp or feel uncomfortable.

Here are a few comparison shots to hopefully give you an idea of the system's overall size. I apologize that I didn't pull out any of my Nintendo handhelds as most of them are currently scattered across the house. I did have my recently recapped NEC Turbo Express handy though. If you've seen the Turbo Express in person, then you know it's not a little system.

OK, so it looks good enough, but how does it play? Is it good? Or better yet is it worth buying? So far I have to say Yes to all accounts.

(My original post didn't contain any game play footage. I grabbed Sqoon off the shelve and popped it in so I could provide some video of the hardware in action for this updated post.)

I've got near 40 authentic Famicom games in my collection and while I haven't tried them all yet, everything I've thrown at it has worked. My first attempt was playing Konami's Parodius. The small screen may not be ideal for shooters, but it looked, sounded and controlled good. Next I tried a few other random games including Downtown Nekketsu Koshin Kyoku: Soreyuke Dai Undokai (it's a game in the series that gave us the awesome River City Ransom!). Again everything worked perfectly. The only glitch I had was when I played Tokkyu Shirei Soruburein (or Super Rescue Solbrain). It's the Famicom version of the NES classic, Shatterhand. The game ran fine, but it seemed like the cartridge rattled around in the game slot a little more than the the games. Eventually the screen was garbled and it froze. I got it working again, but I don't think the problem was with the handheld. I popped the same game into my Famicom AV console and pretty much had the same problems with the game not loading or having jumbled images on screen. With a little fiddling of the cartridge on both the Famicom and the handheld I was able to get it working and enjoy some robust game time.

Another nice feature about the system is the height that which the cartridges stick out when inserted. Some of the other clone handhelds I've seen just look goofy with their extra add-ons inserted or even with a big 8-bit NES game sticking out. Thanks to the smaller Famicom carts, you don't have to worry about having some obtrusive game sticking out the top. Even the slightly larger Namcot carts don't look too bad. I did run into trouble trying to fit a Jaleco cart (The Lord of King) into the cartridge slot. The odd shape of the cartridge prevented it from making contact w/ the pins inside the handheld.

I would have rather the system had a traditional solid D-Pad instead of the Sony Playstation like 4 directional buttons, but the controls were rather responsive and the buttons didn't seem to be mushy feeling. Same goes for the larger A & B buttons. They felt comfortable underneath my thumbs and the on screen actions seemed to happen at the same time the buttons were pressed.

I will say that I haven't tried out the A/V hook up yet as every single A/V input on the TVs in my room are strategically set up. Having near 20 consoles hooked up at the same time means lots and lots of cords with multiple switch boxes everywhere! I do want to try this out however as I'm curious to how well it translates over to the big screen.

Recently I sat down to play and I plugged in a pair of headphones I use w/ my iPhone. I was surprised at how good the stereo sound was. There was a little distortion when adjusting the volume up and down, but once I found the level I was comfortable with everything sounded great.

Overall I've got to say that I'm impressed. The quality of the build isn't Nintendo quality, but it's far more solid than the little Hyperkin clone I use to play my NES games on. For the price I paid of $30, which included (overseas) shipping, I think it's a great deal. If you like to play your games on the go and are tired of playing dedicated portable games, then why not give this a try?

Golden Axe (WonderSwan Color)

Golden Axe

Sega / Bandai (2002)

Today we'll look at one of my favorite gaming franchises on a handheld system that many may not be familiar with, Bandai's WonderSwan. Designed by a former Nintendo developer & Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi this little handheld never caught much steam outside of it's native Japan. Just like the Game Boy, the WonderSwan started off as a simple black & white console before getting a color upgrade model and lastly the Swan Crystal version. I was able to track down both a B&W model as well as a color system for relatively cheap years ago, but English friendly games are hard to come by no matter what model system you have. I remember finding out years ago that one of my favorite gaming franchises was ported over to the WonderSwan Color and I had to track it down. It took me awhile before I was finally able to do so (and afford the game), but I'm happy to share a few thoughts now that I've had a chance to hold the game in my hands and play it.

First off let me say how much I love the artwork for the packaging. I already own the first Golden Axe game in several varieties and I don't think I have seen this art before purchasing this game. All 3 characters are drawn very well and have that edgy look. The back of the box features some very iconic artwork of the game's villain Death Adder along with some standard fare screen shots.

So what does this game look like on a tiny handheld system you may wonder? Take a look at the video below I found on YouTube of the actual gameplay.

I do have to say that the graphics are better than what is shown in the video. I'd say the graphics are on par with your average Game Boy Advance game. I was playing the game on my WonderSwan Color handheld and the colors are very vibrant. What surprised me when playing the game was the sound quality. The system features one small speaker on the upper right hand corner, but it just belted out the iconic Golden Axe theme music when the titled rolled onto the screen. The controls are also pretty good on this system.  It's a little odd getting used to using 4 buttons in the layout of a plus when most of us are used to having a solid plus shaped piece of plastic for movement of the characters and such. The jump and attack buttons are also a tad on the small side, but they were very responsive none the less.

If you love Golden Axe then you should love this port of the game as it stays very faithful to the arcade version. The game can be hard to track down and a tad pricey at times, but it is a great addition to anyone's handheld library.

Nemesis (Game Boy)

Nemesis

Konami
Ultra Games, 1990

I can still remember that Christmas in 1989 when I first got my Nintendo Game Boy. I was in heaven. Tetris and Baseball were the games that kept me busy at first. Then I found myself walking down the aisle of my local Toys R Us store and I came across the game called Nemesis.

The box art alone really captivated me. It looked oh so familiar, but why? It wasn't until after I bought the game and got home to play it that I realized this was somehow related to a game I had on my NES, Gradius. I think that Gradius/Lifeforce/Nemesis were my first introduction to the shmup genre. I never would have guessed back then that this game would hold up so well or that I'd become a huge fan of that genre.

If you can't tell, I'm playing this game on my Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Player. Nemesis is a fairly good version of the Gradius game. Some changes were made to the level design, but it features the same game play. 

I haven't played this game in a long time and this was probably the first time I've played the game using a GameCube controller. I found that it was easier to use the D pad over the analog stick which surprised me. Perhaps it was just muscle memory from all those years playing the game on the actual Game Boy hardware.

I prefer vertical scrolling shooters, but I've always enjoyed the Gradius series of  games. Perhaps the power up system of collecting orbs and choosing what upgrade I want to activate and when I want to activate it. Of course this system can be a double edged sword. What I mean by that is you can level yourself to be quite powerful, only to lose it all when your ship takes that one lone stray bullet.

On my play through the other day, I hate to admit but I got my butt handed to me! Maybe it was because I was still trying to use the analog stick to control the game or maybe it's just because I was rusty. Either way the game still holds up well. The ship's graphics are small, but look at the detail on this boss! Not too bad for a game released in 1990. Nemesis may not be the best shooter, but its a worthy addition to anyone's collection.