Atari Flashback X

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Atariboy
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Re: Atari Flashback X

Postby Atariboy » February 24th, 2020, 9:41 am

I suppose an important thing to add about the Retron '77 is that like all clone systems that are emulation based, it dumps the contents of cartridges and then runs the file rather than being in continuous communication with the cartridge. It's a quick process, but it means that there's occasionally a cartridge that it doesn't know how to dump properly.

It also means that because of how they work, the Harmony multicart, several modern homebrew games that use the onboard DPC+ chip, and Pitfall 2 can't be made work. Part of the Pitfall 2 rom for instance is literally inaccessible to the Atari 2600 cartridge slot (And can only be read by the onboard DPC chip in the cartridge), so it's impossible for a full rom dump to be created by the Retron '77.

While I think everyone expects a few compatibility issues, the good news here is that this plays rom files of all the affected games with zero issues.
Last edited by Atariboy on February 24th, 2020, 10:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

bluenote
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Re: Atari Flashback X

Postby bluenote » February 24th, 2020, 9:43 am

Gentlegamer wrote:
bluenote wrote:This looks cool, but I think I'll stick to my original console. I actually just recently modded my 6 switch for rgb output and the picture looks perfect! I then purchased 2 new upgraded joysticks and 2 sets of upgraded new paddles from best electronics and I'm good to go! These are amazing and guaranteed for life.

Last week, my 7 year old son saw my small 2600 collection, so we tried some games. He loved warlords, and we then played 4 player warlords with my wife, son and daughter. Loads of fun!


Introduce him to Tank Pong aka the greatest game ever made.


Good idea!

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noah98
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Re: Atari Flashback X

Postby noah98 » February 24th, 2020, 1:44 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:Holy cow I was not aware of the Retron 77!! I'm intrigued. Please tell me more!


I got to play with one at a local game store and I really liked it. It goes on sale on Amazon from time to time, and I've seen it as low as $68.

Things to keep in mind:

1. Some hombrews and games with special chips like Pitfall 2 will not work on the stock firmware
2. You can run roms off of an sd card, including some games that don't work as cartridges
3. It is highly recommended that you upgrade the firmware from the one that it ships with
4. If you want the ultimate compatibility and performance, it is highly recommended that you upgrade the firmware to the community build. Use this link and read the thread for more info:
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/28146 ... /#comments

I might pick one up myself, although I also might buy the Flashback X and upgrade the firmware/add the otg cable.

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Atariboy
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Re: Atari Flashback X

Postby Atariboy » February 24th, 2020, 4:36 pm

Worth also mentioning that the Retron's joystick, after a quick redesign when the first run proved to be too fragile with the stick breaking off, is really quite nice. I'm not personally familiar with past Hyperkin products, but this controller isn't your typical clone controller.

In fact it's almost a night and day difference compared with what the AtGames Atari Flashback 9 ships with. Those joysticks are okay and get the job done, but they don't feel like a quality controller like this one does.

Image

Happily even if someone has no interest in buying the Retron '77 but just wants a new joystick for their Atari 2600, the improved joystick is now sold separately on sites like Amazon for $15 or so.

Just to reassure any potential Retron '77 buyers out there that just read about how the stick would break off with the 1st run of these systems, I'm confident those are gone at this point from retailers. Unless you buy used, your Retron '77 should come with the beefed up version of the stick at this point.

lynchie137
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Re: Atari Flashback X

Postby lynchie137 » March 12th, 2020, 12:07 pm

Will there be a handheld version of this latest Flashback console? I know At Games released a few handheld versions of some of their previous Flashback consoles. One being released in 2017 and the other a year later. I own the one that came out in 2017, and while I think it's a pretty decent little piece of hardware, it does have it's flaws. One being no save states, the other being that you have to play the paddle games that are pre-loaded into the unit with the D-pad. Which simply does not work very well at all imho. And in some cases, it renders some paddle games borderline unplayable. Like Kaboom, for instance. So hopefully if there are indeed plans to eventually release a handheld version of this latest Flashback, At Games will not only add a save state feature to it, but also a sort of slider switch on the underside of it that'll make playing paddle based games a lot more playable and fun...

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Atariboy
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Re: Atari Flashback X

Postby Atariboy » March 12th, 2020, 10:35 pm

No word yet on a major refresh of their Atari Flashback Portable, which has essentially remained the same since it first launched in 2016. Hopefully it happens, but right now they seem distracted by their Legends Ultimate arcade cabinet rather than investing major effort into their plug and play lineup or funding the development of further console compilations (AtGames was the publisher for the Atari Flashback Classics compilations on consoles).

I suspect we'll just see a largely unchanged Atari Flashback XI and Atari Flashback Portable 5 with slightly modified game lineups, perhaps a Legends Flashback 3 plug and play system with some added Taito arcade classics (They just licensed several dozen games), and perhaps a 3rd wave of HDMI dongle based Blast systems even though they appear to have been poor sellers so far.

Perhaps most intriguing is what happens with the Sega stuff. After years of disastrous Sega releases from AtGames, they finally essentially got things right with their Sega Genesis Flashback in 2018 that Sega allowed them to do a low key release of. Perhaps too little and too late, Sega obviously went a different route in 2019. But Sega's own Sega Genesis Mini hasn't appeared to be flying off store shelves and it's difficult to see Sega releasing a sequel in 2020.

Will we see AtGames and Sega back together in 2020? Or perhaps it will just be the end of Sega plug and play systems for a few years.


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